There was a shrewd gleam in Renee's eyes, and it was obvious her mind was racing to make sense of all the information Yulia had given her. "You can’t say that. Both the Hunt and Everheart families were developing in Beach City and both families always helped each other. There weren't any big conflicts of interest. Even if they became distant because of your brother's incident, they never meddled in each other's business. I think that the Hunt family's rapid development was mainly caused by their own efforts." "That's true." Renee's gaze softened. "After all, the Hunt family were the only ones who helped my family when they went bankrupt that year. Besides, Grandpa arranged a marriage between Stefan and I because he believed that the Hunt family were the only ones who could truly take care of me. If they really were my parents' murderers, Grandpa would have never let me marry into the family." Renee did suspect the Hunt family that year, but she quickly eliminated that option beca
"What do you think?" Renee looked at the man eagerly."This is the most delicious coffee I've ever had. It reminds me of… an old friend." Stefan said softly, then closed his eyes and took another sip, savouring the smooth and rich flavour. Even though he was an extremely picky person, this cup of coffee was indeed impeccable. It was so perfect that he was sure he had become addicted to it. "That's for sure. This is my masterpiece." Renee grinned, lifting her chin proudly. She learned how to brew coffee for Stefan's sake. She became more motivated when she saw how much he enjoyed it, and it made her feel that all her efforts were worthwhile. Stefan drank more coffee, and his muddled mind felt clearer. Scenes of a familiar woman flashed in his mind, but he could never see who she was. Whenever he tried, his head started to ache. "Damn it!" Stefan groaned, his eyebrows knit tightly as he rested his head in his hands. He looked pained, and a thin layer of sweat had appeared on hi
Renee gritted her teeth, trying to drown out the pain. Stefan tightened his grip on her hand and growled menacingly, "I can't wait until I can see again. Tell me now—what kind of past did we have? The person I love the most is Seraphina, so what kind of witchcraft are you using to confuse me?" He wanted to know the truth because he couldn't stand the pain of trying to remember. Everytime he tried to recall something, it felt like someone was taking a scalpel to his brain, and the pain was enough to drive anyone mad. "I... Ah!" Renee whimpered in pain, unable to hold it back any longer."What's wrong?" Stefan immediately released her hand."Nothing. It's just that your grip was too strong and it hurt me." Renee inhaled deeply as she adjusted the bandage on her wrist. Blood was oozing out of the wound, staining the bandages red.Renee thought bitterly, 'How pathetic. Just a bit of force and I bleed this much. If an enemy comes after me now, I'll be doomed.' Renee tried to calm
Before anyone could say anything, the trouble Margaret mentioned burst onto the scene.It was none other than Jovan. "My dear cousin, that's not very cool of you..." Jovan was dressed smartly in a suit with his hair slicked back, and he walked towards them gracefully. His lips curved upwards into a smirk, and he said teasingly, "I heard you had a little accident, cousin of mine. The Hunts and the Murphys are doing all they can to look for you, but here you are, clinging to a woman you can't seem to leave. You certainly know how to enjoy life.""Jovan, what are you doing here?" Renee stood in front of Stefan protectively, and glared at Jovan like he was a monster. "Trying to be the knight in shining armour, Renee? I don't think your 'damsel in distress' would appreciate it." Jovan scoffed, staring at Renee and Stefan shrewdly. "Woman, do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused?" However, Renee ignored Jovan and turned to Margaret. "Margaret, get Stefan out of here. I'll
Jovan held his hands out, looking remorseful. "Well, you know the rules of Hunt Enterprise..."Renee frowned and asked quickly, "What rules?""You're close to Stefan, so I'm surprised you don't know this. There's a rule in Hunt Enterprise stating that whoever takes over the company must be physically healthy and have full civil power. If not, a new leader will be selected from the legal heirs.""So, you did all this to prove that he doesn't have full civil power so you can replace him as the legal heir of Hunt Enterprise?" Renee sneered."No need to paint me as a villain, Renee. I'm just worried about my dear cousin's health. As for whether I have to replace him as the head of Hunt Enterprise, it depends on the board of directors. I am just a pawn in their hands." Jovan shrugged casually, his eyes glinting."Yes, clearly you're innocent in all this," Renee scoffed sarcastically, infuriated by Jovan's words.On the contrary, Stefan was very calm. He said expressionlessly, "That is
Renee's aura was so strong that the medical team immediately froze. They didn't dare to approach this woman who looked like a ferocious tigress protecting her cub. "Er..." The members of the medical investigation team glanced at Stefan, then turned to the directors helplessly. "Hmph! What a pathetic woman!" Jovan looked at Renee coldly. She had risked her life for Stefan, and Jovan was so jealous that it almost drove him mad. He flashed her a sinister smile. "You claim that he's your man, but why don't you ask him if he is?" He walked over to Renee and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You care so much about him, but he doesn't even remember you. Clearly, you're not that important to him. Don't you find yourself pitiful?" Renee was at a loss for words. She pursed her lips, unable to deny it. Jovan knew her weakness, and was cruelly using it against her. 'He's not wrong... Stefan, you jerk! How can you remember everyone but me?' When Jovan saw the pain in Renee's eyes, he st
Renee's body was so weak that she couldn't even struggle to free herself. She had used too much of her blood as medicine for Stefan, and now, she couldn't even fight against a worthless piece of trash like Jovan. She felt so useless. After a long silence, Stefan finally spoke up, "Let them evaluate my health, since everyone's so curious about my condition." The medical staff heaved a sigh of relief and approached Stefan to carry out the evaluation. "Mr. Hunt, we will begin now. We'll inspect your brain first. Please bear with us." "No, you can't!" Renee screamed, exhausting herself as she struggled in Jovan's grasp. "Don't let them touch you! You're Stefan Hunt! Didn't you say that you weren't a coward? How can you admit defeat so easily?!" Renee knew that if Hunt Enterprise did have such a rule, Jovan would succeed as soon as the medical report was produced. She didn't understand why Stefan would admit defeat at such a critical moment. However, Stefan ignored Renee's advice
The members of the board of directors produced a document and handed it to Stefan respectfully. "Mr. Hunt, this is the document to give up the right to manage Hunt Enterprise. We need your signature, but we don't know if you can sign it on your own given your current condition." Stefan raised his head slightly, and said calmly, "Give me the pen." "No, you can't sign that!" Renee tried her best to break free of Jovan's grasp, but she was too weak to. "Let go of me! I'll kill you, I swear!" She struggled in Jovan's arms desperately. Out of options, she grabbed his arm and bit it savagely. "Hush, be good. This is Stefan's choice. Even if I let you go, he'll still sign it. You don't have to meddle in this." "Jovan, you're despicable! Do you think you can defeat him using such underhanded methods? I won't let you succeed. You'll always be inferior to him!" Renee bit into Jovan's arm fiercely, trembling all over. The coppery scent of blood filled the air as it seeped into her mouth.
"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
The servant walked forward with trepidation and helped Justin back to his room. Austin's eyes were dark. He whispered to his assistant, who nodded and immediately carried out his order.After two glasses of strong wine, Renee felt dizzy and could not stand steadily. "It's weird. Is this wine this strong? I just had two glasses of it, but I feel quite dizzy." It was hard for her to exit the hall. She could not stand properly, so she supported herself against the wall."Ms. Everheart, you didn't seem well. Let me help you to get some rest." Austin's assistant caught up to her and stood behind her. He even sounded respectful. "It's… fine. I can go back to my room." Renee waved; she didn't want to trouble others. Besides, she did not want others to see how miserable she was. She had assumed that she was good at drinking and would not get drunk, but it seemed like she had overestimated herself. After two glasses of wine, she became quite drowsy. She would not easily leave if s
Renee blinked and smiled brightly at Justin, asking him, "Are you worried about me?" "No, I'm not worried about you!" Justin said angrily. "I don't want you to get killed here. I can't explain it to your brother and kids. It's hard to handle the three of them."He was not lying. Although he had befriended Quinton, Adie and Abby might make a scene there if they realized that Renee had drunk so much wine at the party. They were witty, always full of ideas.Hence, it was better not to cause trouble. Before they could make a scene and things get out of control, Justin must stop Renee. He wasn't worried about her at all. "So, you're not worried about me?" Renee's gaze turned dull as she sighed. "It looks like you didn't forgive me. So, I must drink this glass of wine." Something was wrong with Renee, or perhaps she just wanted to torture herself. It seemed like she insisted on drinking the wine. She swung off Justin's hand and gulped down the wine."You're out of your mind!" Justi
The aged white wine was strong. Ordinary people would find it hard to drink a glass of it. Yet, Renee had drunk two glasses of it consecutively. It was a little dangerous. Everyone at the dining table was initially watching the fun, but they showed Renee some pity after she drank two glasses of wine consecutively. After wiping her lips clean, Renee staggered and said to Justin, "Let me toast to you now. I've wronged you the most." Justin, sitting there, said with a poker face, "You don't have to say sorry to me. We don't hold each other any grudge. After all, we can't make others fall in love with us.""No, I must apologize to you. It's for my sake." After that, Renee used a bigger glass and filled it with wine."Whatever!" Justin frowned and ignored Renee. He had no idea what was wrong with her. He had yielded and let her off, but she stubbornly wanted to keep drinking the wine.He wondered if she had forgotten the fact that she had just recovered from a serious illness. She
Suddenly, Justin became mature and stopped making jokes. He talked steadily and was no longer emotional. It filled Austin with worry because it made him feel like Justin was an emotionless robot.In comparison, he liked Justin's previous self better. At that time, Justin was simple and sentimental. He was the grandson Austin doted on the most.Sophia grinned and commented, "Dad, you don't have to worry about Justin. Men will change. Previously, he was just a childish kid even though he was in his twenties. He didn't know how to see through people's pretense. But he's all grown up now. He knows what's right or wrong. That's a great thing!" As a mother, she naturally did not want her son to get hurt. Although she favored Renee and wanted the latter to be her daughter-in-law, she would give up since Renee had let her son down and harmed him. All she wanted was to see Renee get away from her son."Yes, you're right. People need to grow up. He has grown up a lot lately, but the price