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
"We have feelings for each other?"Renee stopped eating and smiled helplessly. "Margaret, you're always good at reading people, but not today. Unfortunately, you've misread the situation. Do you know the reason behind Stefan's sudden visit and all that courting?""That's because… he can't let go of you and wants to reconcile?"Renee shook her head. "He came to plead for his lover. He's a prideful man but stripped his pride for such an awful woman. That's unacceptable. I'll never forgive him for that!""What…" Margaret looked at Renee, appalled. She did not expect Renee's former husband, who seemed so upright and noble, to be so dishonorable. That was a great disappointment."I don't think he's that kind of man. He should be able to distinguish between right and wrong. He probably won't condone his lover and her bad character. Is there some misunderstanding?""Misunderstanding?"Renee sneered, "Margaret, you lack experience in relationships. Do you know? There's no right and wron
'Here for a reason?!' When Stefan heard those words, he remembered his unpleasant exchange with Renee and got angrier."What business do you have? Don't blabber, or I'll block you."After that, Stefan continued to bury himself in work. He had a cold aura around him, as though he was an iceberg completely isolated from the world.'Gee. Stefan's really pissed!' Xavier thought and gulped. He finally realized Rachel's good intentions in telling him to come back another day.As Xavier turned to Rachel, trying to ask for help, Rachel obligingly smiled at him and left. "Mr. Stuarts, please feel free and talk to Mr. Hunt. I'm going back to work."And then... She just left like that!‘Damn! Rachel, seriously?!’Xavier watched Rachel as she casually locked the door and left the room. He suddenly felt a sense of despair, like he’d been strategically fed to the beast.‘Nevermind,’ he thought. 'I'm here already. Might as carry on.'After all, who else would suffer here if not him?"Ahem!"
Stefan grabbed his notebook. With a pen, he wrote "How to court a woman” in capital letters. Xavier took a glance and almost burst out laughing."Stefan, oh, Stefan. Everyone says you're as cold as an iceberg. Why do I feel like you're such a dork? Learn how to court a woman by understanding, not by reading. Why are you taking notes?"Stefan said with a blank face, "There are rules to follow for everything. Courting a woman is no different. I'm not only taking notes, but I'm going to do an analysis later. I'll compare various methods and increase the sample data to evaluate the reasonableness and feasibility of your teachings.""Are you serious… Do you have to go that far?" Stefan acted as if he was performing a feasibility test on a multi-billion project, which pushed Xavier's pressure sky-high."I take everything I do seriously." Stefan looked up at Xavier with a warning gaze. "You better be serious at teaching. If it doesn't work, you're finished."Xavier suddenly felt nervou
Xavier went on, "If she blocks you, use a different number. Whenever you're free, flirt with her and make her happy. Then, you move onto Step 2—romance.""All women like romantic things, especially dreamers like your ex-wife. If you're romantic enough, she's as good as yours."Stefan pushed his glasses into place and recorded everything carefully in his notebook. He was very serious the whole time. He even raised his hand and asked, "How do I be romantic?""That's an entirely different lesson. I won't go into that today because there's simply not enough time. You can try watching some romantic dramas, especially Korean dramas, and see what the male protagonists do. I'll find the time to make some PowerPoint slides to teach you the specifics.""Okay."Stefan nodded. "Go on," he ordered like he was Xavier's boss. "Step 3 is relaxing. After a period of fierce pursuit, you have to stop for a bit. This is called emotional push-and-pull. It's a crucial stage. You must control how much
Stefan's handsome face was calm. He merely raised his eyebrows slightly and asked the cautious-looking Xavier, "Why not?"Christopher and him, as well as Xavier, became sworn brothers a long time ago. They were even closer than real brothers.Now that the eldest brother was getting engaged, as the younger brother, there was no reason for him not to go.Xavier thought Stefan was just putting on a brave face. He comforted Stefan, "It's okay, bro, Chris said if you don't want to go, you don't have to. He understands. After all, the relationship between you, him, and Cecy is a bit complicated...”"It's nothing complicated."Stefan said nonchalantly, "One's a brother, the other's an old friend. They're getting engaged. I'll definitely go to the engagement.""But... alright!" Xavier heaved a long sigh with an even stronger look of sympathy on his face.In his opinion, Stefan was obviously just acting nonchalantly.Cecilia was Stefan's first love. Now that his first love was getting e
Leia couldn't understand it. Both Renee and Stefan once loved each other passionately. They had soldiered through a lot of difficulties. But when everything became better, they stopped seeing each other. Such separation brought a fatal blow to her views on love. Suddenly, she found herself too timid to give up her heart. After all, it was nothing. People could break up with each other easily."No wonder Xavier refused to come. If he was here, I would have hated him because of Stefan. I'd beat the crap out of him!" Leia was furious, but she couldn't find someone to vent her anger on.The Stuart family was invited to the party too, but Xavier refused to come. He claimed that he would have betrayed Stefan if he had come to the party.However, Stefan was the greatest betrayal of his romance since he remained silent and indifferent. While Leia was still angry, everyone in the hall suddenly fell silent. They stretched their heads to look at the entrance of the hall."The Hunt famil
"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Liam muttered guiltily, avoiding Leia's scrutinizing gaze. "You must know what I'm talking about!" Leia refused to let Liam go and went straight to the point. "Look! Because of such a bind, you probably fell in love with Amber, who isn't related to you. Why can't Ren fall in love with Justin after spending a long time with him?""So, what's your point?" Liam didn't refute Leia. He was curious about what she was trying to say. Leia reasonably explained her opinion, "I'm trying to tell you that things might not be as bad as you imagine. Even if you take Ren away and stop this ceremony, things might not be better either."She was too timid to tell Liam that she regarded Renee and Justin's marriage in a favorable light because she found them similar. Similar people could at least lead a stable life though it might not be very passionate and exciting.After leading a wandering life for such a long time, Renee needed steady happiness. It
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve
"Liam, what are you doing?" Leia looked at Liam, unable to understand his sudden excitement."I'm going to meet Austin or Justin. I want them to cancel this engagement ceremony." Liam held Renee's wrist and tried to drag her out of the suite.He was certain Renee didn't want to marry Justin, so it was very likely that she would regret it in the future. It would be hard to settle if she regretted it after the engagement party. Liam felt that he had to try his best to put everything under control while he still could. Feeling helpless, Leia complained, "Stop making a scene… This is Ren's marriage. You can't make all this fuss!""You don't know. I'm doing this for her. I want the best for her." Liam knew the consequences of resisting Austin, given the man's position. He was also ready to be punished by them. Even though he would be beaten up vigorously, he would not hesitate as long as he could stop the ceremony and help Renee avoid such risks. "If you want the best for her, just
Leia felt so awkward that she wanted to run away. "Hey, can you stop flattering yourself? You haven't settled your messy romance, so please don't get Ren involved. You shouldn't joke like that!"Similarly, Liam found his joke impudent and admitted to his mistake. "Yeah, I was wrong. Don't take my joke seriously."Both Renee and Leia were amused. It helped relieve their tension. "But have you thought it through? After this ceremony, you'll be a part of the Baldwin family. You can't regret it by then," Liam said; he was worried about Renee. Everyone knew the Baldwin family's style. They had such a grand ceremony today. If anything went wrong, the Everheart family might be ruined for the second time. Although nobody knew who would win the battle, the trouble could be avoided. Liam was clueless as to why Renee wanted to take such a risk."Yes, I have." Renee nodded and added firmly, "I'd thought it through the moment I boarded the plane with Justin to fly here."It was the last c
Renee was done getting ready. As her closest friend, Leia came to North City with Liam immediately.The engagement ceremony was held in a magnificent hall of a top hotel. The guests arrived one by one and chatted among themselves. It was a luxurious and grand scene. "Ren, I'm sorry I'm late!" Leia arrived at the hotel suite where Renee was waiting. She put her hands together to express her apology. "It's Liam's fault! He was out of his mind and insisted on not coming here, but I forced him to and took some time. Please don't be mad at me!""Silly, I won't be mad at you. Plus, this ceremony doesn't carry much meaning. The Baldwin family just needs this as an assurance. It doesn't matter even if you're absent."Renee looked indifferent and was not at all happy and eager like a bride-to-be. The engagement ceremony was held to announce to the world about the relationship between her and Renee. In all honesty, Renee was resistant to it. She did not want her family or friends to at
Margaret decided to be frank since Renee had said so. "I can tell that you don't sincerely love Mr. Baldwin. Your marriage is just a way to avoid reality. Why are you so harsh on yourself if that's the case? Now, you're making such a big fuss about moving here. If you fail to get along with him and have to return to Beach City in the future, many people will gossip about you. They'll say nasty things about you. Why do you have to put yourself in such a condition?""Margaret, you don't understand…" Renee looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very charming, like a bride in ancient paintings. Everyone would be charmed by her—including herself. She knew very well that she was the one taking the lead in her romance with Justin. They could go on forever as long as she didn't end it. She was just afraid she could not hold on and wanted to stop, and the only reason that she wanted to stop was probably because of Stefan. "If I stay in Beach City, I'll come across Stefan. I know t