When Renee saw Margaret, who was like a mother to her, tears of resignation filled her eyes."Margaret, my stomach hurts!"Like a child, she threw herself into the older woman's arms and wept uncontrollably. For four years, from the changes in her family to her grandfather's death and even her divorce from Stefan, not a single tear had been shed, and she remained as sturdy as a mountain.But it was tiring to be strong all the time. She was only a twenty-year-old woman! She didn't want to be strong anymore!Margaret was confused. She rarely saw Renee in such a fragile state, and she couldn't help but feel distressed, and tears also filled her eyes. She gently stroked Renee's back in comfort and said, "Shh, it's okay, Ms. Ren. I'm here. I'm here with you!"Renee soaked in the warmth of Margaret's arms. Having not felt this peaceful in a long while, she seemed relaxed and wasn’t as uncomfortable as before.Margaret was Renee's nanny and had a lot of experience in childbirth and pa
"You want to know about Madam Everheart?" Margaret asked, looking at Renee and sighing. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I don't really know her either, and I've never met her properly.""Really?""Yes," Margaret replied as she took a trip down memory lane and answered honestly. "I grew up and was homeschooled in my family. My family has always served the Schneider family, so when Madam found me and told me to apply to become a nanny to care for your pregnant mother and eventually you, I listened to them unconditionally.""She was very mysterious. She never appeared publicly and always wore a veil when she met me. That's why I said I probably never met her properly..."Even after decades, Margaret could still vividly remember the day she had met Madam Everheart. The woman had been unique. There was no word to describe her, and 'beautiful' was not enough. Even the veil she wore could not cover up her exceptional charm.When I came to the Everheart family, she had already left.
Margaret looked at Renee's belly and nodded in understanding. "You're right. The most important thing right now is to nurture your baby and have a safe birth."The older woman didn't ask who the father of Renee's baby was, and the latter didn't say a word about it either. The two women had an unspoken understanding of the situation.Renee was completely assured that Margaret would keep her mouth shut. As long as Renee didn't permit it, her nanny would take this secret to her grave.Renee put off all activities in the next few days and stayed in bed, nursing her baby under Margarent's meticulous care. It was clear that Margaret had come from a great line of doctors, as Renee's previous minor illnesses were cured with just a few doses of medicine. She no longer felt fatigued, and her appetite improved. She could now stomach several meals a day without feeling nauseous.Today, Margaret went out early to do some grocery shopping, and Renee slept in bed. The sun bathed her skin with
"I was planning to settle the score with you when I felt better, but I never thought you would serve yourselves up on a silver platter..."Renee wore a calm expression as she walked down the stairs, her knuckles cracking as she clenched and unclenched her fists.She had discovered earlier that the person who tried to bury Margaret alive four years ago was Jeremy's close friend, Charles, and for that, she decided that the man would pay with his life...And that man was standing right before her right now.Charles turned to Renee, and disdain flashed on their faces. Charles mockingly said, "Haha! What a bold statement! Here I was, wondering who it was... Turns out it's the remaining Everheart maggot! Our boss has wanted to get rid you for a long time, but he let you off because of the Hunts! You're just a despicable housewife who has been demoted, and no one will protect you! I might as well take your useless life to my boss for a reward!Renee sneered. "If you want something from
Seeing the simple, absolutely brutal, and cool style, Renee instantly knew the most oppressive man in Beach City, the crazy young master Stefan, was here.But she didn't understand. Why would this aristocrat come to this dilapidated haunted house?Charles had just been dropped on his ass by Renee, and now someone else had kicked him so hard he felt it to the bones. He could barely restrain his anger, and he was about to start cursing when he turned to meet Stefan's burning eyes. He immediately went pale and almost wet himself again."M-Mr. Hunt! W-why are you here?!"Stefan stared down at Charles, who was prostrating on the ground. His brows were furrowed, and he asked in an obviously upset tone, "Are you one of Jeremy's people?"He could vaguely recall the man beside Jeremy from a business deal before this, where they had met. Ah, he was Jeremy's top bodyguard, wasn't he? Jeremy was very close to him too."Yes, that's right, Sir! My name is Charles. I've been working with Mr. Su
Stefan didn't reply to Renee's question but proceeded to survey the manor. "The layout doesn't work. The hall is too cramped, the dome looks awful, and the staircase is too steep. It needs a complete renovation. The decorations are so ancient they look like leftovers from the Republican era. The carvings on the pillars at the entrance aren't exquisite enough, either. It's best you knock it down and start from scratch."Stefan continued to nitpick on everything about the manor in an arrogant tone, and Renee was thoroughly confused. ‘What’s wrong with this man? He still thinks of himself as my husband, doesn’t he?!’"Do you have that much free time on your hands, Stefan? Did you get a degree in interior design when I wasn't looking? You don't need to point out anything about my house!"Stefan was currently standing in the middle of the living room, staring hard at the landscape painting hanging on the wall and ignoring Renee's moody words. "This is a nice painting. It's the famo
Renee realized she was the only one who felt awkward. Stefan seemed comfortable and acted as free as he was at home. It profoundly interpreted the quote, "It's only embarrassing if you care what people think."Earlier, Charles smashed the stuff in the entire living room and made a terrible mess. Only the sofa area seemed to be untouched.Stefan sat gracefully on the couch and crossed his legs. He asked Renee, "How are you? Have you gotten used to your new place?""What do you think? This is my home. Why can't I get comfortable here?"Renee looked around and flashed a meek smile. "I'm finally home after four years of wandering. I have to say, home sweet home!"Stefan's eyes turned slightly gloomy. He said quietly, "As you said, you have half of the property rights to Hunt Villa. If you want to go back, you can move anytime. It's your home."Renee almost thought she had misheard Stefan. The kind look on her face vanished, replaced by disdain."Stefan, aren't you being a hypocrit
Renee found Stefan's sudden change in attitude ridiculous. It must have been hard for an arrogant guy like Stefan to put up such a gentle facade for his lover. Renee lifted her chin and said with a fake smile, "Haven't I made it clear enough? All you have to do is let your lover kneel and apologize to me in front of all the media.""Don't go overboard." Stefan's eyes turned cold. Somehow, Renee seemed like a complete stranger to him. The old Renee was not so aggressive."I told you. Briar is still in the hospital with an unstable pregnancy. How can you have her kneel and apologize to you?""Is that so?!"Renee silently clenched her firsts. Despite the heartache, she maintained her arrogance and mocked Stefan. "She can't kneel, but you can kneel on her behalf. Well, Mr. Hunt, aren't you a man who would bend over for true love? How touching!"Nothing mattered to Renee anymore. Just let Stefan think of her as a mean and cold-blooded woman. Despite being kind and meek for the past
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
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he
"Uh…" Amber looked like she was being put in a difficult position. She found it impudent for a man and a woman to be alone in the dense orchard at night. "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" Liam frowned, puzzled. He felt that Amber was purposely avoiding him after expressing her desire not to marry him and making Mateo her groom instead.Before, she would always put on her favorite dress and stand at the entrance of the fort, looking eager no matter how late Liam and Benjamin returned from their work.Usually, she would carry a small bamboo basket containing the tea she brewed and dessert or food she had painstakingly prepared. When Liam returned, she would excitedly welcome him and inquire after him. Lately, she no longer did that. When Liam occasionally ran into her in the fort, she would bow indifferently at him and quickly brush past him as if they were merely acquaintances. They seemed distant.Honestly, Liam found it unfamiliar. He couldn't get used to the fact that Amber
"I don't know. Why don't you ask the guards to get us some fried chicken and French fries? Didn't Mateo say that we can ask the guards for food?" Renee said.Leia's anxiety eased as she relaxed. She turned around and got out of bed, then gestured at the guard and ordered quite a lot of food. Meanwhile, Liam accompanied Benjamin to West River in the morning for a negotiation that yielded a good result. Benjamin's attitude had improved. He didn't demand an explanation from Liam about the affairs between Liam and Amber, and didn't ask about Renee or Leia either. Liam was delighted. He carried the unique desserts he had bought at the local market for Renee and Leia to enjoy. Upon arrival, he found that they were not in the room. "Weird. Where did they go?" Liam looked around, but found no sign of Renee and Leia. He casually asked a servant, but the servant stammered and insisted on not knowing anything. Anxious, Liam kept looking for them in the fort. Coincidentally, he ran into