"He escaped?" Xavier was initially confused, but when he walked over to where Quinton was standing and looked up, he saw an air vent around seven meters above the ground in the dark room. It was about the size of a well, and though it was quite small, an agile person might be able to escape through it. Additionally, there were some footprints on the wall."Those look like Stefan's!" Xavier observed the footprints, realizing they were from a pair of hiking shoes Stefan had worn before leaving home."He escaped from here?" Silas looked up at the narrow air vent incredulously. "No, it can't be. This air vent is so small, and it'd be hard for someone to crawl out of it. Plus... it's a straight cliff beyond this passage without anything to lean onto. If anyone tried escaping, they'd surely fall to their death!" "What... What did you say?" Xavier's eyes grew wide, and he quickly crawled into the passage and punched open the iron grill on the air vent. Dim light entered the room, making i
"We don't know what happened, and there's no point in fighting. We need to find him first!" Quinton sighed. "Nothing's confirmed yet. I was supposed to die at sea back then, but I'm standing here in front of you, aren't I?"Xavier glared at him, but gradually calmed down. "You're right, nobody knows what happened to him. He's an amazing person, so I'm sure he's fine!"After he had calmed down, he discussed the situation with Quinton and the villagers, and they started looking for Stefan around the mountains. They must see him even if he was dead. If not, it meant that there was a chance that he was still alive.-A week had passed.Renee took the medicine on time every day in Beach City. She was getting better, and could now get out of bed on her own and eat. She could even walk up and down the stairs. Owen gave her a check-up and smiled happily. "It's good news, Ms. Everheart! Your body mass index is back to normal. If everything goes smoothly, you won't even have to take the m
Both Leia and Renee walked to the back garden, where the warm sunlight and fragrance of flowers seemed to make the world a better place.Leia finally decided to bring up Stefan when she saw Renee so gloomy. "Don't worry, Ren. They're probably not back yet because that place is far away. Since we haven't heard anything yet, it's probably good news. Plus, Stefan isn't an ordinary man, and Quinton and that dog Xavier have gone to help him. I'm sure they're fine.""I know... I know they'll be fine." Renee nodded and forced a smile. "I just feel like… the weather's so nice, and the flowers will wilt if he doesn't come back soon. It'll be a waste of good time.""It's okay. Flowers will blossom again even if they wilt. It's fine as long as you're happy and healthy when you welcome him home," Leia said brightly, hoping to cheer Renee up. She felt bad because Renee was sulky all the time. "Are you worried about Xavier?" Renee asked curiously."Why should I be worried about a dog?" Leia sc
Renee chuckled. "Of course I'm happy to have you with me. I don't find you annoying. I just feel that you guys have been taking care of me all the time like I'm a baby, and it made me rely on you. I don't want to keep on being like this. It's time for me to face the world alone." "What did you say? What nonsense is that?" Leia asked anxiously, frightened by Renee's words. Both Stefan and Quinton were not around, so Leia was responsible for taking care of Renee. What if something happened to Renee, or she became even more unhappy? If that happened, Stefan and the others might hack Leia into pieces, and she might even kill herself."Do you remember the last time I left Everheart Manor?" Renee asked Leia vaguely."Let me think about it..." Leia frowned contemplatively, and realized that it had been a very long time since Renee had gone out. "It was probably the time when Shirley's fans attacked us, but that wasn't your fault. I was careless, and it gave them the opportunity to attack
"Ah... it's not a good idea to go out now. Why don't you wait a little?" Leia suggested hesitantly, but in actuality, she couldn't say no to Renee when she asked her something so coquettishly. After a while, she agreed."I heard that Miss Band is coming to Beach City for a performance at Hill Pub. Let's go check it out!" Renee said excitedly, sounding like she had just been released from prison. Miss Band was an old band from Eliwern, and it was the band she and Leia loved the most during their college days. It was an old band from Eliwern. Renee, Leia, and Liam formed a band because they idolized them, and they had then become a legend in BC University and gained a lot of fans. But a few years ago, Miss Band had disbanded, upsetting many of their fans. After being low-key for a few years, the band had now started going on tours around the world with its original members. It was such a rare chance, and Renee didn't want to miss it."Yes, we can go there but... Why don't we just watch
The pub was overcrowded, and everyone was eagerly waiting for Miss Band to appear. Leia and Renee wore dark punk clothes with large sunglasses and dreadlocks. They looked like cool young women who loved rock music."Ren, it's cramped and stuffy here. Why don't we go back?" Leia held Renee's hand firmly the whole time, and the noise nearly drowned her voice. "Okay, let's go in!" Renee didn't hear Leia. She looked happier than she had been for a long time. She kept feeling things around her as she moved through the crowd, trying to get closer to the stage. As she did so, she accidentally stepped on the foot of a young woman."Hey, what are you doing? Are you blind? You stepped on my foot!""I'm so sorry!" Renee kept nodding and apologizing. "Do you think saying sorry will help? Have you never watched a performance before? Why do you keep pushing me? What's the rush?" The lady's friend demanded as she chewed her gum, trying to seek justice for her friend. Leia bristled and immed
"Thank you." Renee breathed a sigh of relief and stood up straight using the man's support.The man was silent as if he was staring at her for a long time. After that, he whispered to her, "Do you like Miss Band?" "Yeah!" Renee adjusted her sunglasses and pretended to be calm. "Miss Band is my rock enlightenment band—I fell in love with rock because of them. To be honest, I learned from them and came up with a band myself!""I know." The man explained calmly, "I recognized you, and I'm your fan.""Really?" Renee was surprised. It had been a while since she had been in a band. Even if it was very popular back then, it was so long ago that people had probably forgotten about it. But somehow, Renee had bumped into a fan of hers."I know all your band's songs, and I can sing them all." "Well... that's quite unusual!" Renee pushed her hair behind her ear awkwardly. Back then, she had been confident and direct, but after going through so much, she'd become humble. When she was in a b
"You can't reach her? How come?" Renee held out her hand. "Give me my phone. Let me call her."However, the man refused to do so.At that moment, Renee knew that something was wrong. "Who... are you?" She asked the man coldly. "I thought you could tell from my voice...""Are you... Jovan?" Renee asked tentatively. At first, she'd found his voice familiar, but the place was very noisy, and she felt like someone as successful as Jovan wouldn't come to a pub to watch a performance.. At that moment, a lively melody came from the stage downstairs. Jovan chuckled softly. "Let's listen to the song. The music is nice, so let's not ruin the moment.""So it is you." Once Renee confirmed that it was Jovan, some of her anxiety faded. She had expected him to come find her sooner or later, and knew what to do if he did. Truthfully, she'd thought they would meet sooner, but fortunately, they had met in a nice place. She hoped they could remain on good terms. Jovan was absorbed in the mus
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