Adam replied, “Basically, the Divine Bird’s thousand units were all sold out. The management team came to examine, and they said they wanted to discuss some things over a meal. They set the time at six tonight, do you have time?” “Okay.” As Anthony was dealing with matters regarding Annabel, he should not be done with them before six. By the time he came home, it would be almost twelve. It should be fine for Charmine to have a work-related dinner before coming home. After hanging up, she found a working outfit to put on. When she realized how she nitpicked at her clothes, she internally sneered at herself. ‘Oh, Charmine, since when have you turned into a woman who pleases others?’ She forced herself to be more rational. After putting on some light makeup, she left the house. As she slowly closed the door, she glanced at the festive red-splashed bedroom and felt like it was all an out-of-body experience. She was no longer a single woman—she was a married woman. When she
Charmine was not intimidated at all. She leaned back on the chair languidly. “Evidence? You and I know better; I can’t be bothered to pull and push with you. I stand with what I’ve said: I won’t cooperate with you. The Jordan Group would never cooperate with your Jordown Group. If you want me to provide you with the materials, can you give me seventy percent of your shares?” “Seventy? You’re practically robbing us, Charmine.” Max’s expression grew dark like burnt ashes. He glared at Charmine resentfully as if he could kill her. As the Jordown Group’s Director and President, he had never given out any shares, let alone letting others have more shares than him, yet Charmine asked for 70 percent of the company’s shares? Charmine met his gaze evenly. “Didn’t you ask for the entire Jordan Group? I leave you with 30 percent as a kind gesture to these two men here. Didn’t you say you’re a D’Cruz and you lack no money? The seventy percent I requested won’t cost you anything anyway.”
All of a sudden, there were urgent knocks coming from the outside. As though caught red-handed, Max’s hand jolted slightly as he looked out of the door. A waiter walked in with some appetizers and placed them on the table. Max smirked. “A fine cup of tea with some fine appetizers,” he remarked, “what a pleasure. Come, let’s dig in.” Heavy subjects were dropped right after and they drank the tea Max prepared. Time passed, and it was 9pm. Mr. Warren and Mr. Hahn bid them farewell. Before they left, they said to Charmine, “You two should talk; Burlington needs developers like you both. It should be a win-win project, making Burlington even more prosperous.” “Okay,” Charmine agreed. She genuinely wanted Burlington to be more prosperous, and she would not allow the developments and economics to end up with an outsider like Max! Charmine saw both men out the door and intended to walk away herself, not wanting to speak to Max. Supporting his daughter’s decision, Adam fo
Charmine and Adam would be finished if nothing was done. The Jordan family would be ruined. This would also affect the Divine Bird’s and the Jordan Group’s reputation... The aloof Max played with his ring, though his bitter gaze remained on her. “What is it, Charmine? Have you thought it through? Do you want to keep your materials, or your reputation? It’s not too late if you make your decision now, it’s still not too late,” his tone was evidently assertive as he spoke. However, Charmine’s red lips suddenly curled up. “The person who should make a decision is you.” With that said, her seemingly softened body on the sofa suddenly stood back upright elegantly. Max’s eyelids flung wide open. “You’re not drugged?” “You dare try a cheap trick in front of me? Hah!” Charmine scoffed disdainfully. She was dead sure Max attempted to drug them when she saw Max pouring the tea, and she thus signaled Kay to have the waiter bring in the appetizers. When the waiter knocked on the do
After the woman received the check from Charmine, she sashayed into the room Max was in. Charmine locked the door again and instructed Kay, “Keep an eye on the door and windows. Don’t give Max any chance to escape.” Max wanted her and her father to have incest through his drug... How could she let him go unscathed if he had the guts to push to such a limit? Furthermore, if she did not have something to hold against Max, it would be even harder to deal with this kind of evil person in the future. Adam looked at Charmine, concerned. “Is it okay to do this? What if he wants revenge…?” “If I don’t do this, will he let me off?” Charmine refuted. That caught Adam off-guard; she was right. Max would do anything to get the materials they had. Instead of defending, why not attack? Mystified, he glanced at Charmine. Since when had this ‘embarrassing and shameful adopted daughter’ in his memory turned into such an unperturbed and powerful woman? He used to think that Tiffany w
Despite being held at gunpoint and Max about to pull the trigger, Charmine merely smirked. “Before you pull the trigger, I hope you have a look at this first.” With that, she turned the tablet to show Max. On the screen was the video of Max having intercourse with the middle-aged woman. Though the middle-aged woman had loose fats all over, Max did not mind at all as he enjoyed himself thoroughly in the video. Max nearly barfed at the scene, his gaze heated and livid. “Charmine Jordan, delete that right away! Delete it! I’ll kill you now if you don’t!” “I’ve sent this clip to my people online. If anything happens to me, this clip will go public. By all means, go ahead!” Charmine was unafraid to meet his gaze. She remained unperturbed as if the weapon aimed at her was nonexistent. Max’s fists turned white as green veins protrude on the back of his arms. Charmine was actually threatening him! She was threatening him with such an evil move!If this clip went public, his repu
Max almost threw up blood. He was so furious that his organs felt like they were minced altogether. Charmine asked for 92 percent of his shares in return for a short period of peace and got to keep the evidence as well? His large hand clenched tightly as bitter-cold anger emanated from him. “Don’t push me, Charmine. If you offend the D’Cruz family, you won’t end up well.” “If you offend me, would you end up well?” Charmine scoffed at him coldly, her eyes mockingly lingered on his body. She eyed his shredded clothes. Hilarious how eager he was just moments ago! Max knew what she was thinking, and he saw red. Charmine Jordan... He would never let her go easy! Alas... “Fine! Have it your way, then.” Evidence, huh? Threat? If she could threaten him, he could also do the same! The D’Cruz family would never let Charmine go!That same night, Max signed the share-transfer paper. The once-powerful Jordown Group ended up giving 92 percent of their shares to Charmine,
At Royal Hospital... Annabel laid weakly on the bed after having a poison attack, her pale and small face almost paper-white. Her parents watched after her, taking care of her as she did. Meanwhile, Anthony, Waverly, and Nial were researching an antidote inside the medical lab. They had not eaten throughout the day… Although this poison would not be passed on to the embryo, it could harm Annabel’s body every time it attacked and could result in a miscarriage. An antidote, thus, was a priority. After doing a series of procedures, Waverly looked at the clock that pointed to 12pm. She asked, “Why don’t you just get the antidote from the person who drugged her?” Anthony remained calm and cold, not answering her question. He knew McKenzie’s personality and tactic all too well. If he went up to McKenzie, she would negotiate instead of handing out the antidote. If this went up to the Bailey family, the Baileys might even support McKenzie. They might even attack 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