Charmine frowned. This man said he was fine when he was, in fact, obviously jealous! He was very jealous! She quickly explained, “You misunderstood. I was only collaborating with William in making a medication. Uncle Pop was there all along. We were properly inventing a medication!” “What, unless you thought of doing things that aren’t proper?” replied Anthony. Charmine was speechless. When the man got jealous, what else could the woman do? She reached out to wrap her arm around Anthony’s arm. She lowered her voice and tried her best to speak gentler, “Hey, I’m telling you the truth. Uncle Pop was my witness. Furthermore, we have our marriage certificate. What’s there for you to be worried about?” Anthony’s face remained cold. “Last year, there were nine thousand, four hundred and seventy-one thousand couples, but four thousand, one hundred and fifty-four thousand divorce cases. The rate of divorce is as high as forty-three percent. Even if couples got married, half of them
Anthony was punishing Charmine with an arrogant kiss. “I warned you the other time that if you get close with another man, I won’t let you off easy. It seems that you really want that punishment!” With that said, he kissed her briskly like a whirlwind as he pulled at her camisole. Charmine did not know where she got the strength from, but she pushed him and took charge instead. She glared at him from above. “Snap out of it, Anthony. I can give it to you, but not under such conditions! You misunderstood me, and that means you don’t have enough trust in me!” Angered, she stood up and was ready to leave. She pulled a long bed robe and wrapped it around her body before going out of the door. The moment she shut the door, a large hand suddenly came out, ready to hold the door open. With a loud ‘thump’, the door closed onto his four fingers. Charmine clearly felt it. When she looked back, Anthony’s face had turned green. His four knuckles were bruised. Her chest tig
“Between now and then, I’ll keep my distance from him.” Anthony frowned. Selective amnesia drug?Well, it would be ideal if Julian and Alexander could forget about her body. However… “How long is this project going to take?” “Well...” Thinking it through, Charmine hooked her hands around his neck. “The duration isn’t certain, but what happened today was an accident. I’ll only spend a maximum of four hours there every day. If you really do mind, I could bring you along?” Bring him along? Anthony’s face eased. He carried her to the bed. “No need. Four hours? I’ll check on you anytime,” he spoke, placing her on the bed as he did and gazed at her. “If I realize you two have any intimate action, I’ll punish you.” Before Charmine could assess what Anthony meant by ‘punishment’, he kissed her again, but he managed to hold himself back before he got too heated. Charmine could feel his restraint. It stung her heart, knowing he was holding it back.“Actually, you don’t ha
She saw Anthony and Charmine by the door. The two still had pajamas on—one was in black and the other in burgundy. The silk material made them look lavish. However, Charmine’s collar was lower. Just a look, one could clearly see a lot of hickies on her neck. That left very few discrepancies as to what they did last night. Seeing that Waverly was sizing her up, Charmine’s red lips parted as she spoke, “Apologies. I wonder who complained to my man and told him that I had flings with another man. He was so angry that he punished me to his liking.” She emphasized the word ‘punish’ as she spoke. Waverly’s face turned green. She clenched her fists and tried to repress her anger. “What do you want this early in the morning for?” “We want you to accompany Anthony for a press conference,” spoke Charmine as she handed her a document. When Waverly accepted the document and read the content, it was all about the Jordan Group! Waverly was asked to announce with Anthony that the
“Your verified daughter-in-law caused problems. Are you not going to save her?” replied Charmine calmly. Susan halted. Waverly? What did she do this time? Charmine said, “Waverly asked people to spread the rumors of how the man in black was instructed by someone else, that whoever it is won’t let go of the Jordan Group and will harm more lives. Now that I can’t keep the staff in my company, don’t you think I have to fix it?” Susan’s face sank. Waverly actually did such a thing? She spread that the person behind was evil, that whoever it was would harm many more? Was she not referring to her? To save herself, after the man in black was caught, they only said it was some personal grudges. When they announced it to the public, the man in black did not show his face. With what Waverly had done, the man in black would have to explain to the public, and it might backfire for Susan! Charmine toyed with her dainty nails as she warned, “Mrs. Bailey, if you don’t come, I’ll have
Luke came with the car not long after. Anthony looked at Charmine. “Come with us?” His tone was inviting. “No need,” declined Charmine simply. “I have a driver. You guys can go ahead and help me set up.” She fixed Anthony’s uncrumpled collar, sounding like she could care less. Thinking of how this press conference was made for the Jordan Group, he had to agree. He went out with Waverly. Waverly followed right behind him. Even though she looked elegant outwardly, she was devastated on the inside. This press conference was hosted for the Jordan Group! It was to help save the Jordan Group! Even though she hated Charmine, she had no choice but to participate in it. The feeling was, nonetheless, still devastating. Luckily, she had something up her sleeve…... More and more people started arriving at the press conference venue. Charmine sat in the car driven by Kay, intending to go straight for the press conference when an assistant came toward her. “Ms. Jordan, Mr
“You… You...!” How frustrating! Susan wanted to yell at her, but Charmine had let go of her hand. “As for the outcome, I, Charmine, only care about the present!” With that said, she walked outside. Susan raised the glass, wanting to splash the water at her. Then, Charmine took out her phone, clicked on the Whatsapp icon, and walked as she left a voice message, “Darling, didn’t you say you want to give me the three companies? You may—” “Enough! Shut up! Shut up!” growled Susan. With a loud bang, the glass was placed back on the table. “Get out of my sight! I’ll pretend as if I didn’t see you today!” Charmine’s red lips curled up into a stunning smile as she walked away. She wanted to hurt her? Did she think she could actually harm her? Aggravated, Susan sat on the sofa as she panted heavily. Utterly enraging! She wanted to teach Charmine a lesson before the press conference, wanting it to be harsh when Charmine did a 180-degree and agitated her instead. Aft
Under everyone’s keen gaze, Charmine walked to the front row calmly. Anthony and Waverly were standing there. She reached out her hand genially. “Mr. Bailey, Ms. Waverly.” Her tone was very ordinary, as if she was nothing more than a regular collaborator. Anthony reached out his hand calmly and shook hands with her in front of everyone. At an angle where nobody could see, his thumb gently caressed her palm. Charmine’s heart skipped a beat. This man had the audacity and did that in front of everyone! She instantly retrieved her hand and went to shake hands with Waverly. Sitting close by, Waverly could see everything they did. There were so many reporters, yet they were so loving in front of her! How could they have so much fun while everyone made fun of her? Anger welled within her, but she maintained a poise expression outwardly as she elegantly shook hands with Charmine. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Waverly added strength into her handshake with hatred burn
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