Everyone turned to Adie, and Renee asked him suspiciously, "What kind of wish?" She had a feeling that Adie was about to trap her."I want Daddy and Mommy to hug each other for ten minutes!" Adie blurted out. "Yeah, we hope Daddy and Mommy can hug each other for ten minutes," Abby echoed excitedly as she jumped up and down."Huh? What a weird wish!""I heard that Mr. Hunt and Ms. Everheart divorced each other. I guess they're forced to be together for the kids...""The children probably want them to get back together. It's sweet, but… also quite pitiful." Everyone started gossiping, curious about the relationship between Stefan and Renee and sympathetic towards Adie and Abby.Renee's jaw dropped, and she quickly squatted down and held Adie, whispering indignantly, "What are you two up to? You can't trick me like this!" "Mommy, we're not trying to trick you…" Adie whispered back, his gaze sincere. "I heard stories where people stopped fighting after hugging each other, so yo
The people around them felt confused watching them hug."Why are they hugging each other so intimately? They look so lovey-dovey.""Although they're divorced, they look more in love with each other than my husband and I..." "Ah, I really don't understand rich people. Isn't it tiring to keep breaking up and getting back together?"Renee's cheeks heated in shame, and she wanted to leave, but Stefan just hugged her even tighter."Calm down, time's not up yet," Stefan closed his eyes and whispered to Renee."You know, I should be asking you that question. Isn't it tiring for you?" Renee stopped struggling and whispered furiously to Stefan. She couldn't blame the parents for bringing it up; she herself was tired of this vicious circle. She didn't want to feel these emotions anymore… She just wanted peace.After ten minutes passed, Renee and Stefan let go of each other. "Great! That's the kind of romance we want to see!" Some of the parents started clapping enthusiastically. Adie
Adie and Tiffany's relationship began from the moment Adie arrived at Monte Perry Kindergarten. As soon as he entered, a lot of girls were charmed by him because of his handsome face and elegant temperament—he was just like a fairytale prince. Many girls, and even some boys, would hand him notes, snacks, or toys every day… but Tiffany was different. She would always sit in a corner gloomily, not showing any interest in Adie or the other children. All the children became excited whenever there was a class activity, but she always just sat by herself quietly, reluctant to participate.Adie was a very observant child, and had immediately noticed Tiffany. He was friendly to her and invited her to play with him and the other children a few times, but Tiffany always shook her head and refused. Adie had probably spoken to Tiffany less than ten times in that semester. Things began to change one summer afternoon. Adie was wandering around the kindergarten when he suddenly heard someone cry
Adie's expression didn't change. "It's her choice if she doesn't want to talk. Maybe she just hates talking. Whatever it is, she's not offending or disturbing any of you... It's annoying when you do things like this!" The girls had never expected their Prince Charming to side with the weirdo instead of them, and they became very upset. The girl who led the group pouted at Adie and whined, "Adie, what's wrong with you? Aren't you our friend? Why are you taking this dummy's side instead of ours?""No, I'm not your friend." Adie crossed his arms and declared righteously, "I won't befriend bad kids who bully others... Tiffany is my friend from today onwards, and anyone who bullies her is my enemy!"The girls became scared when they heard that, and timidly threw the hairpin on the floor and ran away. Tiffany gave Adie a surprised look, then immediately picked up her hairpin and wiped away her tears. "My mommy bought this hairpin for me, but they dirtied it." "It's okay. Just wipe it
The children played while their parents made dinner. Both Stefan and Renee were not good at cooking, so they agreed to do a simple seafood barbecue. It only involved coating the seafood in a sauce and roasting them on the fire, so it seemed simple enough… until they actually started cooking. The first challenge was making the fire. There were no charcoal or burners on the island, so they could only use wood to make a fire. Stefan and Renee spent a lot of time picking branches and palm leaves around the island, and forgot all about the two children while doing so. Renee was not too worried about the children since they had grown up on Sun Island—they were good at swimming, and had more survival skills than the other children from growing up on an island."Have you ever considered giving the children to me or having one parent raise one child? That seems fairer." Stefan asked suddenly as he collected palm leaves."What did you say?" Renee thought she had misheard him and looked at
Meanwhile, Abby had found a pretty conch on the beach just now, and wanted to show it to Adie, but turned around to find him missing. Worry filled her as she called out for Adie.At that moment, Stefan and Renee were sulkily walking back to the campsite, carrying firewood. Coincidentally, they bumped into Abby, who was anxiously looking for Adie."What's wrong, Abby?" Renee tossed the firewood aside and hurried over to Abby. "Why are you here alone? Where's Adie?" Adie and Abby were always together, so Renee knew that something was wrong. "Mommy, Adie is missing..." Abby's face was pale in fear. She hugged Renee and wailed, "I saw Adie sharing an apple with Tiffany just now, so I didn't disturb them. I came to the beach to look for conches, but when I went back… they were gone. I couldn't find them. Adie will be alright, won't he?" "Don't worry, Abby. Adie is clever and resourceful, so I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he's just playing somewhere with Tiffany!" Renee said reassuringly, t
Consequently, Stefan and Renee went their separate ways. Stefan went out to look for Adie while Renee was convinced Adie was just out playing and would come back soon. Renee decided not to worry about it, and went to cook dinner with Abby. Meanwhile, Adie was safe and sound. He held Tiffany's hand as they climbed up the steep path, eventually arriving at the cave where Adie and his family had found the treasures earlier. "What do you think? Isn't this place fun? We're alone here, so no one can find us," Adie announced proudly. He got his adventurous streak from Renee and his courage from Stefan. Having grown up on Sun Island which had many types of complicated terrains and caves, Adie had developed a love of exploring caves from a young age. When Stefan and Renee had stopped him from going into the cave earlier, it had made him long to explore it even more, which was why he had eagerly returned to it. "Is this cave safe? It looks so dark and deep…" Tiffany asked hesitantly as she
"I'm also curious to know your secrets," Tiffany mimicked with a wide grin. Soon, they started playing the game. In the first round, Adie went for 'rock' while Tiffany went for 'paper', which meant Adie lost the round and had to tell Tiffany a secret."A secret..." Adie scratched his head and frowned. "I don't think I have any." It wasn't that he was reluctant to share, but he had grown up with an open-minded family where it was easy to express himself. "Everyone has secrets, and I'm sure you do too. Think about it—is there anything your daddy, mommy, me, and the other kids don't know about?" Tiffany insisted, putting her hands on her waist. Adie thought about it for a long time, then finally sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you one." He looked at Tiffany and said coyly, "Well, the truth is… I've been lying to you.""What do you mean?" "I always said you were a crybaby who looked ugly when you cried, but… that's not true. You looked very beautiful," Adie mumbled, covering his face in
"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