"You..." Renee tightened her grip on the tree, squinting at the man below. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember his name."It looks like you've forgotten about me, little girl!" The man sighed dramatically, but his eyes shone with mirth. He had sharp features, brown curly hair, and light blue eyes like Renee—he looked like a typical guy from Varangia."You're..." Renee frowned as she tried to recall who this stranger was. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Are you Jamie? Is that really you, big guy?" "Thank God you remembered—I wouldn't be able to call myself your childhood friend if you didn't!" Jamie Thatcher's smile deepened, dimpling his cheeks. He was the son of the Varangia couple who lived next door to the Everhearts, and he had grown up with Renee. Since they were of different ethnicities, he had always been taller and sturdier than Renee, leading to Renee calling him 'big guy' and him calling her 'little girl'.When they were young, Jamie doted on Renee very much. He al
The atmosphere immediately became heavy. Renee cleared her throat awkwardly and immediately leaped out of Jamie's arms. "Big guy, we're not kids anymore, so don't say things like that. It's late, and I'll get scared." She hated when men tried to blur the lines with her, especially when it was someone close to her like a childhood friend. It was more horrible than bumping into ghosts. Jamie laughed, offering her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I was just joking." Even if he was a bit flirtatious sometimes, he was always respectful. Renee tilted her body and looked at the manor behind Jamie, then smiled at him politely. "Hey, shouldn't you be inviting me into your house? I haven't been there since we were kids." She was suspicious of Jamie's sudden appearance, and didn't believe that he was the one who had been staying in the manor. She still felt that her instincts were right—Stefan had to be inside that manor. She wanted to go inside and look around, so if Stefan wasn't there, i
Renee's words made Jamie feel even more guilty, and he subtly wiped off the sweat on his forehead. "Umm..." A sigh escaped Jamie as he decided to come clean, unable to see his childhood friend heartbroken like this. "Well, it's not what you think. My manor...""Do you have wine? I want to have some wine!" Renee suddenly interrupted him, no longer interested in Jamie's answer. She wasn't an alcoholic, but she couldn't stop drinking once she started. She would lose control of her emotions and do crazy things once she had some wine. When she was drunk, she would let her thoughts and actions run wild, and she knew she would feel more at ease in that state. Since she had let herself go, she might as well have more wine and get crazier so she could forget about everything once she woke up. At least, she didn't have to worry too much about things then."Wine?" Jamie's body relaxed when Renee stopped asking about the owner of the manor. He knew himself well—if Renee kept on asking, he might
Renee had passed out drunk on the sofa."You're really..." Jamie smiled helplessly. "That was fast; I couldn't even get any gossip from you!" He tried to wake her up but failed. When he was sure she was unconscious, he took out his phone and texted someone. [She's passed out. You can come over now.]Hardly a few minutes later, Stefan rushed over. He sighed deeply when he saw Renee lying on the sofa, looking vulnerable and delicate. "I asked you to take care of her. Why did you let her drink? Don't you know she gets drunk easily?" Stefan strode towards Renee and touched her forehead, then he held her cheeks and asked nervously, "Why are her forehead and cheeks burning hot? What did she do before drinking?"Jamie massaged his forehead, letting out an exasperated groan. "Mr. Hunt, anybody's cheeks would be hot if they've been drinking. I swear I just chatted with her, I didn't do anything indecent to her…" He paused, then added thoughtfully, "Well, when I found her, she was stuck in a
Stefan instantly froze. His whole body grew tense, and his mind raced to figure out what he should say to her.Unexpectedly, Renee just turned around and muttered something before she dozed off again."She's still drunk—she doesn't know it's you," Jamie said solemnly.Stefan rolled his eyes and bent down to carry the unconscious Renee in his arms. "I'm not blind, I don't need you to tell me that." Brushing past Jamie, he snapped, "Excuse me."Jamie hurriedly stepped aside, morosely watching Stefan leave. It felt like everything he did was wrong to Stefan. He didn't think he could get close to Renee from now on.Stefan carried Renee upstairs, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck because her head was spinning. "Slow down, I'm going to fall," Renee whined as she nestled in his arms. Stefan immediately slowed his pace, carefully climbing the stairs to his room. It was the room opposite Renee's bedroom, and though the lights were not on, it was illuminated by the m
"What do I want?" Renee blinked slowly as she thought about it, then giggled. "I want to suffer. I want to face my karma and live a terrible life." Yeah, she would lead a leisurely life without Stefan—he was the reason her life was full of twists and turns. That was her karma, and she was always willing to accept it. "I... Listen. My former mother-in-law went to a fortune-teller who said that if Stefan and I got together, many bad things would happen to us. At first, I thought it was just superstition, but now it seems like the fortune-teller was right. I... I want to find that fortune-teller and see if I'll get married again."Stefan's eyes bulged and he blurted out, "No, you won't! That's just superstition, and it also depends on whether the couple can overcome the challenges given to them. Maybe it's not that you both aren't destined to be together, but… maybe he's just a piece of trash who doesn't deserve you." He hoped that it was because of him that they could not live happily
"Of course!" Renee nodded and said seriously, "I'll go to the karaoke bar and hire eight male escorts. One of them will massage my shoulders while another will massage my legs. One will sing with me while the other will listen to me vent..."Stefan smiled in amusement. "Are you sure you can handle eight guys?" "Of course I can! I've been loyal to you all these years and have never tried anything with other men. I want to experience something nice and improve my life." Renee was a feminist at heart—she couldn't understand why men could flirt with other women after they got married but women had to stay loyal to their men. If men could have affairs, then so could women; that was what fairness was. "If you genuinely want to find someone you like, I'll give you my blessings. However, if you're just acting out of spite and want to find a man to take revenge on me, that's unnecessary." Stefan gently laid her on the bed and smoothed her hair tenderly. "You've got to love yourself more th
The silence was deafening, and Renee inwardly counted the seconds as despair gripped her. She had lowered her pride just to get an answer, but he refused to even give her that… How cruel! Humiliated, Renee let go of Stefan's waist and smoothed her messy hair. She cleared her throat and asked coldly, "So, it's because of Briar, right?" She hadn't wanted to think of it, but that seemed like the only possible reason. He wouldn't be acting like this otherwise."Briar?" Stefan flinched in surprise, then fell silent. Finally, he asked, "She went to you?""Yes, she did!" Renee took a deep breath and wiped her face, deciding to be frank with him. "She came to me with intimate photos of you both, acting like she had won a prize as she showed them off. I don't hate her because I know everything happens for a reason, but I'm just curious. Why... would you do that?" Renee stared at Stefan's back, tears running down her cheeks."There's no reason." Stefan did not want to explain too much. If Ren
There were various kinds of torture instruments hanging around the cage. There was even a saw that would function with just a pull.Upon closer inspection, Renee noticed bloodstains on the instruments. The corners were full of piles of human hair. There was also a rotten and damp scent lingering around."What… What kind of place is this?" Leia screamed.She stood at the door of the cage and swallowed in fright, now timid. She found that place very familiar. After some contemplation, she realized it was something related to what she had seen before in the deep web.The so-called deep web was more horrible than the dark web. Only ten percent of netizens could find the websites. These websites weren't under supervision, and were full of outrageous videos and business deals.For example, the sellers would buy beautiful models to make vulgar videos of for the buyers' viewing. The buyers would make outrageous requests based on their insane desires. They would spend some money for the se
Though the building looked ordinary and old, it was filled with many things.However, it was not very accurate. The place resembled thematic scenes more.The first floor was an ordinary office area. The second floor looked like a hotel, while the third floor looked like classrooms… The themes for each place were centered around obscenity.Renee wasn't dumb. She instantly understood why Lucas brought her and Leia there by force. She also finally understood why Lucas prohibited his subordinate from touching Leia's face even though she had been rude to him. If she guessed right, these bastards wanted her and Leia to shoot pornos. "Do you like these scenes, my friends?" Lucas was smoking, in a great mood to see the film and television site he had established. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Renee and Leia. "Other than wire fraud and online casinos, the thing that makes most money is the limited and short videos. You girls are so pretty. Just work with me and shoot some R-rated
The motorbikes raced the narrow streets noisily, passing through crowds and messy alleyways. After a winding journey, they got on the large roads and drove toward a growingly remote and unknown place.At last, they stopped in front of a large iron gate with guards and two large German Shepherds. There were a few large words above the iron gate that spelled Gold Investment. As Renee and Leia walked inside, they saw a large park, like a factory. Both of them exchanged a look of deep helplessness. They had bumped into something terrible. If they guessed it right, Lucas and his gang were involved in wire fraud. They had been brought to Lucas' scamming site.Men in uniforms happened to walk toward the cafeteria to get food under the supervision of guards. Their faces or bodies were full of new or old injuries. They looked numb and dispirited, as if they had lost all hope in life.Both Renee and Leia exchanged another look. They could confirm they were brought to an infamous scamming
Lucas' lackey brought out a dagger. He pulled Leia, and pushed the dagger against her neck.Lucas stared at Renee, and sneered, "I hope you and your friend can behave. We're from the same country. We can get along, can't we?" "Ren, ignore me! Just get them! I'm sure they can't kill me in front of everyone!" Leia shouted.She was fearless and tried all means to resist, but the man was rather fierce. He pinned her wrists behind her while pushing the dagger against her neck.As Leia wasn't standing still, the blade scratched her neck and caused it to bleed.Renee could only unclench her fists, and asked Lucas coldly, "What do you want?" "Don't be scared. We mean you no harm. We like you girls because we're from the same country. We'd like to invite you to my place as guests," Lucas mouthed off insufferably as he touched his chin. His face was swollen from being punched. "Let my friend go now!" Renee ordered Lucas. She could easily handle those bastards alone, but she was too tim
"I need to congratulate you, since you'll get another person who can teach you how to be a human being aside from Draco from today onward." Renee glared at Lucas angrily, her tone icy."Who? You? Just you?" Lucas held his belly and burst into laughter. "That's hilarious! How could you? You—"The next second, Renee interrupted him and punched him. His head tilted to the side, and his teeth were knocked out and fell off. Renee grabbed his hair and demanded icily, "What about now? Where are our phones?""You… You…" Lucas' cheek was swollen. He couldn't move at all, and waved for his lackeys to act.They jumped off their motorbikes and waved their steel pipes and knives, about to attack Renee."Ren, be careful!" While resisting, Leia reminded Renee to be careful. Renee remained composed as she kept her grip on Lucas' hair. She used him as a shield as she kicked and punched the other men, defeating them with ease.She suffered no injury while attacking others as Lucas had to endur
Renee and Leia crossed the sidewalk and walked toward the bus stop some distance away from them. Before they could enter the bus stop, however, the tanned man who approached them at the airport just now stopped in front of them on a motorbike.Behind him were six or seven men, also on a motorbike, looking fierce and dangerous. "Hey, gorgeous. Didn't you say your friend was coming to get you? Why are you catching a ride here? Listen, I own the buses here. Just tell me where you're going. I'll give you a free ride!"When Leia saw him, she could no longer hold herself back. She rushed forward and grabbed his collar. "You have the nerve to stop us! Give us back our cell phones, or you'll be sorry!" "Cell phones? What do you mean? I don't understand what you're talking about." The man smiled slyly as he held Leia's hand. "What's wrong? Did you lose your phone, gorgeous? Tell me what it looks like. I've got quite a lot of connections. I'll get it back for you quick.""You're asking
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos
A week later, Renee and Leia flew to Goldshire without anyone's knowledge.Goldshire was a primitive, old, remote city full of speeding motorbikes and leering men. Beautiful Aeos women like Renee and Leia were very eye-catching there. It was easy to predict the kind of obstacles they would face. A slim, tanned man in an old-fashioned T-shirt blocked them casually while smoking. "Hey gorgeous, are you here for a trip or business? I'm a local. I can accompany you!" At that time, both Renee and Leia had just gotten off the plane. They were waiting for their luggage at the baggage carousel. The other passengers who rode in the same plane were either men, families, or foreigners. Renee and Leia were the best candidates to accost. "No, thank you. I've been here before, and I'm quite familiar with this place." Renee waved, not wanting to have much to do with the man. Although she was good at fighting, it was hard to fight a local tyrant. She wouldn't make a big scene if she could hel
"Don't worry, I'm not unhappy. Maybe I wasn't sensible or prudent enough, but my feelings for Liam are honorable. I see him as my younger brother. Since my brother is going to get married, of course I'll happily give him my blessings." Renee was feeling quite helpless because she had no idea how she should explain herself."I see…" Leia looked disappointed. "If Liam hears this, I guess he'll be disappointed and unhappy.""Then he shouldn't get married," Renee said, hitting the nail on the head."He'll still feel that way. You can't be easily replaced. Maybe no one will ever replace you for him. As his sister, I'm sure of it," Leia said. She didn't blame Renee, but she found it unacceptable for her loyal brother.On second thought, nothing could be done. The relationships in the world were closely linked together. It was hard to find two people who were mutually in love with each other. There was no fairness. Besides, no one could change that just by working hard. It depended