Mr. Seh walked angrily out of the courthouse with his lawyer following meekly behind. He took out his cell phone and called Charmaine. Still no answer. He knew she was avoiding his calls. Regardless of the tension between them, he was still her father and she can’t avoid him forever. It was all Raymond’s fault! He cursed at the name. Turning back to his lawyer, he demanded heatedly, “When do I have to come back?”

The lawyer nervously said, “You’re out on bail and you would have to report back daily until the trial date.”

Mr. Seh cursed loudly, “This is such an inconvenience to me. I don’t care what you do, find a way around it. I have more important things to do than to come here every day.”

“Yes Mr. Seh, I’ll try,” his lawyer replied.

Mr. Seh gave him a reproaching look and snarled, “I don’t want you to try. I want you to get it done!”

The lawyer visibly squirmed at the harsh tone, “Y-Yes Mr. Seh.” He felt himself perspire under the man’s hard stare and gulped, “If you have no more need of my service for the night then I’ll…”

“Go!” Mr. Seh barked then said. “I have some personal matters to take care of.”

The lawyer left in a hurry as Mr. Seh strode towards his car. Inside his car he slammed his hand against the steering wheel with frustration. He will not let Raymond win that easily. There was no way he would ever allow Charmaine to be with him. Charmaine was his jewel, the pride of his life and he cannot accept her being with such a man like Raymond, or any man without his approval. Swerving his car into traffic, he already knew what he must do to put Raymond out of Charmaine’s life for good. Right now all he needed was to lure Raymond out alone without Charmaine knowing. Once alone, he would execute his plan.

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Charmaine looked at her watch. It was now fifteen past seven. She had waited long enough. Apparently, Raymond had no intention of coming to see her. She had called his house half an hour ago and was told by his maid that he had nothing more to say to her. Still, she had hoped that he would change his mind at the last minute and come to meet her. She signaled for the check and dropped a few bills onto the table. With a heavy heart, she had to face the fact. Her and Raymond, although separated by her father’s lies and meddling, still wouldn’t have been able to make it work again. There were too many misunderstanding between them that could last a life time. Even if they have gotten through their past, would they be able to trust each other enough to build a future together? They had believed too easily all the lies given by the people who surrounded them. They’ve been together for a few short months before their divorce. Who to say divorce wasn’t inevitable in their future, if they remained married. Pushing those unwanted questions aside, Charmaine picked up her bag and headed out the door.

Raymond pushed himself on. He was almost there. On his way over he prayed that she was still there waiting for him. He can’t help but be delighted with Selena’s confession and Steven’s confirmation of it. All these years, he had believed the worse in Charmaine only to find out they were all lies. She didn’t abort their baby. Instead, she had grieved over the loss and heartbrokenly waited for him to come back. According to Selena, Charmaine loved him then and still do. He should have guessed that from the way she had looked at him in the past. The small smiles she would give him when she thought he wasn’t looking. The way her eyes sparkled whenever he looked at her. These were all telltale signs. How could he have been so stupid to believe her father and Steven's lies at that time. Now that he knows the truth, he would do everything in his power to win her back. No more pretending, he would tell her that he loves her and wanted to be with her. If what Selena say was true about Charmaine loving him, then they would finally be together again. He rounded the corner and could see the café up ahead. Picking up his speed he raced towards the door as it opened and came face to face with Charmaine.

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Frankie sat in his car watching the pair. They were unaware of his presence. He just came out from a meeting with a client and saw Raymond running down the street. He was about to call out to him when he saw who Raymond was running to. He quickly got back into his car, his thoughts in turmoil. He didn’t understand why Raymond was so obsessed with her. To him, Charmaine was a problem that would not go away and he liked solving problems such as this. He drummed his fingers on the dashboard as he thought of what to do. Raymond explicitly told him to out of his personal life but he can’t do that, not when it concerned Charmaine. She was poison and ever since Raymond had the misfortune of meeting her, his life had never been the same. He would not let her break his heart again and that is what she was doing considering the fact that Raymond still loved her. He needed Raymond to see her for what she truly was, a spoiled heartless woman. But how was he going to accomplish that? Then an idea occurred to him. Although he disliked the idea, he knew it was the only way. He picked up his phone and dialed Mr. Seh’s number.