Tiffany did nothing to stop Adam as she gently and quietly sobbed. After all, she had installed a program on Adam and Joey's phones so Charmine’s phone would reject their calls. As expected, Adam was greeted with an automated voice that said, “Sorry, the number you called is currently unavailable.” She rejected the call! Tiffany sobbed, “Dad, Mom, don’t call her anymore... She told me that she hated you both for favoring me. She won’t come back to us. I didn’t say these to make you speak up for me; I just hope that you’d all accept me. I was forced to do what I did, and I wouldn’t have turned out this way had Charmine not hurt me like that. Even I can’t accept what I did…” Her weak and soft face was filled with pain and bitterness. Touched, Joey sat next to Tiffany and pulled her hand gently. “Tiffany, why didn’t you tell us about this before? Why did you keep everything to yourself? We could’ve kept a close watch on Charmine had you told us about it!” “I thought that she’
Senior Jordan never anticipated things were not what they seemed... If he was to transfer his properties to Charmine, the entire family would object. He thus waved dismissively. “Not now.” … At Violet Villa. Charmine charged her phone and turned on the silent mode, preparing for her flight to Kansas. She carried Chris in her arms and read stories to him so he would fall asleep. Chris eventually fell asleep at 11pm. Charmine placed him in bed and said to Anthony in a low voice, “I need to go out. Take good care of Momo.” “This dead of night?” Anthony looked up from his document. Charmine nodded. “Robert’s in a challenging situation, and I need to save him.” “I can arrange—” “I know you can send someone in my stead, but it’s no use. This is a special situation, and I need to go there myself. Just stay home and take care of Momo,” Charmine cut him short as she spoke with a determined tone. She walked into the dressing room and took out her agent costume. Anth
Charmine took the phone and, with a hardened expression, said, “What is it?” “What is it, you say? How dare you speak to me like that? Have you finally decided to come home after you’re done fooling around outside? What do you think of the Jordan mansion of: a place you can come and go as you please and screw up?” snapped Adam. It was only obvious how furious he became the more he spoke. “It was a huge mistake to have given your mother permission to take you home!” scoffed Adam. “Your reputation was ruined five years ago, but you go ruining her reputation five years later? You’ve shredded the Jordan family’s reputation and image! If I had known any better, I would’ve killed you the moment you were brought home so none of this mess of yours would’ve happened!” Charmine was yelled at without knowing what had happened, but before she could speak, Joey took the phone from Adam and said, “No matter what Tiffany did to you, even if she was the one who pushed you down the stairs, she’s
“Why do you bring so many people? Let them go home and sleep.” “You’re going to Kansas, and we don’t have anything going on for us there. It’s better this way if anything happens,” Kay explained. Charmine then countered, “I’m going straight to Uji Quin’s mountain, save Robert, and come back right away. They can’t even get up the mountain...unless they want to feed the mosquitos at the heel of the mountain?” Kay hesitated at that moment, and Charmine took that silence. “Go home and sleep,” she ordered the 10 men. The 10 men were silent at her order. It was an incredibly rare opportunity for them to go on a mission with Charmine, yet she easily dismissed them like that... Still, she had a point: What else could they do other than feed the mosquitoes at the heel of the mountain? The 10 men conceded. Charmine got on the plane, followed by Kay. The flight went straight to Kansas. A thought crossed Charmine’s mind at that moment. “Oh, right. Is Uji Quin at home today?”
The driver’s lips curled upward. “If Boss Jordan gets up in an hour, I get ten days off!” “Deal,” Kay agreed. Even though he knew how capable Charmine was, the mountain was tall. It was no easy task to get up the mountain in an hour, all while evading every single infrared ray. However… Up there, Charmine did not take the usual path and instead continued to walk as she eyed her surroundings, walking to where the most infrared rays gathered. More often than not, the place with more gathered infrared rays had problems. As expected, after getting past closely set up infrared rays, a long passage appeared in sight. The passage was built along the side of the cliff, like a plank walk of a scenic mountain. The passage only allowed one person to walk in at a time, and it was filled with closely set-up infrared rays. Charmine frowned. Was Uji Quin’s house filled with gold? Was he not merely a gamer? What was all the mystery for? She stretched her body and walked toward it. Swif
All done. Without any more obstacles keeping her back, Charmine ran toward the basement. The basement had no window; there was only a dim yellow light on the wall. Robert laid on the Japanese-styled tatami as he slept soundly. Charmine walked over and kicked him gently on the leg. “Wake up! Follow me!” Robert blearily opened his eyes with that, and he noticed it was Charmine, he frowned with confusion. “Why did you come?” “You’re going to starve to death if I hadn’t come,” Charmine scoffed. “Follow me!” Robert remained laying on the ground. “I’m not leaving. I want to learn gaming with Uji Quin!” Upon Robert’s arrival to his mansion, Uji Quin told him that the most important aspect of gaming was one’s inner peace. One should not be disturbed by the outside world and that they should stay in a safe place. A darker place would be ideal. Robert was initially skeptical of that, but Uji Quin came down to his basement to perform a few battles in the game. He told Robert
Charmine’s eyes narrowed as she grabbed Robert’s wrist to pull him behind her. “Stand behind me,” she spoke. “Don’t move! I wouldn’t mind cutting off your hand so you’d play a single game in your entire life!” Such words were uttered heatedly and dangerously threatening. Even though Robert was arrogant and unwilling, the aura Charmine emitted was far too hair-raising that he was too terrified to move. He thus stood behind her obediently. Charmine knew things would only get more dangerous if they overstayed their welcome. “Do you actually think you’d learn how to be a top-tier gamer from Uji Quin?” spoke Charmine disdainfully. “His gaming skills are just meh! Learning from him will do you more harm than good!” Those words did not sit well with Uji Quin, of course. “Don’t think you get to criticize my ability just because you got past my security system, Charmine! You’re just some clueless woman, so shut it!” Charmine could say anything, but she should not doubt his gaming abil
That must have been just a coincidence! Charmine just happened to have the same ID as the player Boss, nothing more than that! Then, Charmine sent a challenge request to Uji Quin. An in-game notification popped up on Uji Quin’s screen. [Boss invited you to a 1 VS. 1 dual!] There was a smaller line of words below: [Friendly Reminder: Player Boss have bested you before—be on your guard.] Uji Quin’s eyes darkened as his eyelids twitched. Boss; the player who defeated him before sent him another player versus player invitation. Wait a minute… He was about to fight Charmine. Why would Boss send him an invitation? Unless… As if realizing something impossible, he turned around to see Charmine’s computer screen showing: [You have sent out a request. Waiting for the opponent to accept.] Uji Quin jolted as he stared at her wide-eyed with disbelief. It was Charmine! Charmine was the one who defeated him with billions of bucks! The Boss he had spent a fortune trying to kill!
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