"Haha! Skylar, you're too much!" Everyone burst out laughing.Adam could only sigh because this was exactly what he was afraid of. Only Santiago could compete with a big shot like Xavier, and the other guests would eventually just fade into the background. Additionally, the show's direction would have to change according to what Xavier wanted, and Adam had a feeling that he and the crew were in for a tough time. He would definitely face backlash from netizens if the show changed too much.Adam's head began to hurt at the thought of it. Xavier glanced at the silent Leia and smiled charmingly. "Can I call dibs on the woman I'm interested in then?" "Wow, it looks like Mr. Stuart came here to capture his target! I'm looking forward to it!" Megan giggled, trying to get on Xavier's good side. She was the most popular female star in the show for a reason, and she sensibly decided to befriend Xavier once she realized he was pursuing someone already. "I wouldn't join something I can't
Xavier's sudden participation in the show unsettled Leia, and she even felt like withdrawing from the show. Santiago noticed Leia's discomfort, and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Do you want to leave? I can run away with you if you want to.""Yes, I do… but Mr. Jiminez will kill us if we do. Plus..." Looking up at him, Leia said shyly, "I don't want to lose this chance to spend time together with you." Santiago smiled warmly at her. "Don't be afraid then. He's just another guest, and we can always ignore him." "Heh. I didn't expect you to be such an easygoing person, Mr. Dalton," Leia laughed, and she and Santiago continued chatting happily, turning the atmosphere lively again.Xavier was seated far away from them, but he could see everything that was going on. His indifferent expression morphed into a cold one, and his eyes narrowed menacingly. "You guys are already whispering to each other? Aren't things moving too fast? You'd better save all that for filming and sign t
"Yeah, what do you mean 'almost in our thirties'? Ren and I are forever eighteen, okay?" Leia declared, ready to start a fight with Quinton.Seeing the two girls gang up on him, Quinton immediately gave in and put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I was wrong. Both of you will always be eighteen, at least to me... No, it's too much. At most, one of you is three and the other is five."Blinking, Leia asked, "Who is three and who is five?" Both Renee and Quinton smiled at each other, and Quinton chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?" Renee groaned, "Ah, now that I think about it… What if someone bullies you during filming?" "Bullies me?" Clenching her fists, Leia said confidently "Hah! They'll be lucky if I don't bully them!" "Good. Don't forget to practice the self-defense skills I taught you." Renee felt like a mother sending her sheltered daughter off to college. "Don't worry, bestie. I'm just going to shoot a show, I'm not going to war. I'll be fine." After chatting with Renee a w
The nurse looked at Renee and smiled. "No. Are you feeling a bit anxious, Miss Everheart?" Heaving a long sigh, Renee said glumly, "Maybe."Margaret came to the hospital with Adie and Abby in the evening. Adie held Renee's hand warmly and stroked her hair the moment he entered the ward. "Mommy, we're done with school for the day. Are you feeling better?" He asked gently."Yes, I'm much better. I'll be leaving the hospital in no time." Renee touched Adie's cheek. The sight of her children eased her pain much better than any medicine.Looking cute in pigtail braids and a pink denim jumper, Abby carefully handed a cherry tomato to Renee. "I grew a cherry tomato plant at the kindergarten, Mommy, and this is the only tomato that grew. I want you to have it; you'll get better after you eat it.""Don't you want to eat it since there's only one, Abby?" Renee stared at the cherry tomato in Abby's hand as if it was a treasure."No, Mommy, I want you to eat the best food there is. I watere
Adie would pass by this large garden every time he came to visit Renee, and he had always wanted to pick some of the colorful flowers in it for Renee. His mother loved beautiful things, and flowers were one of the most beautiful things in the world, so Adie felt that Renee would definitely be happy when she saw them.There were many types of flowers blooming brightly in the garden, including large roses, lush rhododendrons, and bright peonies. It was a beautiful and calming sight, and Adie decided to pick one of each to put into a bouquet for his mother. He walked into the flower shrubs, and the image of him surrounded by fresh flowers looked like a scene from a movie. As he plucked some flowers, he heard a woman's angry voice as she spoke on the phone. "I don't care, we have to put an end to this surgery and stop Owen from coming to the hospital! Is it that hard to make a person disappear? People die in plane crashes and car accidents all the time! Doesn't he like fishing? He can d
The person standing before him was none other than Adie's scumbag daddy.Ugh... but it seemed like he wasn't really a scumbag at all."Why aren't you answering?" Stefan studied Adie intently, then his features relaxed. "Oh, I know. You haven't learned how to talk, have you?"Rolling his eyes, Adie thought, 'Well, there's definitely something wrong with his brain. No wonder he needs surgery. I'm almost five years old, so how can he think that I still can't talk?'"You shouldn't go around alone if you can't talk, or else your parents will be worried..." Stefan reached his hand out to Adie, and ordered softly, "It isn't safe there. Come here." However, Adie glanced at Stefan briefly and ignored him as he bent down and picked up the flowers on the ground."Ah, it seems you're autistic too... You're cute though." Heaving a long sigh, Stefan glanced at Adie compassionately. Although he was usually quite aloof, he had a soft spot for children and furry animals, and would instinctively
"I betrayed her?" Stefan asked in bewilderment, wondering how that statement made sense."Adie!" A voice called out, and Adie turned around to see Justin waving at him."Coming!" Adie grinned when he saw Justin and ran towards him, leaving Stefan standing there in confusion."Didn't your mommy tell you not to talk to bad guys? Stay far away from him." Justin rested a hand on Adie's head and glared at Stefan. He had heard from Renee that Stefan had lost his memories of the twins too, so Stefan had no idea that Adie was his son. Renee had begged Justin to pretend to be Adie and Abby's father to avoid trouble, so Justin purposely tried to sound like he was Adie's father.As expected, Stefan got the wrong idea, and his gaze turned cold as he scoffed, "I would have stayed away from him if I knew that he was Renee's son. It seems like he's just as dangerous as his mother." After that, Stefan shoved his hands into his pockets and left the garden. He didn't want to admit it, but an unexpla
Seeing how Justin was slowly entering his trap, Adie smiled mysteriously but kept Justin guessing. "You should know my mommy well since you like her so much. Why don't you try to guess?""You want me to guess?" Rubbing his chin, Justin nodded contemplatively. "I guess the thing your mommy needs the most is the sincerity of an excellent man like me. It's the reason why I've appeared in her life, because I'm just the thing she needs." "Ugh!" Adie pretended to vomit and complained, "You're so cheesy, Mr. Baldwin; no wonder my mommy doesn't like you. You say you're sincere but isn't that just an empty promise? You should let your actions do the talking.""Haha! You're so young. Do you even know what empty promises are?" "Yes, I do. Empty promises are promises that are never kept while sincerity is the exact opposite." Adie narrowed his eyes at Justin. " Do you want to make empty promises or let your actions speak for you?""Okay, stop beating around the bush. Just tell me what you w
"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