Anxiousness crept into Renee's heart instantly. 'This is weird, it's so early in the morning, and that guy is in an unfamiliar place! Besides, he's blind, so where could he have run off to?!'She swung the door open as she intended to look for the man, bumping right into the vice dean. "Good morning, Ren. You're up early. Did you have a good rest?" Yulia asked with a gentle smile. She then pointed towards the employee behind her, who was pushing a white cart. "I had the dietary department make some nutritious breakfast according to both of your physical conditions. Quick, have a taste."Renee, unfortunately, was in no mood for this, her expression sorrowful. "Thanks, Mrs. Walker, but I have a bigger issue to deal with now.""Don't panic. What is the problem? Can I help?""Well…" Renee seemed conlifted, uncertain if she should tell the truth. After all, it was embarrassing to admit that she couldn't keep an eye on a seriously injured, blind man. It was no different from admittin
Yulia shot the guard a dirty glare and comforted Renee once more. "Don't worry, our sanatorium hires professional forest rangers to clear out Dragonmount regularly. There shouldn't be that big of an issue, so I'm sure we can find him.""I know, and he's not an average person either. He's going to be safe." Renee took a deep breath, her gorgeous face lacking emotion. "Mrs. Walker, you can head back for now, I'll go look for him.""No way!" Yulia refused immediately. "Dragonmount is a complicated area, there are just too many dangers out there, with dark pits and ponds, and occasional sightings of wild boars and wolves too! You have no experience in dealing with that, so let's just have a forest ranger look for him instead.""Didn't you say there shouldn't be that big of an issue, and that you're sure we can find him?""Ah…" Yulia seemed awkward. She wasn't exactly lying when she said finding him wouldn't be an issue, it's just that they would likely find him… dead."Don't worry, Mr
The large bear was enjoying its meal at the time. However, hearing some noise coming from behind it, it paused and turned to look at the woman.Its mouth and fur were drenched in blood, and it was holding onto a piece of bone, with a few smaller pieces of flesh still attached to it. "Ah!" Renee broke down right there and then.'That… That's Stefan's bone… Stefan's flesh… And it's right in front of me!'Roar!The bear howled at Renee, and the woman was unsure if it was excited, or trying to provoke her."I'm going to kill you! I'll shred you to pieces!" Renee shrieked as she attacked the bear's head with a spin kick.Despite her petite figure, she was a very agile and strong person, and immediately sent the black bear stumbling backwards.The bear had never met such a bold person and was frozen in place. The bone in its hands was no longer as appealing now.It just stared at Renee blankly, as if it was trying to ask: "What the hell is wrong with this woman?!""What are you lo
Renee looked towards the direction of the voice. Even though she just caught her breath, she leaped up and hugged the man tightly. "Stefan! But… weren't you torn to shreds?""Can't you wish me some good?" Although Stefan seemed disdainful, he allowed the woman to hug him.Renee shook her head, still in disbelief. "You… Were you the one who shot the bear?""What's wrong with that?" Stefan was indeed holding a hunting rifle, with wisps of white smoke still coming out of the muzzle. It was clear that he was, in fact, the one who opened fire. His aim had always been quite accurate. Even though he hadn't been training for a long time, he was still able to hit a bullseye with a blindfold on. All he needed was sound to dictate which direction he had to shoot in."You're amazing, and almost as amazing as me! If the bounty hunter organization knew about you, they'd definitely spend millions just to hire you!" Renee rejoiced excitedly, looking at the man with more admiration than before. S
"But…" Stefan's cold voice echoed through the silent woods, striking her heart. "I've changed my mind."What do you mean?" Renee looked back at the man, her lonely gaze glinting with anticipation."I've decided to stay," Stefan replied."Really?" The woman beamed, her eyes sparkling with joy. "You've finally decided not to run away? You've finally realized that you can't, haven't you?""Not exactly." Stefan's expression was plastered with natural confidence. "I can leave as long as I want to, none of you will be able to find me.""Pfft!" Renee burst into laughter. 'Just look at him! Even with his current state, he's still the stubborn man I know.'"Yeah yeah, you're the strongest guy out there. You even chose the most dangerous path in these woods because you wanted a difficult challenge, I'm sure. If you're so great, let's make a bet then. If you can find your way out of Dragonmount, I'll send you back to Seraphina. You'll be free."Stefan raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued
The man's expression stiffened. His gorgeous eyes still remained unfocused as he replied, "I wish.""You…" Renee felt rather helpless after noticing his pitiful appearance. She waved her hand slowly in front of his face. "Can you really not see?""I have no reason nor interest in pretending to be a blind man," Stefan responded coldly, his elegant face plastered with visible pain."I'm so sorry, you're just way too smart. I couldn't help but doubt you. I… I'm such an idiot!" Renee gave herself a couple of light slaps out of guilt.Stefan was quite a prideful man. He was already feeling quite depressed because of his disability, and yet he was being doubted for it regardless… 'This was no different than trampling all over his insecurities. I'm such a disgusting person!'Stefan maintained an expressionless face, still facing forward as he spoke dismissively, "So are we continuing the bet?"Renee bit on her lip, feeling rather uneasy. "Only if you want to.""Then please step aside
Renee turned to the man, clearly confused. "Weren't you risking your life just to leave? Why the sudden change of heart?""I just wanted to show you that none of you could stop me if I tried to leave. So, if I do stay, it would be of my own volition," Stefan replied arrogantly."But… why?" Renee still couldn't understand. However, she now believed that Stefan was telling the truth, he did in fact have the ability to escape this place. 'But wasn't he missing Seraphina? Why is he so willing to stay now? This makes no sense!'"You mentioned that I risked my life to leave, but you risked your life to save me as well. That shows that we aren't just hospital buddies as you said…" Stefan paused, then continued. "I want to know what kind of past relationship we had to have warranted your desperate efforts."He wasn't sure if he had lost parts of memories, but he could tell that this 'Renee Everheart' had played an important role in his life. Otherwise, her existence alone wouldn't have b
"Oh come on, Margaret, spill everything out at once! You're giving me a heart attack here!" Renee felt her chest tightening as she nervously turned to the old woman once more."My father may have been a great doctor, but he has rather odd ways. The recipes he concurred up on his own aren't accepted within us traditional doctors. That's why I was hesitant in using his methods…" Margaret furrowed her eyebrows, visibly perturbed."What is it? What do you mean odd? Tell me.""All my father's recipes require a special ingredient…" Margaret then whispered into Renee's ear, revealing the ingredient to her.Renee remained silent for a short while, then responded, "It's okay. If you need any, then go ahead. I can provide you with it.""But it'd be harmful to you. Is that heartless man really worth it?""He became this way because of me. I'm even willing to sacrifice my life for him, let alone this special ingredient.""Alright, I understand. You don't want to owe him anything." As the
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
Time passed by. Gradually, the pain knocked some sense into Justin. He no longer wanted to take advantage of Renee."Let me get you some water." Renee had no idea what she could do for Justin. After some contemplation, she got to her feet and poured him a glass of water.Finally, she studied the room closely and found that it was a wedding room as Justin had mentioned. Everything was set up according to her preferences, which she had occasionally mentioned to Justin. For example, she loved keeping some ceramic ornaments on the bedside cabinet and hanging some seashell wind chimes at the windows. The entire room was painted in beige and green, which were her favorites, too. Beige gave a sense of warmth, while green gave a sense of gloominess. All of those details became the perfect wedding room for Renee.If everything went on smoothly, she would spend most of her time there, and he would be her life companion. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in the world.Renee handed the gla
Renee covered her lips, her tone filled with disbelief. "I…cut myself." Justin leaned against the corner and frowned deeply. He was in deep pain."Why did you cut yourself?" Renee was scared out of her wits and grew more sober. In her panic, she threw herself at him and tried to stop his bleeding.Justin reacted aggressively as he waved his dagger and warned fiercely, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" "I…" Renee paused, too afraid to act recklessly. She pointed at his wound and said, "I'm just worried about you. You're bleeding. It must hurt a lot. Why did you hurt yourself?" "It's better to be in pain!" Justin gnashed his teeth and said in agony, "The pain will knock some sense into me, so I won't act like an animal and lose control of myself.""I see…" Stunned, Renee was moved to tears. She understood why he cut himself. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay sober and not be controlled by the drug in the wine.He could have used her to satisfy his desire, and she would never b
"You're playing with fire!" Justin leaned close to Renee's ears and said fiercely, "What do you think there is in the wine? Maybe I'm not someone who will take liberty on women, but I can't promise that the wine won't make me so." "So, you're saying that the wine…" Suddenly, Renee realized the wine was not as simple as she thought. She also understood why Rose had behaved in such a mysterious manner. "Stay…away from me!" Suddenly, she became frightened and wanted to keep some distance from Justin. She knew that people could not be trusted completely, especially under the effects of chemical reactions. Things would certainly get out of control. Justin probably did not want to do anything to her, but both of them would lose their minds under the effect of the wine and do something that would fill them with regret. The only way to prevent such an incident was to avoid each other."You want to stay away from me, but it's too late now. I'm no saint. I'm just a normal guy!"Just
"I'm so thirsty!" The burning sensation of the wine made Renee thirsty. She wanted to drink some water.In the dark, she heard some rustling. The next second, something was on her lips. It seemed to be someone else's lips. She wondered if someone had secretly kissed her."Who are you?" Renee grabbed the person in front of her and interrogated angrily, "How dare you kiss me without my permission! Do you know who I am? I'll cut off your lips!""Let's see if you can do that or not." The man sounded dull and drunk, but he was also overbearing.Although Renee was drunk, she could discern who it was. She called out in the dark and tried to confirm her doubt. "Haze…?" "Yeah, it's me," Justin admitted, but he did not plan to let her go. He used a more overbearing manner and trapped her between him and the door."What do you want?" Renee panicked. She wanted to kick him away, but she did not resist when she learned that it was Justin. After she had done so many things to hurt him, s