Realization dawned on Julian as he asked in disbelief, “Charmine, are you the owner of Ohly?”“Yes,” came her simple yet strong reply, the message conveyed loud and clear.Charmine removed her hat and her hair cascaded down her shoulders. She flipped her hair and eyed them uncaringly. “What? Is there a problem?”Everyone stared in disbelief, eyes and mouths wide open. Charmine was the owner of Ohly? The big boss of Ohly?No wonder she looked at them with such ridicule, even as they mocked her. No wonder she did not flinch even after they barked at her. They were mocking her for not being able to afford a diamond ring when this entire shop belonged to her! Everyone had a confused and dumbfounded look on their faces, especially the quartet. An adopted daughter they so despised and looked down on turned out to be the owner of Ohly? How could she be better off than them?Tiffany clenched her fists as her heart thrummed with jealousy.Charmine stared at the myriad of expressions on
“Aah!” Amelia cried out in agony, her face pallid due to the pain.Joey then shifted Amelia behind her and scowled, “Charmine, enough is enough! You’re shameless enough to be a third-wheeler. How dare you hit your cousin? Aren’t you even ashamed at all?”“Ashamed? Ashamed as in standing here and listening to you?” Charmine clapped back bitterly.“She’s your cousin!” Joey shrieked. “So what if she criticizes you? You’re just an adopted daughter, and your life was given by the Jordan family. From what you’ve done so far, nothing would be in vain if you’re bashed to death right now!”A sliver of irony gleamed in Charmine’s glare. Nothing would be in vain if she was based to death, was it? Everyone would see who would be first to go.Tiffany took this opportunity to play the good cop. “Mom, Sister, please stop arguing,” she pleaded, “we can talk things out. Sister claimed she wasn’t the third-wheeler and that this shop belonged to her. What if she speaks the truth? Maybe she had no ch
Charmine had gotten used to Joey’s hate-filled eyes over the years. This Joey was utterly smitten with Tiffany, too. Even if she found out Tiffany was the adopted daughter, she would still side with her.It felt like a drag for Charmine to even talk to them, thus she coldly instructed, “Someone, come and show them the way out.”The security guards who were supposed to bring Charmine out went to Amelia and the group instead.With the white-hot pain still burning at Amelia’s dislocated arm, she growled through gritted teeth, “Don’t act all high and mighty, Charmine! I don’t want to spend any more time in this stupid store; it’s too dirty for me! Just wait for it, Charmine. I’ll let everyone see your ugly face this afternoon, and your reputation will be torn to shreds!”Amelia did not let the guards touch her as she struggled to walk out herself. Joey and Julian carried Tiffany, and they glared at Charmine with unadulterated hate. Tiffany, on the other hand, held herself like a regal
[Oh no, my princess is hurt! It must’ve hurt so much.][Amelia looks so pale white! Charmine must’ve wanted revenge against Amelia for trying to expose her lies! Shameless!][Can’t wait till the press conference! We’ll see how Charmine defends herself once the cat’s out of the bag.]As Twitter was overrun with comments like these, some reporters went to interview Tiffany and Amelia. “I’ll still stand for justice, even if Charmine beats me to death,” Amelia said to the camera, “and I’ll make sure the press conference happens!”Tiffany, on the other hand, was nursing her wound as she muttered, “I don’t have anything to say. It’s okay if she hits me, but I just want to help her return to the path of righteousness. Please, can everyone help me convince her?” As usual, her crocodile tears won the hearts of many.Everyone was eagerly waiting for the press conference, a moment of truth to discern truth from lies. They waited for the moment when Charmine would be kicked out of the model
Meanwhile, at the Bailey Mansion... Anthony, Chris, and Nial gathered before their large television, their eyes glued to the breaking news—the conference—going on live. “Get ready,” commanded Anthony. Alert and ready, Chris had a dark-colored remote controller at hand. The remote was for his drone that was tied with the strongest signal disruptor, and he was ready to press on the button if anything against Charmine was revealed during the press conference. With a press of that button, the entire Hotel Kelsy—including the people in the conference hall—would have their signals interrupted thus disabling any live-stream of the conference. ‘Hmph! So you all want to destroy Mommy’s reputation by spreading fake news? Fat chance!’ Nial, on the other hand, had a list of names in his hand. The names listed were all the conference’s attendees, including the paparazzi, influencers, and passersby. If anything concerning was revealed during the press, the Bailey Corporation would step in
“So did she photoshop that photo as well? Was this a hoax?” Some paparazzi scowled at Amelia while some threw one question after another. Hearing that, Amelia snapped back from her shock and yelled, “I didn’t photoshop the photo. It’s real! The reason I went to Prince Gray was to help him dissolve the situation! “There has to be something going on between Prince Gray and Charmine. Otherwise, why would he help her? He even gave her such a huge diamond ring!” Since Amelia’s reputation was ruined, she wanted to drag Charmine down with her. Just as she expected, the paparazzi directed their questions at Simon. “Prince Gray, what’s your relationship with Charmine? Why did you give her a diamond ring?” “How did you get to know Charmine? Are you here today to defend Charmine?” Simon never lost his composure and remained cool-headed, even after being questioned incessantly. “Yes,” he calmly spoke, “I’m here to defend Charmine, and I’ll tell you why! Charmine is my boss!” What
Every single attendee was stunned at the turn of events, and that included Amelia who reeled back in shock. How… How could this be? Was Charmine not an adopted daughter? How did she become Gray Diamond Empire’s director?! How?! Amelia nearly threw herself against Simon in fury as she made her way to him. She clutched at his sleeves and desperately yelled, “I don’t believe you! How could she be the boss? How did she become your director? This is all so fishy! Even if she didn’t sleep with you, she must’ve slept with your father, right? Right, that must be it! Is she your step-mother? Did your father give all of his shares to her?” “That’s enough! You slandered me, and now you want to do that to my aging father, too?” Simon swatted her hands away in disgust, and he stared her down with his cold blue eyes. “How did Charmine become my boss? Well, it’s all because of you! “Five years ago, when Charmine was sent to Africa, you bribed her maid to bring her to a hill and push her d
Many Twitter users tweeted as such: [I’m wrong to have misjudged you. Please accept my apology!] [Boss Jordan, are you looking for a sister? I wanna be your sister!] [I can be your stepmom.] [I don’t have to be your relative. I’ll carry your shoes and follow you around. You don’t have to pay me either; just toss me some unwanted diamonds.] … Charmine languidly lied on her sofa, seemingly unperturbed as she read the financial segment in the newspaper. A big bottle of Coke was placed on the coffee table in front of her, with a long straw extended to her mouth. “Everyone is flattering you on Twitter, hoping you’d write a few words to them,” Eric began. “Do you want to post anything?” “Twitter? Oh, right.” Charmine took a long sip before she picked up her phone and posted a tweet. Out of curiosity, Eric clicked onto her page. In an instant, his face stiffened. A line of words sat quietly on Charmine’s page: [Julian Cabell, have you eaten sh*t yet?] ‘Have you eaten sh