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
Stefan tried to pacify Renee patiently, sounding more gentle than when he tried to comfort Abby. "I don't want to forgive you, you'll just do it again! I want to give you up; I wouldn't be this helpless when I'm in pain then..." Renee muttered crossly. "You're my painkiller, but I'm slowly building resistance towards you. I didn't feel so bad when I didn't see you for ten days or half a month before this, but I feel so sad when I don't see you for just a day. I don't want this!" If there was drug resistance, she had to increase the dosage to numb the pain, but... Stefan wasn't a drug. What would she do if he refused to help her stop the pain one day?"That'll never happen, I promise. I'll give you all my time as long as you need me..." After a pause, Stefan added seriously, "Plus, I'm not a painkiller—I'm the drug that can bring you back to life. I'll cure you. Owen told me that he could make the antidote in three days at most. You won't be in pain again." "Really?" Renee asked in
Once Owen had gotten the poison components from Stefan, he immediately rushed to the laboratory to make the antidote. The more he researched the poison, the more scary he found it. He quickly called Stefan over. "It's terrifying! I can't believe someone so malicious exists in this world. It's madness!" Stefan worriedly approached him, and Owen showed him the list of heavy metals in the poison. "Look! There's thallium, lead, and uranium... One is already toxic on its own, but this poison practically has all the elements in the periodic table! The person who made this is a demon!""She's crazy." Stefan clenched his fists anxiously. He couldn't imagine how someone as slim and weak as Renee could bear such pain. If Owen hadn't broken his promise and shown Stefan Renee's medical report, she might still have hidden it from Stefan, pretending to be happy while enduring excruciating pain. "I guess you know who the culprit is since you got the prescription. I won't say much, but… you have to
Owen warned Stefan because he knew how hard it was to get those herbs. "I don't care—I'll get them!" Stefan said firmly."Okay, I can rest easy then." Owen nodded and stopped worrying about the herbs. It seemed like Stefan, the all-powerful president of Hunt Enterprise, might be the only one who could save Renee.Owen handed a list to Stefan. "These are the herbs I need and their quantities. Get them for me within a week."Stefan studied the list intently and frowned. There were four herbs on it, and their names were so strange Stefan doubted their existence. "Are you sure... these are real?" Stefan stared at the names, perplexed."Yes, they're real, but they're extremely hard to obtain. If not, I wouldn't be so worried." Owen sounded serious. He wouldn't lie about something like this. The herbs were hard to get because of their excellent healing properties. "Southern Oceanic Stone? Western Hills Fruit? Northern Lake Anaconda? Eastern Dragon Saliva?" Stefan's face sank. He stop