"You won't?" A chuckle escaped Jovan. "But Grandpa said that you would. He painted you as a soft-hearted god who would show me mercy, and that weakness of yours would be your demise. He begged me, hoping I would let you go!" Jovan laughed, mocking Timothy. He'd never assumed that Stefan would go easy on him—he just hadn't pushed Stefan's limits yet."I knew it!" Stefan asked urgently, "What did he offer you?" Timothy had been mysterious lately, and always chatted with Jovan behind Stefan's back. Stefan figured that Timothy might have heard rumors about the board of directors being unhappy with him, and figured that Jovan would defeat Stefan in a battle for the company, so he had tried to make peace with Jovan humbly for Stefan's sake… but that wasn't the truth. Stefan could have fought back, but he was exhausted, and he had something else he valued more now. He didn't care about fighting Jovan anymore."He said he would let me have full power over Hunt Enterprise, and you'll only be
Stefan frowned and asked Jovan, "What do you want?" In his mind, all Jovan wanted was the right to rule Hunt Enterprise and be superior to Stefan. Timothy's offer had met those requirements, so Stefan couldn't figure out why Jovan would say reject it. "I want your woman… Will you let me have her?" Jovan smiled teasingly as he asked.Stefan stopped in his tracks, and an uncontrollable rage overwhelmed him. He punched Jovan in the face, sending him tumbling to the ground. Jovan didn't retaliate, and just wiped away the blood on his lips. He stared at Stefan contemplatively, then sneered, "I won't fight you. I'll let you have Hunt Enterprise, but you have to give your woman to me. Can you do that?""How dare you say those words again!" Stefan's expression was livid. He wanted to punch Jovan again, but stopped himself, resorting to clenching his fists instead. "If what I said makes you angry, then don't you understand how I could be angry when you and Grandpa offered me such a choi
"You're crazy, Jovan! You know full well how you got your eyes. She sacrificed her future so you could see again, and you'd be a horrible excuse for a human being if you tortured her like this!" Stefan snarled. He had tried his best to accept it, but no man would be okay with their lover giving up her eyes to another man who now refused to let her go. If Stefan thought about it any more, he was worried he would fight with Renee again."I know my eyes are hers. You should know why she gave up her eyes to me..." Jovan stared at Stefan's eyes and sneered. "What right do you have to order me around and demand things from me since you're the one benefiting from all this? Return my eyes to me if you can then!""How dare you!" Jovan's words struck Stefan like lightning. Stefan wanted to say he would… but he couldn't. He didn't want to live in that endless darkness again, and he needed to take care of Renee. If he behaved impulsively and returned his eyes to Jovan, no one could take care of
"Is there anything else?" Stefan stopped and turned to look at Leia wearily. His talk with Jovan had tired him out, and he had to worry about Renee and the children. Even if he was energetic, there were times he wanted to rest too. For now, he just wanted one night where he could rest quietly. "You left early and came home late. You didn't spend much time with Ren, and now you want to go straight to bed. Have you ever thought that Ren might be waiting for you? Wouldn't she be disappointed if you just went to sleep?" Leia asked meaningfully. She wasn't usually a busybody, but today was a special day. She knew Renee well, and figured she was probably still awake and waiting for Stefan to comfort her. If Stefan went to bed now, Renee might be mulling over the news the whole night."You're right. I wasn't being considerate enough." Stefan nodded and took a deep breath before he headed upstairs quietly. "Hey, you..." Leia's heart ached as the sight of his lonely figure heading up the s
"Silly, that day will never come. You'll be the one getting sick of me." Stefan kissed Renee lovingly. His wife might never realize how attractive she was and how many people were coveting her, so he had to be alert all the time.After a while of kissing, Renee said rather bashfully, "Umm... There's something I want to tell you.""What is it? Why are you being so mysterious about it?" Stefan was curious because both Renee and Leia had been acting strangely. "Open the drawer—there's something in it. I'm sure you'll know when you see it." Renee kept her head ducked, as shy as a schoolgirl. It was not the first time she had gotten pregnant, but she was more nervous and excited than before. Renee felt that the both of them would look forward to this child's arrival. "I'm looking forward to it!" Stefan could not suppress his eagerness as he pulled open the drawer. When he saw the test strip and two lines on it, he became nervous. "Dear, umm... is it positive?" "What?""Why didn't y
"No, of course not!" Stefan immediately covered Renee's lips. "Shush… Don't say such things. If our baby hears that, he or she may hate me, and that would be unfair for me." "What? The baby is just a small cell that can't even be seen at this point, of course it can't hear us." Amused, Renee moved his hand away, feeling relieved at his joy. Of course she had been worried— she was blind, and Stefan was busy gaining a firm foothold in Hunt Enterprise. Besides, they had Adie and Abby. Even if Margaret, Leia, and the others were around, it would still be quite exhausting. If they had another child now, their life would be more chaotic. "I'm serious, darling. I can get rid of it if you think it's not the right time for us to have another child." Leaning into Stefan's arms, Renee said sadly, "We can have another child in the future; I don't want to see our lives get too chaotic, and I don't want to see you stressed." It was already tough taking care of a blind person, and if that person
It was better to communicate instead of making assumptions if there was an issue."Nothing. It's getting late. You should sleep early." Stefan didn't want to tell her because he didn't want her to worry."No, there has to be something going on. Tell me!" Renee said urgently. "I said that there can't be secrets between us. I don't want you to go to bed worrying about whatever that is."Stefan sighed deeply, knowing Renee wouldn't let it go until he told her. "Hurry up. We can sleep after you tell me!" Renee complained. "Okay, I'll tell you." After some hesitation, Stefan explained, "Grandpa talked to Jovan alone again tonight, and I talked to him too. Can you guess… what we talked about?""Control over Hunt Enterprise?" Renee asked instantly. "Isn't that why he constantly fights with you? Doesn't he find it tiring?" Although she had been staying at home recently, she did listen to financial news. She was aware of Jovan making vast changes to Hunt Enterprise that had been pretty
Renee swallowed, her face pale. After a long silence, she whispered, "Then... he must be out of his mind." For some reason, she felt guilty. It wasn't that she had feelings for Jovan, but she now realized that Jovan's feelings for her were deeper than she thought. It made sense though—he would not have risked his future and given up his blood and eyes to Stefan for her otherwise. When she heard that he was willing to give up Hunt Enterprise which he had coveted for a long time just so he could pursue her... she felt very uneasy. "Tell me the truth. I know you both left Beach City and went abroad for half a year. You guys spent days and nights in each other's company. Did you—""No!" Knowing what Stefan wanted to ask about, Renee firmly responded. She hugged him from behind and leaned her head on his large back. "Promise me you won't ever doubt my love for you. I've never loved anyone else. If I did, I wouldn't have started over with you.""I know." Stefan's voice was hoarse as tear