"You? Help me and Stef?" Seraphina froze in disbelief as if she had just heard the most ridiculous myth. She then scoffed. "Do you think I'm dumb, Renee Everheart? Do you think I'd really believe your fake empathy?"Renee's gaze was cold and retorted. "Do you really think that I'd waste my energy to lie to you?" "W… What do you mean?""Meaning, even if I really wanted to compete with you, you wouldn't even get the chance to go against me. I don't need to play these mind games with you.""You!" Seraphina was speechless.Despite her rage, she knew that Renee was right and was unable to mount a reasonable comeback.Jovan stared at Renee with a conflicted gaze and asked coldly. "What do you mean by 'till he gets better?' How much better does he have to be?" "That's hard to say." Renee turned to Jovan. As if the two were playing a tug of war, she continued. "At the very least, I have to make sure he won't get taken advantage of."Seraphina took a deep breath and reached her ha
With eyes darkened, he grabbed her by the chin and mocked her. "Now you're pretending to love him unconditionally, huh? Why weren't you considerate of his condition when you decided to make him go through brain surgery to wipe his memories about Renee? Why didn't you think of that when you substituted his memory of her saving him with yourself?" "I…""Both you and I know that the surgery was just a facade. Your main goal was just to replace Renee in Stefan's memories! Now that you've become the person he loves and trusts most, what else do you want?! Why do you have to get her involved?!""I'm sorry, I was wrong. I… I wasn't thinking," Seraphina admitted to her faults anxiously.The woman used to be a prideful rich lady. She was so arrogant that she looked down on everyone but Stefan, as she was in love with him. However, now, when faced with Jovan, she couldn't help but feel a natural fear arising within her heart. The man knew too many of her secrets, and she was afraid that
That day, Renee had just finished brewing some medicinal tea. She pushed open the door to Stefan's ward.Inside were Seraphina and Stefan, cuddling each other lovingly. The two looked glued to the hip, unwilling to separate at all."Seraphina, I thought about it. Let's get married once I get discharged!" Stefan said, his arms wrapped around her and his chin placed on top of her head. His expression seemed longing. "I hope we can have our wedding in Tahato. I hear they have the bluest seas and the softest sand. Since you love the sea so much, that will be the most suitable place for our wedding."Seraphina's blissful expression was instantly replaced with fear. "Marrying right after you've recovered?! Isn't that… too soon?"'Besides, when have I ever said I liked the sea?''I hate it! It's too sunny out, it's boring as heck, and it's the worst when it gets too windy!'"How is that too soon?" Stefan's face turned serious. "I love you so much that I want to put a ring on you right
Seraphina immediately tried chasing Renee away.Stefan, who was silent the entire time, furrowed his brows as he spoke frostily. "You got injured the same day I did?""Uhm…" Renee froze, her expression stiff.'Shit, I misspoke.'"How did you get hurt?" The man continued questioning."I… I tripped and fell by accident." Renee came up with a simple excuse and rushed out of the room.She actually didn't intend for him to notice her. She wanted to do as promised. She acted like she was mute and only took care of him quietly. She only wanted to see him recover fully and leave with no regrets.However, she knew that it would now be difficult for her to hide away, especially with her previous mess up…"She left?" Stefan seemed rather disappointed."What? Did you not want to leave? And you just said you love me so much you wanted to marry me right away!" Seraphina huffed out of jealousy, feeling quite anxious.She then wrapped her arms around the man's neck and voluntarily kissed him
Renee stayed quiet, not uttering a word the whole time. However, this only piqued the man's interest further."Is your identity classified? Why won't you even tell me your name?" Stefan continued questioning, persistent to get an answer.Renee bit down on her lips. After a few moments of hesitation, she replied clearly, "No, not classified. My name is Renee Everheart. Do you know me, Mr. Hunt?""How could you go back on your word, Renee Everheart!" Seraphina shoved Renee aside, visibly agitated.She felt as if Renee was about to snatch her precious toy, which gave her the urge to fight the woman right there and then."Renee Everheart…" Stefan repeated the name over and over again, trying his best to look through his memory but to no avail. His expression was cold and solemn.Renee was disappointed, but let out a sigh of relief. She responded lightly, "Don't waste your energy, Mr. Hunt. You definitely won't remember anything, we don't know each other at all. I only know of you bec
Since Renee was able to keep a safe distance from him, she left the room nonchalantly.They had to admit that Margaret's recipe was almost miraculous. Despite merely having had one cup of the tea, he noticed that his wounds were much less painful the next morning. The effects were quite obvious, as he seemed more energetic as well."Stef, have some water." Seraphina poured Stefan some warm water carefully. As she stared at the steam coming from the glass, she looked for a reaction when she asked, "Do you remember you said the other day that we could get married once you are discharged? Is that offer still available?" Feeling the warmth of the water around the glass, Stefan raised an eyebrow at her question. "Of course. Why do you ask?""You've been so distracted for the past few days! I just feel kind of insecure!" Seraphina whined softly, then started picturing their future. "I've been thinking for a while, and I think it's best we change our wedding venue.""Why? I remember you
"What? She's been discharged?" Seraphina felt a bit suspicious, torn between feeling happy and angry at her actions. "How can she just leave without saying anything?!"She should've known that this woman couldn't be trusted. They had promised to wait for Stefan to get better before leaving, but now, he was still bedridden and she had already left. She just couldn't keep her promises!"Are you Ms. Murphy?" The nurse asked cautiously."Yes, what's wrong?" Seraphina snapped at the nurse in irritation. She didn't know why, but Renee's abrupt departure made her feel uneasy. Renee wasn't the type who would give up easily, so she had to be hiding an ace up her sleeve!"I was told by Ms. Everheart to give this medicine to you. She said it works wonders, and hopes that you brew it carefully," the nurse explained, then handed over a cube of the medicine to Seraphina."For me?" Seraphina stared at the medicine in confusion, wondering what Renee was up to. She opened up the medicine, and saw
"Ahem!" Francine had entered the room and witnessed the scene before her, and her face was black as thunder. Behind her was the caretaker that she had personally picked out for Stefan.Seraphina was mad that the happy atmosphere had been interrupted, so she was about to give the intruder a piece of her mind. However, when she angrily turned around, she was pinned by Francine's sharp gaze. She jerked away from Stefan immediately and stammered, "M-Madam Francine, why are you here?"She had been feeling guilty ever since she and Jovan had secretly bribed the neurosurgeon to give Stefan that brain surgery. She'd also been feeling paranoid and suspicious of everyone."My son is in a hospital bed, and you ask me, his mother, why I'm here?" Francine demanded, her voice tight with anger. She didn't like how Seraphina had been going about this, so she started lecturing her. "You certainly have your ways, don't you? You hid the fact that my son was injured for a whole week. Do you know that
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"I don't know how to tell you. I'm sure you can understand." Renee could not bring herself to say more because it was a humiliating privacy. She might as well keep it to herself."Let me guess…" Justin's gaze grew sharp as he went straight to the point. "The man in your story is Stefan, isn't it?" Silence washed over Renee as she kept her head bowed. It was a silent approval.Justin burst into reckless laughter, which was scary. He looked down at his cut wound and laughed pathetically. "This is why he could make you fall in love with him, and I couldn't. I'm too cultured compared to him.""Don't say that, Haze!"Seeing how defeated Justin was, Renee became uneasy. "It isn't written in the stars for us. Plus, I've fallen in love with Stefan a long time ago before I even got to know you. I also rely on him physically and psychologically. I can't control my feelings. It's not something we can change. We…" "Stop!" Heartbroken, Justin pushed away everything in front of him and s