Renee inevitably became nervous under his powerful and intense gaze. With a tinge of anticipation, she tried to sound him out and said, "Why do you think I treat you in a special manner?" She did not know if he had regained his memories or was purposely playing dumb here. If that was true, his acting skills could have won him an Oscar. How perfect and exceptional! "The only reason why a woman is willing to sacrifice unconditionally for a man is because she loves him too much. So, can I guess that you treat me in a special manner because you love him very much?" Instead of beating around the bush, Stefan raised the question that had been troubling him for nearly half a year.It was because the experience he had at Greenwood Sanatorium was indeed very unique. Even if he was slow, he could feel how deeply Renee cared about him.Holding that kind of doubt, he returned to the sanatorium again afterward. It was also at that time he learned that she used her blood as an ingredient fo
He was indeed very talkative and hard to fool.If she knew that he would pester her, she would never come out to chat with him, no matter what. For a moment, awkwardness engulfed them. "It's late. I'm going to rest and leave you to your thoughts."Renee forcefully pushed his hand away and got up to leave."I won't let you go if you don't make it clear." Stefan held her wrist. His voice was full of pain. "To be honest, these doubts have been troubling me for half a year. I'm going to marry my fiancee soon. If I don't make it clear, I'll feel that I've wronged her." "What do you want to know?""I want to know why I hold special feelings for you. What kind of… past did we share?" Stefan was such a smart person. Of course, his sensitivity and perception were exceptional. After his brain surgery and having his first contact with her when he woke up, he could feel a magical connection between them. Besides, a lot of people were hesitant and unwilling to talk about her. It
Just when Renee was about to speak, a soft but weak voice interrupted them."Stefan, here you are. I've been looking for you for a very long time. I even thought that something had happened to you." Seraphina was wearing a hospital gown. Her face appeared frail, and there was an IV tube injected into her body. She appeared at the entrance of the rooftop. "Seraphina, why did you come here?"Stefan furrowed his brows deeply before he hurried forward to support her. His handsome face was full of worry. "You just recovered a little. Why are you so wilful?" "No, I'm not. If you're gone, it'll no longer be important if my body is healthy or not." Seraphina coughed twice before she leaned into his arms feebly. She even acted coquettishly. "I had a nightmare just now that you were snatched by someone else. I was startled before I woke up. As expected, I didn't see you around. So, I acted instinctively and ran to the rooftop to look for you. I got so tired from walking, and I feel tha
He realized that he had gone a bit out of control tonight. It was like playing with fire. He would certainly ruin himself if he was not being careful regardless of how good his reason."Really? You gave me your word. If you see her alone again, I… I'll jump off the building here and kill myself, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Seraphina pointed at the dark stairs and made a joke. She sounded slightly serious. "Okay, don't be mad. Let's go back. It's too cold here. I'm afraid you'll catch a cold." After Stefan said that, he carried Seraphina in a very macho manner. They left just like that without saying another word to Renee again. They did not even uphold basic civility and bid her goodbye. Renee was at a loss for words.Looking in the direction they left, Renee was struck dumb. She did not react for a long time."Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"After that, as if she had gone completely insane, she burst into uncontrollable peals of laughter. 'How ridiculous! Ste
Stefan's tall and sturdy body was hidden behind the window. He watched the car for a very long time until it dropped out of his sight. "Stefan, what are you looking at? You're so absorbed."Seraphina flipped through the magazine in boredom. When she saw Stefan look out the window all that while quietly, she became alarmed. "A bird." Stefan replied lightly."A bird?" Seraphina found it weird. She stretched her neck out to look out of the window. "There's nothing outside. What bird?" "A bird that flew away, but I think its wings aren't that strong. It won't fly far."Stefan averted his gaze before he sipped his coffee and said with profound meaning.The bad premonition in Seraphina's heart grew stronger.It seemed that the bird he mentioned was not a simple bird. After pondering it, she pretended to ask casually, "Stefan, did you see Miss Everheart again these few days?""Didn't I tell you that I won't see her alone again?"Stefan's expression was slightly serious. "I
Seraphina maintained her calm and combined bits and pieces of some incidents before she debated right and wrong with Stefan. "Is… Is that so?"Stefan's deep-set eyes flickered with a mix of wrath, unwillingness, hatred, and doubt. This truth vastly differed from the truth he had imagined. For a moment, he couldn't accept it. "If you trust me, this is the truth. If you don't, you can ask her about it."Seraphina stated with absolute certainty.Her statement was flawless. Even she was almost convinced of its truth, let alone Stefan. Besides, she had Francine as a witness who confirmed those things."That'll be unnecessary…"Stefan slowly clenched his fingers and said coldly, "She had long admitted to it, but I was just unwilling to believe her."He stubbornly thought that there must be some secrets in it. Why would such a wicked woman take her blood to use as an ingredient for his medicine? Now, it seemed the truth was just that simple. She simply tried to atone for her s
The car stopped before an antique shop.Renee wanted to push Jovan into the shop, but she was turned down."Wait for me in the car. The driver can push me into the shop." He did not want to expose the surprise he prepared for her in advance, or all his efforts would be futile. "Okay, I would like to see what kind of trick you will pull."With deep curiosity, Renee watched the driver push Jovan into the antique shop.She leaned against the back seat in slight boredom. When she checked the time, it was coincidentally afternoon at Beach City. The two children might have gone home from school by now, so she gave her brother a video call. His brother always answered her calls within seconds. But strangely, today, he did not answer her calls at all. She tried repeatedly, but it yielded the same result."What's the matter?" A crease soon formed between her brows as a bad premonition overwhelmed her. She immediately called Margaret, and the latter picked it up just as quickly.
This man had ended up in this state solely because of her. If she left after manipulating him, she could not live with herself. "Oh, gosh! What should I do?"She closed her eyes in a dilemma. She was in deep pain. At that time, she heard a bang. A giant noise came from the antique shop before the whole shop collapsed abruptly. There was fire everywhere."Ah! It’s on fire. Hurry up. Save them!"South Street was considered the liveliest street in that whole town. Besides, this antique shop generally had a lot of guests. When the explosion occurred, a good number of people were in it.Endless screams of shock and horror could be heard from everywhere. People held their heads as they ran helter-skelter in a panic, fearing they might get burned by the raging flames. Renee was rendered speechless by the horrific sight.With a wide-eyed gaze, she stared at the antique shop that was on fire. She was struck dumb. She only managed to regain her wits after a long while."Jovan… Jova
"You're trying to take revenge on Stefan, aren't you? What did he do? Why do you hate him so much?" Renee demanded.She was particularly clueless.At the very least, she felt that Stefan and Jovan didn't have a grudge even if they couldn't get along. Besides—back then, Stefan survived because of Jovan's blood.In a sense, they should be close to each other. Stefan was able to live on because of Jovan.Yet now, Jovan wanted to ruin the one he had once risked his life to rescue."No, I don't hate him," Jovan answered honestly. "I even admire him, and I'm jealous of him. He's my role model, the pride of my family.""Then, you're envious of him!" Renee went straight to the point. "You can't defeat him, so you tried to make him disappear. When that happens, you'll feel better. No one will block you, and you'll get a chance to shine."Jovan, speechless, slowly stopped smiling. Renee had accurately guessed his innermost thoughts. Since he couldn't defeat Stefan, he would let Stefan b
The thing Renee feared the most was that Jovan's action would infuriate the Baldwins.Quinton, Adie, Abby, and Margaret were still there. If the Baldwin family wanted to do something bad, Renee's family would be in danger. Her happiness was secondary. She just wanted to ensure that her family was safe and sound.It seemed Austin was full of schemes. Though he seemed to have brought her family to live with her, he in truth just wanted hostages to control her…Unfortunately, she couldn't go back in time even though she had seen through his tricks."What's the rush?" Jovan watched Renee with a meaningful smile. "Someone will handle it even if it's a big mess. Your family will be fine. My foolish cousin won't let them be in danger. At most, the two families will fight fiercely."Renee was shocked. She glared at him, and suddenly understood something. "So you did it on purpose! You wanted to watch them fight and get something from it.""That's not my concern. Once, I was more powerf
After all, Jovan was a human being. Such direct physical pain made him shake and groan. Normally, he should get angry and try all means to make her stop biting him.However, he was not an ordinary man. Although he trembled in pain, he maintained his posture and let her bite him as if he wanted to see who would give up first.Renee kept biting him fiercely, as if her teeth would gnaw through his palm. Blood oozed out of the wound. She was full of hatred, wishing to vent her anger. "Just bite me hard as long as you're happy. I'm enjoying myself too!"Jovan looked at her, whose head was lowered as she kept biting his palm fiercely. It was a bloody scene, but his words made everything sound ambiguous. Renee noticed his underlying meaning and was disgusted. She immediately let go of his palm. "Bah! Disgusting! You're sick!"Her lips were still stained with blood. From afar, it looked like a blooming rose from afar. It looked attractive on her. Aroused, Jovan held the back of her
The bed was around seventy inches large. Renee's eyes were closed as she moved anxiously.She thought she was still sleeping in the West Chamber, but the mattress didn't feel the same. Then, she abruptly opened her eyes. She saw a luxurious bedroom in the Paris La Nuit Club style. Above her hung a brilliant chandelier akin to the ones in medieval castles. A fragrant scent permeated the air. "You're finally awake…" A man's bewitching voice came from an inconspicuous corner. "Renee."Jovan was sitting in a luxurious chair, his legs crossed, swaying a glass of red wine. He appeared like a stereotypical vampire as he stared wickedly at Renee. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? What did you do to me?" Renee yelled.Recalling what had happened, she abruptly sat up. Once she realized her situation, she started snarling at him. "Do you or your family hold a grudge against me? Why did you kidnap me from my engagement party?! Have you thought about the consequences? I'm sure you know h
"I… I don't know! I really don't know!" The makeup artist's face was flushed, her eyes rolling back. She felt like she was about to faint again."Are you still trying to hide the truth?" Justin continued flexing his fingers. He was certain that the makeup artist who suddenly wanted to modify the size of the gown must be aware of the truth.With her eyes rolled back, the makeup artist begged him, "I'll tell you…! Please let me go! I'll tell you everything!" Hearing that, Justin slowly released his grasp.The makeup artist finally got a chance to breathe. She kept taking deep breaths and almost cried because of her terror. "What should I tell you?" She truly knew nothing."What?" Justin's gaze grew fierce."Oh, I remember it now…" She drew in a cold breath and hurriedly said, "A handsome guy came not long after you were gone. I think he's Mr. Hunt. When Ms. Everheart saw him, she was very…"She paused, trying to find her words. "She was very…?" Justin urged her. This was the
Meanwhile, Liam and Leia became vigilant when they saw that scene."What are they doing?" Liam walked past the guests enjoying the fun and stood between Alexander and the two guards. He faked a smile and said, "We're the guests you invited sincerely. Is this how the Baldwin family treats their guests?""Guests?" Austin got off the stage and strode toward them. Although he was smiling, coldness gleamed in his eyes. "Have you ever seen any guest steal the hostess?""You can't say that, Sir Baldwin..." Liam smiled and added, "How could you be sure that it must be the Hunt family?""Who else could it be?" "This is just your guess. They've always been here. Even if they wanted to do that, they couldn't. So… You should act fair and square, given your noble identity. Shouldn't you find fault with the culprit instead? Isn't that more reasonable?" Liam looked at Austin. Although he was younger and came from a family weaker than the Baldwin family, he was still domineering.Besides, his
Alexander took a deep breath and analyzed logically, "This wasn't Stef's style. If he wanted to snatch her away, he would have done it openly in front of everyone. But this trick was cunning and dishonest!""Yes, you're right, but this is a special case. If he didn't use a trick, his woman would marry someone else. It's normal for him to be restless." Although Francine agreed with Alexander's analysis, she felt that Stefan could do anything if it concerned Renee. Naturally, he would stoop this far. "Regardless, we have to leave," Alexander whispered to Francine, sensing danger. "Austin has always been decisive and cruel. Since Stef humiliated him, I'm sure he wouldn't let Stef off easily. We're in danger too.""Is it that serious?" Francine looked at Austin, who was standing on the stage. He coldly ordered his assistant about something. It seemed like he wasn't that crazy. "I don't care what he'll do. We have to get out of North City right away because this city is controlled b
"What?! She's gone?" Justin's face fell immediately. He grabbed the collar of the person who came to inform them and demanded coldly, "What do you mean?! Why is she gone for no reason?""We… We don't know!" That person looked at Justin while trembling and reported everything. "When we got there, we found no one else in the makeup room except the makeup artist lying on the ground. We didn't see Ms. Everheart, either. We don't know what happened!""Something must have gone wrong with her!" Justin pushed that person away without hesitation and rushed toward the makeup room."Hey, Justin! What are you doing?" Sophia watched Justin disappear in front of everyone. She wanted to pursue him but failed.Everyone below the stage fell into an uproar and discussed among themselves endlessly. "The bride went missing all of a sudden! Did her ex-husband come for her?""It's possible. They were once madly in love with each other. Plus, the Hunt and Baldwin families were in conflict for many yea
On the surface, everyone felt that Justin was passionate and respected the bride well. However, only he knew that he was just terrified. He was afraid that the reality might exceed his anticipation. He was terrified to find that he was betrayed in the end when he had trusted Renee that much and treated her so sincerely."Justin, what's going on with you? How could you talk about that at such a time like this? The most important thing now is to make her come out and have this engagement ceremony. We should do the guests justice. If not, everyone will laugh at us after we've kept our dignity well for so many years!"Sophia couldn't understand his hesitation. They were just going to urge Renee to appear. It had nothing to do with their patience or ability to take good care of Renee.Both Alexander and Francine looked at each other in confusion."Dear, did you do anything?" Alexander asked Francine softly.If Renee suddenly failed to attend the ceremony, it might have been Francin