Not knowing how to respond to Charmine, Guy could only nod. “Okay.” The night was dark, and the gust did blew as the air grew cold. With the box safe in her arms, Charmine held it close as she rested silently. After the dangerous escape, she felt strangely tired and dizzy. Somehow, her eyelids grew heavier, and she fell asleep unknowingly. Her tense body grew more relaxed as her head leaned onto one side. That did not go unnoticed by Guy as he hurried to sit by her side, thus Charmine’s head landed on his shoulder. In the darkened forest, he sat upright with labored breaths and dared not move, not wanting her to wake up. A mosquito flew over and bit his neck. He could feel it but he did not move. His arm did not raise up as well. The scene was strangely beautiful… Far at the distance, someone took a photo of it, and they smirked with satisfaction as they eyed the shot. A photo like this was romantic enough… However, the person had an even more important mission a
Charmine’s internal alert bell rang inside her. She only had one thought in her head: she was done for good. If Anthony found out about this, it would be so hard to explain! She instantly clung to the bathing robe tightly, plucked out the infusers on her, and tried to get out of bed. Guy was awakened when he detected movement. Noticing Charmine getting out of bed, he said nervously, “Ms. Jordan, you can’t move! You have a fever as high as 39.7 Celsius, and you must stay in bed to get treated!” “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Charmine got out of bed, put on her shoes, and eyed her surroundings. The box of the sword was placed not far away, and the sky was turning bright. She had to rush back to the Jordan mansion before the sun got out. Nobody should realize she was not in during the night. She went over to get the box when Guy quickly said, “I’ve phoned the Chernys. They’ll come in a moment, so please wait a little longer.” Charmine, who was in a rush to leave, stopped when sh
The Chernys must thank this person! Both Phil and Hugh walked into the room respectfully, and they instantly spotted a figure sitting on a grey sofa next to the window. This long-haired figure had a bathing robe on, and her face was stunningly beautiful. It was Charmine! Why was she here? Hugh asked in shock, “Guy, you…you two…” Phil asked with disbelief, “Guy, you’ve finally learned to get a chick! Did you two really sleep together?” “No…nothing like that!” Guy’s face flushed red as he quickly explained, “It’s not what you think it is. She… She had a fever and wasn’t able to change out of her clothes, so…” Despite standing at 1.9 meters and having a well-built figure, he was a stuttering mess. Phil patted his shoulder. “Alright, we’re all men, I understand. You’re twenty-nine now, and it’s normal. Still, why her…?” He looked at Charmine judgingly. She was useless, even though she had quite the beauty of an elf. She was not good enough for the Granger family. C
Charmine frowned and asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong?” “There’s a problem with this box!” Hugh called out. He had seen the box during the day and examined the sword thoroughly. According to the length and shape of the sword, the item should not have this weight! Opening the box, it was revealed to be a completely different sword, as expected. It seemed to be a cheaply made sword instead! Charmine and Guy were utterly shocked at Hugh’s comment. How could it be? “Impossible. I even opened the box to check on it when I got it out. I only took it out after making sure it’s a real sword,” insisted Charmine. “The agents from Safford even chased after us,” added Guy. “It can’t be a fake sword they’re going after!” “So where’s the problem?” Hugh was perplexed. Charmine squinted as she jogged her memory, and only a moment later did she reply, tone cold, “Someone swapped it on the way.” On the way? Guy frowned. “Impossible. Only the two of us held the box along the way
Charmine would not like a dumb man like him… Hugh frowned when he noticed Guy’s expression. “Guy, you like her.” “No…I don’t…” denied Guy, though the blush remained on his face and ears. Phil walked over and held his shoulder. “Alright, it’s written all over your face! Don’t worry, we look at Charmine differently now. We won’t stop you from liking her.” “Really, I don’t...” Guy tried to deny it, cheeks still burning as he did. Phil pulled him to another room and interrogated, “Tell me what you like about her. How did you fall for her? It’s your first time liking someone, isn’t it? Haha!” Hugh saw the two of them messing around and a solemn expression was formed. He thought of what Charmine told him. Charmine liked Anthony and wanted to get married to Anthony. The reason she came in touch with the Chernys was to gain their approval, just so she could be with him. If Guy found out about this, how would he take it? This was the first time in 29 years that Guy had lik
After a moment of thought, Charmine could only phone Kay to instruct, “Try your best to wipe out all traces of my mission.” “Don’t worry, Boss Jordan. We’ve already cleared out everything last night. Forget Anthony; even God might not be able to find anything!” Kay reassured her. His behavior baffled Charmine. Was Kay not against her being with Anthony? Why would he help her to cure Chris and, moreover, put so much effort this time? She could not be bothered with that, however. She was more reassured with that.... After hanging up, Kay high-fived with a few elderly men. “Don’t worry—this is a good sign. As long as Anthony can’t find anything, Boss Jordan would have more time to spend with Captain Granger. Who knows, they might develop feelings along the road!” “Well done, well done. Guy is at least a hundred times better than Anthony! Even though Charmine doesn’t like William, she might like Guy!” “Let’s hope she realizes it sooner! Can’t wait to hear some good news!
If only they knew she was their true daughter instead of Tiffany, they would have treated her better since she was a child. Charmine drove back to the Jordan Group and went past the river she had traversed last night. Police officers covered the perimeters, and one of them instructed, “We’re closing down this area. Please take another road.” Charmine was far away from them as she saw a handful of people inspecting the area. These included officers from Safford and Burlington, the old man, and Anthony’s men. Anthony was standing by the river as he studied the trace on the ground. The motorbike that rushed into the river left a long black mark by the riverbank. If he looked closely into the depth and length of the trace, he could speculate the weight of those who rode the motorbike!Charmine’s eyelids jumped. Being the analytical man he was, Anthony might find out the truth! With a thought in mind, she parked her car and walked down. The person in charge stopped her, “W
The crowd looked at Charmine strangely. Charmine came to look for Anthony? Did they know each other that well? Nervous as she was, Charmine simply found an excuse and said to Anthony, “I have some problems regarding our collaboration. We need to discuss it.” Anthony frowned. Collaboration? There were too many people around them. He thus turned to the officer in charge and instructed, “Excuse me. If there’s anything, let my assistant know right away.” “Yes, Sir!” The crowd nodded with respect. Anthony followed Charmine as they walked away. Charmine felt somewhat uneasy. They were seen leaving together in front of so many people! She only had the intention of distracting Anthony and completely forgot that they were in a public setting. As Anthony got on the front passenger’s seat, she had no choice but to get in and drive away. Driving away from the riverside, both of them were left alone in the car. Anthony finally asked, “What is it?” His tone was serious. If
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