Renee repeated herself, rendering Quinton speechless. Quinton swallowed and clenched his fists, trying to calm himself down as excitement surged in his veins."Quinton, are you... alright?" Renee whispered anxiously when he remained silent."I'm great!" Quinton took a deep breath, then asked eagerly, "Where is she now? What happened to her?""Ah, that's a long story..." Renee explained everything to him, then sighed regretfully. "Back then, it was Liam who calmed the fort master down, giving Joanne and I the chance to escape. If he hadn't done that, they would have taken out Joanne's organs and sold them. However, even when things were tough, she never gave up."The dark zone of The Triangle in Southeast Aeos was a dangerous spot, and a pretty woman like Joanne would've been easy prey for all the merciless sadists there."Stop, I don't want to hear anymore." Quinton's face turned pale, and his body trembled. He was well aware of the kinds of torture in The Triangle, since the Wate
"I..." Renee looked down guiltily. "I was unsure what Joanne would face if I told you.""And are you sure now?" Quinton asked her quietly.Renee pursed her lips and answered, "At least I know that you won't hurt her, and that you'll protect her forever.""Who knows," he replied cryptically, clenching his fists.Renee's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean? You said hating is harder than loving, and that you want to move on. Why are you saying this now?""I did want that, but it's not something I can decide on my own..." Quinton looked into the distance, sounding sorrowful. "Resentment isn't easy to resolve; she may not want to fix things even if I do.""Oh, that's what you're worried about." Renee sighed in relief when she realized that Quinton didn't hate Joanne. "Don't worry, though Joanne may hate you, she still cares about you. If not, she wouldn't have whispered your name when she almost died. I know her too, so I can talk to her and help you both meet." Renee wanted
After washing up, Renee went downstairs and had breakfast with her family."It's been so long since this manor has been this lively. I'm sure the late Mr. and Mrs. Everheart would be very glad if they could see this," Margaret commented, her eyes teary. She had woken up early to prepare breakfast for them. "Well, I'm sure our manor will always be lively like this. Our family will get stronger, and we'll stay together forever," Renee declared happily."Yes, we'll always be together!" Adie and Abby echoed cheerfully.After breakfast, Margaret drove Adie and Abby to school. Quinton was lounging in a chair, reading a book.Renee watched her brother for a while, then stood up and said quickly, "Quinton, you've just recovered. Stay home and rest; I'll come home soon." Quinton looked up from his book, and stared at Renee contemplatively. "Are you.... going to see her?""Yeah..." Renee hung her head, but didn't deny it. She knew that she couldn't hide anything from her brother. "I'm
Renee soon found Joanne's attending doctor. "Doctor, may I know where the patient in ward 1206 is? Did she move to another ward?" She remembered Joanne's ward, which happened to be on the same floor as Quinton's former ward. However, both Quinton and Joanne had never got to see each other even if they were only a few dozen meters apart.The doctor was not surprised by Renee and Quinton's visit, and even seemed as if he had been waiting for them. He adjusted his glasses and told them calmly, "You're late—Miss Garcia has already been discharged from the hospital.""What? She's been discharged?" Renee spluttered, feeling her hope fade. "Wasn't her case pretty serious? I heard that she has to be hospitalized for at least three months, and it's only been around two weeks since then. Why was she discharged? Can her body take that?""Well, I couldn't say anything since it was the patient's choice. I did try to dissuade her, but she insisted. I can only respect her wishes.""It was her i
"Of course it's normal—she thinks I'm a controlling pervert, so she wants to stay far away from me. I guess I should just be grateful that she doesn't want to kill me." Quinton looked up at the clouds and smiled bitterly. "Maybe she's just biding her time waiting for the perfect opportunity to deliver the final blow."Renee shook her head. "Quinton, stop. Let's just find Joanne and make it clear to her—""I would happily sink into the ocean with her if it happens again." Quinton interrupted her, his gaze distant. Renee was scared by this sudden change in Quinton. She needed to find Joanne as soon as possible and clear up their misunderstanding, but Joanne had disappeared. Even the doctor had no idea where she went, so it would be like finding a needle in a haystack."Quinton, buck up. We'll come up with something and find her." Renee started the car and turned on the GPS. "Do you know if Joanne has any friends in Beach City? Who's the most likely person she'll go to?" "She doesn
"Baby?" Quinton's gaze turned cold, and he sneered, "That was my last regret. That baby was a sin, and had no right to come into this world, but she foolishly wanted to deliver it… I would never have let her do such a stupid thing."Quinton's sudden change scared Renee. She swallowed nervously, feeling like she was walking on eggshells. "But why? Since you and Joanne cared so deeply for each other, why didn't you want a child with her? Why—""Shut up!" Quinton shot her a fierce glare. "Stop asking about it! If you really cared about me as a sister, you wouldn't reopen my wounds just to satisfy your curiosity!" After that, he got out of the car and stormed off.Speechless, Renee helplessly watched him leave. She could tell that this was what was troubling Quinton and Joanne. However, only they knew the real story, and if they refused to talk about it, it would torture them forever as it grew worse.After dwelling on it, Renee felt that she could only resolve this issue after locatin
"How do you know my favorite fruit is kiwi? We must be quite close if you know that much," Stefan remarked casually as he smiled and ate his kiwi."Yes, you're right. You nearly killed my brother, and I nearly killed you. That must make us close, right?" Renee rolled her eyes and said."That's right, so we're even now. Can we let bygones be bygones and just move on?" Stefan suddenly demanded, which reminded Renee of Jovan's shameless behaviour. It seemed like after Stefan received Jovan's blood, he inherited some of his characteristics too."I nearly broke your neck but you're forgiving me so easily? Are you still the petty man I knew?" Raising her brows, Renee asked."What about you? Do you forgive me?" Stefan asked instead. But Renee averted her gaze and said nothing."Why aren't you answering my question?" Stefan smiled and urged, "Do you still hate me or have you forgiven me? Tell me." Renee looked up and met his gaze. "Is it important?""Yes, it is." Stefan nodded eager
Renee's response did not surprise Stefan, and he scoffed, "Why did you even come to see me if you hate me? You even pretentiously brought so many supplements. It's hard for me to believe that you're not here to kill me instead." Renee glared at him. "I don't bully the weak, and I already said that we're even… but it doesn't mean I've forgiven you.""You baffle me…" Stefan leaned back with his eyes closed, letting out a deep breath. "You can pick up where you left off. I won't resist, and I promise that I'll die for real this time.""Don't drag me into this! Just open the window—I'm sure you can kill yourself by jumping off this eighteen-storey building," Renee uttered grumpily. She felt that she was too soft-hearted if she could speak so nicely to such a wicked man. If it were someone else, they would have slapped him hard. "So, you came to see me even though you hate me… What is it you really want?" Stefan opened his eyes and stared at her shrewdly, not beating around the bush.