Lying in bed, Renee could feel a dull ache around her waist but it didn't affect her much. Both Leia and Justin exchanged hesitant glances when she said that, and Renee immediately picked up on it. "Don't tell me I'm really paralyzed?" "Stop saying such unlucky things!" Quinton grumbled and clenched his fists. "I'll get the best doctors in the world to cure you, there'll be no risks.""Calm down, I'm not that weak. Even if I'm really paralyzed, you guys can just let me go," Renee laughed and said indifferently. She felt that it was better to die instead of living like a useless person. "I don't want that, Ren! I don't want to see you suffer… You have to get better, okay?" Leia started crying again as she spoke.Sighing, Renee said, "Okay. Could you all please leave? I want to sleep." She hadn't been too bothered when she arrived at the hospital, but all the people who came to see her kept crying as if she was going to die tomorrow. "Okay, let's leave and let her rest." Quinton
"What do you think I'll do?" Stefan crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, smiling wickedly."How would I know..." Renee tried to get her phone and warned him coldly, "Get out now or I'll call somebody." "Give up. You can't reach anybody at this time because I've stopped them all." Stefan laughed at Renee's naivety. Of course, he would have ways to stop others from coming since he had come to Renee's ward at this hour. "Yeah, you're right." Renee put her phone down and laid back on the bed with a sigh, then closed her eyes. "Go ahead if you want to take revenge. You can break my neck, and I won't even be able to stop you." Stefan frowned unhappily and scoffed, "Do you really think I'm that wicked?""No, I didn't say you're wicked..." Realizing he meant her no harm, Renee opened her eyes and glanced at him. "But we all know how vindictive you are, and you'll never allow yourself to suffer any losses. It's only fair for you to want to break my neck.""Oh, so being fair i
Renee held the bedsheet tightly and purposely criticized him to make him regain his wits because she was afraid that he would take liberties with her.Unfortunately, Stefan's wits helped him see through her trick. He murmured teasingly, "You've got me all wrong. I'm not a gentleman, and I am petty enough to use any means necessary to get what I want. I'd be a fool if I didn't enjoy the grand feast laid out before me." After that, he purposely slid his fingers across her collarbone and unbuttoned the first button of her hospital gown. More of her skin was exposed, and Stefan's gaze darkened with desire. "Stefan, I'll never forgive you if you don't stop this right now!" Renee exclaimed, her voice high-pitched with panic. "Weren't we a couple in the past? Although I seem to have forgotten everything about you, we must have been intimate given our relationship. Don't you think you're overreacting?" Stefan said casually, offering her a lazy smirk."So what if we were once a couple? Do
The atmosphere in the silent ward became tense, and after a while, Stefan finally bit out, "I've got to hand it to you—you had two kids secretly. I'm definitely a failure compared to you." "Thank you for your praise. You should hurry up and marry Miss Murphy so you can have lots of kids and catch up with me." Renee didn't care if he misunderstood her because she wanted to cut him out of her life. "I don't want kids," Stefan said icily."Why? Haven't you had enough fun already? Are you worried that you'll be bound by the kids?" Renee glanced at him while sighing. "Don't have kids if you don't want to—they're a big responsibility. You need to love them wholeheartedly and give up a lot for them, which might be tough for a self-centered person like you who likes their freedom. Your kids will suffer if that happens."As an experienced person, she was well aware of what a child meant to an adult. An adult had to sacrifice a lot to raise a child, and they had to shower the child with se
Stefan's reply was blunt: "If I was Justin, I would try my best to take the children, but I wouldn't force their mother.""Really?" Renee was filled with disappointment. Stefan was different from Justin—even if Justin didn't have children with her, he would still prioritize her. However, Stefan wouldn't think about her at all even if he had two children with her. Maybe it was a good thing that he had lost his memory, or else it would be a fierce battle with the Hunts competing for the children's custody."It's late. Can you go now since you've enjoyed witnessing my misery, Mr. Hunt?" Suddenly, Renee's mood turned foul, and she wanted to be left alone.Stefan got up and said indifferently, "Yeah, I should go now..." He took two steps, but stopped and said softly, "I would definitely try to force her to be with me… if it was you." "What?" Confused, Renee wanted to ask him what he meant, but Stefan had already left. Stefan clenched his fists in frustration as he walked away. His me
The phone rang for a long while but nobody picked up her call."Damn it! What's he doing? Why isn't he picking up my calls?" Seraphina snarled furiously. Before Ethan entered her room, she had tried to call him, but there had been no answer either. Had he blocked her number? Was he using another number?"Don't tell me he's dead!" Frustrated, Seraphina continued breaking things. Finally, right when she had lost all hope, that person called back. "What's the matter?" He sounded exasperated and annoyed, as if he wanted to end the call right away."Where the heck did you go, Jovan? I called you so many times!" Seraphina snapped. If this hadn't been an emergency, she wouldn't have wanted anything to do with him. "I asked you what's wrong." Jovan's voice was icy. Seraphina stopped behaving arrogantly and whispered, "Stefan has gotten suspicious and has hired a very capable neurosurgeon to have another brain surgery. Won't it expose what we did?""It doesn't matter to me. After all
Seraphina took a deep breath and decided to take a risk for the sake of her happiness. Right before Jovan could hang up on her, she quickly asked, "Out of curiosity, where have you been hiding recently? Didn't you promise to take Renee away from Beach City? Why is she still strutting around here? I'm afraid she'll get involved with Stefan again if you don't step in; you would've given up your eyes and blood to Stefan for nothing then!"Seraphina couldn't understand Jovan's willingness to give up his eyes and blood to save the man Renee loved, which had ultimately turned him into a useless man. People would certainly call him a naive and lovestruck fool. Even Seraphina felt that she had to hand it to him because she would never make such sacrifices for Stefan. Unfortunately, Jovan's sacrifices had only gotten him half a year with Renee. After that, she did whatever she wanted, and his sacrifices became futile. It was really pitiful!"It's none of your business. Plus, I'm not you—I lov
"No, it's fine." Jovan sounded gloomy and pathetic. An existence like this made him wonder if he was still alive, and he had no courage to meet Renee again. He sighed and said lightly, "I decided to leave her to set her free, and I don't regret it."Knowing Renee's character, she would not say no if he wanted to use her guilt to make her take care of him for the rest of his life. She would've readily abandoned her brother she had just been reunited with, her children, and her career half a year ago to lead a secluded life with him in Varangia, if Jovan had asked. During those six months, she took care of him as if he was a baby and never complained. Jovan felt it was enough; in his opinion, it had been more than worth it giving up his eyes and body in exchange for having her by his side for that time. Those memories were something he looked back on fondly, and he couldn't ask for more. However, Eloise couldn't figure out why the smart, sensitive, and competitive Jovan had become s
"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
The party started officially at night. It was a small party, and only some close relatives of the Baldwin family attended.Austin took the main seat while his son and daughter-in-law sat in the secondary seats. Justin and the others sat accordingly.After dressing herself up, Renee attended the party in simple clothes. She looked like a young lady from a great family. Adie, Abby, and Quinton did not attend the party to avoid unnecessary disputes. Renee was the only one who attended the party. When she reached the hall, the people had already taken their seats. They sized her up maliciously and studied her as if they wanted to make her pay a heavy price."Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I got here late." Renee took a deep breath and naturally greeted everyone. She appeared composed, but she knew she was rather frightened. She never panicked when she faced such a scene alone in the past. She could easily handle it because Justin would always take her side no matter what happened.
Quinton was fine even if Renee wasn't that happy. But she must lead a steady life and live beyond a hundred years old. "Quinton, I know I owed the Baldwin family a lot, even if you didn't tell me. I won't be back if not for the sake of their kindness."Renee did not hide or lie even if Justin was around. She merely wanted Justin to hold no hope in her. "How could you be this straightforward?" Quinton had purposely brought Justin along because he wanted to bring Justin and Renee together. He felt that they could still be together since things weren't that hopeless. But the disappointing Renee ruined all possibilities easily. Kindness didn't exist between a romantic couple."It's fine." Justin looked indifferent before he snorted. "I'm glad she made things clear. It's better than being ambiguous.""I'm sorry." Renee looked at Justin. Although she had made herself clear, her guilt did not diminish. She immediately expressed her guilt and helplessness since Justin did not igno