With the bodyguards’ escort, Charmine got on a limousine parked by the side. Once she got in, however, she saw Anthony sitting in the backseat. What was more terrifying was that Nial was the driver again. Would the horrific experience repeat?

Her first instinct was to push the door open and get down the car, but she could not leave due to the crazy fans and paparazzi outside. In her hesitation, Nial hastily stepped on the gas pedal. The car moved at such a speed that Charmine had no time to even lament.

It was then when Charmine’s eyes squinted as a thought occurred to her. She leaned toward Anthony. 

When Anthony saw her leaning closer, his eyes darkened with excitement as he gulped. It felt so fast; Charmine was already right next to him and she reached her hand toward his waist.

Chris—sitting in the front row—instantly covered his eyes while Nial flicked down the rear mirror as he

Anthony and Nial followed right behind Charmine and Chris.

They entered the congee shop, and Charmine ordered a pot of congee with some light dishes. Once the waitress took the order and left, Charmine eyed both men sitting opposite her and scolded, “Can’t you two men behave appropriately? The boy is still so young. How can you feed him spicy food? Growing tall by eating spicy food is a complete bullsh*t. How can men like you two believe in such nonsense!?”

“We—” Nial refuted instinctively in an attempt to explain.

Anthony kicked him under the table, and with a solemn and understanding expression, he spoke, “Miss Jordan is right. I’ll take note of that. Is there anything else I should take note of?”

“Mommy, Daddy always signed me up for tuition classes,” Chris chimed in. “I have classes till twelve o’clock every night!” He continued, “Oh, and Daddy always leaves me alone at home, only sharing one meal with me every week. Also, he brings me out to play only once a month!” he lamented. “All my friends have parents to play with them, but I’m always alone...”

What a poor kid. Charmine listened as her heart melted with sympathy before she scowled at Anthony, “Mr. Bailey, you’ve got it all wrong. Even though he was born with a surrogate mother, he bleeds your blood! You’re his father, and you have to be responsible. He’s still a young boy! Why sign him up for so many classes? You can’t just treat him like a robot; he needs a happy childhood. Also…” From then on, Charmine rambled on and on, and there was no space for interjection.

Still, Anthony was not offended at all; he silently listened as he refilled her water every now and then. Once she finally said her piece and settled down, he took out his phone and curtly asked, “Miss Jordan, could you please leave me your number? This is so that you could impart your knowledge on educating children with me in the future.”

“Yeah, Mommy. You’ll have to remind Daddy every day of what you just said, or he’ll forget everything.” Chris nodded his tiny head approvingly.

Without even hesitating, Charmine took out her phone and added him on Whatsapp. Nial, on the other end, was confused. How did that happen? Did they just get along so well that they added each other on Whatsapp?

Out of the blue, Charmine’s phone lit up with an incoming call, and the caller ID was ‘Eric’. Although Eric was his agent and friend, he usually would not ring her unless there were urgent things. Charmine hastily walked away and answered the call.

Anthony’s chest tightened with jealousy. Eric? That was a man’s name!

Nial muttered under his breath, “Got it, I’ll find out who it is.”

Charmine stood outside the door as she listened to Eric’s explanation.

“There are two things: Firstly, Kay found the list of names of those that visited Phoenix Hotel five years ago…” Charmine’s body instantly quaked the moment she heard that name: Phoenix. She unconsciously turned to look back inside the restaurant. 

Anthony was picking food for Chris. He caught her looking at them and nodded at her. Charmine could not explain this feeling, odd as it was. She felt like she should not speak of this matter—the five-years-ago incident—to Anthony.

“We’ll talk more when I get back,” came Charmine’s swift reply. With that, she hung up.

When he noted her strange behavior, Anthony asked in a concerned tone, “Is everything okay?”

“It’s nothing…” Charmine frowned.

What just happened? Why was she worried Anthony would find out what happened in the hotel? How peculiar.

She recollected herself and curtly replied, “Something happened, and I have to go back. The repair company finished repairing my motorbike and they’re sending it over. Take good care of Momo, and don’t make him eat spicy food.”

“Mommy!” Chris got up quickly and hung on to her thigh; he did not want her to leave.

Charmine ruffled his hair. “Be good, Momo. I’ve added your father on Whatsapp, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on him. Make sure he’s not mistreating you.”

“Alright then! Mommy must remember to video-call me,” beamed Chris with his doe-eyes. He looked much like a kitten this way.

Charmine nodded. Just as she was about to leave, Anthony stood up and followed behind her. “I’ll walk you out.”

Charmine’s comment, though aloof, hid a threat.

Amelia was shocked as though an earthquake had just hit. A billion worth of insurance? How was that even possible? What was she made of; gold? Still, if Charmine was telling the truth, the issuance company might come after Amelia if anything happened to her. 

“So? Go on, hit me! Why, are you scared? If you’re not gonna hit me, well, it’s my turn!” sneered Charmine as she cracked her knuckles.

Crack! Crack! 

The cracking of her knuckles sounded loud and crisp, and Amelia felt fear creeping onto her. “What… What are you trying to do? There’re so many people here…! You can’t hit me!”

“So what if I hit you? Does it look like I care?”

Charmine then swung her fist at Amelia’s right upper arm followed by a strong kick directed at her heel.

Suddenly, a sound of fracture was heard as the gem bracelet on Amelia’s arm was crushed while her long

With the bodyguards’ escort, Charmine got on a limousine parked by the side. Once she got in, however, she saw Anthony sitting in the backseat. What was more terrifying was that Nial was the driver again. Would the horrific experience repeat?

Her first instinct was to push the door open and get down the car, but she could not leave due to the crazy fans and paparazzi outside. In her hesitation, Nial hastily stepped on the gas pedal. The car moved at such a speed that Charmine had no time to even lament.

It was then when Charmine’s eyes squinted as a thought occurred to her. She leaned toward Anthony. 

When Anthony saw her leaning closer, his eyes darkened with excitement as he gulped. It felt so fast; Charmine was already right next to him and she reached her hand toward his waist.

Chris—sitting in the front row—instantly covered his eyes while Nial flicked down the rear mirror as he did not want to be distracted. 

Charmine’s hand was groping Anthony’s waist as if searching for so

Chapter 32