Elijah and the fishermen looked at Stefan in confusion.Stefan took off his coat and said to the fishermen, "Help me get a diving suit and a guide. I'll go look for the pearl myself.""No, Mr. Hunt!" Elijah blurted out, and quickly stopped the fisherman who was going to look for a diving suit. He said anxiously, "I know you're eager to save Ms. Everheart, but you can't be impulsive. Diving is very dangerous, and I don't think you have to do it yourself. We'll just wait for the news by the sea.""They said we need a good diver, and I'm a good diver." Stefan ignored Elijah's objection and again asked the villager to find him a diving suit. He started doing stretches to warm up and prepare for diving. Diving was one of his hobbies, and he loved free-diving without an oxygen tank the most. He loved laying on the soft sand at the bottom of the sea, watching the colorful underwater world and the sky. It brightened his boring life a little, and he'd always wished he could do it with Renee
There had been many stubborn and fearless people like Stefan who had wanted to enter the cave, but they had died before they could get to the end. The only person who had successfully passed through that cave was Stefan's guide, and he knew how dangerous that cave was. He swore never to go close to it anymore.Stefan gestured to show that he was going to enter the cave, then swam into it."Come back! Come back!" The guide got so anxious that he wanted to take off the mouthpiece of his oxygen tank. Unfortunately, Stefan had made up his mind, and swam deeper into the cave. As he passed the heart-shaped cave entrance, Stefan felt like he had entered another world. It was pitch black without any light, and he could feel seagrass against his legs, almost tangling them.There was a gigantic cliff section beside him. He couldn't see the top or the bottom, and people with weak hearts would surely be frightened out of their wits. Heart pounding in his chest, Stefan looked around in the dar
There was a white shell as large as a tire at the crevice of an underwater cliff, and light was emerging from it. Stefan's eyes widened in excitement. Was this the Southern Oceanic Stone he had been looking for? He quickly swam towards it, trying to ignore his throbbing head and lack of oxygen. He felt like he could barely breathe. "I found it! I got it!" Stefan endured the pain and reached out to grab the giant shell. A kaleidoscope of colours engulfed him, and memories of Renee flooded his mind. Renee's face was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.Stefan regained consciousness some time later, and he vaguely heard voices calling him. "Mr. Hunt? Mr. Hunt... Wake up!""Mr. Hunt, don't scare me. Hurry up and wake up!"Stefan groaned and slowly opened his eyes. Bright light immediately filled his vision, and he quickly put his hand up to block it. Now, he could see some people standing over him, staring at him in concern. The fishermen were there, as well as Elijah...
However, the price of peace was rather tragic. Quinton was acting arrogantly around Stefan, but secretly, he felt like he had wronged Stefan and Renee. If he hadn't been so extreme back then, Renee and Stefan wouldn't have wasted so much time apart..."Oh, there isn't any signal." Stefan's face sank. That meant he couldn't get in touch with Renee for now—he could only miss her from across the ocean. "By the way, I felt like I saw the Southern Oceanic Stone before I blacked out... I wasn't imagining it, right?" After Stefan had calmed down, he recalled what he had seen earlier. "Yeah, you did! It's a miracle!" The fishermen all tried to speak to Stefan at the same time, eager to tell him about the magical moment."It's unbelievable! We've been fishing for so many years, but we've never seen such a large pearl...""The legendary Southern Oceanic Stone isn't a legend after all! The pearl is magical—I feel healthier just looking at it. My back and leg don't hurt now!" Stefan rubbed
Stefan didn't hide anything—he told Quinton about everything that had happened to him and Renee lately.Quinton staggered back, his eyes wide in shock. "What... did you say?" He couldn't believe that his pitiful sister had faced so much in just a few months. "I'm running out of time. I have to get the four items that Owen wants in a month. I think you should go back and be with Ren since you're her brother. I won't be worried if it's you taking care of her." Stefan had been worried about Renee, but he had to find the items for the antidote. Somehow, fate had made him bump into Quinton, and it might be a sign telling him that someone needed to go back and watch over Renee. The only other person who would risk their life for Renee and protect her unconditionally was Quinton. "No!" Quinton refused instantly."You… don't want to go back?" Stefan asked slowly, looking perplexed. Was Quinton not worried about Renee? "Of course, I want to go back, but not now." Quinton frowned, looki
The process was undoubtedly dangerous, and Quinton had suffered a lot of injuries getting the items. Similarly, Chase had also suffered a lot. Once they got what they wanted, they went to a nearby hospital to treat their wounds and rushed back to Beach City as fast as they could. Quinton had tried to get in touch with Stefan, but there was no response from him. He figured that Stefan might be in a place without any signal. He cut the call and took a deep breath to calm himself, then went to Everheart Manor. He hesitated before he went in. As Renee's brother, he had failed to uphold his responsibility as head of the family. Not only did he fail to protect Renee, but he had caused her so much trouble. He felt ashamed to meet her, and stood outside the door for almost ten minutes."Mr. Everheart, why aren't you going in?" Chase asked Quinton carefully as they stood at the door of the manor. "I'm too ashamed to go in," Quinton answered honestly."Really?" Chase was shocked and touche
"Uncle! Mr. Cheever! You both are finally back!" Adie and Abby were playing hopscotch in the yard, and lit up in excitement when they saw Quinton and Chase. They quickly ran over."Kids, it's been so long. Are you doing okay? Are you listening to your mommy?" Quinton asked gently as he hugged the two children. Quinton was a serious person who wouldn't even frown when he was in pain, but right now, he was speaking softly to the children like a kindergarten teacher. It was more than Chase could bear. "Uncle, you're finally home. Mommy is seriously ill, and we don't know what to do. I'm glad you're back..." Adie held Quinton's hand and said worriedly. He saw himself as the man of the house when Quinton left, and wanted to help Renee and protect her and Abby. Lately, he hadn't been eating or sleeping well because he was stressed, but now that Quinton was back, Adie felt like a burden had been lifted off of him. He knew that no one would dare to bully Renee and Abby if Quinton was around
Quinton was happy that he had rushed back—it was obvious that the family was falling apart. "You don't have to worry so much. I'm home, so everything will get better... Your mommy is just scared, and wants someone to be with her and protect her. Just leave this to me!" Quinton patted his chest to reassure them, and the two children led him to Renee's bedroom.There was a large terrace in Renee's bedroom that stretched out to an arc-shaped balcony. Various kinds of plants and flowers had been grown there, and when it was sunny, it was nice to sunbathe there amidst the nice fragrance of the flowers.Renee rarely left her room after she had lost her eyesight, and couldn't even enjoy sunbathing anymore. Feeling the sun's warmth on her skin was a cruel reminder that she could no longer see the flowers planted there, and that she might never find happiness. Today, however, she was willing to enjoy sunbathing on the balcony to get some fresh air. Somehow, she felt like her downfall would co
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
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose