"Seriously?" Leia asked suspiciously."Yes!" Xavier nodded and held his hand out to her. "It's the perfect time to. Would you like to go with me?"Leia looked into his eyes and saw sincerity in them. After a brief pause, she nodded firmly. "Okay.""Let's go then, my princess." Xavier's eyes sparkled in delight, and he acted like a prince leading his beloved princess to his secret spot. To his surprise, she had actually agreed to his request.Looks like those pigs were good for something, after all. After a while of walking, they arrived on the other end of the island where Xavier's cottage was. There was a large space in front of the cottage where the barbecue was going on, and some people were whispering to each other while others sang and played guitar. The atmosphere was rather romantic."Don't tell me the most beautiful view on this island is this barbecue?" Leia asked in disbelief. She should never have trusted that trickster Xavier!"Well, not exactly..." Holding Leia's h
Leia watched the stars, thrilled that she could stare at them without even lifting her head. It looked so magical!Leia and Xavier laid next to each other and marvelled at the view silently, their shoulders and heads touching. It felt peaceful and soothing."You know, it's been a while since I saw this many stars..." Leia murmured, feeling rather melancholic. "The last time was when Liam, Ren, and I drove to The Golden Hills at Springfield. Everwell Hills, The King of Hills is right opposite The Golden Hills. When night fell, the dark sky was full of bright stars… It was as if I could see the whole galaxy." "I can imagine," Xavier said longingly. He had always wanted to stargaze on a hill because the view would be clearest, but he never could find the time. Now that he heard it from Leia, he felt like he was experiencing it himself."We had such a good time, and we worried about nothing. We would go on road trips when we were free, and we climbed a lot of mountains and went to a l
"I..." Leia bit her lip, feeling conflicted. To be honest, she didn't know how she felt about Xavier now. Maybe some of those feelings were still there, but their brief relationship had been rocky and unpredictable. On the other hand, Santiago's gentle warmth always put her at ease, and she could even imagine having a family with him.If something did happen between her and Santiago during this filming period, she would choose him over Xavier, without a doubt.Xavier was like the sun, passionate and magnetic, but she'd get burned if she got too close. Santiago, meanwhile, gentle and reassuring like the moon. She could imagine being in a deep and lasting relationship with him. Leia took a deep breath. "Xavier, actually, I—" However, before she could say anything, Xavier stopped her with a kiss, as if he knew what she was going to say. "Mmph!" Angry, she tried to push him away, but it was the first time he was kissing her so softly and tenderly. She could feel his humility and nerv
Xavier leaned close to Leia's ear and whispered teasingly, "Are you sure you want me to open the door for them now?""No!" Leia shook her head vigorously and grabbed his arms, stopping him from moving. "I'll kill you if you make a sound!" She'd be doomed if Santiago saw her in bed with Xavier like this. She didn't want things with Santiago to end so soon. She knew it was selfish of her, but she couldn't help it... Humans were greedy by nature."Is there someone in there? We're coming in if not!" Megan knocked more forcefully, and the fragile door looked like it was on the verge of breaking. Leia held her breath and clung to Xavier, shutting her eyes tight and wondering how she had gotten into this mess.Though he was feeling uneasy, Xavier couldn't help but be amused by Leia's guilty expression. Feeling cheeky, he decided to tickle her armpits."Ah! Haha!" Leia burst out laughing, then immediately clamped her mouth shut in horror. However, the damage had already been done as the
After Leia left from the side door of the cottage, she purposely took the long way around the beach before coming to the outdoor barbecue area. Everyone was excited to see her."Leia, there you are. We've been waiting for you!" Luna and Leia had become good friends because their houses were next to each other. Luna had tried to persuade Leia to come to the barbecue earlier, but Leia had refused, so she was happy to see her now."Hi! Yeah, I figured everyone would think I'm pretentious if I didn't show up," Leia laughed awkwardly, feeling guilty."Haha! That's right—the more, the merrier. By the way, Mr. Dalton has been roasting chicken wings for you all night because he knows how much you like them," Megan said, sounding slightly jealous as she gestured at the rows of chicken wings on the grill. "Thanks to Mr. Dalton, you get to pick from wings with New Orleans sauce, honey sauce, salt and pepper, and so on... If only we were so lucky!" Leia looked at Santiago, feeling touched. A
Leia held her hand out to Santiago. In her mind, Santiago had always been like an unreachable star in the sky that she could only admire from afar, but after actually spending time with him, she found he was even more bewitching up close. She admired him even more now and fantasized about spending a peaceful life with him, holding hands as they took long walks on the beach.Santiago looked at her hand, and all his unhappiness from earlier instantly faded. However, before Santiago could take her hand, Xavier appeared from behind them and grabbed her hand instead. "What are you both doing here? There's an important session tonight, and everyone is waiting for you," Xavier said, gave Santiago a challenging look, and pulled Leia to the outdoor barbecue area. "Let go of me! I don't want to hold your hand!" Leia yelled and glared at Xavier, furious at him for always ruining her time with Santiago. He always spoiled her efforts to get closer to Santiago, and she was getting very frustra
"Darling, I was charmed by your agility the first time I saw you. My heart beat fast every time I saw your radiance on TV…" Skylar was reading out Leia's letter when everyone looked at Santiago. Santiago was an actor, so he was probably the one Leia saw on TV. At that moment, Santiago's expression was soft, but Xavier's expression had turned murderous. He was clenching his fists, looking like he was seconds away from strangling someone."I want to say that my first crush is you... Skylar. I hope we can get closer to each other in the next few episodes!" After Skylar read out the last few words, he looked flustered. He scratched his head awkwardly and looked at Leia. "Lei, I didn't expect you to be interested in me." Everyone there was staring at Leia in disbelief. In the end, Leia's crush wasn't Xavier or Santiago… but Skylar? They'd barely even spoken![No, she must be fooling us!] [She's just making a scene...][No, I'm all for XavLeia love!][But Leia likes Santiago more...]
"Ahem!" Xavier didn't see Skylar as a threat, but got jealous when he saw Leia happily chatting with Skylar. Skylar immediately cleared his throat and said politely, "I'm sorry, Lei, I like someone else. Please pick another person.""It's okay, we're still in the process of choosing the person we like. Your crush can join us for snorkeling, I won't mind," Leia explained with a smile. She found Skylar very cute, so it was easy to flirt with him. Besides, he was the safest bet since it wouldn't complicate things with Santiago and Xavier. "Really? Miss Osborne, you don't mind going snorkeling with my crush and I tomorrow morning?" Skylar looked at Leia and asked innocently"Of course not! I'm a generous person, you know. We'll be a good trio," Leia remarked mischievously. She knew that her statement would make people hate her, but that was just how she was—outspoken and fun-loving."Okay, it's a promise. We'll go snorkeling as a group tomorrow. You'll go, right?" "Don't worry, I'
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve
"Liam, what are you doing?" Leia looked at Liam, unable to understand his sudden excitement."I'm going to meet Austin or Justin. I want them to cancel this engagement ceremony." Liam held Renee's wrist and tried to drag her out of the suite.He was certain Renee didn't want to marry Justin, so it was very likely that she would regret it in the future. It would be hard to settle if she regretted it after the engagement party. Liam felt that he had to try his best to put everything under control while he still could. Feeling helpless, Leia complained, "Stop making a scene… This is Ren's marriage. You can't make all this fuss!""You don't know. I'm doing this for her. I want the best for her." Liam knew the consequences of resisting Austin, given the man's position. He was also ready to be punished by them. Even though he would be beaten up vigorously, he would not hesitate as long as he could stop the ceremony and help Renee avoid such risks. "If you want the best for her, just
Leia felt so awkward that she wanted to run away. "Hey, can you stop flattering yourself? You haven't settled your messy romance, so please don't get Ren involved. You shouldn't joke like that!"Similarly, Liam found his joke impudent and admitted to his mistake. "Yeah, I was wrong. Don't take my joke seriously."Both Renee and Leia were amused. It helped relieve their tension. "But have you thought it through? After this ceremony, you'll be a part of the Baldwin family. You can't regret it by then," Liam said; he was worried about Renee. Everyone knew the Baldwin family's style. They had such a grand ceremony today. If anything went wrong, the Everheart family might be ruined for the second time. Although nobody knew who would win the battle, the trouble could be avoided. Liam was clueless as to why Renee wanted to take such a risk."Yes, I have." Renee nodded and added firmly, "I'd thought it through the moment I boarded the plane with Justin to fly here."It was the last c
Renee was done getting ready. As her closest friend, Leia came to North City with Liam immediately.The engagement ceremony was held in a magnificent hall of a top hotel. The guests arrived one by one and chatted among themselves. It was a luxurious and grand scene. "Ren, I'm sorry I'm late!" Leia arrived at the hotel suite where Renee was waiting. She put her hands together to express her apology. "It's Liam's fault! He was out of his mind and insisted on not coming here, but I forced him to and took some time. Please don't be mad at me!""Silly, I won't be mad at you. Plus, this ceremony doesn't carry much meaning. The Baldwin family just needs this as an assurance. It doesn't matter even if you're absent."Renee looked indifferent and was not at all happy and eager like a bride-to-be. The engagement ceremony was held to announce to the world about the relationship between her and Renee. In all honesty, Renee was resistant to it. She did not want her family or friends to at
Margaret decided to be frank since Renee had said so. "I can tell that you don't sincerely love Mr. Baldwin. Your marriage is just a way to avoid reality. Why are you so harsh on yourself if that's the case? Now, you're making such a big fuss about moving here. If you fail to get along with him and have to return to Beach City in the future, many people will gossip about you. They'll say nasty things about you. Why do you have to put yourself in such a condition?""Margaret, you don't understand…" Renee looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very charming, like a bride in ancient paintings. Everyone would be charmed by her—including herself. She knew very well that she was the one taking the lead in her romance with Justin. They could go on forever as long as she didn't end it. She was just afraid she could not hold on and wanted to stop, and the only reason that she wanted to stop was probably because of Stefan. "If I stay in Beach City, I'll come across Stefan. I know t
Time passed by. It was soon the day for the engagement ceremony between Justin and Renee.The Baldwin family held a grand ceremony while adhering to tradition. It was both traditional and romantic.Renee put on a red slim-fit silk gown with intricate black and gold embroidery. Her long hair was delicately pinned up, showing off her fair and slender neck. She looked elegant."How pretty!" Margaret stood in front of the vanity table and looked at Renee, whose face was dolled with exquisite makeup. She looked gratified, as though she were looking at her daughter."If your parents saw how pretty and elegant you were, they would be very happy." Margaret gently placed her hands on Renee's shoulders and commented, "You married Mr. Hunt when I wasn't around. You must have suffered a lot. But things will get better now… I'll stay with you and protect you forever. I'll be your strongest support."Back then, Renee was left alone when her family was ruined. She married Stefan without anyo
Alexander and Francine were already old. It was fine even if others criticized them or took violent revenge on them. But they were worried that the younger generation, especially Adie and Abby, would have a hard time handling it."You're right. I wasn't thinking straight…" Francine became teary and sobbed. "I just wanted to relieve my guilt and failed to consider the kids. We brought this upon ourselves. I'll probably have to suffer this pain for the rest of my life.""Stop thinking about that. It's all over. It's useless to regret or dwell on it." Alexander walked over and hugged her shoulders. He whispered some consoling words, "No one can tell who was right or wrong about that affair. We're already punished. Just act like everything is gone…"Is it? You're just trying to make yourself feel better." Francine leaned against Alexander's shoulders, full of melancholy. "Don't you think the kids are suffering the consequences of our actions? They love and understand each other bu