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
“Yes, and you don’t have to feel like you owe me. What happened between President Bailey and I was an accident. Other than this, the time we spent together was less than you did with him. You also know that even if I marry into the Bailey family, how would the Baileys approve of me with who I am? How can I get past McKenzie? “Instead of being entangled with the Bailey family’s internal conflict, why not live a quiet and peaceful life with my parents? Therefore, Ms. Jordan, you and President Bailey should stay together. I fully support you two together.” Annabel gazed at Charmine with her doe-like eyes, sincere and encouraging. Charmine felt that everything was happening too suddenly; everything had changed so suddenly. Was this the so-called ‘things will develop in the opposite direction once they reach the most extreme point’? Despite what happened, however, Charmine felt like something was off as she looked at Annabel’s innocent face. She felt uneasy, restless... Notic
Charmine did not understand it. “I’m not looking down on you,” she spoke to Anthony, “it’s just that getting married is a big deal. We’ll talk about it later. Take care of Momo for now, and we’ll talk when it’s all sorted.” Anthony still wanted to talk about it, but Charmine squirmed out of his hold and walked downstairs. Anthony’s eyes darkened; she was avoiding him. When Charmine got back to the ward, she saw that the devices on Chris were removed. Still on the bed, Chris’ adorable eyes blinked. He was awake! “Momo!” Charmine instantly rushed toward him. Chris instantly spotted Charmine running toward him. Eyes glossed with tears, his little figure jumped up from the bed and launched into her hug. Charmine caught him steadily, embracing his warm being. Her nose tingled. The weak and breathless Chris had woken up! The feeling of gaining after losses filled up her heart. Chris practically glued himself to her, his doe eyes filled with tears as though they would
Hearing that, Charmine’s chest tightened. “Alright, Mommy and Daddy will sleep with you,” comforted Charmine. “We won’t leave you alone.” “Yay!” Chris jumped up happily and crawled back to the bed, tidying it, As he had a VIP ward, the comfortable bed was 1.8 meters wide. There was plenty of space even as Chris, Charmine, and Anthony laid down. Charmine looked at Anthony. “Go and wash up first. I’ll accompany Momo.” Anthony’s eyes darkened. They would all at last share a bed? What an abrupt yet welcomed joyous feat… Charmine noticed how Anthony was rooted where he was and eyed him. “What? Haven’t seen me for a few days and you don’t want to sleep with me anymore?” Anthony recomposed his thoughts and walked into the bathroom. Charmine averted her eyes. It was no big deal—they would just share a bed. As long as Chris was happy, there was nothing to complain about. Charmine shifted her attention to Chris. “Right, Momo, what was it? What happened to you today? How did t
Charmine quickly looked away as she said to Chris, “Daddy will put you to sleep while Mommy will go wash up, okay?” “Okay!” replied Chris obediently. Charmine quickly let go of Chris, walked past Anthony, and rushed into the washroom. Anthony saw how she avoided him, and his lips curled up unknowingly. Chris and Anthony were left in the room. Chris suddenly reached out his hand and beckoned toward him. “Come closer, Daddy, I want to tell you something.” Anthony frowned. This little cheeky just recovered—what ideas did he have? He sat down by the side while drying his hair with the towel. Chris went beside him and, in a hushed voice, spoke, “Daddy, I know about you making another baby with Auntie Annabel. I know everything.” Anthony’s expression changed. He knew? “I was still conscious though I fainted. I don’t mind it if you and Auntie Annabel make another baby, considering that I want to live past eight to grow old with Mommy. I want to be with Mommy forever,” exp
She thoughtfully massaged Anthony by his thigh and asked, “Where exactly does it hurt? Up here, or do I go down?” “Up,” replied Anthony with a straight face. Charmine’s hand went up a bit, but she did not notice how intimate they were at that moment. Chris, who was by the side, used his phone and took some photos. Clack! Clack! Clack! “I’m just recording how loving we are as a family of three!” said Chris as he took their photos. Inwardly, however, he impishly grinned from ear to ear. ‘Hehe! With such an intimate photo of Daddy and Mommy, nobody would want Mommy anymore! While this is technically wrong to do, I want Daddy and Mommy to be together forever!’ Charmine saw how joyful he was with that grin of his as he took photos, thus she merely let him be. The three of them were so loving. However, tomorrow morning, Anthony and Annabel would make a test tube baby… Another woman was about to bear Anthony’s child… McKenzie seethed at the thought that night. Inside t
McAmor saw the vengeful expression McKenzie had and felt fear prickling at her. “Sister, you’ve seemed to have changed recently. Get some rest, and calm down.” With that, McAmor left hurriedly. Startled with McAmor’s words, McKenzie looked in the mirror and was met with a bitter, envious, and furious version of herself. Her negative emotions overwhelmed her and stripped her of her elegance and grace. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Since when had she turned into such an unfamiliar person? Was she not highly celebrated? Was she not elegant like the swan soaring through the clouds, like the white snow on a tall mountain? Since when had she turned into this? It was all Charmine...! Charmine ruined her plans! She would have gotten engaged with Anthony, yet Charmine forced her to turn into this! McKenzie had reached her limit. She would not allow their plan to succeed!... The night sky darkened, engulfing the entire world in its darkness. There was a ward painted in p
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