"Ren, you're awake? Did you have a good rest?" Ava awkwardly waved at Renee, feeling embarrassed. She hated gossiping about others behind their backs, but the one time she had done it, the person involved had heard her!"Renee!" Jeffrey turned around, his face pale and expression guilty."Ren, don't be mad. My son says stupid things sometimes, so don't take it to heart." Ava assumed that Renee had heard everything, so she tried to defend Jeffrey.Renee descended the stairs calmly and said bitterly, "It's okay. I wish I was possessed so I could get an expert to help me get rid of the demon, but unfortunately... that won't help me this time." "Don't say such things. I know you're upset. You can tell me anything. I'll give you some advice." Ava treated Renee like a daughter and led her to sit in the living room on the first floor."It's nothing much. I'm just being a fool in love. It isn't a big deal," Renee admitted openly. She was afraid that they'd assume a demon had possessed he
"Mom, don't say that..." Jeffrey frowned and looked embarrassed. "You make it sound like I'm an idiot. I'm not that weak. I choose to stay here to take care of you both and help you. If I go out to make a living, I'm sure I can adapt to it." Jeffrey didn't want Renee to regard him as a useless idiot, so he quickly tried to defend himself."Well, have you been away from the village or to the city? Do you know how to fly on a plane, ride a train, or use the subway? What can you do other than fishing?" Ava didn't realize Jeffrey was trying to impress Renee, and was upset that her obedient son was opposing her."I… I don't, but I can learn. You both didn't allow me to go out of the village because you didn't want me to meet bad people. You both are the ones who didn't give me a chance to see the world!" Jeffrey protested stubbornly, rebelling against his parents for the first time. Renee hurriedly tried to mediate the situation when she noticed that they were about to get into a fight.
Renee spent a few more days at Joyner Village, and it was the most relaxing time she'd had lately. She woke up early to watch the sunrise and enjoyed the sunset too. She even went out to the sea with Ava and her family sometimes, and if she was lucky, she could see dolphins and swim with them. After a while, her injured heart started to heal, and eventually, the pain had almost faded completely.One day, she was chatting with the villagers, and heard the legend of the sea witch again. They would always mention the horrible story of an adopted son killing his entire foster family whenever they mentioned the sea witch, and Renee always wondered if the boy in the story was Quinton, her brother. Curious, she decided to go to the village her brother had stayed at because she wanted to know more about her brother's past. However, she wasn't familiar with the area, so Jeffrey readily agreed to go with her when he found out her plan. When Cole and Ava heard that, they chose to support her eve
Renee wondered if the fisherman's family had adopted Quinton willingly or been forced to. Maybe they knew something about Quinton's family background. There was no point in listening to rumours—she had to go there and find out herself."Your brother?" Ava tilted her head, looking puzzled. "Shouldn't your brother be living with you? Why would he live in Garcia Village? Did you live there when you were young? I'm sure you would have mentioned it if you did.""It's a long story. I'll tell you in detail when we're free." Renee didn't say much because she herself didn't know why Quinton had ended up in Garcia Village. She had to find out the truth on her own.After a while, Jeffrey finally finished cooking the seafood and kept everything in a cooler box. "Let's go, Renee. I've made enough food for several meals for the both of us." Jeffrey smiled brightly, looking like an eager child going out to play. However, Ava looked worried and could not stop sighing. "Son, you must be careful wh
"It's… you?" Renee's eyes widened in surprise when she turned around and came face-to-face with Daisy."Ah, I'm sorry, Miss..." Daisy ducked her head awkwardly. "I overheard that you both were going to Garcia Village, so I hid on the boat early so I could follow. I didn't scare you, did I?" Renee was speechless. "Why did you follow us?""Garcia Village is infamous for being dangerous, but you both decided to come here for an adventure. I also wanted to come here, but the most important thing is..." Daisy shoved Renee's hands away and said righteously, "I have to keep an eye on you so you don't harm Jeff!" She firmly believed that the sea witch had possessed Renee and that Renee would harm Jeffrey, so she felt that she had to watch Renee at all times. "How could you...".Renee smacked her forehead and complained, "Your imagination certainly runs wild. Don't you have to go to school?" "I stopped going to school ages ago. My mom said I'll marry Jeff when I'm eighteen years old, so
Delighted, Renee hurried toward the house, but abruptly stopped as she got closer. A chill ran down her spine. "Renee, the lights are on in this house, so someone should be living here, right?" Jeffrey had been walking beside Daisy during the journey, but hurried to catch up with Renee. When he and Daisy arrived at the door of that house, they gasped, the blood draining from their faces."Umm... Isn't that a coffin? There are candles around it too… Did… someone die here?" Daisy grabbed Jeffrey's arm and stammered."What bad luck! We should leave." Renee had been through a lot already, and knew she couldn't afford any more bad luck if she offended any spirits in the house."Yeah, let's... look for another house." Jeffrey swallowed in fear. The three of them turned around to leave, but Renee bumped into something the moment she turned around. Renee was shocked to see an old woman with gray hair and dark clothes standing behind her. They hadn't even seen her or heard her approach!
When the old woman noticed Renee's sympathetic gaze, a kind smile dawned on her wrinkled face. "Miss, you don't have to pity me. I feel quite blessed to have been able to live until this age. The truly pitiful people are the ones who died young..." A long sigh escaped the old woman. "My Garcia Village has always had bad luck. Many unfortunate things happened, and those kids are the pitiful ones!""What happened?" Renee asked curiously."It's a long story. Come in, it's dark outside and you all should get some rest." The old woman enthusiastically invited them into her house."Thank you." Renee thanked the old woman and followed her into the house.Jeffrey wanted to follow suit, but Daisy grabbed his arm, her face pale. "Don't go, Jeff! The house is so dark and scary, and that old woman... We don't know who or what she is. We'd better not go in." There were many horrible legends about Garcia Village, and the worst was the one about the sea witch who took revenge on the whole villa
When the old woman went to get them water, Jeffrey turned to Renee worriedly. He had seen all kinds of dangerous animals in the sea like sharks and sea snakes, but he had never been as frightened as he was now. "Relax, I think she's a nice person. She's just poor, so this place looks a little primitive, but it's safer here." Renee tried to console the two teenagers, but wasn't so sure herself. She believed that the old woman meant no harm, but the house was very strange. She kept feeling like a ghost might emerge from one of the rooms at any moment.The old woman carried a pot of water and a few cups into the hall. "I'm sorry, nobody's visited me in years, so it took me a while to find some cups. I'm sure you all are thirsty—have some water." The old woman poured water for them, looking happy to have guests.Renee took the cup of water and hesitated briefly before boldly downing the whole cup. However, Jeffrey and Daisy were more cautious, and didn't drink it because they were worr
"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
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