Senior Jordan looked at Charmine concernedly. He found out about what happened when he asked Adam to investigate Charmine and Anthony’s relationship. He could not step in; he wanted to let the two youngsters sort it out themselves. Little did he expect this to have come to the surface… He looked at Charmine and comforted, “Charmine, I already know what’s going on between you and Anthony. It’s a bitter relationship to you both. If you’re upset, you’re welcome to cry in front of Grandpa. Grandpa won’t laugh at you.” Charmine was swamped with work for the past few days, and hearing that from Senior Jordan filled her with warmth. “I’m fine, Grandpa,” said Charmine. “I’m not at the stage to cry yet. I’m thinking of how to make things right.” “Make things right, huh? Sigh... To be fair, nobody is at fault in this situation, no matter it was Annabel or Anthony. God was at fault; fate, I mean. Charmine, you have to think carefully. Don’t let anyone down, and don’t let yourself dow
Chris' little figure was left alone in the yard. His father had completely forgotten about him… … At the Jordan mansion. Charmine went upstairs alone after her talk with Senior Jordan. Joey looked in the direction Charmine walked away and asked worriedly, “Do we just let Charmine be alone? Why don’t we accompany her—” “No need. Leave her be for now.” Senior Jordan sighed heavily. With that, nobody went up to the second floor. They gave Charmine enough space and time.... Inside the gym. Charmine was dressed in her tight high waist pants with a sports bra. Fists balled tightly, she threw jabs and punches at the punching bag. With every punch, a huge dent appeared on the punching bag. It even flew afar before bouncing back. Her delicate and three-dimensional face had beads of sweat rolling down like diamonds. They flew along her face, dropping to her neck and collarbone. Her beauty was utterly wild and unique. Despite her beauty, however, her aura was bitter col
“Why don't we keep it simple? Just get married.” His thick and magnetic voice rang in the air. He put his account book in Charmine’s hands. Charmine was stunned. All the pain suffered by Annabel was not caused by Anthony but was caused by McKenzie instead? That...seemed plausible. That was it; McKenzie had to be the mastermind to have pulled the strings. Annabel would never have received such a hefty lash-out if it was not for her. Furthermore… Keep it simple? Just get married? Did just use those words to comfort her, to settle it? Admittedly, Charmine had been in the blues for the past few days and the problems overwhelmed her for so long, yet his solution was to get married? Seeing that she was stunned, Anthony asked in a low voice, “What? You want McKenzie to win this?” Charmine’s eyelids jumped. Let McKenzie win this? Fat chance! She would not simply compromise or fall. Still… Something seemed off. Why was that? How did she feel as if her thoughts had be
Anthony kept his account book and followed Charmine as they carefully took a different alley out, their driver already waiting for them by the side door. Once the two of them got on, the car raced away to Royal Hospital. Owned by Bailey Corporation, the hospital had the best specialists and medical professors in the country with the finest skills. However, they all stood outside a ward as they wore solemn expressions. Even Nial was frowning, his expression in a poor state. When Charmine and Anthony rushed over, the little Chris was laying on the sickbed with pipes and devices all over his body. With his face paper-white pale and mounted by an oxygen mask, Chris was no longer cheerful and energetic like his usual self. Charmine’s heart tightened instantly as she marched toward the bed and held Momo’s hand. “What happened to Momo? How did this happen?” Even when he had seizures in the past, he recovered rapidly. Why were there so many devices? Why was it difficult for hi
Anthony instantly glowered. “Nial, you studied medicine for twenty-six years. That’s all you got?” His tone was unpleasant and heavy. It was obvious he did not like his suggestion. Nial looked at him, guilty and hopeless. “I want to save Momo just as bad as you do, and I also want you and Charmine to be together. I’ve been shipping the two of you for so long! Do you think it’s easy to give such a sentence? “However, there are only three cases of this in the world, and two had died. The only one that survived was cured by cord blood. I… “Whatever, I don’t have much to say anymore. You two think it through. I’ll get medications for Momo to reduce his pain,” concluded Nial as he pushed the door and walked out, his gait obviously covered with sadness. As the door closed audibly, the tension in the room built up heavily. Charmine sat by the bedside, her chest tightened. Anthony and Annabel had to make another baby? Charmine was ready to marry Anthony just moments ago, y
Anthony was a few meters away from her, but Charmine’s determination was palpable. To Charmine, he was not as important as Chris. He should not be jealous at this time, but he was still upset. He looked at Charmine. “I have a win-win solution. I’ll fix this.” Leaving such set-in-stone, determined words, Anthony then turned to leave. Charmine was stunned by the bedside. Her lips curled up bitterly. How would there be a win-win solution at this stage? That was impossible. She turned to look at Chris, lying on the bed. She held his cold, tiny hand, and her grip tightened. He was just a young child. Why did he have to endure so much pain? No… She could not let Chris suffer! She took out her phone and dialed Dr. Weir’s phone. Dr. Weir rushed in within an hour. After checking Chris’ pulse, his brows tightened. Charmine had not seen him with such a serious expression. He did not have this expression when he treated Robert. A deep sense of uneasiness welled in her
The sky grew dark as the last sunset ray disappeared from the horizon. Nial came in again to check on Chris. He raised his eyebrows with surprise. “Momo’s symptoms are gone! How did it vanish so quickly?” “He had the pills made by Dr. Weir, but this will only ease his pain for the following two years,” replied Charmine with an indescribable emotion. The delight on Nial’s face turned a few shades duller. Charmine looked at him and asked, “Nial, will Momo be saved once we get cord blood?” “Yeah. According to the current research conclusion, cord blood contains hematopoietic stem cells that’ll quickly rebuild all the systems in Momo’s body. There’s a 90% chance,” Nial replied. A 90 percent chance was considered very high in the medical field. Along with the finest skills from specialists like Nial, if they dismissed all the possible negative situations, the success rate could be as high as 100 percent. Charmine nodded. “I understand. You take care of Momo for a while.”
The people who came were… Anthony and Annabel! Anthony brought Annabel with him? Was he not avoiding Annabel? Why did he take her with him? Behind them were Nial, Senior Jordan, Joey, and Adam. Their hearts skipped a beat when they saw Charmine sitting by the balcony. Incredible… An arrogant person like Charmine was threatening him with her life! Annabel instantly ran and stood a few meters away from Charmine. She cried out anxiously, “Ms. Jordan, please don’t do anything silly… Please don’t! President Bailey has a solution—we’ve talked things through! I’ll give birth to his baby, but we’ll use in-vitro fertilization, no interaction needed. I won’t stop the two of you from getting married; I’m just a surrogate mother! Please, I beg you, please come down…” Charmine’s eyelids twitched. Anthony disappeared for a whole day to find and talk things with Annabel, even asking her to be a surrogate mother? Anthony actually thought of such an idea? Most surprisingly, Annabel
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