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
Jovan left the room, and found Stefan sitting in the living room with a worried expression. "You're still here?" Jovan asked teasingly, sliding his hands into his pockets. "It's late. Why aren't you home with your wife and kids since you claim that you're such a good husband?" Stefan got to his feet and glared at Jovan. "I was waiting for you!""You were waiting for me?" Jovan chuckled and sneered sarcastically, "What an honor to have the great Stefan Hunt wait for a nobody like me." "Cut the crap!" Stefan growled and demanded, "What did you talk about with Grandpa? Tell me. He doesn't have a say in a lot of things." He figured that Timothy might have tried to offer something to Jovan to protect Stefan. He just hoped that Jovan wouldn't be too cruel. Stefan knew Timothy held him in high regard, but he always felt that it was unnecessary. "You're a smart man; I'm sure you don't need me to spell it out for you, right?" Jovan walked over to Stefan, then turned to the large French w
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"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