Furthermore, there was barely any gap between Anthony and Charmine. She was clasped in his arms, her body tightly pressed against his. She felt as if she was engulfed by his body. Charmine tried her best to calm down as she replied, “It’s not what you think! Today—” “You were so eager to keep things clear with me on Twitter,” Anthony cut her short. “Is it because of this man?” he interrogated. God knew how pissed he was when he saw her tweet! Every word of that tweet was like a sharp knife that pierced his heart. All he wanted was to protect her, yet all she wanted was to get away from him? Furthermore, she even brought another man home? To do what? What was it that even a button had dropped? Charmine tried to explain the matter with Alexander, but the words would not come out. Anthony was already suspecting that she was with another man. If he found out that Alexander was the person that raped her and that he was following her, his misunderstanding would deepen! She
“You don’t have to investigate it. The owner of the button is someone from the Walker gang.” Anthony’s footsteps halted. Walker gang? The Walker gang that hurt Charmine? Was Charmine in touch with the Walker gang? Charmine said, “Alexander Walker had been begging for my forgiveness. Today, Derek followed me here, so to get rid of his suspicion, I had to bring Alexander in. You have nothing to worry about, though. He was the person who hurt me five years ago, and all I want to do is to rip him apart. Why would I have any feelings for him? There’s no point for you to check on it. This is my matter, and I want to fix it myself.” Anthony’s brows furrowed. He had been busy with the antidote for Annabel, little did he expect Alexander to have found Charmine. He had missed out so much? Moreover, Derek had already found Violet Villa? Charmine walked to his side and added, “I hope you don’t get involved in this matter. It’s just like how you’re fixing your matters with Annabe
At the Jordan mansion... Charmine took some time off to accompany her family for lunch. Suddenly, the butler came in and said, “Madam, the people from Jordown Group are here.” As he spoke, a man clad in a suit walked in. The man looked around the house in disgust before eyeing the dishes on the table. They were mere ordinary dishes like pasta, chicken, and salad. The man shook his head in disapproval. “Has the Jordan family stooped to such a stage, eating a poor man’s meal? Even the salad our President eats would be a hundred times better than this table full of dishes!” His tone was full of mockery and contempt. The Jordans glowered at his words. “And what are you doing here?” challenged Adam. “You’re not welcomed here.” “Hmph. Of course I don’t want to come to this poor housing area, but I don’t have a choice. Our Jordown Group is hosting a banquet, and as you’re a small and rather well-known company in Burlington, we’ll still make the gesture of sending you an inv
The man’s dislocated jaw displayed his pearly white teeth. Charmine scoffed, “You do look like a dog. Get out of my sight! Go to the hospital and cure that dog mouth of yours!” With that, she let go of his chin with disgust and took a tissue to wipe her hands, as if they were stained by something dirty. “You…don’t… Argh…!” The man wanted to growl at her, but his damaged jaw rendered him literally speechless. Even making a sound was extremely painful for him! He could only violently glare at Charmine as he then turned to leave. Hah! As long as she was attending the celebration, she would cry her eyeballs out. His President had everything planned—Charmine was sure to go bankrupt. They would see if Charmine could still be as arrogant! After he left, Felix said excitedly, “Charmine is so cool! So clever! A big celebration like this would have lots of nice dishes. It’d be a waste to not show up!” “What do you know? Do you think Charmine is just like you, he who knows only t
Charmine got out of the mansion hastily and rushed toward the gate. Adam followed behind her. “Charmine, let me drive you there.” “No need, I’ve asked my driver to come. Just settle whatever work you got,” Charmine simply found an excuse to get out of the house. She still did not want anyone to know about her relationship with Anthony. Adam felt strange. Since when did Charmine hire a driver? The concerned Joey followed after Charmine. The two of them were standing 100 meters away and saw Charmine opening the car door for herself and closed it behind her. The car raced away instantly. Adam and Joey exchanged glances, utterly baffled. What driver did Charmine hire that did not even open the door for her and made her do it herself? Also, Adam remembered that Charmine liked to roll down the windows, yet the windows were tightly shut. When the car left, they saw the number plate was a series of the same number! There were only two to three of this type of number pla
“This isn’t exposing. The cut around the chest is tight, so nothing is showing—it’s just the arm and neck. Every woman has her right to dress. I hope President Bailey isn’t too old-fashioned?” Old-fashioned? She sounded as if she was looking down on old-fashioned men. Anthony narrowed his eyes as he shifted his tone, “It’s chilly out there, don’t catch a cold.” That baffled Charmine. He helped her put on the scarf and gloves just because he was concerned about her catching a cold? Would she believe that? Anthony nonchalantly changed the topic, “You really don’t have to attend this event.” He could easily publish an article explaining to the public that Charmine had a meeting with him so she did not have time to attend this event, thus it was not due to her being too embarrassed to attend. However, Charmine merely said, “Of course I have to go. This is such a grand occasion. How can I miss out?” There was a bite to her words, a hidden meaning underneath it all. An
Those handmade scrolls, on the other hand, were made of top-graded golden scroll handles and the finest papers. The papers used were the most ancient paper available in the world, made with the most basic method used when it was first invented. The method of making these papers was very complex and mysterious. They had to use a specific tree skin, then boil it with other ingredients for 70 to 80 hours. After cooling it off, they had to mold it with all kinds of techniques. Every batch could only withstand five kilograms of tree skins, and the trees needed were not less than 1000. They needed to burn 200 kilograms of wood, with the time spent as long as three months. Since this method of making the paper was incredibly rare, this kind of paper was naturally expensive. A long scroll of paper like this would cost as much as 300,000 per piece. Eight pieces of paper would cost 2.4 million! In addition, there were golden scroll handles and white jade shafts, and all these would cos
Max walked toward Charmine and handed her a glass of wine. “Ms. Jordan is finally here, very brave indeed.” ‘Very brave indeed.’ These three words might sound as if he was praising her, but it was a backhanded mockery. The fact that she could show up to this kind of event… If it was not courage, what was it? The banquet was filled with moguls and renowned individuals in Burlington. How could the Jordans walk with their heads up? The people staring at Charmine snapped out of their trance. So, this was Charmine? While they had seen photos of Chamine when she was a supermodel, they did not know much about her. They only knew that she was a supermodel who had gone home to manage the family business. The Divine Birds had set the sky-rocketing price of one hundred fifty thousand per square meter, seemingly like the Rolls Royce in this field. However, this screwed up the rules in this industry, making it hard for everyone to survive. Who would have thought they could finally
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