"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
"Because I'm feeling very conflicted." Renee said quietly as she stared at Jovan."Conflicted about what? Humor me. Tell me about it." Jovan smirked playfully as usual.Even though his wrist had been slit open earlier, he was genuinely happy.'My muse has finally started showing me concern and compassion. She is finally willing to talk to him. She is even stargazing with me… Giving that blood away was totally worth it!'"Margaret said since Stefan's body doesn't reject your blood, she found a way to cure him." Renee looked rather serious.Jovan's smile immediately dropped, asking coldly, "How?"Renee explained everything Margaret mentioned to the man.Upon hearing this, Jovan fell silent for a long while. He then scoffed frostily and replied, "It just sounds like they're going to use my blood, my bones to extend Stefan's life, and they're going to use my eyes to cure his.""In theory, yes." Renee nodded.Jovan was a smart man, after all. Just hearing the name of the therapy wa
"This is great! Do you know how long we've waited for this day? Thank you, God, for showing us this miracle!" Francine wailed as she hugged Stefan."Son, you must have suffered so much lately! It's all my fault for letting those bad people bring you harm! Let's focus on living our best lives now, okay?!" Alexander sobbed as he wiped his tears."I'm sorry for worrying all of you." Stefan coughed gently, his handsome face expressing solemnity.He scanned his surroundings as if he was hoping to meet the person he longed to see all this while. However, only his family and friends were there, and he spotted no unfamiliar face."What are you looking for, son?" Francine quickly asked, noticing that he was spacing out."I…" Stefan groaned and asked, "Wasn't I in Greenwood Sanatorium? Who sent me here?" "Well…" Francine and Alexander shared a glance, not certain if they should reveal the truth.Seraphina held his hand and kissed him gently. "Oh silly, Uncle Alexander, Aunt Francine, and
Half a year later, in a small town of West Varangia were several small wooden houses with pointed roofs. Like a fairytale, these beautiful structures were built along the tall mountain ranges. The loveliest house among the rest was at the foot of the mountain. There were rows and rows of sunflowers swaying in the wind, basking in the sunlight within the large front yard. In the very middle of the garden was a handsome man in a wheelchair. As the sunlight brushed against his skin, he lifted his face to take in the wonderful scent of flowers. His expression was filled with bliss."Are you thirsty? Would you like some water?" Renee asked gently, caressing Jovan's knee over the soft blanket."I'd like to have some of your coffee.""Okay, get some more sun for now. I'll go make you some coffee."Before leaving, the woman bent down and kissed him softly on the forehead as reassurance."Thank you, my love." Jovan squeezed her hand. His voice filled with happiness as sweet as honey.
"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