Anthony stepped forward. “I just happened to be passing by. I can help drop you off if you need since it’s along the way,” he said in a rich and jovial voice while holding the door open for her. Charmine immediately frowned and mentioned, “If I remember correctly, you’re staying at The Palace Heart, am I right? I’m staying at the Violet Villa which is a few kilometers away from you. How exactly would my place be along the way?”While hearing her question, Anthony teased, “You know where I’m staying. It seems like you are interested in me and did your research thoroughly.” “Tsk! You’re overthinking it.” While rolling her eyes at him, Charmine continued, “You're Burlington's Prince. Everyone knows you live in that land of gold. People talk about you no matter where you go.”Anthony was dismayed. He would have to pay attention to his reputation so that she would not hear anything unsavory about him. “I’ll be passing by. Plus, you made a promise with Momo this afternoon, right? The
Anthony was in no hurry. He still had his whole life ahead of him.Charmine was dead tired. As soon as she got home, she immediately hit the sack.She had spent most of the day shooting for a magazine, going to the amusement park in the afternoon, establishing RisingHawk Entertainment in the evening, before going for an impromptu photoshoot later that night. No wonder she was so worn out.After switching her phone to airplane mode, she was out like a light.As Charmaine slept soundly, Eric was pulling his hair out.He uploaded some slightly retouched pictures according to Charmine’s request but was criticized heavily in the comments. Even her most loyal fans were not backing her up.[Boss Jordan, I’d really love to sit at your feet and worship you forever. However, this set of photos are really mediocre. I can’t even!][Hey you up there, don’t be so dramatic. I think the white background is sorta meant to represent purity.]This silenced all the other commenters.Eric felt as
Veronica was afraid that this might upset Tiffany further. She tried to comfort her. “Hey Tiffy, don’t worry so much, okay? Think about it, Charmine doesn’t have a company to represent her or a team of professionals to back her up, let alone a professional photoshop artist. With those set of photos, Charmine is digging her own grave. You’ll conquer the Guci’s editorial showdown without a doubt. You’ll definitely have the world by your feet when you win your third consecutive Top Model!”“I hope so...”Tiffany was still on the edge of her seat and said, “Keep a lookout on Charmine. We still can’t let our guards down. If you notice anything suspicious, report it to me immediately.”“Sure.”Tiffany hung up the call, her brows still furrowed. She looked worried.She knew Charmine too well. She would never make any move that was not beneficial to her. There must have been a reason why she posted those photos.Yet, she just could not figure out why. At this point, the safest bet was
"The Guci editorial showdown is in two days. Aren’t you going to do anything? I’m at your service for whatever you need at any moment. I’m sure I can take your photos a hundred times better.”Charmine yawned again. “Is this why you called me this early?”“Of course! We feel you and are angry for you. You’re drop-dead gorgeous, the netizens have no right to criticize you! You’re our one and only boss, so nobody can chew you out like that!” Kay was obviously outraged by the situation.Cool as a cucumber, Charmine slowly rubbed her eyes. “I spoke to Eric last night. This was indeed my idea, I’ve got this. You’ll know why I did what I did during the showdown. Pass this down to everyone. Don’t interfere in this matter and stop worrying about me.”She hung up as soon as she finished that sentence.She had lost her desire to sleep, so she took out her phone to check her social media accounts.On Twitter, the situation has exploded beyond control.Whether or not Tiffany had instigated t
The doorbell chime kept repeating. Charmine was annoyed. Staring at the tub that she had just bathed in, she decided to do something. Crack. The door opened. Julian was initially impatient but his eyes sparkled when he saw her. She was in a pretty, white sundress that drew his gaze to her long, fair legs. The fine, white silk dress complimented the pink tinge of her glowing, lily-white skin. She had the ideal figure that all men longed for. “Charmine, you…” He was amazed that it had taken her only five years to turn over a new leaf.He wanted to ask her why she had taken so long to open the door for him, but…Splash! A bucket of water was thrown at him. “What the hell are you doing!” His face darkened. “Are you blind? Can’t you see I’m just emptying my bucket?” said Charmine while throwing the pail aside, dusting off her hands. “You did that on purpose! I’m here to send you breakfast but this is how you treat me! Do you know how much time I’ve spent queuing up for t
How dare she put on such a coquettish dress in front of the other man?Feeling displeasure, Anthony strode forward while pushing Julian aside to cover Charmine’s body with his.Charmine felt embarrassed that he was doing this in front of others. Just when Charmine was about to say something, Anthony pulled her into his arms and threatened Julian, “She’s my woman. If I find you trying to harass her again, your family will be cast out from Burlington!”Julian was shocked and found his threats unbelievable.His mind could not stop thinking about them.‘Charmine is with Anthony? He’s even willing to dash all on regardless of the perils just to protect her.’Meanwhile, Anthony shouted at the four men he brought with him, “What the hell are you guys doing? Shouldn’t you all be introducing yourselves?”The command came like a bolt from the blue as the four men quickly bowed accordingly, followed by their introductions.“Good day, Ms. Jordan, I’m Tanya Cullen, the main chef from a th
The four chefs started to prepare breakfast in the kitchen shortly after Julian left the mansion. As Anthony grabbed Charmine’s waist and pulled her to him, he swiftly entered the house and closed the door behind them.At this moment, Charmine was confused. She thought Anthony would have most definitely heard their conversation accidentally. However, he was acting as if nothing had happened.‘What if he actually didn’t even hear it?’ She convinced herself to overlook this. “Thanks for helping me out during the event. You may ask the chefs to leave now.” She moved away from his embrace and thanked him coldly. “Who says I’m here to help you?” he said calmly.Charmine was shocked by his words and wondered if he was not here to help, then why would he be here in the first place? “I hired these chefs just to make you breakfast and just coincidentally came across an opportunity to help you to get rid of that b*itch,” said Anthony as he smirked.“If you’re so touched by my actio
After they had finished serving all the dishes, the four men began to leave one by one.Anthony spoke up, “Ms. Jordan, your meal is ready.”“I’m not eating. No matter what you say, it won’t make a difference. You better just give up now!” said Charmine firmly. She needed to strengthen her resolve to force Anthony to retreat.At that moment, a soft and adorable voice could be heard, “Mommy, mommy…” It was closely followed by the swaying body of little Chris Bailey running in from outside. With a leap, he landed into Charmine’s embrace.Charmine furrowed her brow. “ Momo, what are you doing here?”“Oh, Momo woke up and daddy wasn’t there. I heard daddy was coming to look for you so Momo came here too,” Chris said pitifully while his chubby little hand held onto her arm.“Waa, waa… Momo is hungry. I haven’t eaten anything for the whole day and my tummy is rumbling. It’s making a grrrrr, grrrrr, grrrrr sound,” wailed Chris.“Oh dear, why didn’t you have anything to eat before leavin
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