Xavier put one hand in his pocket, his posture cold as he walked into his office. He then casually dropped onto the sofa, uncaring about his image now."Umm... It's fine. Mr. Stuart, you can talk to Shirley alone and she can brief us later. If we go in, we'll only be in your way," the agent explained quickly. Of course, she hoped that Shirley could win Xavier's heart back. After all, Shirley would fall from grace in less than half a year without a sponsor given her lack of skills. She would lose both her net worth and her huge fanbase, and it would be tough for her to make a comeback again."Just come in. As her team, you should be involved in her future plans, right?" Xavier frowned impatiently, burning with anger. Leia's indifference earlier had annoyed him, and now, these women were trying to scheme against him."Well... This..." Both the agent and assistant glanced at Shirley, waiting for her order. They were loyal to Shirley, so they always obeyed her. "It's fine, just come i
"Cruel?" Xavier sneered and glared at Shirley. "Letting you live after everything you've done is already generous!" Shirley's eyes instantly turned watery, and she grabbed his arm and sobbed. "I know that you're still mad at me because of the affair, and that's why you're behaving like this, but don't you still love me? Give me another chance, we can start over!""No way." Xavier brushed her hand off in disgust. "My intentions back then were sincere, and I really did want to spend the rest of my life with you, but you disappointed me. You're devious and greedy, and I hate that kind of person the most. The only thing I feel for you now is disdain, and if you leave now, maybe I won't think so badly of you." Shirley collapsed on the floor in despair and helplessness. "I didn't do that because I was greedy... I just hoped I could be the perfect match for you. I didn't know things would turn out that way. Your father and I...""Shut up!" Xavier interrupted her and clenched his fists.
Shirley was about to leave in a fit of anger with her agent and assistant, but froze when Leia crashed to the ground in front of them. Everyone was dumbstruck as they stared at her."Ugh, how embarrassing…" Leia mumbled, keeping her head low. She wished the ground would just open up and swallow her... Maybe she could migrate to another country tomorrow.Knowing she couldn't hide from them any longer, Leia looked up and smiled at them widely. "Umm… hi. What a coincidence, I just happened to be passing by!"Shirley sized Leia up condescendingly, then scoffed, "Yeah, what a coincidence! Miss Osborne, weren't you eavesdropping on us?""Of course not! Why would I do something like that? I told you I was just passing by." Leia stood up and dusted off her clothes, stubbornly refusing to admit it."I thought you were a virtuous person given your noble background, but it looks like the two clearly aren't connected. Although I grew up in an ordinary family, I never did such an immoral thing
Leia's words infuriated Xavier, and he growled at her, "Really? Is that what you think?""As if you didn't say the same about me!" Leia protested."We've been a couple for a while now, so don't you know how I feel about you? Are you just going to believe whatever people say when they try to sow discord between us?" Xavier's words were sharp. He felt that his relationship with Leia was different from what he had with Shirley. He and Leia were soul mates who loved each other; their love was simple and fervent, and couldn't be shaken by others… But now, Shirley had so easily created a rift between them.Maybe the relationship wasn't as deep as he thought… Maybe he was just a nobody to Leia. Though he was hoping for reassurance, Leia's next words disappointed him even more. "Yeah, I think Shirley is more rational than me. She was right, you know—you did sacrifice everything for her. She was your first love that you adored greatly, and I... Well, I'm just another one of your flings. Th
Xavier's lip curled in anger as he growled, "You've done enough damage already. Can you get lost now?""Why, you!" Shirley stamped her feet and walked out of the office furiously, her agent and assistant quickly following her.As soon as they left the office, her agent said anxiously, "It looks like Master Xavier is serious about Miss Osborne. No wonder he agreed with the board of directors to suspend you. It'll be very troublesome if things went on like this.""Enough talking… You know what to do," Shirley said cryptically as she calmly touched up her makeup."You're saying..." The agent trailed off when Shirley glanced at her meaningfully, and she soon realised what she meant. The agent sighed, her heart sinking. When she first made her debut, Shirley was a naive and gullible young woman. At that time, she never complained even if things were hard because she wanted to earn money for her mother's illness and her brother's gambling debt. She worked hard to get to where she was n
Renee saw a dark red jelly-like thing in the box that resembled a mushroom. Although Renee didn't know what it was, she couldn't tear her gaze away from it."That item is an ancient mushroom. Generally, it's very rare to find a thousand-year-old mushroom, and even if you do, most of them are white. But this is a ten-thousand-year-old mushroom, so it's dark red. It's said to be able to bring people back to life, so many noble families around the world would pay any price to get it to live longer. I didn't expect it to be here in Carmine Pawnshop though... Well, it's certainly the most valuable treasure in this shop," Haze elaborated enthusiastically. He liked studying codes and reading books about treasures, so he was happy he managed to see such a rare item today."Wow, Quinton, you're pretty generous. You spent a fortune because of your sister. I'm afraid all men will come in pursuit of Phoenix if you announce this as her dowry... I must get her for this mushroom alone!" Haze said j
Haze immediately kept his mouth shut and stared at the chessboard intently.Both Renee and Quinton had a heart-to-heart talk with each other for a long time. After that, Renee recalled why she went to him in the first place. She asked tentatively, "Quinton, is it uncomfortable for you to wear this mask for long?""It's fine. I found it heavy in the past, but now I've gotten used to wearing it.""I saw your photo before your face was ruined on the Internet, and you're so handsome! Your eyes resemble Mom's and your features look just like Dad's. Your aura is like Grandpa's. You're indeed my brother… You're so perfect!""Of course. I'm not bragging, but if my face hadn't been ruined, I could've made a great living in Beach City. I established my business by relying on my charms back then." Quinton was very confident in his charisma. In the past, he could kill anyone and do anything he wanted without any obstacles because of his charm. It was also the reason why he hated Stefan so much
Naturally, Quinton couldn't refuse after Renee mentioned Adie and Abby. "Well… just do whatever you want then," he said awkwardly.Renee's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "Quinton, do you mean it?""Of course. I just don't want you, Abie, and Addy to leave. I love the kids very much, and I don't want them to be afraid of me, so… I'll give in, even if it hurts my pride." Although he sounded pitiful, his face was full of happiness. To him, the children represented hope and a new beginning. He considered Adie and Abby his descendants, so he was willing to sacrifice anything for them; a minor face recovery surgery was nothing."Great! Don't worry, Quinton, I know you'll lead an exciting new life after the surgery," Renee said as she quickly took the business card out and called the doctor. "We'd better not waste time. I'll set the surgery for tomorrow to make sure nothing goes wrong. What do you think?""Whatever." Quinton waved his hand dismissively. He didn't bother protesting
"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