The Baldwin family showed their sincerity and invested a large sum of 4.5 million dollars in Carmine Pawnshop to help them remedy their loss. Quinton was grinning all the time and was always discussing things with Haze. He was very submissive and respectful towards Haze too. However, Quinton and Renee's relationship had become strange after that night. They were not as close to each other as before... and now, they just chose to ignore each other. Sometimes they pretended like they didn't see each other when their paths crossed, and wouldn't even greet each other. Whenever they spoke, it was only either out of necessity or to insult the other. Both Haze and Leia were stuck in the middle of their fight, and they felt like they were walking on eggshells."Quinton, eat more. If not, your belly will become so small that nothing can go in it." As they sat at the table to eat, Renee suddenly put some food on Quinton's plate.Everyone could tell that Renee was implying that Quinton was pe
"How?" Renee was still angry at Quinton, but she also wanted to help him. "I think Quinton's grudge against Stefan isn't because of the fight, but rather his ruined face… Think about it—everyone likes pretty things. He used to be so handsome, but now, his face is scarred and he has to wear a mask all the time. It's something he'll have to see everytime he looks in the mirror, so won't that make his hatred for Stefan grow deeper?" Leia said contemplatively.Renee gaped at her friend, then slowly nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense actually.""So, I suggest we start at the cause—let's try to heal his face. What do you think?" Leia asked eagerly."We could, but his scar is so deep. How would we do it?""Ordinary plastic surgeons might not be able to do it, but plastic surgeons who work for celebrities can do just about anything. I'm sure a renowned plastic surgeon can do it!" Leia had seen how much celebrities changed after they debuted, so she knew just how talented some plastic surgeo
The company had somehow managed to survive for the past few years. Although Shirley was now the most popular actress, her business value was still low. Deciding to risk offending Xavier, the board of directors hesitantly suggested replacing Shirley with someone new. Everyone was prepared for Xavier's wrath, since they all knew that Shirley was his favorite.However, to their shock, he wholeheartedly supported the idea. "I was thinking the same thing! In Shirley's case, we've lost more money than we've earned. She doesn't deserve all our resources," Xavier said firmly from his seat in the middle of the conference room."What?! Mr. Stuart, you agree to replacing Shirley? That's... unbelievable!" Ryan Wallace, the person in charge of marketing, exclaimed in disbelief."Was I not clear, or do you have trouble understanding me, Mr. Wallace? Isn't it normal for us to replace someone who isn't performing well? Why are you so shocked?" Xavier's eyes narrowed as he rested his chin on his h
Xavier eagerly opened the door to his office, and saw Leia standing in front of the French windows. He quickly walked up to her and hugged her from behind, kissing her neck as he murmured elatedly, "My darling, you finally came to see me. You want to tell everyone about our relationship now, right?" When they started dating, their behavior changed drastically. In the past, Leia had been the clingy one, while Xavier was always uncommitted and vague. He had always been reluctant to officially make her his girlfriend, but now, he was the one who wanted to announce it to the world. He had become the clingy one in the relationship, and always wanted to hug and kiss her. However, Leia was concerned about her work, and requested a secret relationship instead."I don't understand why we can't expose our relationship. You're not a celebrity, so it won't affect your career, right?" He complained while hugging her."I'm not a celebrity, but your ex-girlfriend is. You don't know how horrible h
Renee covered her face and turned away, looking embarrassed.Xavier scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Renee, you're here. Why didn't you say anything? I didn't realize….""It's alright, it's just Ren. There's no need to treat her like a guest." Leia walked up to Renee and pulled her into the office, then said to Xavier, "You're aware of Quinton's condition, right? Well, Ren and I came here today to ask if you know any good plastic surgeons. We want to help him treat his scar.""I see. Well, you came to the right person. I do know a lot of good plastic surgeons, but… are you sure he's willing?" Xavier looked troubled as he explained, "I introduced a good plastic surgeon to him before—one who's operated on many celebrities. It would have been easy for the surgeon to heal such a scar, but Quinton refused to go for surgery and argued with me about it, so I didn't dare to bring it up again.""Oh, now I remember. You told me that before but you didn't update me agaim after that. I
Both Leia and Xavier glared at each other."I want a clean break with you from now on. I won't even call you this week. Goodbye!" Leia declared and turned away, her nose in the air."Fine! I won't call you either!" Xavier got angry and hurt, feeling like he wasn't important to her. "If you stop calling me just because of that, I feel like you wouldn't hesitate to leave me if anything happens… I think we should seriously think about whether we want to keep this relationship going."Leia's body stiffened and her lips parted in surprise. "What? Are you breaking up with me because of something this trivial?" "I didn't say that, but I think we need to be rational and figure out if this should go on," he said coldly. He looked like a nonchalant playboy, but when he fell in love, he would do anything for his partner. His feelings would get stronger easily, and he would be more impulsive and childish in his thinking. Xavier said that only because he was serious about this relationship, an
Shirley was wearing an expensive white suit and had a pair of sunglasses on, looking every bit the famous movie star. She lowered her sunglasses slightly and waved at Leia enthusiastically.Leia, however, just rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Well, it's not. This place isn't big and we have our eyes on the same guy, so it's not strange that we bump into each other here. Don't act like we're close." She hated scheming women who always pretended to be weak. Besides, Shirley was Xavier's first love who he had adored for many years, so Leia naturally found her an eyesore."How rude! Shirley is a famous movie star, you know? She actually greeted you politely, but you dare be rude to her! Aren't you afraid of being attacked by Shirley's fans?" Shirley's assistant argued with Leia angrily. Shirley was respected everywhere she went given her current popularity, so her team wasn't used to being treated coldly. Despite Leia's position as the young lady of the Osborne family, the assistant refused
"Xavier, you're here..." Shirley pretended to be shocked and then glanced at Leia. "I don't know why Miss Osborne is so angry. I greeted her politely, but she just started insulting me... But it's fine. As a public figure, I can't make everyone like me."Leia rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and mocked, "Yeah, obviously you're the most innocent person here. I was the unreasonable one for targeting a star like you; I'm nothing but a narrow-minded madwoman.""Miss Osborne, don't say that. I didn't mean that..." Shirley looked at Xavier pitifully. "Xavier, you've been with me for years, so you know me best… Am I a troublemaker?"Xavier glanced at her coldly and said, "If you had acted this well in your movies, we would have profited ages ago.""Xavier, you…" Shirley's face turned livid and she quickly lowered her head, gritting her teeth in anger. Xavier always praised and adored her, so she never expected that he would embarrass her in front of another woman. She could not accept it!"
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
After a while, a servant quickly came back with a bottle of wine tied with a piece of red cloth. "Sir, Madam, this bottle of white wine was brewed more than ten years ago. It comes with a rich taste and is strong. I'm sure it's suitable for Ms. Everheart to toast to everyone as a form of apology.""That's good. That's what I want." Rose accepted the heavy bottle of wine. Although it was yet to be unscrewed, she could smell its pungent scent. "I won't easily let anyone drink this. Plus… Believe it or not, a glass of this wine can knock out anyone here." Rose carried the bottle of wine and walked around the table. Finally, she stopped in front of Renee. "I'm letting a sinner like you enjoy such a great thing today. You must drink all of it. You can't waste it.""Huh? Does she have to drink it all? I'm afraid she'll vomit from drinking.""People will lose themselves with only three to five glasses of this wine. If they drink half of it, they might get alcohol poisoning no matter
If any Baldwin demanded an explanation from Renee, she would not resent them."Fine, I won't go easy on you since you said so." Rose laughed recklessly, looking malicious. Everyone knew Rose was fierce and malicious. But none of them said anything, including Justin. They behaved like onlookers and wanted to see how Rose would punish Renee. "Please go ahead." Renee nodded and sounded very calm. "Don't worry. Regardless, you were the only woman my dear grandnephew had loved and wanted to marry. So, I won't be harsh on you. If not, he won't forgive me." At that point, Rose purposely paused and wanted to see how Justin would react.However, Justin merely sat there indifferently and had no intention to get Renee out of the predicament. Hence, Rose became bolder. "Well, let's do this. You've wronged not only Justin but everyone in my family. Since you're here to apologize, you should toast to all of us. Then, we can forget about this."After that, Rose turned to Austin and asked