FAZER LOGINQuinton froze for a moment. He stared at Renee for a long time without speaking. He probably hadn't expected her thoughts to go in that direction. Oddly enough, he seemed relieved."Yeah. I'm planning to do something shady. Since it's not meant to be seen, maybe you should pretend you never heard any of it!"He bared his hands and admitted it openly.Quinton would rather Renee think he was a terrible person than let her uncover secrets that would only make her sad or even hurt her.Besides, in Renee's eyes, this brother of hers who'd suddenly reappeared in her life had never exactly been a saint. He was already known as the secret owner behind Carmine Pawnshop. There wasn't much left to clean up. He might as well remain the villain."What? Are you seriously planning to go down that path again?"Renee stared at him in disbelief.She hadn't expected him to admit it so openly. He sounded less like a man choosing the wrong path and more like someone proudly walking the right one. He
Renee realized she had been caught. She swallowed hard and figured she should make a quick escape.As if her shoes had been greased, she slipped and landed right inside.Quinton and Chase looked down at the sprawled-out Renee. They were both startled."What are you doing, Renee?"Quinton snapped out of it and hurried over to help her up. He checked to see if she'd hurt herself."Nothing. I just came to look for you guys. I slipped and fell, that's all. I'm fine, really."Renee waved it off casually and tried to justify her eavesdropping even when she was already feeling terribly embarrassed."You're fine, but I'm not."After making sure she wasn't hurt, Quinton's expression turned stern.The second Renee saw that look, she knew she was done for. There was no way she could smooth this over so easily. She forced an innocent smile."What's wrong, Quinton? Did I interrupt something? Sorry about that. I'll leave you two to talk."She turned around to leave, but before she could t
"That won't do," Renee refused immediately.She was curious about what had happened to Quinton, but Joanne clearly needed her more. There was no way she would just leave Joanne behind."Why not? I'm not a baby. The house is only a few hundred yards from Abby and Adie's school. I can pick them up and take them home myself. Nothing will happen. Don't worry!"Joanne held Renee's hand while she explained calmly."But…"Renee wavered a little after hearing that.After all, the house really wasn't far away from school. The kids were exceptionally smart. Couldn't they look after Joanne for her?Most importantly, Joanne had been emotionally stable lately. She was almost like a normal person now. Maybe there was no need to be so overly cautious."Don't hesitate. Trust me and the kids. I'm really fine," Joanne said with a reassuring smile.Renee bit her lip and nodded. "Alright. I'll leave for a bit and come right back. If anything happens, call me immediately."After giving Joanne som
Quinton's words made Joanne frown. She felt a little uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything.Renee glanced back at Joanne and immediately softened. She could only shrug helplessly. "You're right. I'm not worried about the kids. I'm worried about Joanne. I'll stay.""That's more like it." The seriousness on Quinton's face finally eased into a smile. He turned and left with peace of mind.Joanne watched him leave, and her shoulders slumped in defeat. She muttered under her breath, "Seriously? In your eyes, am I even more useless than an elementary school kid? Does someone really need to stay here just to take care of me?"She hated being treated like a child who needed special attention.Staying with the Everheart family already made her feel indebted. Now she felt like a burden, someone who only caused trouble for them."Needing someone to take care of you doesn't mean you're useless. It just means we care about you a lot. Your emotions really aren't stable yet. You shouldn't
"Alright, it's just a painting. Let's eat."Although Quinton acted indifferent about the painting and urged Renee and Joanne to keep eating, he was actually very concerned. He kept trying to recall where he'd seen it before.Suddenly, a memory surfaced in his mind. It was the first time he ever saw the painting. The realization hit him so hard that his plate slipped from his hand and crashed on the floor."What's wrong, Quinton? Did you recall something?" Renee noticed how distracted he seemed and asked in a nervous tone."N-Nothing." Quinton grabbed another plate and kept his head down while he ate. He didn't seem to want her to notice his strange behavior. "Hurry up and eat."Renee could tell he was intentionally hiding something, but she didn't press further. They were both distracted for the rest of the meal.Soon, it was time to pick up the kids from school.Recently, Renee had been busy with Azure Group, so Quinton and Joanne had been the ones picking them up.She assumed
Renee looked at Quinton curiously when she noticed his serious expression. "What's wrong, Quinton? Do you have thoughts about this?" Quinton frowned. It seemed like he was struggling to recall something. "I feel like I've seen this painting before.""You've seen it too?"Renee's heart skipped a beat. She looked troubled. "How could you have seen it? This painting had always been part of Mom's personal collection. It'd been in our old house the entire time. Before we reunited, you'd never even had contact with the Everheart family."Quinton shook his head. Fragmented memories seemed to enter his mind. It left him feeling confused."I don't know. I just feel like I've seen it before. I need to think."He stared at the painting while trying to recall more. Suddenly, he froze as if he had uncovered an unbelievable secret."What is it? Did you recall something?" Renee sensed something was off with Quinton and quickly asked.Quinton avoided her gaze and changed the subject. "How a
Jovan finally fell asleep shortly after, with a faint and sweet smile plastered on his face. Like an actual child, he treated Renee as the center of his life.When Renee was around, everything was sunshine and rainbows. Even the air tasted sweet to him. However, on the contrary, it felt as if the wor
"I miss you and I put you in my heart. As for Renee... I just feel that she's very amusing. I just see her as something to relieve my boredom," Stefan explained calmly, trying to convince himself as well.He couldn't understand his feelings for Renee. She seemed to be his enemy, and he had no recolle
Leia froze, feeling as if every fiber of her being was jolted while her heart raced.She turned towards Xavier and feigned nonchalance as she scoffed. "I have to give it to you—you really know your way around a girl's heart. But I'm immune now, so just spare me."In fact, it was almost a habit for him
"Yes, that's how much I love him. So please set us free, Mr. Hunt!" Renee clearly felt Stefan's rage, but she felt no fear, and instead repeatedly challenged the limit of his patience."In that case, get ready for a world of pain!" Stefan snapped, his eyes ablaze with rage even as he snatched her cig







