"Depressed?" Leia's heart pounded when she heard that. She felt that it was impossible for her best friend to be depressed. Renee had experienced many misfortunes in the past like her family's bankruptcy, the death of her parents, and her difficult marriage with Stefan, but she had soldiered through it all. It made Leia wonder why Renee was suffering from depression when everything was taking a turn for the better."Are you sure?" Leia stole a glance at Renee and pulled the doctor to a more isolated corner. "She's the most headstrong and optimistic person I've ever met. How could she be depressed?" "You don't understand… Depression is pathological—it doesn't matter if the person is strong or optimistic. Some people might look happy, but could be suffering from severe depression. It's like an apple that looks beautiful on the outside, but has already started to rot from its core. If we don't cure her in time, the consequences will be unimaginable." A long sigh escaped the doctor as h
"I don't care who he works for. What he says makes sense, and we need to take his advice..." Leia said cautiously, scared of angering Renee. The doctor had mentioned that people suffering from depression could become sensitive and paranoid, and that seemed to be the case for Renee. Renee was not as generous and straightforward as she used to be—she'd become suspicious, aloof, and uncaring. "What did he tell you to do?" Renee demanded as she approached Leia. "You're my best friend, so you should be taking my side. Why do you trust someone who works for my enemy? Don't you remember what Briar's done? How could the doctor be a nice person if he works for her?""Calm down, Ren. The doctor didn't say much. He just said that you're now—" After a pause, Leia took a deep breath. "He said you aren't well. You're sad and agitated, and he's afraid that... you might be suffering from depression. So, he wants us to pay attention to your mental health." "Hmph! So, he thinks I'm mentally ill!" R
Leia knew the doctor was right—Renee was seriously ill. "I understand you, Ren." She walked over and held Renee's hands, then hugged her tightly. "I know that you're sad and stressed, but don't feel guilty. If you think being with us is stressful, then we won't disturb you. You can have some peace. When you're feeling better, I'll come and take you home." Leia finally believed Jovan's words. Jovan hadn't forcefully locked Renee up—it was Renee who didn't want to go home. Although Leia didn't understand Renee's reasons, she respected and supported her decision. "Do you want me to go? Will it make you feel better?" Leia whispered."I don't want you to go, but I'm in a very bad state. Your being here will just stress me out even more. I don't want you all to see my bad side, so..." Renee bit back a sob. "Give me some time. I'll go home once I'm better.""You're saying that you still want to stay in Jovan's manor? You don't want to see us?" Leia asked, sounding disappointed. "I won't s
"Thank you for understanding," Renee said emotionlessly as she stood there. She knew she was probably ill. In the past, she was an enthusiastic, straightforward, and bright sunflower, but now… she had become like moss that only grew in the dark. She was indifferent even when faced with others' love and goodwill. At last, Leia left the hospital without Renee.Xavier had been waiting at Everheart Manor, and was confused to see Leia come home alone. "What happened? Where's Renee?" He had thought that Leia would be able to bring Renee home, but things didn't look that simple now."She didn't want to come back." Leia walked into the manor listlessly. "See! I told you—she wants to be with Jovan. You can't just force her to come home." Xavier smirked and held his hand out to Leia. "You lost the bet, so tell me… How should I punish you?"Xavier and Leia had made a bet a week ago. Xavier felt that Renee didn't want to come home since she had not contacted them for a while, but Leia had i
"Symbiosis and the host," Xavier answered."Symbiosis and the host?" Stupefied, Leia questioned, "Is that some kind of sci-fi thing? I only heard such terms in crazy cartoons.""I heard that if a person's organ is transplanted to another person, the donor will infest the patient. Their actions, behaviors, characters, and preferences will merge. It's as if the patient's soul is snatched away." Xavier had read about it in books and sounded convincing. "So, you’re saying that the master of Ren's new eyes has infested her? Is that why she's changed so much?" Leia asked hesitantly."We can't rule it out!" Xavier continued, "Let's talk about Jovan. Don't you think he's more tolerable after he started using Renee's eyes? He doesn't seem so annoying. Even Stefan became smarter and more cunning after he started using Jovan's eyes. They had shown the symptoms of symbiosis and the host." "It seems true when you put it that way..." Leia touched her chin and nodded in agreement. Stefan, Jov
"We'll know once we find the owner of the eyes," Xavier muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. He felt that it was easy to find such a person, but it was odd that they hadn't found anyone at all even after a worldwide search… and Jovan had found them instead. "It looks like we have to ask Jovan." Leia decided she needed to speak to Jovan. After such an eventful day, she was tired and wanted to head upstairs for a rest. As she was halfway up the stairs, she recalled something and turned to Xavier. "Is there any news about Stefan?" "Not yet." Xavier sounded hopeful as he said, "But no news is good. I believe that Stefan has a plan." "I hope so." Leia clenched her fists and said angrily, "He'd better have a good explanation for my bestie! Ren needs him the most right now, but he's not here. I'm sure Ren won't forgive him, and neither will I. If I see him, I'll beat him up!""I hope you'll have the chance to do that..." Xavier's gaze was unreadable as he said softly, "We'll kno
After Leia left, Renee snuck past the nurses and hurried away to find Briar. She smoothly left the hospital and headed to Hunt Enterprise, then cautiously waited behind a flowerbed in a corner. Leia was right—since Briar was a shareholder and member of the board of directors of Hunt Enterprise, she would probably visit the company often. Hence, Renee figured she would be able to meet Briar if she waited at Hunt Enterprise.Renee waited for over an hour, and the night breeze grew colder. Renee was feeling cold because she had only put on a thin cotton coat. "Achoo!" She sneezed and wrapped her arms tighter around herself, feeling miserable. Time passed by, and though Hunt Enterprise had a culture of working overtime, most of its employees had already left."What's going on? Did she exit through the back door because she knew that I was waiting for her?" Renee wondered, hesitant to enter the company to search for Briar.Suddenly, a young woman came from behind and tapped Renee's shoul
"Mr. Hunt, I gave the blanket to Ms. Everheart. It looks like she needed it." "Of course. It's so cold out there, but she's waiting there like a fool. She'll easily catch a cold!" Jovan had noticed Renee hiding behind the flower bed ages ago, and could guess why she was here. He was quite happy to observe her from his office, looking adorable in her pink attire as she looked out for Briar like a spy. It warmed his heart."Go and see if Ms. Desrosiers is in her office. If she is, tell her that we don't have a habit of working overtime here. Ask her to go home." Jovan turned around and instructed Sage Avey, his secretary who had delivered the blanket to Renee. "Okay, Mr. Hunt..." Sage nodded. When she noticed Jovan staring at Renee tenderly, she suggested, "Why don't you invite Ms. Everheart upstairs? Isn't the view of the flowers nicer from up here?""No, that's unnecessary." Jovan refused firmly. "She doesn't want me to know she's here, so why should I ruin her mood? Just let her
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