After Stefan and Renee had confided in each other that night, Stefan felt a lot more relaxed, like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Early the next morning, he booked the best private obstetrics hospital for Renee's pregnancy check-up. However, Renee took her sweet time to wake up, and she seemed absent-minded."What's the matter?" Stefan realized something was wrong and asked gently."Well, I've just gotten pregnant. Isn't it too soon to get a check-up?" Renee asked hesitantly."Too soon?" Stefan frowned in confusion. "Shouldn't people get a full check-up right after they learn that they're pregnant? I actually wanted to get you an appointment with a specialist last night." "No, it's too fast. Why don't we wait a little..." Renee reached out, feeling the warm sunlight on her palms. "The weather is nice today, so why don't we go sunbathe in the garden?"Stefan looked out of the window and saw that it was indeed bright and sunny outside, but he felt like Renee was purpo
Stefan finally understood Renee's thoughts and hugged her gently as he whispered, "Don't worry—you have me. I'm your biggest support. You can do whatever you want to. If you don't want to meet people, we won't. If you want to stay home forever, I'll stay here with you. It's not a big deal.""Thank you. You're the best!" Renee leaned into his arms, her eyes watery. In the past, she had achieved many things, but now she finally knew what true happiness was. It was not about status or wealth, but feeling secure with loved ones who made you happy."It's okay if you don't want to go out, but you must have the check-up. We can't ignore you and the baby in your belly." Stefan thought about it for a while, then came up with an idea. He patted her belly and said reassuringly, "Just leave it to me. I'll arrange it."Renee was lying in a lawn chair in the backyard and enjoying some sun that day when a professional obstetrics team moved into Everheart Manor with advanced equipment. Stefan spent
Since Renee was blind, her senses of touch and smell were extremely sensitive, and she knew the library had been transformed the moment she entered it. The former smell of books had been replaced by the smell of disinfectant, and even the lights felt hotter, like the lights found in hospitals. At that moment, she placed her life in Stefan's hands. She would resign to her fate even if he wanted to dissect her."What a rich imagination you have! Our kid might be a novelist in the future," Stefan said in amusement as he led her into the library."Ms. Everheart, we're going to take your blood now. We need to perform a full body check-up on you and test your blood," a nurse explained to Renee gently."Fine, go ahead. After all, I'm in your hands now." Renee held her hand out and chuckled nervously. After that, she heard some rustling and felt something sharp prick her arm."Be gentler," Stefan barked when he saw Renee wince, and watched her blood fill the tube. "Mr. Hunt, you certai
After that, Owen fished out a stethoscope. He was about to put his hand under Renee's clothes."Wait!" Stefan yelped, and pushed Owen's hand away. "What are you doing?""I'm trying to listen to her heartbeat. What do you think I'm doing?" Owen asked in bewilderment."Let me do it." Stefan took the chest piece from him and said seriously, "My wife is shy, so I should do it. All you have to do is listen to her heartbeat."Owen was speechless.Stefan asked stubbornly, "What's the matter? Can't I do it?""I mean… you can. But don't you think it's strange?" Owen asked hesitantly.Stefan replied, "No, it's not. What's strange is if you touch her that way." He wouldn't know if Owen accidentally touched other areas while performing the check-up. It was fine if he wasn't present, but since he was watching, he couldn't accept it."So… I guess all those romance novels are true. You're a textbook example of an overbearing president," Owen grumbled under his breath. Reality seemed more exag
Owen had been trying to lighten the mood, but his expression suddenly turned serious. "Wait!" He frowned deeply and ordered Stefan, "Place it two to three centimeters down and to the left."His words made Stefan nervous. He did as told, then asked hesitantly, "Is there something wrong?"However, Owen didn't reply as he listened to Renee's heartbeat. After a while, he put the stethoscope down, his expression grim. "I can't say for sure... I'll only be able to tell after getting the blood test results."Renee had been quietly cooperating all along, but her eyes widened in realization when Owen spoke. She quickly said to him, "I think we'd better stop here. I'm sure you're tired, and I'm feeling tired too since they took so much of my blood. Let's continue tomorrow!" She knew that there might be something wrong with her body, but she didn't know how serious it was, so maybe it was best that not many people knew about it so they wouldn't worry. Besides, if Tess managed to figure out who
Seeing how crestfallen Stefan looked, Owen had no choice but to comfort him. His preliminary judgment based on Renee's strange heartbeat and her fatigue was that there was something wrong with her health… but it wasn't because of her pregnancy. However, he couldn't make a groundless conclusion without referring to the blood test results, and he didn't want to agitate Stefan."I'm glad it's normal." Stefan breathed a sigh of relief. "Did you hear that, dear? You're fine. It's just that you get tired easily because you're pregnant. It's my fault—I have no experience with this, so I thought something was wrong with your health!" Stefan hugged Renee happily and pointed at her belly. "Baby, you'd better be good. Don't torture your mother. Your mommy is tired because of you, and if you tire her too much, I'll beat you up once you're born!"Amused, Renee smiled sweetly. "Oh, stop being so silly. You don't act like a mighty president at all.""Alright, guys, that's enough romance for one da
"What's the matter?" Owen asked Renee curiously."I hope you won't tell Stefan if there's any bad news," Renee said simply. She had made Stefan leave because she didn't want him to worry about her, and she needed Owen's cooperation to make that happen. "Ah, I guessed as much." Owen was not surprised by Renee's request. On the contrary, he felt sorry for her. Renee was the ill one, but she only cared about Stefan and didn't want him to be sad. It was a textbook example of true love."Don't worry, I'm not some insensible blabbermouth. I know what I should or shouldn't say," Owen said reassuringly, then added lightly, "Well, don't worry too much about it. I might not work miracles, but I'm still pretty good at what I do. You'll be fine as long as you stick with me. Also, nothing is really certain, and it could just be that you're tired because of the pregnancy.""I hope so." Renee smiled wearily and said nothing more. She felt that the blood test results would be bad. After all, the
Owen sighed deeply. He wanted to tell Renee that it was better for her to die early given her condition. Based on the blood test results and Renee's current fatigue, there was a high possibility that Renee was suffering from heavy metal poisoning. If that was the case, Renee would eventually have organ failure and nerve damage, and die a slow and painful death. In the initial stage, people would feel tired and sleep all the time, then the nerve damage and organ failure would start to cause them excruciating pain.Her life would become a living hell.Owen tried to think of the best way to phrase the cruel truth, and finally said, "You don't have to worry—I'll cure you." Although he said that, it was extremely difficult to cure heavy metal poisoning. He would also need to know the compound and its dosage so he could come up with a specific treatment plan."I want you to tell me the truth. What have your meals been like lately? Did you eat anything you shouldn't have?" Owen asked Renee
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