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.
"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