The surgery would take a long time, but Renee did not dare to leave. She waited outside the whole time. When everything was going smoothly, Stefan turned to leave."Wait," Renee whispered suddenly as she stared at his back.Stefan stopped and said arrogantly, "What now?"After a while of nibbling her lip, Renee finally gathered her courage and said, "Thank you." She took a deep breath and continued, "My family was once on friendly terms with yours, but unfortunately, we're enemies now. I hope that our families as well as the Baldwins can put their prejudices aside and be at peace after Quinton is cured. I believe that's what our ancestors would want too."Stefan stared at Renee, disappointment blooming on his face as he sneered. "So, your only expectation of me is peace between our families?" "What else would it be?" Renee swallowed in panic, not knowing how to face Stefan. Too many things had happened between them that she couldn't ignore, and she couldn't get close to him aga
In the plastic surgery hospital."Where's everyone? Come out now!" A clear and overbearing voice rang out through the entire hospital.Leia clenched her fists tightly and walked towards the plastic surgery room where Quinton was previously. She said firmly, "I won't leave if you guys don't come out and explain what happened to me. I'll make such a scene that you won't be able to run a business here anymore!"After she bade Renee goodbye the other day, she investigated and interviewed a lot of people. She found that there were many doubts surrounding Quinton's case. It seemed more likely that foul play was involved, and it wasn't because of Quinton's health or a careless mistake. She felt that she needed to be held responsible for the incident since it was her suggestion and she had asked Xavier for the doctor's contact.Hence, she had rushed to the hospital to demand an explanation.The assistant of the doctor who performed the plastic surgery for Quinton cautiously walked over an
"It's okay, this place is safe. Your colleagues and superiors aren't here," Leia said reassuringly.The young woman stared down into her cup of coffee for a long time. She looked conflicted as she said slowly, "To be honest, I found that surgery weird because Doctor Leslie Snyder is always very cautious. He would use the anesthesia with the lowest risk if he could, but… he behaved strangely that day. He insisted on using the forbidden anesthesia. Although that anesthesia is effective, its side effects are strong. One of the side effects is causing the patient to go into shock and enter a long coma. It's what we call brain death!""A forbidden anesthesia?" Leia was shocked when she heard that. Unexpectedly, their enemy had been that bold. Renee's instincts were right—it had been a deliberate attempt at murder."At first, I disagreed with it, but Doctor Snyder claimed that we were out of imported anesthesia and this surgery couldn't be delayed, so we had to take a risk. Although it wa
Shirley was a new rising star. Although her commercial value was average, her fans and fame were excellent. Thus, her whereabouts were a secret, and it was hard for ordinary people to meet her. Even after asking around, Leia didn't gain any useful clues. Finally, she braced herself and went to Universal Entertainment. She'd decided to ask Xavier about Shirley. After all, Shirley was his first love, so he should know everything about Shirley.When the young receptionist saw Leia, she immediately got up and welcomed her enthusiastically. "Miss Osborne, you must be here to see Mr. Stuart. He's in his office now. You can go up without making an appointment.""Oh... Okay." Leia scratched her hair and looked at the eager receptionist doubtfully. She had dated Xavier secretly in the past, and not many people had known about it. She had to go through a very complicated procedure every time she went to Universal Entertainment to see him, and meeting him without an appointment was very diffi
They reached the top floor, and the door of the elevator opened automatically. However, the employee did not step out of the elevator, and instead cheered Leia on. "You can do it. I won't go in with you, but you can call us if anything happens."When Leia stepped out of the elevator, the employee left quickly.Leia huffed in irritation. 'Why do I feel like I'm sacrificing myself?'When she reached the door of Xavier's office, she heard his angry roar from afar."Is your marketing department completely useless? How dare you sign on a novice with such poor skills? What makes them different from this trainee from Korshach? How competitive is this novice? I can easily find a better person. Get lost and reflect on your mistake!"After that, a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses was driven out of the office with a stack of documents. The man pitifully squatted down on the floor to pick up the documents, looking unhappy."Let me help you." Leia squatted down and helped him pick up
"I... I'm sorry." Xavier was stunned, and spoke like a child who had made a mistake. "My employees can handle being rebuked. They won't change if I don't scold them, so I have to do this""Is that really the reason? You're overly violent, so they don't dare to resist." Leia glared at him as she touched her swollen forehead, gritting her teeth in pain. "Did I wrong you? Why am I so unlucky whenever I meet you?""Come here, let me take a look." Xavier pulled her hand away. When he saw a slight scratch on her forehead, he felt very sorry for her. He blew at the wound gently and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Wait. I have ointment and a plaster here. Let me tend to it." He then led her to the sofa and opened his drawer to get the small medical kit. He was attentive and considerate, being unusually gentle and kind. It was very different from his usual frivolity. "Stop it, I'm not that weak. It'll heal soon..." Leia tried her best to keep her distance because she didn't want to
Cut the crap! Here, I'll fix it." Leia became flustered because of his words, so she grabbed his face with her hands. Recalling what she learned in her university elective lesson about putting back one's joints, she applied a bit of force, and they soon heard a crack. "Move it and see if it's cured," she clapped and said confidently.Xavier moved his chin, and to his surprise, it didn't hurt as badly. Nonetheless, he wanted to bluff Leia. "No, it still hurts. Hmm, my face is going to be ruined now. What do you think you should do to compensate me?" "It still hurts? That can't be." Leia frowned and took a step forward. She then grabbed his face again. "Should I do it again?""No, I'm fine now." Xavier immediately dodged. He might die instead of merely ruining his face if he went through that again. Leia realized he had tricked her, and became furious. "Can you be serious? Is it fun to fool me?" "Yes, it's fun!" Xavier smirked and got close to her. "I think it's fun when we bic
"Calm down..." Xavier tried to console Leia. "I hear you, but I'm afraid this incident isn't as simple as you think. Shirley holds no grudges against Quinton, and they don't even talk, so there's no point in her risking her future to harm him...""Ugh, shut up!" When Leia heard his words, she was so angry that she wanted to leave, but she forced herself to stay since she had a favor to ask of him. So, she gritted her teeth and sneered, "I told you someone told me that she heard the plastic surgeon talking to Shirley on the phone before the surgery. He even asked her to rest assured since he would get the job done. Do you really think she's innocent? This woman isn't as simple as you think, but you always regard her as your untouchable first love. You just don't want to admit it.""You're wrong," Xavier said coldly, "I know better than you that there's more to her than meets the eye. If not, I wouldn't have fallen out with her... I just want you to properly analyze who the culprit is.
"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