"Of course I know who you are." Stefan's gaze was cold, his tone vague. "I thought you were dead." Previously, Seraphina had threatened Renee with a video of Renee accidentally pushing Briar off a cliff. Thanks to that, Renee and Stefan had lost so much time with each other. Stefan had thought that Briar was dead given the surging waves below the cliff, but he was ultimately relieved to see her.Briar cried under the mask. She looked at Stefan and asked, "How did you feel when you saw that I'm alive?""I was thankful." Stefan didn't hesitate. "I'm thankful that you're alive and that I can still talk to you." "Do you mean it?" Briar was surprised. "I thought you hated me and wanted me dead." "Yes, I do hate you. Ren and I wouldn't have wasted so many years if not for you, but... I'm thankful that you're still alive. It means that Ren doesn't have to carry all that guilt. She doesn't have to turn herself in," Stefan said honestly.Briar staggered back, feeling like she had just be
"So, you're not that stupid after all—you know that my brother was the best man you've ever met. Unfortunately, you were never sincere towards him. You're unworthy of his love!" Stefan snarled, his fingers digging into Briar's neck. He took a deep breath, trying his best to hold himself back. If his deceased brother knew that his beloved woman turned out to be such a wicked and hypocritical witch, he might not rest in peace. "I admit that I've wronged your brother, but who do we blame? You, of course!" Briar didn't flinch even though Stefan almost broke her neck. She held his arms, tears in her eyes from the pain as she stared at him. "If it weren't for you, your brother wouldn't have died. I would still be with him, and I might have even fallen in love with him as time went by. What right do you have to criticize me?"Stefan's heart skipped a beat. That was Stefan's sore point, and something he had hidden from others. Yes, Briar was not a nice person—she had never loved Tristan and
Stefan's grip on Briar's neck tightened. Time was life; the more they delayed the more at risk Renee was. Stefan had to get the answer now."Yes, I did," Briar said instantly."Do you have a death wish? How can you be so wicked?" Stefan growled, unable to control his anger. He didn't expect Briar to be so cruel; she clearly felt no guilt or remorse even though she had harmed another person. Stefan was in disbelief. "Am I wicked?" Briar sneered. "I just let her have a taste of her own medicine. She put me in a living hell, so I did the same to her. What have I done wrong?""I watched that video. She didn't push you down the cliff on purpose, she was just trying to protect herself. It was you who tried to kill her!" "I'm not talking about her pushing me down the cliff..." Briar watched Stefan calmly, then said nonchalantly, "She put me in a living hell by snatching you away. You and I were a couple, and everything was going smoothly. Even though it was fake, I believed that we wo
Stefan sneered, feeling like Briar was crazy and without any self-awareness. "The most pathetic thing someone can do is overestimate themselves. I know what kind of woman I want, and she's already mine. Even if Renee never existed, I would never be with you. Not in this life, my next life, or any other life!" Since young, Stefan had always attracted women because of his good looks and personality, so he was good at turning women down, but this was the first time he had done it so cruelly. Briar had no morals, so he felt he didn't need to be polite to her."Stefan, aren't you afraid your claim will get shot down in flames?" Briar grinned at him as if she expected such an answer from him. She had always known that Stefan felt nothing for her, that his heart was locked without a key. She could never make him open up to her no matter how hard she tried, and it had nothing to do with Renee. Stefan was right—it was impossible between Stefan and Briar even if Renee was not around.But love
"Cut the crap, Briar!" Stefan clenched his fists tightly, his eyes bloodshot. "Do you think I can't do anything about you? The medical field is very advanced now, and I have ways to cure her even if I don't know what you poisoned her with. And you... have lost your only chance to run away."Briar didn't even blink as he threatened her, and became even more arrogant. "Really? Do it then! You can do what Renee did and push me down the cliff. After all, my life doesn't matter, so it's worth it if I die in your hands. But… I just feel bad for Renee. She has to suffer so much, and she'll lose her only chance of survival because of your ridiculous chauvinism.""How dare you!" Infuriated, Stefan raised his fist, but he didn't punch her. He hissed out a breath and snapped, "So, what is it you want?" At the moment, he couldn't be irrational—Briar could determine Renee's life or death. Briar had probably planned all this, so there was no way she would let Stefan get what he wanted without some
"Let's not hurry. It's a long night, and there's so much we can do..." Despite Stefan's anger, Briar was calm."Forget it if you don't want to say it. I don't have time to waste on you." Stefan glared at Briar coldly and turned to leave. He wasn't intending to leave, he just wanted to make Briar think he was."Wait!" Briar became anxious as expected, and stopped him immediately. "Shouldn't you give me something in exchange for the information?"Speechless, Stefan turned back to Briar."I know that we can't be a couple. I don't care about forever as long as I have it once... You have to stay with me from now until tomorrow morning. If you make me happy, I'll give you the components of the poison," Briar said finally. She hadn't been teasing Stefan earlier—she really did want his body. "Enough is enough, Briar!" Stefan's disgust for her grew. He thought that Briar was merely joking, and didn't know a woman could be this shameless. "That's the only thing I want. Stay if you're wi
After that, Briar boldly stood on tiptoe and hooked her arms around Stefan's neck. Stefan remained silent and didn't push Briar away. His thoughts were unknown.-Renee woke up from heart-wrenching pain the next day."Stefan, Stefan..." She subconsciously shouted Stefan's name. Her pain had subsided a little ever since Stefan had found out about it, and she even considered him her painkiller, but something felt off today. Stefan always appeared whenever she called for him, but she had heard nothing from him since yesterday. She had no idea where he was. "What do you need help with, Ms. Ren?" Margaret rushed into the room when she heard Renee crying out pitifully. She felt very sorry for Renee. "Margaret, it hurts. It hurts so much..." Renee stopped acting strong when she heard Margaret's voice, and burst into tears. Margaret was the nanny who had raised Renee, and often acted like Renee's mother. People needed their mothers the most when they were in pain. "I'm here, Ms. Ren
"What should we do?" Margaret anxiously watched Renee writhe and moan in pain. At her wits' end, she put her palms together and looked up, sobbing. "Sir, Madam, please bless Ms. Ren if you feel sorry for her. Please let Mr. Hunt come back right away!"And suddenly, just like a miracle, the door to Renee's bedroom swung open, and in walked Stefan."Thank God you're home, Mr. Hunt! Ms. Ren really needs you right now!" Margaret said in relief, wiping her tears away. Renee's parents probably couldn't stand to see their daughter suffer such pain, so they sent Stefan home."I'm sorry I'm late. I'm sorry!" Stefan looked exhausted. His perfect appearance was gone—his chin was full of stubble and his puffy eyes had dark circles underneath them. He looked like he had lost his soul. "I'm here. It'll stop hurting soon..." Stefan rushed to Renee's bed and held her hand tightly like he never wanted to let it go."You're annoying. Where did you go?" When Stefan's hand touched hers, her anger surp
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