After Stefan left, Shirley quickly knocked on Renee's room door."What do you want?" Leia scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Shirley suspiciously like she was a ticking time bomb. When everyone had gone to Owen, Leia had followed Shirley upstairs, and blocked her way when she knocked on Renee's door."It's none of your business; this is between Ms. Everheart and me. She promised to speak to me alone just now." Shirley's expression was hostile and unfriendly, very much different from her innocent look when she was in front of Xavier. "It's my business since you're looking for my bestie. She just had surgery and is blind, so she needs to be protected from wicked people like you," Leia said firmly."Ms. Osborne, I don't owe you anything, and I'm not your prisoner. Why do you always object to everything I do? Do you really have that much time on your hands?" Shirley smoothed her hair, her tone sarcastic. "If I were you, I would have spent more time dressing up. There are plenty of women
Leia's expression stiffened, and she immediately asked, "What do you mean?" "If I have the chance to give up my eyes to her, I need to ask for a favor. I'm not a saint who doesn't ask for anything in return when I do something good," Shirley said casually."So, you're saying you're willing to give up your eyes to Ren?" Leia frowned suspiciously. She didn't think that Shirley was such a generous woman."That depends on my negotiation with Ms. Everheart..." Shirley flipped her hair and smirked. "I don't like non-profitable deals, and I'll only negotiate with people who can afford my price… I believe that Ms. Everheart is one of those people.""I know you won't agree so easily.. What are you up to? You'd better tell me now. I won't go easy on you if you dare harm my bestie!" Leia pointed at Shirley and threatened her."You'll know if I agreed or not after I'm done negotiating with her. If you refuse to let me talk to her, then it'll be hopeless. If you make me desperate, I'm not afraid o
Shirley walked into the room and took a closer look at Renee. To her surprise, they did look very much alike, especially their eyes. Suddenly, she understood why Stefan and Leia were so stubborn about her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of losing her eyes forever. "Ms. Everheart, I've heard so much about you. I always wanted to talk to you, but I never had the chance..." Shirley walked over to Renee's bed and was shocked to see Renee's ruined eyes. She frowned. "I didn't expect to speak to you under such… unfortunate circumstances." As far as she remembered, Renee had beautiful eyes that seemed like they could see through people's hearts… but now, they were gone. Shirley's guilt made her avert her gaze timidly. When Renee felt Shirley getting closer, she smiled. "Do you think I look pitiful?""No, I don't!" Shirley protested earnestly. "Honestly, I'm jealous of you because there are so many people who are concerned about you. You're blessed, Ms. Everheart. You've
"I guess you can see it that way," Shirley admitted, then said bluntly, "I know that you and Ms. Osborne are best friends, and both of you are willing to risk your lives for each other. If I harm Ms. Osborne, you definitely won't let me off the hook.""If you know it, then you shouldn't harbor such thoughts." Renee's voice grew cold and menacing, and it was hard to tell if she was warning Shirley or advising her. "If you want to win over a man, you shouldn't rely on wicked schemes. If you know about my past with Stefan, you should know that schemes will only push men away. I hope you won't try anything, or you might lose what you want and get into unnecessary trouble." "But what else can I do to win Xavier back other than this?" For some reason, grief and jealousy overwhelmed Shirley the moment she saw Renee, and all her inner thoughts came pouring out. "I'm jealous that Ms. Osborne has a nice friend like you. You can guide her when she's in difficulty, but I don't have that. I've a
"How can that be?" Shirley demanded, her eyes wild. "You lost your sight, but got more love in return! If you could see, you'll know how much Mr. Hunt loves you. I also want to be like you… I want Xavier to love me more.""Stefan and Xavier are different people." Renee tried her best to dissuade Shirley. After all, once it was done, she couldn't regret it. She didn't want Shirley to be forced into this, or she wouldn't be at peace using her eyes. She might as well give up the idea. "How is it different..." Shirley sounded agitated. "Xavier isn't worse than Mr. Hunt. His love wasn't any less than Mr. Hunt's back then, but I got so anxious that I lost him. Now I want to win him back, and I think it's worth exchanging my heart for his love.""You're out of your mind!" Renee massaged her temples exhaustedly. Her body was already weak after the abortion, and now her mind had to suffer too. "I'm tired. Please go home if there's nothing else you want to say. I want to rest." She leaned ag
Stefan smacked away Xavier's hand coldly and glared at Xavier and Owen fiercely. "Is this all an act so Shirley doesn't have to give up her eyes?" "Are you kidding me?" Xavier huffed exasperatedly. He had always admired Stefan, but now he found him shameless and insensible, attacking everyone without reason. "I know I can be a jerk sometimes, but even I won't go that far. Why would I ask Shirley to come here to take the test then? You're not thinking straight!"Owen quickly chimed in, "And I'm just a doctor. I don't want to meddle in anyone's relationship. If it's a match, I would have told you. There's no need for me to pretend."Stefan closed his eyes and covered his face, looking troubled. He felt like he had lost the courage to face the world… and Renee. "What should I do? What about… Ren?" Stefan asked hoarsely. When things were dire, he was optimistic because he felt things would definitely get better. However, having his hope snatched away was too painful. He had thought tha
Stefan watched Owen leave the study with a frown, then glanced at the stack of thick medical reports on the floor. Anxiety gripped him, and after a brief hesitation, he bent over to pick them up. He scanned through the documents. Although there were many medical terms, he could understand some of them. It was reported that the fetus had stopped developing, and Renee had a painless miscarriage. She was also suffering from heavy metal poisoning and nerve damage. Stefan's face became deathly pale and his mouth went dry."What… How?" Stefan couldn't believe his eyes. His hands were trembling, and his eyes turned bloodshot.Xavier was upset by Stefan's accusations, and had secretly decided he wouldn't be his friend anymore, but when he saw Stefan's reaction, he felt worried. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and barked, "Hey, what's going on? Is it good news or bad news?"However, Stefan looked like he hadn't even heard Xavier. The reports fell from his hands, and he kept muttering, "N
Stefan stormed up the stairs, livid."Mr. Hunt, there you are. How are the test results? Can I help... Ah!" Stefan pushed Shirley away rudely. He had no patience to be polite or talk to anyone—all he wanted to do was see Renee.Meanwhile, Renee was lying in bed, suffering both physical and psychological pain. Her slim body was curled into a tiny ball, and she was as pale as a ghost.Stefan sneaked into the room quietly, holding his breath as he neared the bed. As he watched her tremble and writhe in pain, tears filled his eyes. He didn't dare to speak because she might pretend she was okay if she knew he was there. She would force a smile even if she was in pain.What a failure of a husband he was.His wife had been suffering so much, but he didn't even know it. When she laid on the cold surgery table to remove their child, he hadn't been with her."Ugh!" As the anesthesia wore off and the pain of the poison returned, Renee's stomach and body ached. It was a gnawing pain that g
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