"Oof, n… nope!" Renee immediately stopped grinning and stood up obediently. She didn't even dare to breathe too loud.She had to admit, despite his sickness, his innate aura was still rather imposing. Thus, while he expressed anger, the atmosphere became rather cold, and she was smart enough to know when to stop."Uhm, I didn't mean to make fun of you. I… I just haven't finished shaving you." Renee looked for an excuse carefully, aware of the tense atmosphere.'Hehehe, I saved the photos anyway. I can just look back on them in the future.'"No need." Stefan reached his arm over to the table and looked for the razor. He then shaved his stubbles clean by going around his entire neck with the razor. He completed the entire process with practiced ease, as though it came as second nature to him.Renee was stunned, pointing at him. "So you could do it yourself! That looks way better than what I did! Then… Why did you ask me to shave for you?"From her point of view, helping a man shave
"Whether you two were dating or not has nothing to do with me. I even wish that you two could be more loving with each other, lest he wouldn't be so bored as to give me trouble all the time. I'd get some peace and quiet, too," Stefan said, still rather emotionless. He then changed into some freshly washed clothes. "Come on, get some sun with me."It had been quite some time since they had gone outside for some sunlight after all. Other than that, he couldn't help feeling warm and positive on the inside with Renee by his side for some odd reason.Renee soon brought Stefan to their favorite part of the back garden.It was spring, and the entire garden was in full bloom. The air was filled with a faint scent of rain and mud, partnered with the fresh smell of grass. The warm sunlight washed over their hair and faces. Nature painted the world in the purest peace and beauty for the first time in a long while.Despite this, Renee was weirdly silent, unable to enjoy a single moment of
"You even had… children together?" Stefan's heart was filled with mixed emotions. His expression turned darker with time.It wouldn't be reasonable for him to be upset. After all, they were just a married couple with children, which meant this was none of his business. Even so, he felt inexplicably bitter after hearing about 'their love story' regardless. 'Oh god, Stefan Hunt, can't you be a little normal for once? Don't you think it's ridiculous that you're paying so much attention to a woman you haven't even seen? This is an insult to Seraphina and an insult to yourself!' he thought to himself."Hmm, I mean, the guy might be a jerk, but our kids are adorable. So I don't regret falling in love with him." Renee told the truth this time, despite her previous attempt at making something up.She could obviously tell that Stefan looked as upset as someone who just found out they had been cheated on. However, he was still suppressing the negative emotions, replying coldly, "That mean
"Stefan!" Renee jogged over to the dashing man, who was still enjoying the sun under the pavilion. She chirped gleefully and said, "I picked a lot of apricots. Would you like some?"Hearing the woman's cheery voice, he couldn't help but feel reassured. His heart grew warm, just as the gentle sunlight, as he asked softly, "Are they sweet?""Of course! Tastes just like first love!" Renee exclaimed, choosing another big one and cleaning it with her shirt again. She handed it to the man enthusiastically. "Take a bite!"At the same time, she took out her phone and turned on the camera, hoping to capture the man's expression while smoldering from the taste.In actuality, she had been saving quite a lot of photos and videos that could potentially destroy Stefan's image. As if she were dying from a terminal illness, she knew she had not much time left with him. Hence, she instinctively recorded every moment with the man, hoping to reminisce about these memories in the future.In some wa
"Hey, Stefan. Stop messing around, don't scare me!" Renee felt that something was rather off. Her slender face instantly turned pale as she checked the man's breathing.'It's a good thing that he was still breathing… albeit weakly.'This indicated that the man wasn't pranking her this time. He was truly feeling quite weak."Someone, please help!" she shouted in panic.Soon, the sanatorium staff rushed over, taking Stefan into the infirmary.Renee, on the other hand, followed closely behind. She was out of breath, her mind completely drawing blanks as she didn't know what to do.Having just recovered not long ago, Renee was in rather bad shape as well. She didn't understand how Stefan, who had been making great progress a while ago, would have fallen so ill in just the span of three days. "Peggy, what's happening? Wasn't Stefan close to recovering? Why…" Renee grabbed hold of a nurse who had been taking care of Stefan's basic necessities and asked desperately."Well…" Peggy see
"This…" Margaret hesitated. Renee knew almost everything anyway, so she sighed and said firmly, "We cannot take more of your blood, not unless you wish to die.""Don't worry. My body regenerates blood quickly. As long as I eat more red meat, I'll be fine. There's no time… Hurry up!"As Renee said this, her head still felt fuzzy, and she felt increasingly weaker.Her body was never this weak before, but ever since she had her two children, her body condition could not go back to what it once was.Just as she was about to rejuvenate, her condition worsened as soon as she was required to provide more blood for Stefan's medicine."Ms. Ren, this isn't something we can afford to risk. We can't extract any more blood from you…""Margaret, stop stalling. He can't hold on any longer. As the eldest daughter of the Everheart family, I command you to extract my blood!" Renee had no choice but to use her position to force Margaret's hand and follow her orders."Ms. Ren, you're putting me in
Renee arrived at the infirmary. While supporting an unconscious Stefan, she tipped up the bowl of medicinal tea and poured it all into his mouth."You've almost got this, you punk. Just hold on!" She held onto his hand tightly as she said those words with red-rimmed eyes.Night fell quickly. Renee had stayed by the bed the whole day, hopelessly staring at Stefan until he woke up."Ms. Everheart, Mr. Hunt's condition has stabilized. You should go rest," the nurse told Renee in an encouraging tone."I'm alright, I am also resting while I'm here, and I feel more reassured watching him.""Then please take care of yourself. If there's anything you need, feel free to call me anytime." The nurse gave a long sigh before walking out of the infirmary.After all, everyone in Greenwood Sanatorium knew that Ms. Everheart loved Stefan to death.After some time, Renee laid her head on the edge of the bed and fell asleep.Later, Stefan came around. He wiggled his fingers, only to find that the
Renee felt like she understood Jovan even more now."Ms. Ren, since we have reached a breakthrough, I'm thinking… We can try healing Mr Hunt's eyes." Margaret said thoughtfully.Recently, she had been researching and experimenting with different ingredients that would work with her father's recipe to help Stefan gain his sight back."Really? What're the conditions?" Renee asked in an emotional tone.'This is great. After so much waiting, the day is finally here!' she thought."Regarding this, we require Mr. Hunt's as well as Jovan's full cooperation. I suspect that it will still be quite difficult to do." Margaret stopped at this, sighed with worry, and said, "This method is created by my father, called the 'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy.' Since Mr. Hunt's body didn't reject Jovan's blood, I reckon we could try it out.""'Bloodletting and Bone Fumigation Therapy'?"Confusion was written all over Renee's face. "What kind of treatment is this? Just the name creeps me ou
"Do you still want to marry me?" Justin asked Renee."I…" Renee could talk nonsense with Jovan, but she couldn't joke with Justin. She had harmed him many times and couldn't keep hurting him. Honestly, she didn't want to marry him or anyone else. She did not want to rely on anyone. She knew she could rely on a man and lead a steady life if there was love. But without love, it would be very hard to rely on a man.However, she knew that Justin liked her and wanted to marry her. If she promised to marry him, the impulsive Jovan would get the staff of the City Hall here. If she turned Justin down at that time, she would harm him again."Fine. You don't have to feel stressed. I know the answer." Justin was no fool. Renee's hesitation told him what she wanted. "When I begged you to marry me, you forced yourself to say yes. You just wanted to repay me for saving your life.""No, you're wrong!" Seeing Justin hurt pained her more than when she was hurt. She hurriedly explained, "I reall
"What is it?" Renee looked at Justin curiously.Renee, Stefan, and Jovan were curious about what was on Justin's mind."If my family starts fighting the Hunt family, which side will you take?" Justin went straight to the point. He had been curious about that as he made wild guesses about Renee's mind. Since Renee was right before him, he wanted to get the answer from her before he could give up."Hmph! I thought it was something serious. Why did you make it sound that serious…" Jovan burst into laughter, finding Justin a loyal man. "Isn't that obvious? If she wants to take your side, you guys would be married by now. There wouldn't be so many shitty things either!""Shut up, Jovan!" Renee glared at Jovan. If she was stronger, she would beat him up. She said coldly, "Did you forget how you took me away?""Yes, I used some cunning means to take you away, but let's be frank. If I didn't come that day, would you marry him?"Jovan had long gotten used to Renee's fierceness. On the c
Similarly, Renee used an iron wire to cut her wrist just to meet Stefan."Am I right? You did so many things just to see him. Now you finally met him. Are you happy and satisfied now? But you look worse than before." Jovan teased Renee. He found her pitiful, but at the same time, he felt that it served her right. It seemed everybody was a joke in their romance with others. Only those who never loved could be at the top of the food chain. They would laugh at those who gave up their hearts to others and could not understand those people's bizarre actions."Stop gloating. It's none of your business! Let go of me, or I'll make you feel sorry for yourself."Renee had just escaped death and was weak. Had it not been for that, Jovan wouldn't be able to stop her or watch her make a fool of herself. Still, she would be fine with losing blood again just to torment him if he kept on talking nonsense. Then, he would watch his tongue."Tell me, Phoenix. Is he telling the truth?" Justin
The loud noises in the ward naturally alerted Justin and Jovan."What's going on?" Justin became very nervous and kicked the door of the ward open. He saw that Renee had woken up and was crazily tearing at the bandages."Uh…" Justin was struck dumb. He had thought of the possibility of Stefan waking Renee up, but he did not expect it to be that effective. Renee ended up becoming a maniac who had lost control of herself. "You're awake?" Jovan was stunned too. He instantly understood the whole incident and gave Renee a thumbs-up. "You're great!"Renee looked coldly at them and ordered them, "Get out, you two! I haven't settled things with him!" Although she was fine with the way they regarded her, she did not want them to see her as a maniac. Besides, their presence would affect her and stop her from being crazy."I won't get out."Jovan turned Renee down. He rushed over and hugged her, stopping her from hurting herself."What are you doing? Let go of me!"Renee was still ha
After a long pause, Stefan finally admitted honestly, "That wasn't a lie." He turned to look at Renee. He knew what he had to do, and heaved a long sigh."But life isn't just about love.""Why not?" Renee became teary as she stared at him like a child who failed to get what she wanted. "To me, that's already enough. As long as we love each other, we can conquer everything. Without love, it'll be hopeless.""If loving each other is already enough, there wouldn't be the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Didn't they love each other deeply? They loved each other a lot, but they ended up dead!" Stefan shot back.He could not stop himself from getting impulsive. Heartbroken, he turned around to look into Renee's eyes. "Compared to love, I'd rather you lead a steady and happy life. But I'm not the one who can give you that. I'll only bring you pain and death!""Romeo and Juliet?" Renee found that preposterous and bizarre. "What a lousy excuse! Did I kill your parents, or did you kill my p
"How could you…" Stefan looked at Renee in disbelief. For a moment, he was struck dumb. Renee quietly removed the oxygen mask and the needle. She calmly sat up in bed. "I thought you'd never be honest with me.""When did you wake up?" Stefan finally regained his wits. Because of his guilt, he was too scared to look into Renee's eyes. "I had long woken up." Renee was very calm. She looked weak because she had lost too much blood, but at the same time, she still looked firm like a rose blooming in winter. "So, you purposely lured me here, didn't you?"When Stefan learned that she had long woken up, he realized with shock that he might have stepped into the trap she and Jovan set up.Naturally, he was uneasy, given the proud man he was. He could plot against others but could not tolerate others doing the same to him, let alone the fact that it was his beloved woman."Hmph! Did I lure you here?" Renee laughed sarcastically and disappointedly. She looked at Stefan as he tried
"Can I wake her up?" Stefan seemed to be asking them and himself. He shook his head in self-hatred. "I'm afraid I'm the reason why she wants to escape this world. She must hate me to the core and refuse to see me. She might know that I'm here, so she's avoiding me and refuses to wake up."He recalled how much he had harmed her. He was not confident to wake her up, let alone face her."Yes, you're sinful, ut you must be held accountable for it!" Justin could not bother to waste his time talking to Stefan. He pushed Stefan into the ward instead. "You made her so angry, she's in a coma now. So, you have to wake her up. If she doesn't, you can't leave the ward!""Agreed!"Jovan was standing on the other side. He and Justin seemed to have formed a barrier and refused to let Stefan back down.After some contemplation, Stefan decided to face the music. He closed the ward door and quietly went to Renee's bed. It was the first time he was alone with her after a long time."You're tr
Unsurprisingly, Renee remained irresponsive. Justin gradually grew depressed. Before, he was confident. Seeing that he was getting no response from her, his confidence waned. Undeniably, he was probably not that important to her. If not, she wouldn't remain indifferent. She would have sensed that he was around. "I got it. You don't need me." Justin smiled helplessly. He felt pathetic too. He took a deep breath and finally stood up to exit the ward."How's it going?" Stefan asked.He kept waiting outside the ward, paying close attention to it in hopes that Renee could wake up. He also felt that Justin could bring Renee wonderful things and hope. She would wake up when she sensed that Justin was calling for her. "Hmph! Isn't it obvious? Of course, he couldn't wake her up!" Jovan casually leaned against the bench in the corridor, not even looking up. He sounded vicious. "He's just a backup guy. Of course she doesn't care about him! She's not in love with him." Justin glared at J
Stefan remained quiet as he calmly watched Renee. He extended his hand to touch her face but retrieved it before he could.She used to be the woman he was familiar with and the one he had hugged and kissed countless times, but now, he didn't even dare to touch her. "I think she doesn't even want you here. She must hate you so much and is disappointed in you. She'll be even more pressured if you stay here, and it'll push her further from this world. So please, get the hell out of here if you want the best for her!"Justin could not hold himself back from scolding Stefan. If Jovan was telling the truth, Stefan must be aware of the fact that Jovan was holding Renee hostage. Yet, he remained indifferent and feigned ignorance. He didn't even care if Renee was fine. What a cruel bastard! Justin was disappointed in Stefan. He wanted nothing more than to see what was really on Stefan's mind."Take good care of her." Stefan did not want to defend himself. He glanced at Renee, relucta