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,
"Who's there?" Chase immediately started struggling in his attacker's grip, and elbowed the person hard."Calm down, it's just me." Renee awkwardly removed her hand from the man's eyes and rubbed her aching stomach. "I was just messing with you! I didn't expect that you'd be so skilled at martial arts—that elbow of yours nearly killed me!" "Oh, it's you, Ms. Everheart! I'm so sorry. Please punish me as you see fit." Chase lowered his head guiltily, about to kneel. He was wearing a white suit, which made him look gentle and elegant."Please don't. You don't have to be so careful in front of me, I'm not like my brother." Renee glanced at Quinton's bedroom, then quietly asked, "Is my brother asleep?""Yes, Ms. Everheart.""Let's go and grab a bite then." "Ms. Everheart, we can't. You're my superior, so how—""Chase, I told you before that I'm not my brother. Let's go." Renee dragged him to a street nearby that was full of hawker stalls. "Sir, we'd like to order burgers, chips,
"No, I was just a lackey. It was all because of my boss' great wisdom that Carmine Pawnshop became successful. You don't know how hard he worked back then. He was even dragged a few dozen metres from a car just to get an item his enemy had! He truly risked his life to establish Carmine Pawnshop bit by bit." "I know he's always been a hard worker. I feel like a worthless piece of trash who muddles through life compared to him…" Renee admitted."You can't say that, Ms. Everheart. You come from a totally different background. You're a rich, young lady that enjoyed luxury and led a worry-free life… but my boss was different. He couldn't even afford to eat when he was younger, and his foster parents used to abuse him. Only his sister was a bit nice to him, but at last, she also..." Chase stopped, realising he had said too much, then quickly continued, "In short, you can't blame him for being extreme. He's had to suffer his whole life just to survive." "I know that he's suffered, we're
"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