“Impossible! Tiffany couldn’t have written this! There must be a mistake or something... Go and investigate the matter. Investigate it!” “But… But I’ve already verified the writing, and this is indeed Tiffany’s writing. The paper even has Tiffany’s fingerprints…” explained the attorney. What else could they find if they went to check? Luckily, Rio walked in at the right time. “There’s no need to check—Charmine is indeed your actual daughter. Back then, Tiffany’s mother and Aunt Joey gave birth in the same hospital, but her mother was on the verge of death after birthing Tiffany. To set her up for a better life, that woman secretly swapped the babies and took the real heiress, Charmine away, leaving her inside a bin. That’s how Tiffany became the Jordans’ heiress. This is why you felt hurt when you saw the baby in the bin, and that’s why you treated the baby you picked up better than Tiffany.” Joey felt as if she was struck by a lightning, her pupils dilated. It was true that h
Senior Jordan frowned at Adam’s words. “Why?” “I… We thought it was Charmine who messed up the Young mansion yesterday, so we used your seal to force-withdraw her shares and removed her from our family. We even brought some men with us to attack Charmine’s villa and called her names. She… She might not help us out this time…” Adam lowered his head, even though he was too ashamed to seek Charmine's help. Senior Jordan’s face turned green with anger. “You…! How could you?! Why did you all do this? Didn’t I say that we’ll wait till Robert wakes up? How dare you—cough, cough!” Senior Jordan coughed the more he exerted stress in his words. Rio went up hastily toward Senior Jordan and comforted, “Please calm down. Let them make up for the mistakes they made—don’t spoil your body for them.” “My body is fine... The most important thing now is Charmine. Oh, my Charmine! So she’s my actual granddaughter, after all! Adam, go and apologize to Charmine right away! I don’t care what you do
Alas, Charmine was the same daughter Joey had scolded and beaten when she was just a child. She hated this ‘adopted daughter’ of hers and even went as far as removing her from the family…She even brought men to attack her villa! A surge of guilt and remorse overwhelmed her senses. She grabbed Adam’s arm again. “Oh, Adam, what can we do…? How are we supposed to face Charmine? Will she forgive us? I’m way too ashamed to see her!” “Sigh... I’m thoroughly ashamed, too.” Adam sighed. Joey, at least, had treated her kindly when she first brought her home while everyone else fought against that decision, assuming that Joey and Adam did this to get more of the family shares. That caused quite a scene back then. Therefore, Adam did not like Charmine since young, and he had never treated her with kindness. At that moment, Lily walked toward Adam. “Brother, Dad had said that no matter how ashamed both of you are, you must go and find Charmine.” “Look what’s happening to us: We’re in
The Jordans—should Charmine decide to rescue them—would be worth almost two hundred billion, but it would go beyond that amount when taking into account the other properties they owned! While it was true the Jordan Group was heavily in debt, the technologies and the company staff were unique and one-of-a-kind. As long as the company still had them on board, along with enough funding, the Jordan Group would be able to regain its glory rapidly. When that happened, if the Jordan Group belonged to Charmine alone, they all had to live below her without owning any of the family shares. They would no longer receive the end-of-year dividends! Senior Jordan glared at Amelia coldly. “If you can bring out fifty billion to save the Jordan family, you can own the Jordan Group!” Amelia was speechless. She would not even be here if she had 50 billion... Senior Jordan turned to Adam. “Remember: the sole purpose of the visit is to apologize. It doesn’t matter if she’s unwilling to save the fam
McKenzie knew about the Hahn family very well. It was the only family in the country that had been listed as the ‘Ceramic Family’ and ‘National Heritage’. They had refined techniques, and the ceramics they produced were customized for the royals all over the world. Their products were limited as they were all hand-made, thus the buyers had to wait in-line. Anthony’s grandmother was a big fan of the Hahn family—she would have people queue up for her every year just so she could buy a ceramic from the Hahn family for her collection. If Charmine did return to the Jordan family, got hold of all of the family shares along with half of the Hahn family’s assets, Anthony’s grandmother would favor Charmine tremendously and would give her full support on Charmine being with Anthony. McKenzie was trying to make sure the Bailey family knew about Charmine, but after she overheard the Jordans’ conversation... It turned out that Charmine had such a powerful identity—McKenzie could not let down
Annabel lowered her head, humble as if she was a maid as she explained, “I didn’t have a choice… After I came back, I realized that my parents who had neglected me for years came back as well. They explained that they had no choice but to neglect me back then. After being an orphan for many years, all I wanted was to reunite with them and live a simple life…” “So you stayed in Burlington for five years and gave birth to Anthony’s son!?” McKenzie’s voice went louder than before, glaring at Annabel with her flaming eyes. “I can make you disappear after what you did!” … At Violet Villa. Charmine reclined on the sofa languidly as she reminded Rio, “Do take good care of Grandpa, and make sure he’s well taken care of.” “Don’t worry—Senior Jordan seemed healthier and happier after learning the truth. Do be prepared that Joey and Adam are about to come and see you, though,” informed Rio. Charmine’s eyes remained emotionless and distant. The reason she exposed Tiffany’s true colors
Instantly, the air in the villa became tense. A strange glint appeared in Annabel’s eyes when she spotted Anthony. Quickly, she avoided his eyes and cautiously asked, “Mr… Mr. Bailey, I… May I speak to you in private?” Her tone was meek and low. After a moment of hesitation, Anthony put down the document and walked out. When he walked past Charmine, he halted and reminded in a deep voice, “I’ll fix this soon. Remember what I said to you.” Charmine frowned. What did he say? He had said too many things to her… Meanwhile, Anthony said to Annabel, “Follow me.” He walked in front of her toward the rockery pond. Annabel nodded at Charmine politely before following behind him. Charmine felt unusually anxious as she stared at their retreating forms. She could clearly feel that Anthony’s interaction with Annabel was different—especially with the way he looked at her—and his action was very strange. There must have been a story between them… Furthermore, now that Anthony was wa
“You went to Royal Banquet to earn some money?” questioned Anthony in a low, hoarse voice. “I…” Annabel lowered her head guiltily. “Back then, I just returned to Burlington, and it was laborious to find a job since I didn’t graduate from university. When I saw that Royal Banquet was hiring and this job didn’t require one to be seen, I decided to work there. I didn’t think of anything else; all I wanted to do was stay at the back of the kitchen to wash dishes. I didn’t go anywhere else, but…” She recalled what happened five years ago. Her eyes zoned out as her face blushed. “A friend of mine had diarrhea on Valentine's day and asked me to help her send food to the top floor. I wanted to turn it down, but she said the guest needed the food urgently, and if it was sent late, they would cut her pay. So… “I thought I'd leave right after sending the food, but I saw that the door was left ajar. I didn’t know it was you inside, and I only wanted to close the door. However, when I walked
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