“Don’t worry, I’ll behave,” assured Anthony with his low voice as he hugged Charmine by her waist and pulled her into his arms. Charmine wanted to fight back as he pulled her into his embrace but gave up soon after, thinking it was pointless. Anthony did say he would not touch her, and fighting back would make her seem pretentious. Whatever—they were just sleeping anyway. The soft glow of the moon seeped into the room like a layer of silver blanket covering them peacefully. ... Both Anthony and Charmine heard an audible click that came from the door the next morning. No doubt about it, Chris was unlocking the door at last! Charmine instinctively shot up, but Anthony was quick enough to grab her by the waist. “Are you that in a hurry to go out?” “Huh? Of course,” replied the perplexed Charmine. “Momo tried so hard to get us together. If he knew nothing happened, he might be disappointed and have a seizure again,” Anthony reminded her. Charmine was reminded of how the
Chris escorted Charmine to sit in front of the table in the dining room. He spent the whole night cleaning up the table yesterday; he even washed the dishes and cleaned the house. Charmine was impressed at his work, though she still eyed her surroundings for her phone. Spotting her phone on the shelf, Charmine stood up to get it when Chris suddenly said, “Mommy! Stay there! I’ll get it for you!” With that, his little figure ran over and handed the phone to Charmine. Chris seemed rather cautious, anxious that any hurt would befall upon Charmine. Charmine reached out to ruffle his hair. “Oh, Momo, you’re still a child! Let Mommy take care of you, okay?” “But the baby inside Mommy is younger than me, and a brother should take care of his sister. Just sit here, Mommy, and let me bring you breakfast!” With that, Chris ran into the kitchen. His actions stunned Charmine, but she did not want to upset him either. With that, she bit back her tongue and stayed silent. Once Charmi
After all, Robert was his only grandson. That was a warrant of Senior Jordan’s worry, rightfully so. “Yes,” answered Charmine assuringly. “Don’t worry, Grandpa. Don’t let Tiffany know that we had this conversation, though. I’ll do my best to save Robert.” “Okay, Charmine. Be careful. Tiffany… She seems to have changed, so much so that she terrifies me now.” Senior Jordan initially thought that Tiffany would release Robert after he handed her his shares, yet Tiffany extended their deal and said she would only let Robert go after her reputation had improved. In other words, Senior Jordan would still have to obey Tiffany’s will. Charmine’s lips curled upward. “Don’t worry, Grandpa. I’m no longer the same person from five years ago—I can fix things and take good care of myself.” Senior Jordan sighed, finally at ease. Inside the prayer room, he pulled out a drawer and said to a portrait with relief, “Did you hear that? Charmine’s grown into an incredibly capable woman now. She can
Not long after Anthony left, Charmine also received a text from Kay. [Kay: I’ve found out that Robert was brought to Kansas by Uji Quin, and he’s in a secluded mansion with Uji Quin. The mansion is located at the peak of a mountain with strict security—we’ll get spotted easily if we head up there.” Charmine frowned. Uji Quin was not a kind person, and he did no charity. Why would he help Tiffany? It seemed that the two had some under-table deal. Something else piqued her curiosity: why did Tiffany not leave after getting 60 percent of the family shares and remained in the Jordan mansion, all while Robert was up there? As if she thought of something, Charmine typed: [Charmine: Keep an eye on them to pinpoint their flaws. Don’t act until I say so.] [Kay: Copy that.] Charmine kept her phone, thinking of the headlines online as she looked at Chris. “Momo, are you bored staying home? Do you want to go out and play with Mommy?” “Yes, yes!” Chris hopped giddily. Ever since A
Chris’ eyes lit up when he spotted the game machines, though the twinkle in his eyes disappeared as a thought crossed his mind. Coincidentally, he spotted a figure not too far away and instantly tugged Charmine’s arms, wanting to leave. “What is it, Momo?” asked the curious Charmine. “I saw Coco, the daughter of Uncle Derek. She’ll laugh at me if she sees me! Also, Daddy said these machines are stupid...and he never let me play,” muttered Chris, his expression blatantly showing his disappointment. Charmine frowned. The daughter of Uncle Derek? She remembered that Anthony had another younger brother named Derek Bailey. Derek had been trying to fight for control and the family assets from Anthony, but he always lost to Anthony. To be fair, Derek was a successful businessman, and even though he was younger than Anthony, he had married an heiress of an aristocratic family, who was also the best actress in the industry with no negative rumors. The couple was always regarded as
Charmine turned away and brought Chris to a claw machine and worked her magic, easily winning the toy Coco so desperately wanted to gain. Just like that, a cat plushie was brought out from the machine. It was an adorable and endearing toy cat of at least 60 centimeters long, and it fitted perfectly in Chris’ arms as he took it into his arms. He exuberantly jumped around. “Mommy is awesome! Mommy is so, so awesome! I love my Mommy!” That only fueled Coco’s jealousy as she watched from the sidelines—she wanted that huge cat plushie as well! She spent at least 10 tokens trying to get it, and Charmine got it in one goal! It must be all due to luck! Charmine eyed Chris pleasingly. “What other toys would you like? I’ll get them for you!” “I want that rabbit! It’s cute!” Chris’ eyes lit up as he pointed at a toy rabbit. Charmine ruffled his hair lovingly. “Okay, Mommy will get you that.” She started working on the machine. Coco scoffed. Did that woman really think it was that ea
Yvette knelt and pulled Coco into her arms as she asked with concern, “What happened, Coco? Didn’t your Daddy and I leave you just for a moment? Who bullied you?” “Waa…! It was a mother-and-son pair, dressed poorly. They saw that I dressed pretty, so they made fun of me! They even showed off what they won in front of me! “There! It’s them!” Coco pointed toward a direction. Yvette looked over to see the backs of Charmine and Chris. She frowned. These kinds of people bullied her daughter? She looked at Derek. “Darling, please solve this for us. You gotta speak up for our daughter!” “Don’t worry—I’ll call Julian right away. I’ll make sure he makes these people leave right now and put them on the mall’s blacklist.” Derek seemed like a gentle and kind man, but he showed no mercy when he wanted to get things done. He walked to a side to make the call. Charmine left with Chris with toys piling in their arms, and the sight garnered onlookers’ attention. However, thinking of h
At that moment, people gathered around Derek, Yvette, and Coco as they murmured among themselves. Some even took photos of the trio. Being a public figure, Yvette instantly put on her sunglasses. “Thank you for the reminder,” uttered Yvette, left without much of a choice to do, “we’ll teach her well.” With that, she hooked her arms around Derek’s and left. “Waa!” Coco wailed, unable to accept defeat. “Why are we the ones leaving? They—” “Alright, don’t cry. Remember that you’re our Princess Bailey—you’re my daughter. Don’t embarrass yourself,” came Yvette’s firm reminder. Coco felt wronged, and her mother did not even comfort her. She had no choice but to hold back her tears. Meanwhile, Derek comforted her as he coaxed, “Don’t worry, Daddy will find out her identity. I won’t let them go so easily.” His eyes darkened as he took out his phone to message his assistant the following: [Follow the mother and her son.] Meanwhile…Charmine left the gaming area with Chris. She ca
There was an unnoticeable glint in Sonia's eyes. She nestled herself further into Harry's arms as she added, "Let’s go to Pares. We'll come back after I give birth to the baby.""Alright."Harry stayed by Sonia's side as he watched over her, cared for her, and talked to her until she finally slept in his care.He stood up tiredly and walked out of the room to sit in the living room.Thuck!Something fell out of his pocket.He narrowed his eyes to the source of sound and spotted a USB.Since when did he have a USB in his pocket?With a small frown on his face, Harry curiously picked it up and noticed the front side of the USB glowing. Something was carved onto its surface, too.[Granger].Was it Dior’s USB? Why was her USB inside his pocket?Harry’s clear fingers held on the USB tightly. He thought for a moment before he took out a laptop, turned it on, and plugged in the USB.A moment later, the screen showed what seemed to be peculiar surveillance footage with a descriptio
Dior was still lost in her storm of thoughts when a shadowy figure zipped past her and ran toward Harry.When she spotted this familiar figure, she reacted quickly and held onto him."Let go of me!" growled Guy. "How dare he slap you and misunderstood you? I have to beat some sense into him!"Harry broke free and chased after Harry.Dior, despite having lost all hope and life in her, mustered the last strand of her will to chase after Guy and reeled him back. "Brother, don't," she muttered, "spare your energy…" Her sorrow clouded her eyes as she mumbled, "He’s the man I love. Even though he hates me, I won’t allow you to hurt him. As for the explanation…"Dior smiled ironically. "Whatever. That slap decimated every beautiful daydream I have about him, anyway."She no longer expected anything from him.He had no trust in her, so what would it matter if she finally got him? He did not even love her, and he did not trust her either.Dior smiled elegantly, but her eyes were fille
Dior looked forward to that new shift.She watched as Harry made his way into the restaurant silently, unable to deter her mind from the daydreams she had of him, of the new chapter of their story they would have.He would apologize to her, trying to redeem himself, and kiss her dearly as he embraced her. Later down the line, they would have a child of their own, too.Harry's long legs walked in strides, his dark gaze trained on Dior.The bright light shone on Dior’s delicately stunning face, and she also wore a red dress.He remembered her wearing this back in Mount Village.He could remember how alluring she looked back then, how they stayed in the same room, how she put down her ego to treat him with so much gentleness.Harry’s cold face mellowed down, but recalling a certain memory, the vague wistfulness in him vanished and he sat in front of her.Dior looked at him fondly, like she always would. "Long time no see."Her eyes burned brightly as if she wanted to drink in his
Dior examined the footage the moment she received it.True enough, it showed Sonia and George talking about their little deal. It also showed how Dior was telling the truth while they both ganged up on her.Dior’s frail heart felt as though it was rejuvenated once more, feeling as though blood was once more pumped into her heart. Her dull eyes devoid of hope regained their lost luster once more.Not thinking twice, she dialed Harry's number with this evidence, though he had to be busy, seeing as he did not pick up even after the phone rang for a long while.Just as she was about to hang up, Harry picked up the phone."What do you want?"On the other end of the call was the voice that she had missed for so long. His low, hoarse voice sounded so cold and emotionless.Hearing his voice brought Dior back to the image of his handsome face, and her heart skipped a beat.She tried her best to restrain her fluttering emotions as she tried to speak calmly, "Do you have time? I’d like to
At Mount Village…Inside the elegant bamboo house was Dior, dressed in a beige dress. She sat in the front yard as she took sips of her wine.The sunlight shone past the leaves and illuminated her, yet she exuded an air of loneliness.She swirled the glass and could not help recalling the moments she spent with Harry.In the beginning, she was attracted by his looks; he looked so gentle and elegant.She gave him money, kept him company, and continuously showed up around him in hopes of conquering him.Alas, she ended up in this state.The time she spent with him in Mount Village was the happiest time she had ever had. They had lived inside the bamboo house together, where he took care of her and claimed her to be his woman.They even laid inside the same room.Everything was so beautiful.Cursed was her luck, however, that it was just an illusion. He had been using her from the start, while he chose to stay with the woman who lied to him and even hurt him!No matter how mu
"Although Susan was unhappy, she should've voiced out her displeasure instead of bottling things. Cheating is wrong, regardless. Furthermore, if she wanted a career, she didn't have to stay home and depend on her husband."Grandma Bailey halted.Was that what Charmine truly thought of?Grandma Bailey thought Charmine would find Susan too aggressive unto herself.Charmine glanced at Susan again and apathetically commented, "She doesn't want to make money on her own, but she wants to be rich while complaining about her man not making time for her and taking care of her? If a woman has no ability of her own and also blames others for her miseries, all she's worth is to sit quietly at home and wait for her husband to come home. She also has no right to cheat! This is how the world works."Charmine patted Grandma Bailey’s shoulder and held Anthony’s hand, her words met with everyone's evidently surprised gazes and their silence.Grandma Bailey was shocked. Sure, Charmine sounded rathe
The colossal cruise started to drift away from the pier.Eric stood on the cruise and let the wind blow at him, loneliness and hatred still oozing from his being.He stared at the blue ocean ahead of him as Charmine's words rang in his mind unceasingly.'Will you really feel good after you've killed them?''You saw Susan suffering from a serious wound; would you still kill the one sibling you have left in the world?'"Forgive them and yourself.'Deliberating everything carefully, his lips curled into a bitter smile.It was true, after all, that Charmine understood him the most.Eric poured himself another drink and downed it with loneliness as he allowed the cruise to bring him wherever it would take him.…Susan was still inside the operating room when Charmine and the rest of the Baileys rushed into the hospital.Darryl stood before the room, his expression blank, his figure lonely and helpless.So many things had happened in half a day.He found out about his wife's inf
"No one's stopping you now. Eat!"Anthony clenched his hands tightly and took another glance at Charmine. He was more determined than before, and he was close to eating the pills in the bottle.Charmine, who was held hostage, gradually opened her eyes at that moment. Her gaze drifted toward Eric before she asked, her tone challenging, "Will you really feel good after you've killed them? You saw Susan suffering from a serious wound; would you still kill the one sibling you have left in the world?"Eric halted, and his eyes darkened.Charmine had just woken up, yet what she said…He cast a cold glance at Charmine. "It's my business, and it has nothing to do with you!"They were his family, and he did not want a family like this!Charmine looked squarely at him. "Eric, I don’t care if you used me or plotted against me all these years; I've treated you like a true friend, nothing more nor less. You were the only person who stayed by my side in the past five years, so I hope that you
Anthony's breath hitched when he saw Charmine.He clenched his fists and, without doubting himself, relented "I can agree to your terms, so let her go right away. This has nothing to do with her; you only hate me after all. As long as you let her go, I'll take the pill. Everything will end right away."Susan shook her head. "We'll die after eating the pill. I’m not taking that!"She had just reunited with Eric, and she did not want to die yet. She looked at Eric and begged, "Please let Anthony be, why don't you? He’s your brother, after all, and he doesn’t even know about your existence. If you’re really angry, just kill Charmine, and I'll make it up to you—"Anthony's expression contorted in sheer fury upon hearing Susan's plea, and he glared at her with murderous intent."This was all your fault, so what right do you have to make Charmine take your blame?!""What on earth are you going on about?" snapped Grandma Bailey. "Charmine has been kidnapped because of you, yet you want