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
Suddenly, Annabel paused… Thuck! She knelt on the floor. “Mr. Bailey, I want to live—I don’t want to die yet. I’ve only reconciled with my parents for five years, and I’m their only daughter. I can’t die…” Anthony spun when he heard the sound of something falling, and he saw her small figure kneeling on the ground. He reached out to pull her up. “McKenzie drugged you?” “Yes… Earlier today. She gave me your address and helped me get into Violet Villa. She said nobody would be able to make a cure for this drug, and I’ll have to take an antidote every month. If I told you about it, the worst thing you could do is to kill her while I’ll have to suffer every month…” fretted the anxious Annabel, much like a meek little sheep. Anthony frowned. His eyes darkened. Not only did McKenzie plot against Charmine, but she even went after Annabel as well? “Head home for now,” said Anthony in his low voice. “I’ll fix this.” “Alright, thank you. Thank you so much!” Annabel bowed poli
Charmine had thought of many possibilities. She thought that someone had plotted against Anthony and that the woman who slept with him was an ill-intentioned, bad person. With that, she was ready to face any challenge with Anthony together. She never would have thought, however, that the person who slept with him was a weak, innocent, and harmless woman who had endured so much pain and suffering because of Anthony… As Chris had pulled Charmine to the window, Charmine saw from where she stood how Anthony reached out his hand and helped Annabel up. Throughout their entire time knowing one another, Charmine never once saw Anthony having any body contact with any woman, yet he protected Annabel. He treated her differently… If Charmine was not in the picture at the moment, Anthony would have reunited with Annabel, and Chris would have found his actual mother… Seeing the shift in Charmine’s expression, Chris quickly pulled at her hand and appealed, “Don’t overthink it, Mommy. Daddy
Charmine, on the other hand, had only known Anthony for about three months… Anthony noted how Charmine remained quiet, and his usually cold and calm eyes became rather uneasy. He said with his hoarse and low voice, “Don’t think too much, Charmine. I’ll fix this.” “For how long?” Charmine asked, out of the blue. Anthony frowned. How long would he need? Such a question... “I don’t know exactly, but I’ll hurry.” As Annabel was drugged, he would not alert McKenzie so long as he did not have the antidote. Knowing McKenzie, Anthony knew that Annabel would have to endure more unnecessary pain if he confronted McKenzie. Anthony would remain uncertain of the future until Nial and medical professors could give him an antidote for Annabel. He would not lie about things he was uncertain of, and he would never lie to Charmine. Charmine felt as though a cat’s claw tore at her heart; she could see that Anthony was extremely careful this time. The usually decisive Anthony had become
Matcha cake. Again. When they were younger, Tiffany did not like matcha cake and would always give it to Charmine. As the adopted daughter, she had no courage to turn it down, and so she forced herself to eat it every time. After a while, everyone assumed she liked matcha cakes. Nobody truly knew what she liked. It was hilarious thinking back at it. “I never liked matcha cake,” came Charmine’s simple reply. Joey’s hands halted mid-air. She did not know whether to take it back or hand the matcha cake to her. She had always thought that Charmine liked matcha cake, but she never did? So they never knew what Charmine actually liked? After a while, Joey took back the cake and said, “It’s okay, we’ll buy you something you like next time. We’ll spend more time understanding you better…” “No need,” Charmine monotonously turned them down.“Charmine, we know you still hate us,” blurted Adam. “It turns out we’re the ones who were in the wrong, mistreating you. Now that we learne
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