Tiffany saw how Julian gradually believed how feasible her plan was, and her lips curled upward. “Julian, we’re just signing the papers—no ceremony and no fuss. We can even write a separate contract stating that once Charmine agrees to marry you, we can instantly divorce. Before she accepts you, we’ll pull off this act together. I want my reputation back while you want the Jordans’ shares. This is a good deal for you.” Tiffany spoke with conviction, but cunningness brewed beneath those eyes of hers. Her reputation would be saved once she was married to Julian, and she would become the stunning Mrs. Cabell! Furthermore, once Julian bought Amelia and Lily’s 15 percent shares, the rest of the Jordan family would have no say in the family. They would be left with nothing! So what if Charmine exposed her true identity then? So what if Charmine returned to the Jordan family? By then, the Jordan family would no longer be as glorious as they once were, rendered into a mere empty shell
Tiffany barked at the cleverly disguised Chris, “Who told you to come in? You—” “Argh! I didn’t make this up! Don’t kill me! Don’t! Big brother, help me!” cried Chris as he hastily ran and hid behind Julian. Julian looked at Tiffany’s face before he shifted his gaze toward the innocent kid behind him. “Get out, Tiffany Jordan,” hissed Julian. He never wanted to see that evil-hearted woman ever again! Tiffany’s eyes reddened as cold anxiety washed over her. “Julian, you’d rather believe the words of a stranger’s kid instead of me?” Before Julian could retort, Chris quickly chimed in as he stuck out his head from behind Julian. “You sounded so evil when you spoke to the phone! Who’d believe you? Does your tongue not hurt from telling lies? Can you swear to god that everything you said was true? Like, if anything you said was not true, you’ll die?” Tiffany’s face went pale. She was genuine about the shares offer; Tiffany genuinely wanted to sell them to Julian half the market
Back in Julian’s office…Julian gazed at Chris once Tiffany left them. “You’ve done me a favor. What would you like in return?” “No, thank you! I don’t need anything. I love helping people. If Big Brother insists on thanking me, though... You could give me your jade ring.” Chris pointed at the ring on Julian’s thumb. It was a white jade ring with delicate carvings. The white jade was embellished with some irregular emerald jade pieces, like an emerald dragon flying among the clouds. Julian smiled unconsciously at the boy’s request. “You don’t want anything but this jade ring? Do you know how much this costs?” Of course Chris knew; he saw it at an auction with Anthony last year. That was an ancient jade ring, and the final price at the auction was 90 million bucks. He liked this ring very much, but his father—Anthony—said a man wearing a jade ring looked too feminine, so he did not buy it for him. It was only fair, then, that Chris would try his chance to get it, given the o
On the top floor of the Bailey Corporation building... Anthony sat on the sofa with a document in his hands. There were 37 names on the list, and 36 of them were the female staff that worked in the hotel. The result of their investigation stated that all 36 women had fantasies about touching Anthony. They were enamored with him, the room he stayed in, and even the bed he slept in. Therefore, they rolled on the bed Anthony slept in, which was why his bed had their DNA. In other words, 36 women had slept on Anthony’s bed in that hotel all those years! Nial comforted, “Don’t worry, I’ve ordered for them to be fired. Enough about that, though—have a look at this person.” Nial flipped to the last page and eyed Anthony’s expression anxiously. Anthony took a look and frowned. The name on the last page...was Annabel Smith. That name never appeared in his world for more than 10 years. Back then, when Anthony was 18, he attended Burlington University. He was the wealthiest prince,
As the disheartening thought festered in his mind, Anthony turned to Nial and firmly stated, “Don’t let Charmine know anything about this whole thing yet.” He could not afford to take any risk before marrying her. Nial frowned. “Bro… Are you trying to hide this from Charmine?” “It’s not ‘hiding’. I’ll get to it.”He would deal with it accordingly. Anthony patted Nial’s shoulder and left. Nial felt uneasy, but he hoped that Anthony could hide it from Charmine while he got down on the matter. As they both departed from the room, they failed to realize that someone hid in the toilet. It was McKenzie. Mckenzie came to Anthony’s office in the morning in an attempt to negotiate a deal with him. She had photos of him with Charmine, and she would use them as hostages so he would sever their relationship entirely. It startled her that Nial and Anthony came in together, forcing her to hide in the bathroom, though she was rewarded with a shocking discovery. Anthony was still look
Even after showering and a face without makeup, Charmine was still so stunning that it could bewitch any man’s soul. There were women out there with mediocre beauty, one that would eventually bore the eyes after some time, Charmine’s beauty was different. Chamine’s beauty was enduring; she would always be as beautiful as she was from day one. Her eyes, especially… They were like crystals soaked in ancient wells, clear and sparkling, and yet it also had a hint of wise dullness. It was a pair of eyes that told a story, one that people would like to read. Her beauty was different from Annabel’s. Annabel made one want to protect her, while Charmine made one feel distant from her. At that moment, Chris spotted him and grinned widely. “Daddy, you’re back! Come and say hello to the baby!” Anthony frowned. ‘Say hello to the baby’? Charmine was just as befuddled. “The baby in Mommy’s tummy!” Chris articulated adorably. “I read a science book saying that we have to get in the habit
Charmine saw how Anthony’s gaze hardened at her question as though hesitating over some complex questions. It was a rare sight to see. She asked, “What? That tough, huh?” “No.” Anthony snapped back to reality as he abruptly turned his intense gaze toward her. “Charmine, promise me one thing.” “Huh?” Charmine was confused. Anthony looked at her and spoke with a solemn tone, “There might be some challenging situations coming up, so please show me enough trust. I’ll be able to solve them. You can’t be persuaded by anyone for anything.” He wore such a grave, serious expression as he spoke. Charmine had a gut feeling that it was nothing good. Was it something about the incident from five years ago? Anthony was also investigating his incident. Had he found something that induced concern she would get jealous or have hard feelings? Her red lips curled into a faint smile. “Don’t worry. When I decide to be with someone, I won’t change my mind easily. It’s not love if I change my c
She presented a garden properties project to the board and concluded that they would get a loan of 100 billion for that nationwide Garden Properties Project. Every staff of the company objected and voiced out their opinions: “Ms. Jordan, are you crazy? How can we get a hundred billion-loan?” “Are you unaware of what we’re experiencing right now? The Jordan shares have dropped and the loss so far is a hundred and fifty billion, yet you want to get a loan of a hundred billion?” “Jordan Group will go bankrupt if this project fails!” Even Lily chimed in, “Tiffany, this is too risky. We have to play safe.” Tiffany sat on the director’s seat and asked, “If we don’t take the sum into consideration, do you think this will be a good project?” Everyone exchanged looks with one another and remained silent. They had to admit that it was an excellent project. As their nation was developing garden properties for the sixth generation, even smaller houses could get the privilege of hav
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