A handsome man in a black suit walked down from the second floor."Haze!" Renee’s eyes widened in surprise.He had disappeared after letting her go when he didn't reveal her identity as Phoenix in front of Stefan the last time.She thought he'd returned to Aplen.His appearance made her assume he must harbor a hidden motive for suddenly appearing in her house and helping her clean."Judging from the disappointed look on your face, I guess I'm unwelcome?"He walked to the middle of the stairs and looked down at Renee. His smile had a sense of wickedness to it. "I’ve been busy since the afternoon. I’m so tired that I feel like my back will break. If anything happens to me, you're the one responsible.""Ahem!" Renee shuddered from embarrassment. She never thought that the intelligent hacker would be this flirtatious. "Stop your gloating and get down here!"Liam glared at Haze and stated sternly. "There’s no way you’ll do all these without a price. If my sister didn’t want you he
The three of them looked confused as they opened their phones.Then, Leia began to scream."Oh my god! I can’t believe this. Are Ren and Stefan trending on Twitter now?"At the same time, both Renee and Liam stared at their phones as they were shocked by the news.Most of the topics trending were about Stefan and Renee.[Oh my! It’s a video of Mr. Hunt begging his ex-wife, trying to win her back!][How did he become a simp!][If a CEO can become a simp, why can't ordinary guys become one?][This is Mr. Hunt's first step in his attempt to win back his wife.]Every item she clicked on had a video of Stefan tightly clutching Renee and refusing to let her go. It was sweet but humorous, and it was really an interesting video!Netizens began a heated discussion and even made funny edits to the video. As a result, the video remained at the top of the trending searches."Hahahahahaha!" After a long silence, Liam and Leia eventually burst out laughing."Boss, is this video real or
That night, Liam and the rest left Everheart Manor reluctantly under Renee’s request.Before leaving, Leia held on to Renee’s hand and asked worriedly, “Are you sure you’re okay living alone in the huge manor? I heard that there are ghosts at night. Aren’t you scared?”“Of course, I’m not. This is my house. Even if there are ghosts around, they’re my family, so they won’t hurt me,” Renee said with a smile.They only left after getting her affirmation.After all, ghosts were not as terrifying as the terrible people Renee had previously encountered!After the three of them left, the temporarily vibrant home became silent, with the property's moist odor permeating the surroundings as though confirming nobody had been here for years. However, Renee was unbothered by it.She started cleaning the dishes while humming a tune to herself. She then filled the vase with water and placed the sunflowers inside before setting them next to her bed.Although the manor looked decayed from the
“Ms. Ren, is that you?’As it got closer to Renee, the gruff voice became a little more excited.Renee was scared to death. She waved her hands around and shouted, “Go away! Don’t make me summon a priest to exorcise you!”“Don’t be scared. Ms. Ren, it’s me. Your favorite nanny, Margaret.”The skinny ‘ghost’ pulled Renee’s wrist with one hand and pushed away the hair with the other to reveal her pale face.“Margaret?”Renee instantly quieted down and carefully opened her eyes.After taking a good look at the ‘ghost’, she couldn’t believe her own eyes.“Margaret, how? Didn’t you…”Margaret was Everheart Manor’s housekeeper and Renee's nanny.Renee was closer to Margaret than she was to her mother on some levels.Since the Everheart family went bankrupt and Renee’s parents ended their life, Margaret had been guarding the house. In the end, Margaret was rumored to be beaten to death and buried.That was what Renee heard after marrying into the Hunt family.By the time she got
“Back then, Mr. and Mrs. Everheart passed away. Even Master Everheart left the world soon after. Meanwhile, you married into the Hunt family. Everheart Manor became empty, and many people had their eyes on it. They made away with everything they could. They'd even move the floor if they could.”“I fought and guarded this place for you but got hurt. Oftentimes, before my wound could heal, new ones would appear. The last time I met a couple of vicious ones who beat me till I passed out. They dragged me to the graveyard and buried me.”Margaret’s words shocked Renee. She clenched her fists tightly in anger. “Margaret, you’ve suffered so much. Don’t worry. I will avenge you. I will find every single person who hurt you!”“Ms. Ren, don’t be angry. All my suffering is worth it, now that I see you.”The two women couldn’t help but hug each other and cry. Through the shower of tears, they released all the suffering they had endured over the past four years.“How did you escape?” Renee wip
Margaret then went to the basement to fetch the letter she had been keeping with utmost care for four whole years in the old box. "Ms. Ren, this letter was given to me by Mrs. Everheart just before she died. But it’s very strange, she said that I should never show you if your marriage is happy, but if you get divorced, then I should pass it to you…"Margaret solemnly handed the letter sealed in the envelope to Renee. She looked rather sad when she did so. Mrs. Everheart's anguish and desperation before she committed suicide were still fresh in her mind.The only person Mrs. Everheart was reluctant to let go of was Renee. She must have hoped that she could have a happy marriage with Master Hunt, but who would have expected that it would last only four years before it fell apart…Renee looked down at "My Dear Ren" written on the envelope. It was her mother’s handwriting which no one could imitate. Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.Four years ago, she was in the labo
Margaret’s random guessing threw Renee into deep thoughts.She frowned. She examined the letter repeatedly and remained silent for a long time.Margaret realized that she must have said too much. She quickly covered her mouth and said hurriedly, "What I have said... Don’t take it to heart. Why would the Hunts do that? If they were really the ones who harmed the Everhearts, why would they let you marry Mr. Hunt?""You’re right. But Dad and Mom wanted me to read this letter only if I got a divorce and emphasized that I must not blame the Hunts. So, there must be some secrets about this matter, and it must be related to the Hunts."Renee narrowed her eyes and roughly understood the entire picture. She said, "Although the Hunts might not necessarily be the ones who harmed the Everhearts, they must know something. Moreover, the people behind the fall of the Everhearts should be very influential. Otherwise, Grandpa, Dad, and Mom would not repeatedly tell me not to take revenge or force m
Renee hurried over upon hearing Margaret and saw a green carved jade lying in the deep hole. She picked up the jade and brushed away the dirt to examine it more carefully.The jade was bright green and translucent. There was no trace of impurities, and it was cool to touch. Judging from the exquisite carvings on the gemstone, she knew immediately it was a priceless antique.Margaret stared at the ornament in confusion. "This is strange. Since when was such valuable jade buried in the backyard? Hasn’t anyone discovered this before? Could it be that someone sneaked in and buried this here after the fall of the Everheart family?"Renee frowned as she tried to figure out an answer, and that was when her eyes were drawn to the pattern carved on the jade.She had a feeling that she had seen this pattern before."I don’t think so."Margaret carefully recalled the past. "I’ve been guarding this house diligently since the incident. It’s impossible that anyone got in. Even if someone took
The Lotso bear was a villain in the movie, but it was a pitiful villain because it was abandoned by its owner. It used various means and encountered a lot of hardships to return to Daisy, its owner. In the end, it found that its owner had long gained new toys.After getting hurt, it no longer wanted to be kind. It was used to act cunningly as a form of disguise. But honestly, it was a dear baby who needed love. Of course, it was not a villain at all. Renee liked it because she saw herself as well as others in it. Everyone was gloomy in some way. People got hurt and slowly became gloomy. Instead of criticizing such a thing, Renee felt more compassion and sorry for such a situation. "But you still don't want it and want to throw it away." Stefan was gripped with complicated feelings after listening to Renee's explanation. He sounded sad."Yes, I like it. But I still want to throw it away. It's better to stop in time." Renee laughed and stopped shaking her legs. She was her usual
A week later, Renee recovered because she listened to the doctor and underwent treatment. She could be discharged from the hospital.In the meantime, Stefan stayed outside the ward and did not enter the ward.On the contrary, Jovan kept entering the ward from time to time. Renee would either scold or drive him away. Stefan entered the ward on the day Renee was leaving the hospital. He quietly helped Renee pack up her things. Generally, a caretaker could do that. However, Stefan acted like he wanted to repent and felt better when he took it upon himself. "Do you still need this?" Stefan pointed at a Lotso bear toy at the head of the bed and asked Renee calmly.During the one-week hospitalization, Renee got bored. Stefan would give her some blind boxes as entertainment. Renee found Rubik's cubes, stickers, and keychains when she opened the boxes. She would always throw them away because she was not interested in them. When she unpacked a rather large Lotso bear toy, she became
Jovan had kidnapped Renee, but he risked his life for her though he appeared like a cunning and selfish man. Renee felt that she did not deserve his love. She had wronged both Jovan and Justin, but she could not love them back. On the other hand, the one she wanted to love kept pushing her away cruelly…She slapped herself fiercely. Her action frightened the nurse. "Ms. Everheart, we can talk things out! Why did you hurt yourself? You can't…" "Don't worry. I'll get better and won't harm myself again." Renee was teary and laughed at herself. "I slapped myself because I recalled the things I'd done. I was very stupid, and I wanted to knock some sense into myself." "Okay, I'm glad to hear that." The nurse heaved a sigh of relief, but she was afraid to see Renee keep acting crazily. After she was done bandaging Renee's wound, she left hurriedly.When Stefan saw the nurse exit the ward, he walked in nervously and inquired about Renee. "How she's doing?" "She's already feeling be
Having said that, Justin turned to leave. He knew that if he stayed, he would only look more of a fool. "Tsk! What a pity!" Jovan watched him leave, shrugging and sighing. "He's sincere and loyal. Too bad he pales in comparison to the scumbag!""Get out!" Renee was overcome with sadness and pushed Jovan away fiercely. "Get out! I don't want to see anyone!" Knowing that she had harmed Justin again, she was filled with guilt. She just wanted to be left alone."Rest well. I'll be with you until you're recovered and discharged from the hospital," Stefan said calmly before exiting the ward.In a while, a nurse came to tend to the bandages that Renee had removed. She advised Renee, "Ms. Everheart, you have to be careful. You're weak now. You can't get angry, or it might be life-threatening.""I don't care. My life is so messy, I'd rather die."Thinking of the recent events and the men around her, a severe headache hit her. She wanted to keep being unconscious."Please don't say tha
"Do you still want to marry me?" Justin asked Renee."I…" Renee could talk nonsense with Jovan, but she couldn't joke with Justin. She had harmed him many times and couldn't keep hurting him. Honestly, she didn't want to marry him or anyone else. She did not want to rely on anyone. She knew she could rely on a man and lead a steady life if there was love. But without love, it would be very hard to rely on a man.However, she knew that Justin liked her and wanted to marry her. If she promised to marry him, the impulsive Jovan would get the staff of the City Hall here. If she turned Justin down at that time, she would harm him again."Fine. You don't have to feel stressed. I know the answer." Justin was no fool. Renee's hesitation told him what she wanted. "When I begged you to marry me, you forced yourself to say yes. You just wanted to repay me for saving your life.""No, you're wrong!" Seeing Justin hurt pained her more than when she was hurt. She hurriedly explained, "I reall
"What is it?" Renee looked at Justin curiously.Renee, Stefan, and Jovan were curious about what was on Justin's mind."If my family starts fighting the Hunt family, which side will you take?" Justin went straight to the point. He had been curious about that as he made wild guesses about Renee's mind. Since Renee was right before him, he wanted to get the answer from her before he could give up."Hmph! I thought it was something serious. Why did you make it sound that serious…" Jovan burst into laughter, finding Justin a loyal man. "Isn't that obvious? If she wants to take your side, you guys would be married by now. There wouldn't be so many shitty things either!""Shut up, Jovan!" Renee glared at Jovan. If she was stronger, she would beat him up. She said coldly, "Did you forget how you took me away?""Yes, I used some cunning means to take you away, but let's be frank. If I didn't come that day, would you marry him?"Jovan had long gotten used to Renee's fierceness. On the c
Similarly, Renee used an iron wire to cut her wrist just to meet Stefan."Am I right? You did so many things just to see him. Now you finally met him. Are you happy and satisfied now? But you look worse than before." Jovan teased Renee. He found her pitiful, but at the same time, he felt that it served her right. It seemed everybody was a joke in their romance with others. Only those who never loved could be at the top of the food chain. They would laugh at those who gave up their hearts to others and could not understand those people's bizarre actions."Stop gloating. It's none of your business! Let go of me, or I'll make you feel sorry for yourself."Renee had just escaped death and was weak. Had it not been for that, Jovan wouldn't be able to stop her or watch her make a fool of herself. Still, she would be fine with losing blood again just to torment him if he kept on talking nonsense. Then, he would watch his tongue."Tell me, Phoenix. Is he telling the truth?" Justin
The loud noises in the ward naturally alerted Justin and Jovan."What's going on?" Justin became very nervous and kicked the door of the ward open. He saw that Renee had woken up and was crazily tearing at the bandages."Uh…" Justin was struck dumb. He had thought of the possibility of Stefan waking Renee up, but he did not expect it to be that effective. Renee ended up becoming a maniac who had lost control of herself. "You're awake?" Jovan was stunned too. He instantly understood the whole incident and gave Renee a thumbs-up. "You're great!"Renee looked coldly at them and ordered them, "Get out, you two! I haven't settled things with him!" Although she was fine with the way they regarded her, she did not want them to see her as a maniac. Besides, their presence would affect her and stop her from being crazy."I won't get out."Jovan turned Renee down. He rushed over and hugged her, stopping her from hurting herself."What are you doing? Let go of me!"Renee was still ha
After a long pause, Stefan finally admitted honestly, "That wasn't a lie." He turned to look at Renee. He knew what he had to do, and heaved a long sigh."But life isn't just about love.""Why not?" Renee became teary as she stared at him like a child who failed to get what she wanted. "To me, that's already enough. As long as we love each other, we can conquer everything. Without love, it'll be hopeless.""If loving each other is already enough, there wouldn't be the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Didn't they love each other deeply? They loved each other a lot, but they ended up dead!" Stefan shot back.He could not stop himself from getting impulsive. Heartbroken, he turned around to look into Renee's eyes. "Compared to love, I'd rather you lead a steady and happy life. But I'm not the one who can give you that. I'll only bring you pain and death!""Romeo and Juliet?" Renee found that preposterous and bizarre. "What a lousy excuse! Did I kill your parents, or did you kill my p