"A breakthrough?" "Yes, a point of realization for you both that will finally make the both of you choose each other." Renee hoped they could reach that point because both she and Stefan had experienced it too. She knew full well how terrible it felt to be trapped in an ambiguous relationship; Leia and Xavier would only realize that they were meant for each other after going through hardships together.As the night went on, Renee and Leia's conversations grew deeper. Leia had spoken a lot, and after a while, she fell asleep with tears on her cheeks. However, Renee couldn't fall asleep because she felt like this was just the calm before the storm...What she didn't know was that Jovan's car was parked outside the manor.The street lights illuminated Jovan's face as he sat in the car, bathing half of his face in light and the other in darkness. It reflected his current state well—he never knew if he was a good person or a bad one. He had been waiting for a long time outside the mano
"A mini tracker?" Impressed, Stefan gave her a thumbs-up. "That's pretty amazing—I didn't even know you did it. You're better than those secret agents in the movies.""Of course! I'm better than them, so you'd better appreciate me. Treat me badly and you'll suffer the consequences," Renee said smugly."I wouldn't dare. I'll be loyal to you for the rest of my life.""That's more like it! Good boy." Renee patted his head indulgently and muttered, "It's freezing. Hurry up and carry me to bed. I want to sleep." After spending a few days together, she had gotten used to hugging him in bed. It was probably the reason why she couldn't sleep, and so she had sought him out."Come here. I've warmed the bed for you," Stefan said gently and led her to bed. It was the best thing in the world to have a warm bed on a cold night. Renee curled up on her side while Stefan hugged her from behind. She felt safe and warm in his arms, and after a while, she started to feel sleepy. However, Stefan's
If Jovan managed to bribe Timothy, Stefan would have less power in the Hunt family, and would be considered inferior to Jovan. Stefan's head started to hurt at the thought of it, but he didn't tell Renee about it because he didn't want her to suffer with him. "It's more than enough to have you and the kids. Nothing else is important... Just sleep!" Stefan sighed heavily and whispered.Renee heard the underlying disappointment in his tone, and started to worry. She wanted to help him.Stefan planned to go to Hunt Enterprise early the next morning while Leia stayed in the manor to help take care of Renee."Don't take her out again. I won't forgive you if yesterday's incident happens again," Stefan told Leia firmly before he left."Fine, I won't take her out, but don't worry even if I do because my throat is cured. If anyone dares to bully me, I'll scold them," Leia promised as she drank a glass of milk.Stefan stared at her oddly, then shook his head and walked off. Maybe it would h
"I'm pregnant?" Renee shook her head and said firmly, "That's impossible.""Why not? Just do the test and we'll see." Leia thought about it for a while, then said cheerfully, "Well, I'll go get the pregnancy test kit. Wait for me!" Immediately, she went to a nearby pharmacy to buy one. When she returned, she found Tess, the part-timer, making coffee. "What are you adding to it?" Leia glanced at it and asked Tess."Oh, nothing." Feeling guilty, Tess upset the cup of coffee and said in a panic, "It's sugar. Ms. Everheart hates bitter coffee, so she asked me to add some sugar to it.""Really?" Leia frowned, wondering when Renee's taste had changed since she always had sugar-free coffee. However, she didn't think about it much and just headed upstairs to give Renee the pregnancy test kit. At first, Renee was reluctant to take the test because she was certain that she wasn't pregnant, but after Leia persuaded her, she braced herself and did the test. After a while, Leia squealed excite
"Honestly, I didn't think I could get pregnant because we took precautions." Renee was very surprised, but she would certainly give birth to the child. "That means that it's written in the stars. This child is yours to have, and you can't stop it! Haha! I'm sure Mr. Hunt will be overjoyed to hear he's going to have another child!" Leia grinned, sincerely happy for Renee."What's there to be happy about? It's not a good time for us to have a baby." Renee sighed deeply, feeling worried. It was a stressful period for both of them, especially Stefan. He had to gain a firm foothold as the president of Hunt Enterprise, and he also had to take care of Renee since she was blind. If they had another child, he alone would have to take care of four people, and the stress would be unimaginable. Another child right now just meant another weakness for others to exploit; it really was bad timing."Stop overthinking—you're already pregnant. You felt the same about Abby and Adie back then, but look
"It's nothing." Knowing Leia's character, Renee didn't want to tell her anything until she figured out the truth. Tess was a recently hired part-timer whose sole job was to take care of Renee. She was kind and hardworking, and although Renee had never seen Tess, she could tell from their daily interactions that Tess was a nice person. She didn't seem like the type to harm Renee, but Renee wondered why Tess would lie for no reason. She thought about it for a while, then sent Leia off with a casual excuse and called Tess into her room."Ms. Everheart, is there anything I can do for you?" After getting things done in the kitchen, Tess wiped her hands clean and hurried upstairs. She always did her best, and her work was smooth and neat; Renee honestly didn't have anything to complain about."I heard that you added sugar to my coffee today?" Renee asked Tess directly. "I was mistaken. It wasn't sugar, but just another ingredient to make the coffee taste better." Tess knew that Leia woul
Renee's tone was light but firm. She never employed people she couldn't trust, and didn't dare to let Tess stay no matter what difficulty she was facing."Ms. Everheart, I... I've wronged you, but I beg you—please don't send me away. I don't care if you don't pay me, but if you fire me, my... my mother is doomed!" Tess dropped to her knees in front of Renee, sobbing loudly. That woman told her that she would never see her mother again if the plan failed, so she had to keep working there."So, someone kidnapped your mother to threaten you and make you harm me… Is that what you're saying?" Renee asked Tess sharply."I... I..." "I stand by what I said—I might be able to help you if you tell me the truth now."Tess thought about it briefly, looked around to confirm that the woman was not around, then confessed, "Yes, someone threatened me a few days ago. It was a woman, but I don't know her name. I couldn't even see her face because she wore a mask, but she seemed mysterious and wick
Timothy's health was bad, and he was confined to his bed in Hunt Manor with an IV drip to survive. He called Stefan and Jovan to his bed that night."Stefan." Timothy sounded weak, but he was happy to see his grandson. He waved at Stefan. "Come here.""Grandpa!" Stefan's heart twisted when he saw how feeble Timothy was, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears as he approached him. "I heard from your mother that you were at Ren's place recently. Finally, you didn't let me down, and you did what was right..." Timothy held Stefan's hand, his dull eyes shining with joy again. The person he had worried about the most was Renee, since he felt like he had treated her unfairly."I swore to my old comrade that I would make Ren happy when he entrusted her to me, but you failed me and made Ren suffer. I was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer him." At that point, Timothy's eyes started to water. He had always been strong and righteous his whole life, and he felt like the only person h
Amber grabbed some tissues beside her and carefully covered the scratch between her brows. She kept calm in hopes that she could make Luneth let down her guard. She knew very well that Liam, Renee, and Leia would be doomed if she didn't stop Luneth from telling Benjamin and Macsen about this incident. Although her face hurt badly from the teacup, it was nothing compared to their safety. "I'm sorry, Gem… I didn't do it on purpose. I was too angry and scared!" Luneth realized how aggressive she had been, and apologized to Amber in sobs. At the same time, she complained piteously, "You know how hard it was for me to get a child. Grady is very dear to Macsen and me. We don't even speak loudly to him or beat him up. But today, someone pressed him to the ground and beat him up. There's such a large hole in his head! The doctors told me that we needed to take good care of his wound. If it gets infected or he gets tetanus, the bacteria or virus might invade his brain and turn him mentall
Luneth was staying in the southeast of the fort. Her house was a uniquely styled traditional cottage. Upon arriving, Amber could hear a woman crying from afar. Many servants, doctors, and women were standing in front of Luneth's room. Amber walked toward Luneth's servant Jayna Bowie, and asked carefully, "Hello, is Aunt Luneth around?" "Ms. Jenkins, come another day. Mrs. Klein is crying sadly now. She's furious. I'm afraid you might be harmed if you go in," Jayna advised kindly.Those standing in a row at the door were trying to comfort Luneth. However, they were quickly rebuked and became too timid to approach her."It's fine." Amber was aware of her aunt's temper. Smiling, she kept moving forward. "I heard Grady got hurt. As his cousin, I need to see him. Plus, Aunt Luneth always treats me nicely. She won't be angry at me.""Ms. Jenkins, you don't know how serious this is. There's a big hole in the boy's head. The doctor said it might affect his intelligence. Mrs. Klein beca
After that, Amber looked at Liam, who kept silent the whole time. She tried to make Liam say something nice. "See, Liam? I told you, Matt's a great guy. He was just joking with us in the orchard to scare us. I'm sure he'll take our sides and protect us. Don't worry.""Is that so?" Liam glanced at Mateo and faked a smile. "Well, I should thank him properly."The air between them grew awkward, but Liam didn't care. He wanted to make Mateo uneasy and force the latter to expose his true self.Amber was simple, but Liam was no fool. Mateo's acting was smooth, but he couldn't trick Liam.Moreover, Mateo was the one who came up with that scheme. He wouldn't let anyone expose it—he wanted to be the one to do it."Okay, aren't we going to get a drink? Let's go. I'll make the chef cook us something nice." Mateo enthusiastically held Liam's shoulders and dragged him forward. At that moment, he turned icy. "If you're a man, stop involving Gem if you want to fight against me. Stop showing of
Liam was no fool. He immediately understood the profound meaning behind Renee's words and stopped saying too much. "Fine, be good. You guys are just taking a rest. I'll handle this well. Wait for my news."He knew very well that the conclusion would be the same regardless if Renee and Leia had offended Luneth's son or the child of an ordinary villager. Mateo simply wanted to use that method to control him. The only way to solve this was to defeat Mateo. However, based on the current situation, Mateo had a lot of followers in the fort. It would be difficult for Liam to defeat him.Luckily, Liam wasn't an easy target either. He had been winning people over these days. That, and he was close with Benjamin's other foster sons. If both parties were to get into a fight, he still had a chance to win.After confirming that Renee and Leia were fine, Liam left the cell. Mateo was waiting outside, grinning triumphantly. He sneered sarcastically, "What do you think? I was telling the trut
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam