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
Mrs. Bailey, as in Susan Bailey? Her assistant took thirteen lives? Behind the stage, Susan’s hands clenched tightly. She really did not want to be seen in a press conference like this, but faced with Charmine’s threat, she had no choice but to walk out and stand on the platform. An assistant handed a microphone to Susan. She accepted and said to the people below, “Yes, Anthony is right. Indeed, my assistant persuaded the people to commit suicide, but this has nothing to do with me—it’s between him and Charmine due to certain grudges. “Since the Bailey Corporation and the Jordan Group are partners, we always have a few meetings, and it was during one of those meetings that Samson fell for Charmine and tried to chase her. “However, Charmine ruthlessly rejected him, shifting Samson’s adoration into hatred. He attacked the Jordan Group in an attempt to get revenge.” After hearing what she said, everyone in the audience was shocked. There was such a story behind the thirt
There were all reporters from Kansas. Barging into the venue, they raised their microphones and challenged, “Mr. Bailey, may I ask why you said our Kansas’ No.1 Wealthy Heiress was lying? What evidence do you have?” “Your engagement with Ms. Waverly helped to seal the deal between the two countries. Are you neglecting her after achieving so?” “Could you give us an explanation for the way you treated Ms. Waverly and the people from Kansas?” “There are only a few staff resigning, and you’re hosting a big press conference. Why didn’t you host a press conference for Ms. Waverly?” “Who’s your actual fiancée?” Each question was strongly and clearly articulated. The local reporters realized, too. These were the actual questions they wanted to ask—they had no interest in this insurance! Relationships made better gossip! With that, everyone below the stage turned their gazes to the people on the stage with speculations and doubts. Charmine frowned. So many people showed
As Anthony was about to push her away, the corner of his eyes caught Charmine’s expression. Charmine gently lowered her eyes unnoticeably. Was that a look of compliance? She was okay with him French-kissing another woman!? Was she wanting to get punished again? Charmine was worried he would genuinely push Waverly away, distressed that the situation would get out of hand. She gave another look at Anthony. Her eyes glint faintly: collusive, calculative, and playful. Anthony successfully read her. He vaguely understood that she had some other plans. He was intrigued. In this situation, what other plans could she have? Facing all the reporters below the stage, Anthony had to lower his face, slowly closing on Waverly’s lips, steadily… That speed, it was as if time had stopped. The initially rambunctious crowd fell deathly silent, quiet as they watched the scene. Was Anthony about to kiss Waverly? Were they about to kiss…? Susan was only satisfied by that. Wonderf
Susan walked toward them. “Fredrick, do have a thorough check. Find out why Waverly faints!” She was fine all the while. Why did she suddenly faint? Charmine must have done something. If Charmine actually attacked Waverly in this public event, Charmine would be over! Unfortunately… After doing a series of checks, Fredrick frowned as he confessed, “Waverly had anemia. It’s caused by the lack of nutrients in her body.” That shocked everyone. That was it—just Waverly with anemia? “Father, did you actually check?” asked Max in disbelief. “She just has a weak pulse. Don’t make random guesses.” Fredrick did not believe it, but that was the truth. “No need for an ambulance, Anthony,” he decided, “just take Waverly home and care for her.” “Okay.” Anthony seemed to have worried about Waverly as he removed his suit and covered Waverly with it. He carried her and walked out with her in his arms. Since they did not kiss, even a hug was a good ending. It helped that he had
Waverly’s face stiffened abruptly as gazed at Susan, displeased. “Auntie Susan, is this how you’re speaking to me? Aren’t you forgetting something?” Susan frowned. Waverly continued, “Don’t forget: I’m the heiress of the D’Cruz family from Kansas. The D’Cruz family is a noble family equivalent to royalty.” In other words, she was equivalent to a princess, yet Susan spoke to her with such an attitude? She stared at Susan and reminded her, “I just planned on being their decoy from the start, but it was you who insisted on matching us, hoping we’d get engaged soon. To be fair, Anthony has a son and relations with Charmine. I’m chaste, and it’s my loss to get engaged with him! It all came to this point, and I didn’t want it either. I’m upset. How can you, as my future mother-in-law, condemn me instead of comforting me?” Her tone was of a warning, lecturing tone. Susan’s face stiffened. She felt her cheeks turned hot and painful. Was Waverly lecturing her, speaking of her son
“Do let me know if I can do anything for you,” offered McKenzie. “However busy I am, I’ll make time to help.” Susan was delighted. McKenzie truly was the best, one less trickier and less fussy. She would have matched McKenzie with Anthony had it not been for Waverly inserting herself in the picture. She said, “So, I guess you’ve seen the news lately? Anthony is in a relationship with Waverly, but it’s ingenuine—it’s to seal a deal. I didn’t know about it in the beginning. I thought they loved each other, so I pushed them together, neglecting you in the process. I do believe you still stand a chance. As long as you help me tomorrow and invite all close friends to the Bailey mansion, I’ll put you and Anthony together after tomorrow if they still don’t get along.” McKenzie scoffed inwardly; Susan made it sound so pleasant. A man who had many ties with countless women, and she said McKenzie could only ‘stand a chance’? She sounded as if she was rewarding her. McKenzie would hav
“Let me unwrap my present,” he spoke, voice husky and magnetic as he raised his hand and unbuttoned the buttons on her suit, helping her remove her suit. Charmine’s cheeks flushed red. Unwrap his present? He was removing her suit, and he called it ‘unwrapping his present’? However, after a moment, she vaguely understood… Lips half-curled, Anthony carried her and walked upstairs. To him, she was the best present. Panicking, Charmine quickly reached out to grab the box as he carried her upstairs. Waverly had not gone inside her room by then, and she heard their conversation and saw what they did. Charmine’s suit was left on the sofa, a silent showcase of their romance.They just did not hold back in front of her! She was so envious that it could tear her apart. Her hands clenched tightly. Hold it. She must hold it! Tomorrow during the banquet, she had to make progress with Anthony and make sure Charmine paid for what she had done to her! On the second floor...
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