When Stefan and Renee left the Beach City Courthouse, they went their separate ways as if they would never see each other again. Who knew they would meet again in just a few hours?Without the marriage license restraining them, the way they looked at each other seemed to have changed slightly.Timothy’s old eyes were filled with complicated emotions as his gaze traveled back and forth between the two.“You two. You just came back from a vacation together. Shouldn’t you be all lovey-dovey? Why did you come to visit me separately? Did you have a fight?”“We’re…” Renee bit her lips, feeling torn. She was unsure if she should be honest or keep lying.Things were different before they were officially divorced. Renee could forge a lie without feeling the slightest guilt. Besides, she was not trying to deceive him. However, her relationship with Stefan had changed so much that she found herself unable to pretend.“We’re so in love. How could we ever fight?” Stefan said calmly and wrap
“Hint?” Renee listened in confusion. She gave Timothy the black pearl in the hopes that it might bring him health and peace. What did she hint at him? How could she not know?“As soon as I saw the pearl, I thought of how it symbolized fertility and childbirth…”Timothy’s face turned grim. He sternly questioned Stefan, who was kneeling on the ground. “You bastard. Tell me honestly. Are the rumors true? Did you really knock up another woman behind Ren’s back?”Since the matter had digressed to this point, Stefan found no reason to hide anymore. Although he was still on his knees, he kept his back straight and said with a cold and firm voice, “Now that you know, I have nothing to say. The child does indeed have the bloodline of the Hunts. It needs a legitimate identity and a competent father.”“You!” Timothy held his chest and almost skipped a breath. Then, he slammed his cane on Stefan’s back with no mercy. “You fool!“That child needs a legitimate status and respect. What about Ren
The chaos in the room instantly came to a halt. Everyone was staring straight at the little red book.“Shit!”Renee quickly crouched down and tried to hide the book. However, it was too late. The divorce certificate was clearly printed on the cover.The message was blaring loudly despite the silence in the room. Stefan and Renee were divorced!“You… You two…” Timothy held his chest, looking in pain.“Grandpa!”Stefan and Renee both ran to help Timothy at the same time.Timothy, however, shook Stefan’s hand away and chided coldly, “Don’t call me that. I can’t accept it. You’re all grown up, and you’ve stopped listening to me. How dare you sneakily divorce Ren! Are you trying to kill me?!”“In that case, I’ll do as you wish…” Timothy suddenly pulled open the drawer and took out a loaded pistol. He said with a sad look, “This gun saved my life many years ago. Ren’s grandfather gave it to me. I’m too ashamed to live anymore. I better go to meet Ren’s grandfather and confess!”Afte
The Hunt family memorial chamber housed the altars of the Hunt family’s ancestors. Kneeling in the memorial chamber was considered the most severe punishment in the family.Stefan remained silent the entire time. He knelt in front of all the ancestral tablets on the cold hard ground with his back covered with whip marks. “Send someone here to watch him. I’ll see how long he’s going to stay without food and water for three days!” Timothy told Lurch sternly.Lurch was worried about Stefan’s bloody back. “Master Timothy, he is seriously injured from the whipping,” he boldly pleaded. “He won’t get through three days kneeling without food and water!”Timothy was relentless in his pursuit. “He agreed that he should receive punishment for this mistake,” he ruthlessly spat without looking at Stefan.“B-but Mrs. Hunt said she was the one who initiated the divorce. She’s in love with someone else now. How is this considered his fault?”“I don’t care!” Timothy’s stony demeanor remained, th
“How can I help?”Renee looked helpless. She confessed, “I tried to plead for him earlier, but Grandpa stopped me from saying anything. He even warned me. If I nag again, Grandpa will punish me with him. There’s really nothing I can do to help.”Renee thought she had done enough as Stefan’s ex-wife. How could she get herself into trouble for Stefan’s sake? She realized that her feelings for him were not that deep after all. Lurch was glad to see Renee softening up and hurriedly said, “You don’t have to ask Master Timothy for mercy. You just have to help Master Stefan cheat.”“Cheat?”“Simply put, you just have to secretly take care of Master Stefan. Only you can help with this. Master Timothy dotes on you so much that even if he catches you, he won’t punish you. If we try to help, that’ll be a different story.”After saying that, Lurch quickly placed the medicine and dinner in a box and handed it to Renee.“Mrs. Hunt. Whether Master Stefan can get through this will depends on y
“You’re such an ungrateful man. How paranoid!”Renee walked out of the chamber in a huff, unable to stop herself from cursing out loud.She must be crazy. Why bother being kind to him? She was angering herself for nothing. With this much time, she could have gone home to enjoy a bath, catch up on a show, and eat and drink.Lurch had been waiting outside, and when he saw Renee coming out of the memorial chamber, he hurriedly greeted her. “Ms. Everheart? Why did you exit the place so quickly?”Trying to keep on her good side for helping him out, Lurch made sure to address her differently.“That ungrateful man is accusing and upsetting me. Why should I stay?”“How is that possible?”Lurch continued begging shamelessly, “You know Master Stefan’s nature. He’s stubborn and harsh but doesn’t actually mean it. Please help him. Urge him to eat and treat his wounds, or he might just not get through the night.”“I refuse!” Renee gritted her teeth, her face tense. “He said his life or deat
As the week went by, Renee quickly adapted to her new single life. Although work kept her busy during the day, her nights would be filled with amusement and fun. Indeed, she was thoroughly enjoying her new-found freedom.Just today, she finally signed a new contract with South Group for the next financial period.Jerome readily agreed to Renee’s request to invest 500 million in Azure Group as a research and development fund. However, Azure Group had to guarantee a profit that exceeded 8 billion in the first year, or they would have to hand South Group 30% of their company’s equity as compensation, in accordance with the contract.The terms quickly drew Liam’s ire.“Jerome is one cunning fox. After all that help from him, I thought he would have shown a modicum of sincerity for the sake of his late daughter. Instead, this contract is full of traps. I can see what he’s up to!”Liam looked at Renee in confusion. If he could, he wanted to tear this contract to pieces. “Boss, this is s
“Kind?”Stefan casually flipped through the pile of documents. Then, his mouth curved up into a slight and cold smile. “Did you misinterpret her real character?”“Misinterpret?”Elijah swallowed nervously. “Over the years, Mrs. Hunt has been so nice and loyal to you,” he boldly explained. “She was obedient at home and had always upheld a good public image. She’s a great example of a good wife and lady. As for her sudden change in temperament… I think the responsibility lies on you, Mr. Hunt.”Stefan’s face turned cold. “Me?”“Of course!”Elijah could not help but fight for Renee despite the risk of getting fired. “All these years, you were cold and heartless to Mrs. Hunt. Not to mention, you even cheated on her. If you hadn’t hurt her, why would she have gotten involved with a playboy like Liam? She wouldn’t have established Azure Group with him to fight Hunt Enterprise…“I’ve always known about Mrs. Hunt’s extraordinary strength. After all, she’s a top student who skipped grade
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he
"Uh…" Amber looked like she was being put in a difficult position. She found it impudent for a man and a woman to be alone in the dense orchard at night. "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" Liam frowned, puzzled. He felt that Amber was purposely avoiding him after expressing her desire not to marry him and making Mateo her groom instead.Before, she would always put on her favorite dress and stand at the entrance of the fort, looking eager no matter how late Liam and Benjamin returned from their work.Usually, she would carry a small bamboo basket containing the tea she brewed and dessert or food she had painstakingly prepared. When Liam returned, she would excitedly welcome him and inquire after him. Lately, she no longer did that. When Liam occasionally ran into her in the fort, she would bow indifferently at him and quickly brush past him as if they were merely acquaintances. They seemed distant.Honestly, Liam found it unfamiliar. He couldn't get used to the fact that Amber
"I don't know. Why don't you ask the guards to get us some fried chicken and French fries? Didn't Mateo say that we can ask the guards for food?" Renee said.Leia's anxiety eased as she relaxed. She turned around and got out of bed, then gestured at the guard and ordered quite a lot of food. Meanwhile, Liam accompanied Benjamin to West River in the morning for a negotiation that yielded a good result. Benjamin's attitude had improved. He didn't demand an explanation from Liam about the affairs between Liam and Amber, and didn't ask about Renee or Leia either. Liam was delighted. He carried the unique desserts he had bought at the local market for Renee and Leia to enjoy. Upon arrival, he found that they were not in the room. "Weird. Where did they go?" Liam looked around, but found no sign of Renee and Leia. He casually asked a servant, but the servant stammered and insisted on not knowing anything. Anxious, Liam kept looking for them in the fort. Coincidentally, he ran into