Seraphina stopped pretending after hearing what Stefan said. In fact, she was waiting for this after leaving the ring there."Yes, I left the ring beside Quinton's pillow on purpose to distance you and Renee. Go ahead if you want to punish me, but I don't regret what I did." She then lifted her head and closed her eyes, waiting for his decision."You…" Stefan did not expect her to admit to it, and he was fuming. He didn't know what to do with her. He couldn't bear to punish her given their past and all her sacrifices for him, but he couldn't pretend it had never happened. "I have nothing to do with that woman; you should know that all I care about is you. However, what you've done will only make me hate you more." Stefan swallowed, and the pain in his throat brought a frown to his face. He was still very weak, but his dangerous aura filled people with trepidation. "Hmph, all you care about is me?" Seraphina scoffed, acting like she had heard the most preposterous joke. "Stop fool
After all, Seraphina had done something dishonorable with Stefan's brain surgery. She had replaced Renee in his mind with her so she could win all his love. However, he was being so cruel to her now that she wondered if the surgery had lost its effect."That was the past. Now I know for sure that you're not the one I like." Stefan's answer was blunt and honest, filling her with despair.Stefan's words might be cruel, but he could no longer lie to himself. He knew that she was not the type that could bewitch him, and he couldn't figure out how they fell so madly in love with each other in the past."If I'm not the one you like, then who is?" Seraphina choked on her tears, her eyes wild. "It's Renee, isn't it? She charmed you the moment you saw her, and you changed your mind. Didn't you even consider that I only did it because I love you? You forced me to do it!""Yes." Stefan nodded. "So I'll bear the consequences. You were the one who pulled off Quinton's oxygen mask, but it was be
"I'm just reaping what I sowed. I wronged her first, and she was being generous by letting me live," Stefan explained hoarsely. He could not tell Francine the truth."You're out of your mind! Clearly, she's stolen your heart again." Francine sighed exasperatedly and said firmly, "Anyway, you can't cancel your marriage with Seraphina. It has to be carried out accordingly. A fortune teller told me that you and Seraphina are a great match, and that our families will prosper if you both marry. In short..."At the beginning of last year, Renee left Beach City and Stefan had woken up. After that, Francine went to Ninth Mountain to meet a legendary fortune teller to ask about her son. Francine had actually asked the fortune teller about the compatibility between Stefan and Renee before she looked into the compatibility between Stefan and Seraphina. She had to admit that she liked Renee more because she was decisive, capable, responsible, and straightforward. Unfortunately, Renee had suffere
Francine glared at Stefan. "I'll beat him up if he cancels the marriage!"...Meanwhile, Quinton was recovering in another hospital. It was now time to remove the gauze on his face.Renee waited in the ward with her two children and Margaret. Adie and Abby were extremely excited, and couldn't stop asking questions."Did they remove the scar on Uncle's face?" "Did he become a handsome man?""Is he as handsome as Daddy?" "Will we get a beautiful aunt soon?"Renee's head was starting to ache, and she shushed them exasperatedly. "Stop it, you two. He needs rest, so don't disturb him."Quinton leaned back against the bed and smiled at the kids tenderly. "It's fine, I feel better after listening to them. It's more effective than any medicine." Abby walked to Quinton and held his hand, asking gently, "Uncle, have you ever been in love?""Ahem!" Renee quickly stopped Abby. "Abby, don't be rude. He's your uncle." 'Of all the things she could ask him, why that?!'Abby was baffled.
"I don't have a girlfriend but... there's a woman I can't forget," Quinton replied honestly. It was difficult for the children to understand the significance of an unforgettable woman to a man. Renee was the only one who knew who Quinton was referring to. "Quinton, you..." Renee looked at Quinton hesitantly. "Hey, it's a happy day. Let's not think about unhappy things..." Margaret said quickly when she noticed the tense atmosphere. "Mr. Everheart, I'm sure you'll be blessed after surviving this disaster. If you do have someone you can't forget, you should try your best to be with her. If you can't, you can get to know other women; I'm sure many women will fancy you.""That's wishful thinking," Quinton replied calmly, looking distant and melancholic. "Margaret, please take the kids out for a walk. I need to speak to Quinton alone," Renee said to Margaret finally."Okay." Margaret nodded and patted Renee's shoulders, whispering, "Miss Ren, I think Mr. Everheart has changed a lot
"The person you would never meet again..." Clenching her fists, Renee yearned to ask Quinton if it was Joanne, but didn't, knowing it was a sensitive topic."Let's talk about you instead, shall we?" Quinton said suddenly and flashed a smile at Renee. "I heard that the neurosurgeon operated on me because of Stefan. Do you owe him a favor now, or is it me?" While peeling the apple, Renee's hand shook, and she cut her finger. It started bleeding.Quinton's eyes grew wide, and he said anxiously, "Renee, are you alright? Let me have a look." He tried to get out of bed, but Renee held him down. She sighed and casually wrapped her finger with tissue. "It's no big deal. I'm not that delicate."After that, she continued peeling the apple and cut it into small pieces. She picked up a piece with a toothpick and handed it to Quinton. "Eat this." Quinton obeyed her and bit into the apple. After that, he said, "Don't avoid the subject. How should we return Stefan's favor?""It's unnecess
"Umm, that..." Renee knew what Quinton meant—he wanted her to get back together with Stefan. She might have considered that in the past, but now, she knew that they had no future together. She couldn't accept a sinister and cunning man who tried to kill her brother, and anyway, Stefan and his family would never accept a person who had nearly killed him several times. Even if she tried to ignore him, she still saw news related to Stefan.[The president of Hunt Group was attacked! His life is in danger, and he's in a coma!]Those headlines were a constant reminder that she'd nearly killed Stefan. A vast chasm separated Stefan and Renee, and even their past together couldn't bridge the gap. Besides, he had forgotten all about her, so their past together was practically nonexistent now."Renee, don't stress. If you guys love each other, don't hold back. Don't be like me, and sacrifice your dignity for a lifetime's worth of regret." Quinton looked crestfallen again. "She hated me even be
Renee wiped away her tears and threw herself at Quinton, hugging his neck tightly. "Uncle, you're so handsome. We want a hug, too!" Adie and Abby were amazed by Quinton's looks too, and tried to reach up to hug him. Children generally loved charming people. When Adie and Abby saw Quinton for the first time, they were frightened by his face and burst into tears, but now, they hugged and kissed him adoringly.It was a beautiful and touching scene. A week later, Quinton recovered and was discharged from the hospital. He instinctively wanted to wear his mask, but was stopped by Renee. "Quinton, you no longer need it..." Renee took his mask and put it in a box, then held his hand and smiled. "Be brave, you're going to be fine." Quinton nodded hesitantly. "I'll try my best." Putting on a mask was like wearing a disguise—behind a mask, you could be somebody else, but without it, everything was out in the open. It wasn't easy for Quinton to adjust to the sudden change. Quinton was n
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