"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
All Timothy knew was that Stefan and Renee had reconciled with each other, but he didn't know about Renee's blindness. "It's nothing, Grandpa. You know Jovan can never say anything nice; just ignore him." Stefan hid the truth from Timothy because he didn't want him to worry. Jovan walked up to Timothy and faked a smile. "Grandpa, I think the worst decision you've made was entrusting Renee to Stefan. All he ever did was hurt her. And now... even her body was hurt. If Renee's grandfather learns about it, I don't think he'll be able to rest in peace.""Shut up!" Clenching his fists, Stefan said to Jovan firmly, "Please leave if you have nothing better to do. Don't say such cruel words in front of an old man.""Cruel?" Jovan snorted. "When you did it, you didn't find it cruel. I'm just stating facts, so why is it cruel? Even if it is, who caused this?"Jovan hated Stefan's hypocritical side, and Stefan hated Jovan's wickedness. Both had wronged Renee in different ways, and it was th
Hearing that, Stefan frowned in displeasure. "What's there to say to him, Grandpa? He didn't have to leave the room when we talked, so why do I have to leave when you want to talk to him?" Recently, Timothy loved chatting with Jovan secretly. Stefan didn't know what they talked about, and the feeling of being left out made him uneasy. He couldn't understand why Timothy wanted to be on guard against him since he was Timothy's biological grandson, and wondered if Timothy was mistaken. "Grandpa, I'm Stef, your grandson. Jovan is your brother's grandson. Are you sure you want to talk to him alone?" At that moment, Stefan felt like a child fighting for his parents' love."I'm asking Van to stay, not you. Just shut up and get out," Timothy snapped at Stefan. Helpless, Stefan sighed and left Timothy's room.Once Stefan had left, Jovan casually walked to Timothy's bed and pulled a chair out to take a seat. Faking a smile, he looked at the old man. "Don't tell me you want to talk about the
"So, you think that I'll win this battle, Grandpa?" The corners of Jovan's lips curved into a devious smile."Yeah, you'll win, but you'll never win for real without me saying yes." Timothy's gaze grew colder. Despite his old age, he could still be intimidating if he wanted to.Jovan sat up straight and said icily, "You know that I've always lost to Stefan, so I'll give it my all this time. I'll let everyone in Beach City know that I'm stronger than him so I don't have to keep living in his shadow. As for you..." He sized Timothy up and sighed. "You'll leave this world one day, and when that happens, Stefan can no longer use your power to intimidate me." "Well, you don't have to wait until I'm dead to defeat him. I've been thinking about it for a long time, and I realize that Stef may not care about money and fame now. So, I've decided on something, and I hope you can accept it..." Timothy said mysteriously. "What did you come up with?" Jovan frowned and asked curiously. "First
Jovan read the contract carefully without missing anything, and the room was silent except for the clicking of Timothy's medical equipment. After a while, he snorted and crushed the contract slowly in his hand. "Haha! It's ridiculous!" Jovan hurled the contract at the floor and burst into laughter, shocking Timothy. Timothy thought Jovan would accept such a good offer immediately, but the way Jovan was laughing made Timothy feel like he had made the wrong decision. "What are you laughing at?" Timothy asked Jovan seriously."I'm laughing at you both and myself." Finally, Jovan finished laughing and calmed himself down. His eyes gleamed dangerously. "Yes, I admit your offer is tempting. All of you see me as a cunning person who'll pay any price to get Hunt Enterprise, right?" "Aren't you?" Timothy sneered, not knowing what Jovan was getting at. "I won't force you if you don't want it, but you'll never get the company as long as I write in my will that eighty percent of the company s
Timothy's eyes widened in realization, and he sighed exasperatedly. "Don't tell me you're serious about Renee!" Back then, there had been an uproar because Jovan was coveting Renee, and the whole Hunt family became aware of it. Even if Timothy didn't read the news much, he would occasionally hear rumors. However, he was a slick man who had been making a living in the business field for many years, and he felt that Jovan only wanted what Stefan had to prove that he was stronger than him. "You've always been competing against Stefan, and your parents always pressured you to win against him, which is why you feel like it's your mission to defeat him. He got a master's degree from Hart University, so you went and got a master's degree from Marvel Institute of Technology. He's the president of Hunt Enterprise, and as the vice president, you want to take over his position. When he wanted to focus on AI, you beat him to it and established an AI research center at Newrest. Finally, he fell i
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
"How could you…" Stefan looked at Renee in disbelief. For a moment, he was struck dumb. Renee quietly removed the oxygen mask and the needle. She calmly sat up in bed. "I thought you'd never be honest with me.""When did you wake up?" Stefan finally regained his wits. Because of his guilt, he was too scared to look into Renee's eyes. "I had long woken up." Renee was very calm. She looked weak because she had lost too much blood, but at the same time, she still looked firm like a rose blooming in winter. "So, you purposely lured me here, didn't you?"When Stefan learned that she had long woken up, he realized with shock that he might have stepped into the trap she and Jovan set up.Naturally, he was uneasy, given the proud man he was. He could plot against others but could not tolerate others doing the same to him, let alone the fact that it was his beloved woman."Hmph! Did I lure you here?" Renee laughed sarcastically and disappointedly. She looked at Stefan as he tried
"Can I wake her up?" Stefan seemed to be asking them and himself. He shook his head in self-hatred. "I'm afraid I'm the reason why she wants to escape this world. She must hate me to the core and refuse to see me. She might know that I'm here, so she's avoiding me and refuses to wake up."He recalled how much he had harmed her. He was not confident to wake her up, let alone face her."Yes, you're sinful, ut you must be held accountable for it!" Justin could not bother to waste his time talking to Stefan. He pushed Stefan into the ward instead. "You made her so angry, she's in a coma now. So, you have to wake her up. If she doesn't, you can't leave the ward!""Agreed!"Jovan was standing on the other side. He and Justin seemed to have formed a barrier and refused to let Stefan back down.After some contemplation, Stefan decided to face the music. He closed the ward door and quietly went to Renee's bed. It was the first time he was alone with her after a long time."You're tr
Unsurprisingly, Renee remained irresponsive. Justin gradually grew depressed. Before, he was confident. Seeing that he was getting no response from her, his confidence waned. Undeniably, he was probably not that important to her. If not, she wouldn't remain indifferent. She would have sensed that he was around. "I got it. You don't need me." Justin smiled helplessly. He felt pathetic too. He took a deep breath and finally stood up to exit the ward."How's it going?" Stefan asked.He kept waiting outside the ward, paying close attention to it in hopes that Renee could wake up. He also felt that Justin could bring Renee wonderful things and hope. She would wake up when she sensed that Justin was calling for her. "Hmph! Isn't it obvious? Of course, he couldn't wake her up!" Jovan casually leaned against the bench in the corridor, not even looking up. He sounded vicious. "He's just a backup guy. Of course she doesn't care about him! She's not in love with him." Justin glared at J
Stefan remained quiet as he calmly watched Renee. He extended his hand to touch her face but retrieved it before he could.She used to be the woman he was familiar with and the one he had hugged and kissed countless times, but now, he didn't even dare to touch her. "I think she doesn't even want you here. She must hate you so much and is disappointed in you. She'll be even more pressured if you stay here, and it'll push her further from this world. So please, get the hell out of here if you want the best for her!"Justin could not hold himself back from scolding Stefan. If Jovan was telling the truth, Stefan must be aware of the fact that Jovan was holding Renee hostage. Yet, he remained indifferent and feigned ignorance. He didn't even care if Renee was fine. What a cruel bastard! Justin was disappointed in Stefan. He wanted nothing more than to see what was really on Stefan's mind."Take good care of her." Stefan did not want to defend himself. He glanced at Renee, relucta
"What did you do to her?!" Stefan interrogated Jovan coldly, his eyes teary. "She isn't the kind to kill herself! What the hell did you do to her?" "Try to wake her up if you want to know." Jovan was pale. His previous sickness, coupled with his recent blood donation to Renee, made him very weak. Despite that, he refused to stop infuriating others. "Do you think I can't do anything to you? Do you really think that?" Stefan could no longer hold himself back and strangled Jovan. "I'm going to kill you! Repent for the terrible things you've done!"He couldn't imagine the kind of thing that could force the strong and stubborn Renee to resist by using such a desperate means. "You obviously won't go easy on me! I'm sure of that!" Jovan sneered. His pale face turned flushed as he suffocated from Stefan's powerful grip. "But you'd better kill yourself first if you want to avenge her! She ended up like this because of you." "What?" Stefan's face was frosty. He strengthened his grip a
Jovan slowly got up from the ground, looking incredibly weak. He whispered, "She lost too much blood. The doctor claimed she's out of danger, but…she hasn't woken up.""What did you say?" Stefan and Justin were bewildered. They couldn't process his words."So, she was the female college student who tried to kill herself?" Stefan said. He staggered after linking the information he had heard from a nurse with the things that Jovan had said."Stop acting dumb! You're so smart, how could you have missed that?" Jovan glared coldly stared at Stefan, scrutinizing him in disdain. "You were just too scared to face the truth and your woman! You're such a coward! You're an embarrassment to your family!""Agreed!" Justin added; he suddenly found Jovan useful, especially when the latter started insulting Stefan. It felt just right."Although I'm a fallback guy, I'm braver than you. I accept that she doesn't love me, and I'm willing to give it a try with her. And although this guy's a vill
Stefan frowned, doubtful. He looked vigilantly at Jovan, who had collapsed on the ground. "What do you mean by this?"Jovan kept coughing and said nothing. His lips grew pale as he sneered.Justin's eyes were cold, and he held back his urge to beat up Jovan. "Hmph! Obviously, this is a scam!"He demanded condescendingly, "How dare you barge into my territory and take away my woman! Don't you fear my family and me at all?"Jovan, filled with disdain, looked at Justin as if he was a fool. "Stop talking. You don't even have the right to join this battle."To Jovan, only Stefan was qualified and powerful enough to be his enemy."How dare you say that!" Justin was infuriated. He got down on one knee and grabbed Jovan. "Your family always says nasty things! You two are the same. If we start fighting, I'll make sure to cut your tongue first!""Did I say something wrong?" Jovan sized Justin up, ridiculing Justin with mock compassion. "Don't you have any self-awareness? You're just a fal
Stefan frowned and asked solemnly, "Aren't you a top hacker? Hack into this hospital's inpatient system. Then, we'll know where she is.""Yes, you're right." Still, Justin wanted to challenge Stefan. He said indifferently, "But you're Jovan's cousin. It's more convenient for you to make a call instead of me hacking into their system."Yes, Justin could hack into their system, but calling Jovan would be quicker. And what they needed the most was time."He and I…" Stefan sneered, flexing his fingers. "The fact we didn't kill each other is considered peaceful. He's not as obedient as you think.""You'll know by calling him."Justin had heard about the complicated internal fights of the Hunt family, but he felt that Stefan was exaggerating."Jovan is a Hunt no matter what. Plus, he's still working at Hunt Enterprise. Just call him," Justin said. "Fine." Stefan found Justin logical. His private grudges with Jovan were not important because finding Renee immediately was the most impo