Layla showed humility in order to comfort the angry man, but he didn't want to listen. He even went as far as to push her to the ground."Ah!" Layla yelped in pain as her head collided with one of the rock pillars, causing her to bleed."Now you know that I'm not a good person. So stay away from me if you value your life." Stefan warned her with a hostile expression.An egotistical man like him didn't need any sympathy, nor did he want to become a burden to others. He found it extremely ridiculous to have a woman sacrifice her whole life just to take care of him."Mr. Hunt, I volunteered for this, and I'm staying, even if you chase me away! Please give me a chance to care for you. I won't even complain if I end up dying in your hands!" Layla ignored her bleeding wound and expressed her dedication instead.Francine had been watching them for some time and nodded to herself with a satisfied smile."It's okay, Layla. I knew I was right to have chosen you. You're the best candidate t
Francine ignored his hostility and continued introducing the order in detail. "The Albus Order is very mysterious. We don't even know who their leader is. However, they are known as the miracle of the medical field. Especially the 'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy' they have invented. I'm not even exaggerating when I say they could revive the dead with that…""People say that no matter how sick someone is, they can fully recover within ten days after receiving treatment from the Albus Order leader. If we can somehow contact them through Layla, we might be able to even cure your hemophobia, let alone your eyes!"Francine then sighed deeply, wiping her tears away silently. "Honestly, I'd rest in peace knowing that you've recovered from your condition. I wouldn't have any regrets if I dropped dead right then."Initially, Stefan wasn't quite paying attention to anything his mother said, but hearing the words 'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy' piqued his interest."I'v
"Adie… Abby…" Stefan mumbled his precious children's names, the sadness in his eyes compounded. "What right do I have to call myself their father now? I don't think they'd even want someone useless as family.""Then don't be useless! You're just blind and still have your smarts to back you up, and you're definitely still capable of managing the company. It's just that you can't show yourself during this period of time. Don't let anyone, especially Jovan, find out that you have lost your sight. Else, we'd have more problems to worry about." Francine had already thought this through and had only announced to the public that Stefan caught a severely contagious disease. She told everyone that he was still in recovery and couldn't manage the company or receive guests for the time beingHowever, a lie like that would only cover up the truth for so long. The limited time they currently had was a great incentive for her to find this Albus Order leader as quickly as possible.Just then, on
When Francine heard Renee's name, her expression immediately became unnatural. At that moment, she was unaware of Renee's current condition but guessed that she must be in great danger since she had fallen into Seraphina's hands. She sighed quietly with a tinge of melancholy, but she had no regrets.It was all because that wicked woman had sought to harm her only son with a passion. Besides, Renee did not regret it, which was why Francine felt that it was not outrageous to hack her into pieces. "You know that Stefan divorced her. It'll be useless even if you call her. Just keep in mind that Stefan dislikes unrelated people staying overnight…" She sounded unconfident, so she gradually became impatient. She tried to drive him away. "It's getting late. Lisa, see him to the door."However, Jovan's teasing smile turned chilly. He went straight to the point and stated, "Aunt Francine, don't think of getting rid of me that easily since I came to you at this hour. I came asking for
He could no longer waste time with Francine so calmly. His eyes turned red as he shouted in the direction of Stefan's room. "Stefan, you coward! Did you hear? Your mother wants to kill Renee. Why are you still hiding and doing nothing like a coward?" "Shut up!" Francine was afraid that Stefan would come out when he heard it, so she lowered her voice and said, "I'll give you a chance since you want to play the hero and save the damsel in distress. She's now in Warehouse Seven. You may be able to save her life if you're fast enough." "That was direct!" Jovan did not expect Francine to tell him Renee's whereabouts so straightforwardly. A tinge of complicated feeling arose in his eyes. "It looks like you're not so cruel as I think. You're considered a good mother-in-law. At least you're more open-minded than my mother." "Hmph! You're overthinking. I wanted to get rid of you sooner by telling you about her whereabouts. I wasn't trying to be kind. Get lost now!" Francine would ne
"Are you here to play hero and save the damsel in distress? It's a pity you came late." Seraphina's hand hurt from his grasp, so she was grumpy. "What do you mean I came late? Make it clear!" Jovan was no longer as calm and as reserved as he was. He was very agitated now. "Why are you roaring? You sound like she's your wife or something. She has nothing to do with you. You're just her plan B and backup!" Seraphina uttered hurtfully. "Don't beat around the bush. Let me repeat my question. Where did you get Renee to?" Jovan had lost all his sanity. He strangled Seraphina's neck and interrogated her with a hideous face. It was a critical moment. If it was delayed for even a second, there might be an irretrievable result. He could not afford to see that happen. "She… She's dead!" Seraphine almost suffocated. Her face flushed deeply as she answered with difficulty. "What did you say? Say that again!" Jovan lost his mind. He wanted nothing but to break Seraphina's neck
Jovan was the mysterious man who gave her the video of Renee pushing Briar down the cliff. She successfully broke Stefan and Renee up by relying on that video.However, they were just separated. The feelings Stefan had for Renee never changed, but they intensified. A great sense of defeat washed over her when she saw him sacrifice himself just to protect Renee. On the contrary, she felt like her dignity was being violated. Naturally, her hatred for Renee grew with time. All she wanted now was for Renee to die. Seraphina believed that Stefan would belong to her if Renee died. Unfortunately, Renee was too tough, and she escaped repeatedly. She was indeed hard to handle. "Seraphina, tell me honestly. You're lying by claiming that Renee had jumped into the river, aren't you? She won't do such a stupid thing given her character." Jovan used the last bit of sanity he had to analyze the possibility of Renee jumping into the river. "Hmph! Jump into the river to search for her.
After Seraphina regained her freedom, she ran to Stefan, who was at the door of the warehouse. "Stefan, how are you? Are you hurt? Where's Madam Francine... Did you come here alone?" She ignored her physical injury and held his arms firmly. She then began to look for Francine. "I came alone."Stefan sounded cold, devoid of any extra emotion. "What? Did you come alone? You... How did you do that? Are you not hurt?" Seraphina could not imagine how a blind man like Stefan would walk a few miles from a luxurious villa to such a dangerous and remote warehouse. "That's not important. Tell me where Renee is." His deep-set and bright eyes were hidden in the dark as he anxiously interrogated her. "Do you love her that much?" Excruciating pain engulfed her. She inexplicably felt pathetic. Her eyes turned red as she said, "She's caused you and me so much harm. Why don't you hate her? You came to her alone from so afar. Have you ever thought of bumping into your enemies? What wo
"I… I don't know! I really don't know!" The makeup artist's face was flushed, her eyes rolling back. She felt like she was about to faint again."Are you still trying to hide the truth?" Justin continued flexing his fingers. He was certain that the makeup artist who suddenly wanted to modify the size of the gown must be aware of the truth.With her eyes rolled back, the makeup artist begged him, "I'll tell you…! Please let me go! I'll tell you everything!" Hearing that, Justin slowly released his grasp.The makeup artist finally got a chance to breathe. She kept taking deep breaths and almost cried because of her terror. "What should I tell you?" She truly knew nothing."What?" Justin's gaze grew fierce."Oh, I remember it now…" She drew in a cold breath and hurriedly said, "A handsome guy came not long after you were gone. I think he's Mr. Hunt. When Ms. Everheart saw him, she was very…"She paused, trying to find her words. "She was very…?" Justin urged her. This was the
Meanwhile, Liam and Leia became vigilant when they saw that scene."What are they doing?" Liam walked past the guests enjoying the fun and stood between Alexander and the two guards. He faked a smile and said, "We're the guests you invited sincerely. Is this how the Baldwin family treats their guests?""Guests?" Austin got off the stage and strode toward them. Although he was smiling, coldness gleamed in his eyes. "Have you ever seen any guest steal the hostess?""You can't say that, Sir Baldwin..." Liam smiled and added, "How could you be sure that it must be the Hunt family?""Who else could it be?" "This is just your guess. They've always been here. Even if they wanted to do that, they couldn't. So… You should act fair and square, given your noble identity. Shouldn't you find fault with the culprit instead? Isn't that more reasonable?" Liam looked at Austin. Although he was younger and came from a family weaker than the Baldwin family, he was still domineering.Besides, his
Alexander took a deep breath and analyzed logically, "This wasn't Stef's style. If he wanted to snatch her away, he would have done it openly in front of everyone. But this trick was cunning and dishonest!""Yes, you're right, but this is a special case. If he didn't use a trick, his woman would marry someone else. It's normal for him to be restless." Although Francine agreed with Alexander's analysis, she felt that Stefan could do anything if it concerned Renee. Naturally, he would stoop this far. "Regardless, we have to leave," Alexander whispered to Francine, sensing danger. "Austin has always been decisive and cruel. Since Stef humiliated him, I'm sure he wouldn't let Stef off easily. We're in danger too.""Is it that serious?" Francine looked at Austin, who was standing on the stage. He coldly ordered his assistant about something. It seemed like he wasn't that crazy. "I don't care what he'll do. We have to get out of North City right away because this city is controlled b
"What?! She's gone?" Justin's face fell immediately. He grabbed the collar of the person who came to inform them and demanded coldly, "What do you mean?! Why is she gone for no reason?""We… We don't know!" That person looked at Justin while trembling and reported everything. "When we got there, we found no one else in the makeup room except the makeup artist lying on the ground. We didn't see Ms. Everheart, either. We don't know what happened!""Something must have gone wrong with her!" Justin pushed that person away without hesitation and rushed toward the makeup room."Hey, Justin! What are you doing?" Sophia watched Justin disappear in front of everyone. She wanted to pursue him but failed.Everyone below the stage fell into an uproar and discussed among themselves endlessly. "The bride went missing all of a sudden! Did her ex-husband come for her?""It's possible. They were once madly in love with each other. Plus, the Hunt and Baldwin families were in conflict for many yea
On the surface, everyone felt that Justin was passionate and respected the bride well. However, only he knew that he was just terrified. He was afraid that the reality might exceed his anticipation. He was terrified to find that he was betrayed in the end when he had trusted Renee that much and treated her so sincerely."Justin, what's going on with you? How could you talk about that at such a time like this? The most important thing now is to make her come out and have this engagement ceremony. We should do the guests justice. If not, everyone will laugh at us after we've kept our dignity well for so many years!"Sophia couldn't understand his hesitation. They were just going to urge Renee to appear. It had nothing to do with their patience or ability to take good care of Renee.Both Alexander and Francine looked at each other in confusion."Dear, did you do anything?" Alexander asked Francine softly.If Renee suddenly failed to attend the ceremony, it might have been Francin
Renee was furious—he was ridiculous!"You won't allow that?" She snorted and looked at him as if he were crazy. "Who do you think you are? You can't meddle in my life!""I'm nobody, but I know that I don't want you to marry another guy." The man approached Renee, wanting to catch her."Stay away from me, or I'll get somebody! You should know how powerful the Baldwin family is in North City…" Renee spat coldly. She did not want to make things too ghastly, so she wouldn't alert the Baldwin family if she could help it. The man sneered wickedly. "Yes, the Baldwin family is strong. So? Even if they're strong, they can't fight against my cunning means!""What do you mean?" A bad feeling gripped Renee. She wanted to ask more questions, but found herself dizzy. Her surroundings became blurry. "I'm so dizzy! What…did you do?" The next second, she staggered and fainted.He firmly caught her and whispered, "You've suffered a lot, so I'll let you rest a bit.""Ah! You… You…" The make
"You flatter me." Renee smiled, sadness in her eyes. She recalled the day she was about to marry Stefan many years ago. The young female designer responsible for her makeup had praised her the same way. At that time, she had recently lost all her family members and was gripped with excruciating pain. Her waist had been much slimmer. She looked pitiful but bewitching. "Don't worry! Master Hunt is a great man. He'll be nice to you and protect you. You guys are a perfect match."Renee remembered that the makeup artist used a makeup blender to soak her tears and firmly told her that. The artist at that time also felt that Stefan would be her protector for the rest of her life. Renee had a crush on Stefan for many years. He was the ray of light that had saved her from her despair. Although she was strong, she couldn't help but regard him as her savior. At that time, she never imagined spending the rest of her life with someone else other than him. Many years passed since then. Sh
Twenty minutes ago, Renee's gown was accidentally splashed with wine. Hence, she changed into a spare slim-fit strapless gown. The long gown reached to the floor and was full of shining diamonds. It set off her curvy figure and made her appear like a noble princess from a painting. Unfortunately, her waist was too slim, so the gown didn't fit her well.The young woman who was responsible for Renee's makeup patted her chest and said confidently, "It's fine. I'll tighten the waistline a bit. Leave it to me! I'll get it done in ten minutes.""Are you sure?" Justin couldn't hide his amazement as he watched Renee, who had changed into a new gown. He cleared his throat and said, "I think this is already perfect. It's fine even if you don't adjust the waistline."He felt that Renee was the most perfect woman no matter how she appeared. She would always bewitch him, even if she was just wearing slippers and casual coats.If his parents hadn't insisted on getting a renowned designer t
Liam looked certain. "The Baldwin residence is strictly guarded. Plus, Austin owns military power. If the Hunt family wants to take Renee away, they'll have to fight the Baldwins. Things will get very hideous. But if they use a little trick, they don't have to waste any manpower to take her away. Why wouldn't they do that?""So, you're saying that Mr. and Mrs. Hunt fought against Justin's parents to purposely attract others' attention and to cover for Stefan. They wanted to give him the chance to take Ren away secretly.""That's very likely."Liam nodded. Else, he couldn't figure out why the decent Alexander and Francine would do such an indecent thing in front of so many rich and powerful people. After all, the Hunts would be ridiculed for what they had done just now if it got exposed. It was such a great price. They wouldn't have to make such a great sacrifice if not for their son's lifetime happiness."If that was true, the Hunts are just too cunning." Leia shrugged. She fou