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
"What?" Adie stared at her helplessly, not knowing how to console her. Although he mostly only had one parent around growing up, he had been raised with plenty of love, so he couldn't put himself in Tiffany's shoes. "Don't be sad. If your mommy doesn't love you, you don't have to love her either." Adie couldn't understand Tiffany's sadness, but he tried his best to comfort her. "My mommy told me that we should only love people who love us, and we should only cry for people who love us too. She also said we shouldn't be affected by those who don't love us." "My mommy loved me very much back then…" Tiffany wiped away her tears, her lips quivering. "But now she's having a baby, so she loves her own child more. Why do people change? Why can't she love me forever?" "Love won't change. If it changes, it means that she never truly loved you in the first place," Adie said bluntly. He and Tiffany both treasured their relationships with others, but the difference between them was that Adie r
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"I don't know how to tell you. I'm sure you can understand." Renee could not bring herself to say more because it was a humiliating privacy. She might as well keep it to herself."Let me guess…" Justin's gaze grew sharp as he went straight to the point. "The man in your story is Stefan, isn't it?" Silence washed over Renee as she kept her head bowed. It was a silent approval.Justin burst into reckless laughter, which was scary. He looked down at his cut wound and laughed pathetically. "This is why he could make you fall in love with him, and I couldn't. I'm too cultured compared to him.""Don't say that, Haze!"Seeing how defeated Justin was, Renee became uneasy. "It isn't written in the stars for us. Plus, I've fallen in love with Stefan a long time ago before I even got to know you. I also rely on him physically and psychologically. I can't control my feelings. It's not something we can change. We…" "Stop!" Heartbroken, Justin pushed away everything in front of him and s