"Let me go!" Stefan cried, refusing to suffer such humiliation. He started to flail around under Renee's body, but was completely vulnerable like meat on the butcher's table, as her hand was applying pressure to a vital part of his!Renee was very keen on teasing him, and caressed his handsome face fearlessly in her dangerous dance with a dangerous man. "Stop struggling, stud. The more you do, the more excited I get… and it'd be too late if I did something you can't ever change…" Renee now understood why men got so domineering in relationships—this feeling of lording over a partner was simply amazing!"You're playing with fire! Last warning—let me go or I'll kill you!" Stefan kept struggling against her touch, but he seemed to be denied his strength—his haughty face was flushed, and he felt an indescribable delight.He cursed under his breath—the woman was strong despite her slim build, and he almost felt as if he was being crushed under a mountain."Let you go? No way… you came to
Stefan wondered how the hell things had turned out like this.Right now, Renee Everheart should have been beneath him and completely at his mercy… but it was the other way around!Paying her back for her antics?! He would thank the gods if he could just escape her clutches!"What do I want? You still don't get it, do you?" Renee asked, whipping out her phone and turning on the camera. "Tell me where you're keeping Jovan or let him go, and I will release you. Otherwise…""Otherwise what?""Every netizen will watch as I take off your clothes, layer by layer… and then eat you up!" Renee smirked, eager to get going. The Hunt family was a dynasty that treasured their reputation, so one could only imagine the sensational headlines that would ensue if their heir was filmed on livestream, tied up and stripped naked!Renee was naturally convinced that Stefan would obey her with the utmost compliance."So? Are you afraid yet? I'm ready to give up when you are," she told him."Whatever,"
Stefan stared at Renee, who was on the verge of a breakdown."I won't tell you where Jovan is even if you were naked," he told her evenly. "Because I have no idea where he is."He finally admitted the truth since things were getting out of hand. With the ridiculous thought processes that Renee's mind appeared to be prone to, one of them would soon be driven insane!Renee was half-undressed and froze right then. "What are you talking about? What do you mean you don't know where he is?""He never stays put like you, and I guess he's now actually missing. It only begs the question of why you came to me at all," Stefan replied, leaning back against his seat with an impassive look, staring at her contemptuously as if she was an idiot."How could you not know?! When that explosion happened, the chauffeur clearly heard the person who abducted Jovan say, 'Mr. Hunt sends his regards'! And there is no other Mr. Hunt except you!""Why me? There are plenty of Mr. Hunts across the globe," Ste
"Are you going to kill me if I refuse to tell you?" Stefan asked with a vague smile, fearless even as she stared at the knife in Renee's hand."I won't kill you—but I'll skin you and watch you bleed! You'd wish you were dead… unless you return my brother!" Renee was not joking—Quinton was her flesh and blood, a progeny of their parents. She would never allow anyone to hurt him!"You seem more agitated," Stefan pointed out, still unfazed. "Does that mean your brother is more important to you than your own partner?""Yes!" Renee readily admitted to it. "Family is more important than anything. If you lay a finger on him, I won't hesitate to kill you.""What if your brother hurts the love of your life?" Stefan pressed.Renee frowned, but said with a cool glare, "If that does happen, I will die with my beloved, and let my brother live!"She had no chance of knowing back then that it was an exchange that would become very relevant years down the line!Nonetheless, Stefan calmly said,
Renee trusted promises, and quickly freed Stefan, seemingly unafraid of his retaliation.It was just like she put it—she had restrained him once, and that meant she could do it again."There's nothing womanly about you at all!" Stefan sighed emotionally, flexing his wrists that had almost been dislocated. He was actually skilled in martial arts, even winning the school championship for four years running—only to end up completely restrained by a woman. If word of that ever got out, he would die of embarrassment.Renee said nothing, however, and suddenly leaned closer to him."What are you doing?" Stefan tensed up, sliding backwards and pressing himself against the car door. He tried to get out, only to realize that he had locked it himself.What had he done to deserve this?!"I'm warning you, don't do anything stupid. We can talk about this…" He stared at Renee warily as if she were a beast—he did not want to be tied up again!Renee rolled her eyes, speechless. How much of a c
"Have you considered a partnership between Azure Group and Hunt Enterprise?" Stefan asked slowly. "We've been competing for years, but there was never a clear winner while losses continued to mount. Maybe we could reach new heights if we worked together.""A partnership?" Renee was surprised—the man took her for quite a ride, only to start discussing business?It didn't make sense. Azure Group was small fry to Hunt Enterprise at best, and they were at completely different levels. Even if Azure Group did see rapid growth and aggressively cut a territory of its own in the stock market, they were far from the level needed to necessitate a partnership with Hunt Enterprise.So why would Stefan suddenly come up with something like that? Was he extending an olive branch?"Take your time to consider. If possible, we can discuss the details with Quinton next Wednesday." With those words, Stefan unlocked the car doors and said coolly, "And if there's nothing else, you can get out of my car."
In reality, Renee was hoping to get Stefan to make peace with Quinton—even if Stefan did not extend an olive branch.Their families had been allies for three generations, and their grandfathers were practically brothers who supported each other for years—they certainly would not want them to turn against each other. Quinton was too impulsive and radical—he would inevitably upset many, and they would certainly come seeking revenge. However, if Quinton allied himself with the Hunt family, those enemies would have to be wary of both families, which spared them a lot of unnecessary conflict.To put it roughly… Renee was helping her brother get a sugar daddy. If the day came when she was not around or something bad happened, at least he would not be alone and helpless."Consider it, Quinton. If there are no issues, we can talk to him about the finer details next Wednesday," Renee said earnestly, hoping that Quinton would say yes.Quinton, however, snorted coolly, the look behind his
Quinton returned to his bedroom with Chase following closely behind, at his beck and call as always."Welcome back, sir. None of us had been sleeping soundly ever since we lost contact with you—we almost brought the cavalry down on the heads of the Hunt family!" "You've lost contact with me plenty of times before. Why so serious?" Quinton asked, impassive even as he took off his mask and suit.Chase quickly went to take both, and hung them up primly. "Yes, we did, but this is Stefan Hunt we're talking about. You two have history, so what if he decided to pull the trigger?'Quinton raised a brow, but said confidently, "You don't have to worry about that. He won't go for the kill like me, or it's over between him and my sister."Having fought Stefan for years, he dared say he knew Stefan better than Renee. From a certain perspective, they were like eternal rivals—if either of them won, their dynasty won as well.And Quinton was convinced that if every Everheart could see him now,
"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