That was why Stefan urgently needed to find the one who could 'unlock' him, so that he could be normal again!"Your silence only proves me right. See? You agree with me that you don't love Seraphina at all, and you'd be hurting her and yourself if you kept bumbling on and marrying her, y'know?" Xavier naturally saw everything clearly because he was close to Stefan, and Stefan saw Xavier clearly too.Stefan did not love Seraphina, just like Xavier did not love Leia… therefore, as a scumbag with a conscience, he would never allow himself to hurt Leia, or his good friend to hurt Seraphina."I really don't love Seraphina, do I?" Stefan narrowed his eyes, working hard to ponder on the fact before asking a soul-searching question. "But who is the one I love if not her?"After all, he was constantly aware that he loved a certain person with every fiber of his being, and it was a love ingrained to his very bones. Judging from his memories, it had to be Seraphina, who braved hell and high w
Renee stood before Stefan, angrily glaring at him as the atmosphere grew tense. Even Stefan's bodyguards were holding their breaths, ready to jump into action at any moment.However, the standoff lasted little over ten seconds as Renee's eyes suddenly turned watery."If you don't… I-I'll cry!" She stammered, and started bawling. "Boo-hoo…Please, Stefan Hunt… CEO of Hunt Enterprise and the god of Beach City… Please, give him back to me…" She was crying so loudly that the whole bar seemed to quake, causing everyone in the bar to turn towards the VIP area curiously.Stefan was utterly mystified—this woman never seemed to behave like a normal person, and he was completely caught off guard!To make things worse, Renee had become so experienced in crying that her tears and snot were flowing freely while her eyes and nose had turned red. She looked so miserable that she could give professional actresses a run for their money!"No… Please… If you're upset with someone, go mess with them…
Xavier strode up to Leia, grabbed her wrist, and said quietly, "What are you doing? There's a limit to making jokes, and don't you know what will happen if you make Stef angry?"Leia's gaze was muddled even as she turned to Xavier, but she only got more upset. "Everyone, see? This man is no angel too, forcing himself on students just like his best friend. In fact, he's worse—the student had ten babies with him. Pigs like him should be given the electric chair!"With that, everyone's attention turned to Xavier in record time."Exactly how much did you drink, woman?! Get a grip!" Xavier could smell the pungent scent of alcohol from Leia's mouth, and had to clasp his hand over her mouth to stop her from saying anything else."Look! Mmph—the scumbag is trying to kill me! Oof!" Leia struggled violently, but Xavier simply scooped her up in his arms. "Come with me. I can't let you run around like this.""Hey, what are you doing?! Let me go! I need to expose him! I—" Leia protested but
Renee did a double take as she wondered what Stefan was talking about. "Who else would I come for?"Stefan stayed silent, and simply stared at her with a meaningful look in her eyes.Renee lost her patience, and glanced at her surroundings before quietly saying, "I've cried and begged—I've prostrated myself as much as I can, so please, haven't you had enough? Let him go, or you'll suffer too if I expose you.""So, you're done with crying and begging… and now you're threatening me?" Stefan folded his legs and smiled meaningfully, twirling his glass of tequila and taking a sip of it. "Don't you know what the price for threatening me is?"Renee rolled her eyes at the man's love of being dramatic—what else could it be other than another round of bickering?"I don't want to cause a scene, and no one wants word of this to get out," she retorted staunchly. "But if you insist, I don't mind knocking your teeth out!"Stefan was surprisingly not upset, and actually teased her, "That actuall
Renee was so tired that she decided to just give up and claim responsibility for everything. "If you say it's true, then it must be true. You don't have to hold out hope for me because I'm obviously blindsiding you so that I can be with Jovan. I only cared for you to silence my conscience, so come at me if you still bear a grudge—don't hurt Jovan. He's just an innocent victim I manipulated!""Come at you?!" Stefan snorted in disdain, slowly rising to his feet and walking up to Renne. "Do you know what's the worst torment for a woman?""I'm sorry, but I'm inexperienced when it comes to being a sicko," Renee replied with an impassive look. She knew that he probably hated her to the bone, and must have thought of hundreds of ways to torment her.But it was fine—was she not fortunate if her sacrifice could be traded for everyone's happiness?"I guess I can tell you…" Stefan said with a vague smile, putting a hand around her waist and pulling her towards him. He leaned down and murmured
"Zzz…"Hearing the rhythmic snoring, Stefan turned around to find that Renee was fast asleep without a care. Furious, he spun the steering wheel and jammed his food on the brakes.As the car came to a screeching halt at the turn on a coastal zone, Renee immediately jolted awake and reached for the car door handle, looking around in panic, "Argh! What happened?! Was there an earthquake?!"She saw that the car had stopped by the beach, enveloped in darkness and silence—danger seemed to lurk everywhere.Meanwhile, Stefan opened the window to let the fresh breeze in, looking up at the starry sky above."Carefree, aren't you?" He scoffed flatly as he lit himself a cigarette, exhaling a puff of smoke. "Someone who knew better would know you're due for punishment, but those who don't would think that you're here to sightsee."Embarrassed, Renee hastily tidied her appearance and cleared her throat. "Sorry I wasn't taking this seriously. Should I be more worried about not meeting your exp
Stefan did not miss Renee's fidgeting, but misunderstood it as her craving a cigarette. Frowning, he lectured her like a father would, "You're a woman, but you smoke?"His judgy tone pissed Renee off, and she straightened herself menacingly as she snapped, "What's wrong with women smoking? Why are men allowed to do it, but not women?""Men are different from women," Stefan said stubbornly."In what way?" Renee demanded sharply. "From my perspective, women can do anything men can, but men can't do everything women can. In that respect, women are nobler than men!""How so?""Women are more empathetic, sentimental, and kinder. Most importantly, they can bear children, and men can't. Think about it—every human being came from a woman, so why are men allowed to smoke but women aren't?"Stefan actually could not come up with a retort against Renee's eloquent logic, and she snorted. "See? Can't argue against that, can you? Give me a reason if you think of one that's reasonable."Seizin
"Yes, that's how much I love him. So please set us free, Mr. Hunt!" Renee clearly felt Stefan's rage, but she felt no fear, and instead repeatedly challenged the limit of his patience."In that case, get ready for a world of pain!" Stefan snapped, his eyes ablaze with rage even as he snatched her cigarette and snuffed it out violently."What are you doing?!" Renee exclaimed, shifting backwards and putting her hand on the door handle, ready to flee at a moment's notice."Weren't you acting all noble and ready to give up everything for him? Having second thoughts now, are we?""No, I just… wanted to prepare mentally.""Don't worry, I won't kill you," Stefan said, his gaze dangerously possessive as he held her dainty chin with his long fingers. "I'm only interested in your body.""You're sick!" Renee's face flushed, and she turned to open the door to escape the awkward, suffocating space inside the car.She didn't expect Stefan to lock the door before she could."If you're not hav
"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