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.
"They?" Stefan frowned, finding her words very interesting."Yeah, you know that my brother just got out of a coma. His character has changed, and he isn't as violent as he used to be. He even told me that he'll give up on the feud between you two… I just wanted Joanne to meet him to clear their understanding," Renee told Stefan sincerely. She felt that Stefan was not an unfeeling person despite his wickedness. If he mediated the conflict between Quinton and Joanne, it wouldn't affect him at all, and they would owe him big-time. Of course, it was a good bargain. "That's your assumption." Stefan narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Men are very good at pretending, and they'll do anything to get what they want. He was once Joanne's closest brother, but you know the despicable things he did to her." Men knew men; there was no guarantee that Quinton had changed or whether he was just faking it. Besides, Joanne was the most pitiful woman Stefan had ever met, and she'd got into this mess becau
Francine initially wanted to scold Renee, but upon seeing her dejected expression, her heart softened. She couldn't bear to say anything harsh to her, and said instead, "I know that Stef nearly died in your hands again. I don't know what he's done to make you do this to him repeatedly, but you were once my daughter-in-law. Do me the favor and stay far away from Stef for his sake. Don't you see accidents always happen when you both get close to each other? The both of you might love each other truly, but you're not suitable for each other." Francine sincerely liked and admired Renee, but unfortunately, she was not fated to be with her son. Francine felt that she had to break them up for the sake of Stefan's health.Renee nodded calmly. "Don't worry, you don't have to remind me. I know that I should stay far away from Stefan but sometimes I need to come to him for urgent matters. It's alright, I'll give you my word now that I'll never see him again unless I'm forced to.""R–Really?" Fr
"I know I shouldn't beg you for this, but you're a good person, so I think I can discuss it with you."Renee was curious now. "Please go on." "It's about Adie and Abby's custody—" Francine started, but was immediately interrupted by Renee."No, I'll never give up custody of them," Reene said firmly.Although Francine had anticipated this, she still felt very aggrieved. "Normally, I wouldn't give up custody of either of them because they're Hunts at the end of the day…"Renee shook her head and argued, "You're wrong. Biologically, only women's genes are passed down, which means Adie and Abby are Everhearts and don't have much to do with the Hunt family." Francine frowned petulantly and complained, "Stop being so stubborn. If this becomes a court case, the judge will surely give the Hunt family one of the kids.""Fine, go ahead. I have the most outstanding civil attorney who has never lost custody cases like this before. Try it if you don't believe me. The Murphy family won't be
Renee felt dejected after she came back from the hospital. When she arrived at the Everheart Manor, she found Quinton digging the ground with Adie and Abby in the large back garden. The children were jumping around Quinton happily, a thin layer of sweat on their chubby faces."What are you all doing?" Renee's heart softened and she smiled tenderly when she saw them."Mommy, look! Uncle is teaching us how to plant flowers." Abby's cheeks were flushed from all the jumping around, making her look even more adorable."Really? What kind of flowers are you planting?" Renee walked into the garden and asked curiously. "Of course, we're planting sunflowers, your favorite. Uncle said this kind of sunflower will blossom in a month, and by then, this garden will be filled with golden sunflowers as pretty as the ones in Sun Island!" Abby exclaimed, sounding a little wistful. Sun Island was where she and Adie were born, and they had so many wonderful memories there."Mommy, when can we go back
"Umm… Can you ask Daddy to go too?" Abby asked Renee carefully. "Why are you calling him Daddy? He's just a scumbag, so forget about him!" Adie said angrily, his deep hatred for Stefan obvious. He didn't know how it happened, but he'd read in the news that the man who promised to take good care of his mother was now dating another woman and was about to marry her. Also, he had purposely snuck away from Quinton's bodyguards one day to go to Stefan's office, but when he found him, Stefan had just walked past him, laughing and talking to another woman, as if he didn't know him. At that moment, he knew that his father had been snatched by someone else, and he had lost him. He was fine with it since he hadn't grown up with him, but he just couldn't bear to see his mother get hurt. "I knew he was a bad guy! He let Mommy down. I would have taken revenge on him if Mommy didn't stop me," Adie huffed sulkily. "But… But the teacher said both Daddy and Mommy have to come. What will we do?"
Renee handed her phone to Quinton."That's…" Quinton saw the familiar woman playing the piano enchantingly, and his eyes became watery."Give it time, Quinton. I believe that the both of you will surely meet one day." Renee patted Quinton's shoulder and consoled him gently."I'm just glad she's alive… That's all I want," Quinton choked out hoarsely, his voice thick with emotion. After a while of staring at the woman on the screen, he finally calmed down and returned the phone to Renee. "Renee, I know you mean well. Don't worry, I've thought a lot about it, and I'll be okay.""Great! There's no time to grieve—the fort master still has Liam, and Chase is still missing. We didn't even find our parents' murderer, and we have yet to see our family prosper… We must stay strong and hold on." Renee was forced to pressure him like this so he would be hopeful and motivated again. He did well under pressure, and needed the drive to move on.After that day, Renee could feel that Quinton had g
It was practically a given that Renee's family would win the game today because their charming costumes would definitely earn them high marks."I think so too. We'll be the champions for sure! Adie, Abby… Let's do our best!" Renee said to her children eagerly.Miss Apple then turned to look at Quinton, and was mesmerized by his good looks. Blushing, she asked shyly, "Sir, are you Adie and Abby's father? You're so handsome." She had taken over Adie and Abby's class during the previous semester, so she usually only met Margaret. She had no idea what Adie and Abby's father looked like. "Umm… he is—" Renee started awkwardly, but Quinton interrupted her."Yeah, I'm Adie and Abby's father," he said firmly."Great, because we need the kids' parents to help them complete their tasks today. The rules are that only the kids' parents can join the competition, and relatives and friends can only watch and cheer them on," Miss Apple explained."Understood, Miss Apple. We'll try our best," Qui
"Really?" Leia instantly breathed a sigh of relief. "I can wait if it's only for two to three days. If it's one day longer, I'll go insane!""Fine, I know you're bored. Read the comic with me. The comics here are pretty interesting. Check this out…" Renee got closer to Leia, sharing the comic book to distract her.They lay in bed together and read the comic to kill time. In half an hour, Leia started feeling sleepy and soon dozed off. Renee was sleepy too, and looked around vigilantly before deciding to take a brief rest. However, she hadn't laid down for long when she heard footsteps getting closer to the room.She wondered who it was. Although she was lying and her eyes were closed, she could sense someone hiding in the dark and observing them closely with a gaze of fierceness and hatred. After a while, the footsteps grew fainter. It seemed the person had gone away. Renee abruptly opened her eyes and looked out of the room. There was nothing strange except for a few guards.
In the silent night, Renee suddenly kept sneezing hard while sleeping."What's wrong with you, Ren? Did you catch a cold?" Leia noticed something wrong with Renee and immediately wrapped a blanket around Renee. At the same time, she glared around the room. "This is so annoying! Why couldn't they let us go? Do they take us as criminals? And this lousy heater isn't working well! It didn't warm you at all! I'll get them!" she hissed. "Come back!" Renee hurriedly pulled Leia back and shook her head. "I'm not cold. I just suddenly sneezed for no reason.""Well, I think someone's gossiping about you," Leia joked. "I think it's Liam. He's telling these people how powerful your background is. Or… It's that scumbag, Stefan. He missed you and regretted it. I bet he's getting emotional now!""Oh, please. You're so imaginative." Renee was amused; she admired Leia for the latter's positivity. Leia was truly warm and optimistic. Leia paced to and fro in the room while looking outside in f
Amber's eyes lit up, showing admiration for Renee. "Ms. Everheart has kids? And they're fraternal twins? She established a company, too? She's awesome! I never expected a woman could be so amazing! She's a great role model for women!"To Amber, the most amazing woman was Luneth, who managed her family well and was lovey-dovey with her husband.Once she heard about Renee from Liam, however, her worldview expanded. She realized that women could still lead incredible lives even after leaving men and romances behind. She could do the same—she could focus on her career instead of her marriage or a man. "Of course! If not, I wouldn't have called her my boss!" Liam couldn't stop talking about Renee, feeling proud. He began reminiscing about Renee's amazing past. "To be honest, she's a great scholar and is talented in the sciences. Plus, she was the top hacker in the world…""Wow, she's amazing!" Amber kept gushing; she had never heard about such things. The two of them spent almost a
"I find their relationship wonderful. Their love is so deep! I envy it—imagine having such a passionate and intense romance!" Amber gushed like a lovestruck fool, her eyes bright.Movies were popular in the fort. Hunt My Everheart gained high popularity there that year. After that movie, Shirley won multiple film awards and Best Actress. Stefan, who acted in it as well, gained a lot of female fans.Fans soon dug up the story behind the movie. Since Amber could use the internet, she could talk about the movie with great familiarity. She had always assumed that Stefan and Renee belonged together. They were the perfect match for each other! She had never considered the possibility that there were other unknown things between them."The movie's nothing but a sham. It's all an act! It's not the same as reality, and you can't believe it at all." Liam had never watched that movie because he held it with disdain. Grumpily, he continued, "Plus, Stefan invested in that movie. Of course
At that time, Amber suddenly realized that there was nothing happier than marrying someone who she loved and who loved her back. The key to an everlasting marriage, which was long and complicated, was not to force herself or her lover."It's great you think that way, but the world might not be as wonderful as you've imagined…" Liam said, melancholic.Amber seemed to have grown up and was no longer the silly young woman who was infatuated with him. She had her thoughts about love and was no longer stubborn about marrying him. She yearned to explore the world and find a new guy. Liam felt that the girl who had always longed for him would finally leave. "The men out there are more wicked than the ones in this fort. There are many cunning and disloyal men. You can't fall in love with just any guy. Someone pure like you will be lied to and bullied. Do you understand?" Liam advised her eagerly, as though he were her senior. He patted her head gently, making her want to rely on him an
Mateo was gone, leaving Liam and Amber alone in the restaurant. Suddenly, awkwardness and silence overcame them. An amorous feeling hovered in the air.Liam finally stopped acting. He chuckled awkwardly and sat up straight, then said to Amber, "Thank you for what you did just now. I wasn't that serious. I was just acting.""I saw that." Amber grinned, teasing him. "I've got to say, you acted well. I thought Matt almost strangled and killed you.""I'm not that weak. Plus, he's not that brave either." A sudden competitiveness gripped Liam; he purposely flexed his arms and acted strong. "Did you think Mateo could fight me? With his physique, I can defeat him with one hand!" "Mm, I think so too. You must be stronger than Matt." Amber nodded, giving Liam her full support. She started to feel that Renee was right to claim that he was just a child."By the way, did you talk to Luneth? What did she say?" Liam asked; he knew that Luneth's attitude was the key to quickly resolving that iss
Amber took a deep breath, her eyes teary. She had long pondered over those words, but was too timid to say them aloud.She wanted to thank Liam for repeatedly insisting that she try to understand herself and reminding her not to take her marriage so callously. After some contemplation, Amber decided to not marry anyone."I won't marry you or Liam. I just want to marry someone I love and who loves me back. Only people who love each other can get married," she said firmly, looking dead serious. Both Mateo and Liam were stunned. Liam stopped acting weak; he held Amber's shoulders and stared at her carefully. "Is that what you truly think?""Yes!" Amber was shocked by the sudden change in Liam and subconsciously leaned backward."That's great! I didn't say those things for nothing. You're finally enlightened!" Liam nodded with gratification. "All I want is for you to understand yourself. There are many messy things and troubles in a marriage. If it isn't supported by love, you'll
Amber helped Liam to sit down before serving him water and rubbing his neck. She was full of anxiety.Mateo angrily gulped down a glass of wine, but the wine was so strong that he began coughing vigorously. It suffocated him. After helping Liam to settle down, Amber turned and glanced at Mateo, who was full of tears."Matt, why…are you crying? You strangled him, but you act like you're wronged!" "I…" Mateo pointed at his throat and the glass; he needed some water. Amber frowned and said solemnly, "You can't do that. You've repeatedly attacked Liam. You were over the line! Don't you know he thinks of you as his brother and values his friendship with you?"Mateo was flabbergasted to hear it. He knew nothing about that—it seemed Liam was even better at acting than him. While complaining about Mateo, Amber smoothed Liam's chest to make the latter feel better. "Liam always lets you have your way, but you target him. If I came late today, you might strangle and kill him."Mateo
Mateo swallowed. "Yes, I'm aware of that. The Stuart family has been investing in a lot of entertainment properties in Southeast Aeos in the recent few years. They're controlling more than half of the TV stations. Their power and influence are incomparable.""Looks like you keep up with the current events. Are you involved in the entertainment field too?" Liam asked.He had easily gained the result he wanted with just a few words. He faked a smile and looked at Mateo, who was panicking.Mateo glanced at him and said grumpily, "All that Master ever asks us to do is indecent. If we don't have any people in the media, we're doomed."The Triangle was never governed by the law, but public opinion was a dangerous weapon. If they went over the line and got reported by the media, international law would get involved. Naturally, it would affect their business.The Stuarts did decent business like the Osbornes and might appear easy to control. However, they couldn't be offended casually—a