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. “
The security guard frowned as he read Charmine’s name card, obviously perplexed. She—the Diamond Boss, a supermodel, and the Jordan Group’s director—came to Westfield? After a moment of hesitation, he lowered his hands. “Go ahead, but our chief will never sell this land no matter what you say. You should give up such a thought.” “Thanks.” Charmine disregarded his advice and walked into Westfield’s gates. Her main objective was to meet Max D’Cruz and see for herself what kind of man he was; it did not matter if she could convince Westfield’s chief or not. Furthermore, she had such a strong familiarity with Waverly, thus she wondered if she would feel the same for Max. She hoped to find some clues on Max. As Westfield’s walls stood tall, Westfield became somewhat like a secluded village shielded from the hustles and bustles of the city. She noted how paths made of stones were elongated across the ground inside Westfield, and it gave the impression of ancient yet natura
Just as Charmine began to formulate a plan, someone rushed up and pushed her violently. “Get out! Get out!” Charmine was forced out of Westfield’s entrance and almost fell over. She was saved by her quick-thinking and agile movement as she grabbed the tree by the side and stood on her feet steadily. Westfield’s residents instantly shut the main gate and scowled at the security guards, “Look after this gate properly, and don’t let stray dogs or cats in!” The security guards were scolded badly as they nodded. Charmine stood outside the door, frowning. Why were the residents here so vulgar? It seemed that she would need to put in some effort to win over these residents. She wondered how Max got in… As she was about to stand up straight, she realized she was stuck. Charmine lowered her head to see her heel stuck between the gap of the road, and tried as she might, she just could not break free. Kay and his men were about to come to her aid, but before they moved, a bu
The guard then threw a heavy punch toward Charmine. Charmine could not move as her heel was stuck in the gap. His fist was merely five centimeters from her face just as she was about to take out her foot from her shoe. Just as his fist nearly grazed Charmine’s face, a large hand intercepted Max’s punch. “A big man like Mr. D’Cruz dares to hit a woman? Aren’t you just shaming every other man like this?” Such words were uttered with disgust and mockery. Charmine turned to look who was talking. It was Alexander Walker… He just would not get off her back! Alexander stood by her side, his cat-like eyes boring into hers. “Sweetie, why are you even talking to a tasteless man like him? Even if your man is having a baby with another woman, there’s still a long line of men waiting to marry you. A violent man like Mr. D’Cruz will probably end up domestically abusing his wife! Haha!” Alexander glanced at Max before he, right in front of everyone, got down on one knee and helped Cha
Charmine could not find Adam’s car, even though she had gone back and forth for a while. Suddenly, Kay appeared beside her. “Boss Jordan, you don’t have to be so hostile to Alexander. We’ve investigated Alexander and found that—” “I’ve nothing to do with him,” snapped Charmine, “and you don’t have to tell me anything! If you ever make a decision for me again and let someone like him get close to me, I’ll tell your manager to take you away!” That terrified Kay so badly that he clasped a hand over his mouth. “I won’t speak, I won’t speak! But...I do want to say something. Boss Jordan, you also feel that Anthony and Annabel should be together, right? Meanwhile, you and Alexander also did it five years ago. Now that Alexander is genuinely nice to you, maybe you should—” Before he could finish, Charmine abruptly stopped walking, her figure seemingly ominous… Murderous. Kay’s back felt cold at that instance. His toes pointed as he jumped a few meters away, hiding from Charmine.
Charmine merely replied, “I don’t have time now. I’ll go to the ward to visit Robert and Grandpa.” With that, she walked into the hospital. Adam could only watch as Charmine went into the building, his eyes glossed with helplessness. He deserved to be treated coldly, considering he was the one who treated her badly from a young age, and that was probably why Charmine was swapped at birth. Charmine went through so much pain due to Adam wronging this ‘adopted daughter’ of his. All he could do was use the rest of his life and atone for his mistakes, proving how he had changed for the better to Charmine…...Charmine first went to the VIP ward for Robert. Senior Jordan kept his watchful gaze on Robert, and he was elated to see Charmine walking into the ward. “Oh, you’re here, Charmine. Have a seat!” “No need, Grandpa. I have other things to attend to, and I’ll have to fetch Momo from school. I came here to pay you two a visit. How’s Robert?” asked Charmine. “Don’t worry abo
Charmine looked into the ward through the window and saw how Anthony handed Annabel the bowl of soup. Noticing there were no tissues around Annabel, Anthony took some tissues for her. It was as though a responsible husband was taking care of his pregnant wife. Charmine, who stood outside the window, looked like an extra. Noticing Charmine’s distant gaze, Waverly comforted, “Mr. Bailey really loves you; you don’t have to be too concerned. He’s just a special friend of Annabel’s, that’s all.” Waverly’s out-of-the-blue comment brought her out of her thoughts. She looked at Waverly who was beside her, and that strong sense of familiarity was awakened again, along with an obvious feeling of despise. It felt as if standing next to Waverly disconcerted her every cell. “Have we met before, Ms. D’Cruz?” blurted Charmine. Right after she asked, Waverly’s eyes showed a glint of panic. However, it merely lasted for 0.01 second, so quick that it was almost unnoticeable. The panic q
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