It was Julian. Why did Julian come to this restaurant, and on this day no less? While Charmine was unprepared for that, she looked at Julian as if looking at a familiar dog running by. After a moment of suspicion, she looked away and no longer cared. The server brought over her steak and some smaller dishes. Perhaps they assumed that they were a couple, thus they gave them complimentary lamb chops. The lamb chops were shaped like a heart, appetizingly drizzled with black and ground pepper sauce. When Tristan saw this, his carefree look mellowed down a little. “We used to come here together, and we loved this lamb chop.” Charmine made a soft response and continued eating her steak. Tristan looked up at her. “Hey, don’t you wanna ask why? Why don’t you ask me how we broke up, or why we ended up like this?” “I’m not interested in others’ stories. I’m never interested,” Charmine answered stiffly. Since she would not owe Tristan anything after this meal, he might as well be
Was Anthony not enough that Charmine just had to seduce another man? She was that willing to drink wine and dine with another man instead of meeting him? Displeased, Julian got up and walked over to their table. “Good job, Charmine.” Charmine moved her chair away in disgust at the sight of Julian, glaring at him sharply. “Go away.” “How dare you!” Julian’s face darkened. How could Charmine speak to him with that tone? He glared at her. “Don’t forget, Charmine, that I was once your fiancé! You dated so many men behind my back and left me! How could you be so easy?” What he meant was… Before Charmine could refute, Julian continued, “I know you hate me, but I’ve apologized to you more than once. I genuinely want to get back with you. Can you stop being so hard on yourself?” Bam! Charmine abruptly slammed her fork on the table as she gave him a dirty stare. “Being easy on myself is when I’m still in touch with you! Can’t you tell how much I hate you? You’re like a disgu
Thinking of Charmine’s decision to end their partnership, Julian knew why she did so. He scoffed coldly, “Do you think Anthony will help you after this little rendezvous of yours, Charmine? Do you think this man will forgive you like I do? What family is President Bailey from? Why would he accept an unchaste woman like you? I’m looking forward to seeing how ugly you’d be crying. I’d like to see where you can get better materials from!” Julian then took out his phone to dial Luke’s number. Sure, he did not have Anthony’s contact number, but having Luke’s contact number was enough! The call went through quickly, and Julian said to Luke, “Pass this message to President Bailey: Charmine is having a date with another man in Vineman Restaurant.” Luke, on the other end of the call, was so terrified that he almost dropped his phone. Anthony had not been in a good mood in the past few days, yet Charmine was having a date with another man? Back in the restaurant, Charmine was unfazed
Charmine would surely look for him once Anthony dumped her! Frowning, Tristan spoke to Charmine, “Are you not going to explain yourself? Or are you trying to get with me?” Charmine kept silent as she eyed Anthony. Was Anthony not even going to ask her anything? Would he not spare her one chance and, instead, wanted her gone? Where to? What would he do to her? Charmine felt uneasy. She did not expect him to be this kind of man! At that moment, two bodyguards walked toward Julian, grabbed him, and pulled him away. Everyone was shocked. Anthony wanted Julian out of his sight? Julian was just as shocked as he struggled. “Did you guys grab the wrong person? You’re supposed to grab Charmine!” he growled. “Charmine betrayed your President Bailey! President Bailey, please say something!” Anthony looked at him with his dark and oppressive eyes, his lips parted slightly, “They’re right. I want you out of my sight.” Him? Julain halted, still struggling to get away. He as
Charmine leaned against Anthony languidly, her hands on her waist as she raised her eyebrows at Julian. Hah! Did he not say Anthony would dump her, that he would not support her? She wanted Julian to realize how shameless he was! He wanted Julian to know what true love was! Julian’s assumptions, as she thought of it again, disgusted her. The baffled, stunned Julian was dragged out of the restaurant. Why was Anthony so protective of Charmine? Charmine cheated on him, yet he still chose to side with her? “President Bailey, what do you see in her that makes you want to show her such kindness? I reported to you for your own good! How could you cut out the Cabell family just like this?!” Anthony did not answer him as if he did not hear him, merely speaking to Charmine with his arm still around her waist, “Whatever the Jordan family needs, just tell me. I’ll do my best to satisfy you.” His tone was saccharine sweet. Charmine’s red lips curled up. “There’s nothing much actu
Did this man have to be so possessive? After Anthony gave instructions to his men, he looked at her and asked, “Do you want others to know about our collaboration?” He was willing to provide everything for Charmine, but he did not know what she felt about it. He knew Charmine was just acting in front of Julian like he did. Charmine said, “Of course we’ll officiate our collaboration, but… The collaboration between the Baileys and Jordans shouldn’t reveal our relationship no matter what.” Anthony frowned. So she wanted his resources and not his person? Was he not as good as his resources? Unusually upset, Anthony muttered, “Charmine, we’ve been secretive about our relationship for so long now. When do you plan on officiating our relationship? Am I such an embarrassment to you?” His hoarse voice was laced with a hint of displeasure. Charmine looked at him and felt as if she had treated him wrongly. At the thought of everything that had happened, however, her eyes d
Anthony gazed at Charmine’s hardened expression for a moment, and it was only after a while did his lips part as he spoke, “Alright. As you wish.” Four words, spoken with a hint of repressed love. Anthony found himself doing his best to fulfill her wishes, but... “I’ve got one condition, however. If I still don’t fall for Annabel in ten days, we’ll get married on the eleventh day, and announce our marriage to the public.” Charmine frowned. Get married that fast, and had it announced to the public? However, Anthony did mention this before. It was apparent that he was insistent about it. If he did not get back with Annabel, and if he really liked Charmine… She met his gaze. “Deal! If you’re still as certain in ten days, I’ll wait for you at the place to sign for a marriage license.” Anthony’s lips parted, “Remember your promise, Charmine.” He was certain—very certain he would never get back with Annabel. He looked forward to that day. Ten more days. Charmine got of
“There’s no hurry; we can eat slowly. It doesn’t matter if we finish late.” After all, they would not be able to meet for the next ten days after this meal. He would rather the time stopped at this second forever. Seeing through his intention, Charmine took the fork from him and forked herself another piece of fruit. She did not want to spend too much time on this meal. The longer it was, the harder it would be to part with him. She would rather get it over with quickly. With that in mind, Charmine ate much faster. Anthony looked at her and frowned. Was she that impatient to part with him? He lost his appetite at the thought. Charmine eventually finished the fruit pieces on her plate, but when she looked up, she noticed that the food on Anthony’s plate did not decrease at all. The untouched beef steak seemed to stare Charmine in the face as though it could have said, “If this meal is unfinished, does that mean we’d never have to part?” Anthony’s gaze never wavered fro
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