With that, Waverly stood up and opened the door. “You two may come in,” she said to Charmine and Nial who were outside. When the two of them walked into the ward, Charmine took a look at Annabel who was on the bed and asked, “How was it?” “The situation is quite severe. Patient Annabel seems calm and collected on the surface, but she had suppressed too many things in her heart and that caused her protective will to be extraordinarily strong, worsening her health. As for her mental health, it needs to be fixed from the root,” concluded Waverly. Charmine frowned. Suppressed too many things inside her heart? She nearly got together with Anthony officially ten years ago, yet she was forced to leave her home country to a foreign land. After coming back five years ago, such a thing happened to her, and she was everyone’s favorite joke in the past five years… As if that was not enough, she had to be a hidden surrogate mother now. If Charmine was in her shoes, she would not accept th
Another request? “Please, tell me,” replied Charmine. Waverly shifted her gaze to Annabel. “This patient's illness is extremely severe. I need a presidential suite near Royal Hospital with complete camera surveillance so I can check on the patient whenever. “Moreover, make the payment of five hundred million as a deposit. No matter if she’s cured or not, this won’t be refunded.” Charmine frowned. 500,000,000 bucks, just as a deposit? Britney explained, “Our Ms. D’Cruz’s outpatient fees is a hundred million. No matter who she’s seeing, a five million deposit will be collected. Furthermore, after the patient is cured, other than the seven-colored stones you’ve promised, you need to make the remaining payment of two billion.” Two billion bucks! In addition to the colored stones, it would take almost a hundred billion to cure a patient! A godly doctor with such a sky-high price... Annabel had never heard of so much money involved. “You don’t have to cure me, Ms. Jordan,”
Tiffany’s evil and dark stared at Charmine unblinkingly as her gaze was filled with hatred. “Charmine…I’m back…” she growled. “I came back for revenge! I want you dead!” As her sinister words rang in the air, Tiffany suddenly launched at Charmine. Her pale face was suddenly right in front of Charmine’s! “Argh!” Charmine shot up at that instant. She looked around the inside of the car and wiped off her sweat. Just a dream… Thank goodness it was just a dream. Nonetheless, why would she have such a dream out of nowhere? She was unafraid of Tiffany, and she never thought of Tiffany. She should not have that dream, logically speaking. “Mommy! Mommy!” A child’s voice called out to her. Charmine snapped out of her thoughts and realized that the car was already at Violet Villa’s driveway. Chris and Anthony were waiting for her by the gate. She opened the door and instructed Kay, “Keep a close eye on Tiffany, and let me know once you find anything. Also, dig deeper into
Acting compliant, Anthony walked toward Charmine and stood next to her. Charmine felt utterly cheated. She would have slammed a hammer on Anthony if Chris was not there in front of her! Why did Anthony not discipline his child? He and his son were setting her up! However, for Chris’ wellbeing, she would not turn him down. She had to compromise and gave a gentle peck on Anthony’s face. Somehow, Chris had a phone in his hand. Click! He took a photo. The photo came out rather beautifully, as though they were a couple in love. He clapped his hands joyfully. “Daddy and Mommy are so loving! I’ll take ninety-nine photos and make a photo book!” Charmine frowned. Photobook? What was that? Chris explained knowingly, “It’s an idea from a kindergarten friend! He’s doing a business to help everyone print out their photos and make them into books. Still, I think what he’s making is too ugly, so I’ll ask Uncle Luke to make a high-standard version. It’ll be awesome for sure!” Wit
Waverly sat by Annabel’s bedside, dressed in an emerald lace palace-styled dress. She was elegant and regal as if she was from the oil painting of European royalty. She placed Annabel into a trance, her voice gentle like the breeze, strangely soothing. It sounded like a gentle breeze in the wild; like the soft and fluffy snow; like the streaming water. Any other person would be at ease with Waverly’s voice, yet Annabel seemed unsettled. Her brows furrowed tightly as if she had some unresolved issues in her. Nial was in the surveillance room as he monitored the situation. “Bro, Annabel might not be able to conceive at this rate,” he spoke solemnly. Apart from a healthy body, conceiving a baby needed one to have her body and emotions at complete peace. Otherwise, even after conceiving, one could easily have a miscarriage. Frowning, Anthony asked with a heavy tone, “What’s there for her to not let go of? You fix that.” “W—What? Bro, have you given all of your emotional qu
For the time being, Dr. Weir’s medication kept Chris’ illness in check, but his illness would worsen once he stopped the dosage. Waverly basically implied Anthony was Annabel’s ‘mental antidote’, but he refused to be so. Anthony’s lips parted, “Just do your best, Ms. D’Cruz. Everything will follow its course.” They could always retry it if they failed. Chris’ illness did not have to be cured in the following one or two months. Waverly said nothing else, considering how determined Anthony was. “Where’s your research lab?” she spoke, changing the topic. “I'll have a look.” Nial instantly led the way. One more person on the research team would give more hope. Furthermore, with Waverly’s high-up and world-renowned reputation, she must be quite capable. The three of them went into the lab. … Inside one of the Jordan Group’s offices. Charmine was sorting out a pile of documents. Unable to shake off the matters regarding Annabel, she texted Anthony. [How’s it going?] [
Once Brandon left the office, Charmine phoned Kay and asked, “How’s the background check on Waverly D’Cruz going?” “I was about to call you. The D’Cruz family is too mysterious. They’ve never made any public appearances nor had they attended any public event, especially Waverly—there’s almost no record of her. She had never made any public appearance either. She just popped out of nowhere it seems, and she suddenly became world-renowned just like that. I speculate her appearance is to help Max D’Cruz develop in this country,” Kay replied. That did not sit well with Charmine. “Help Max D’Cruz to develop in this country?” “Speaking of which, that’s mysterious on its own too. Max is a genius business bigshot, never interested in business since young and focused on commerce. He owned up to sixty percent of the real estate development in Burlington. From this year onward, he suddenly became involved in many real estate developments overseas, he’s ambitious. In this recent month, he ha
Indeed, Max came to Burlington to get into real estate. However…. Waverly looked up to meet Anthony’s eyes. “Yes, that’s right, but I never get involved with his matters. May I know why Mr. Bailey asked?” “My wife’s company is into the rest estate as well, and she might have some competition with your brother. Do you mind?” Anthony asked. His eyes were filled with love when he called Charmine his wife. Waverly’s lips curled into a gentle and beautiful smile. “You don’t have to worry. I’m an adult, and if I promised to help the patient, I’ll keep my promise. I won’t be affected by unnecessary emotions. “Furthermore, my brother is a businessman, and he needs to make money. So do you. It’s normal to have conflict business-wise; it’s just how it is. If my brother lost, it’s on him for not being capable.” Her words were considerate and generous, and along with her faint smile, it made one like her more. “Ms. D’Cruz is very understanding,” praised Anthony, a rare feat indeed. “
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