"So?" Renee looked ahead, keeping an aloof face. She even appeared unfeeling. "You know my thoughts, but you recklessly hurt me. What are you trying to say? That you're very charming, and that I'm very stupid? Is that how you satisfy your superiority? Yeah, I'd feel great and successful if I were you, since I was always loyal toward you regardless of how you harmed or humiliated me!" "I didn't mean that." Stefan realized his words might have hurt her self-esteem. A long sigh escaped him. "I just want to tell you that I'm very happy to see you care about me.""Humph! Are you still trying to pretend that you're affectionate?" Renee turned around, and shot Stefan a disdainful gaze. Suddenly, she found him a hypocritical stranger. "We've already ended up this way. You don't have to pretend anymore. So what if I have feelings for you? It won't change our relationship.""You're right." Stefan looked gloomy, as if Renee had reminded him about something. He put away his true feelings,
Renee and Stefan entered the private room one after another, but sat quite far from each other. That deliberate distance made their unclear relationship extremely amorous instead.Dale looked at Renee before turning to Stefan. He subconsciously smiled, then stood up while raising his glass at them. "Come. It's a great day today. I'm honored to dine with you guys. Let me toast to you.""No, you're wrong." Similarly, Renee raised her glass and stood up. She added guiltily, "I should toast to you instead. You kindly helped my sister and offered her a job, but my brother made a scene and caused your school trouble. Let me drink this as a form of apology." She sounded sincere, and refused to give Dale the chance to stand on ceremony. She gulped the drink down.Since it was white wine, it was rather strong despite being just a small glass.When Stefan saw that, he frowned and said icily, "Stop acting tough if you can't drink."Annoyed, Renee said to Stefan, "Humph! How dare you say
Dale suffered the most in that affair. He had to hire an inexperienced person like Joanne because of pressure from Stefan. When things were exposed, he had to bear the blame alone. He was too miserable. "Stefan, how could you make an old man who's going to retire soon to toast to you? You're the one who caused him the trouble. Why did it become his fault instead?" Renee sounded displeased. At the same time, she pitied Dale. She started criticizing Stefan. She had never felt that he was that arrogant and inhumane. "It's okay. No worries." Dale immediately tried to pacify Renee. "Ms. Everheart, you're ignorant about something. Many years ago, Mr. Hunt did me a great favor before I became the principal. I couldn't have achieved this without his help. I just didn't manage this issue well. If not, it wouldn't turn out to be such a big issue. Don't blame Mr. Hunt. He's the most innocent one who's being implicated.""What did he help you with?" Renee was suspicious. "A cruel and heartles
"I'm sorry, Ms. Everheart. This is a major issue, so I have to be honest with Mr. Hunt," Dale said.Facing Stefan's extreme oppression, Dale raised the glass of wine and chose to stand against Renee. He decided to tell the truth.Firstly, he drank a glass of wine to boost his courage. Then, he told Stefan, "Ms. Everheart came to me before you did and proposed something. She wanted me to announce to the media that it was she who threatened me, which was why I made the exception to allow Ms. Garcia to teach in my school. In short, she wants to bear all the blame.""What?" Stefan frowned, surprised. He had thought that Quinton must have instructed Renee to purposely make things worse and burden Hunt Enterprise. Unexpectedly, she…"I must say something as an outsider, Mr. Hunt. Ms. Everheart is very kind, and is very much worried about you. She'd rather bear the blame than see you get burdened. She's so wonderful and saintly. She keeps her kind deeds from others…"Dale must have been
Renee's sudden wrath seemed to have arisen out of shame from being exposed. Angry, she poured herself another glass of white wine and gulped it down. Then, she turned to Dale. "I told you my resolution, Mr. Porter. I have some errands to run, so I'll leave now. Enjoy your meal." With that, she got up to leave."Oh, Ms. Everheart! You haven't eaten. Why are you leaving?" Dale immediately tried to stop her and persuade her kindly. "Relax. We need to discuss how to resolve this issue. I believe Mr. Hunt has considered it too. Perhaps he can come up with a win-win solution.""Well, I'll leave you gentlemen to it. Honestly, I can't get along with him. I get furious when I see him!" Renee's face was icy, and she finally left. "Uh…" Dale watched Renee leave before he turned to Stefan, who stayed where he was. After some consideration, he decided to remain with Stefan. "Mr. Hunt, what do you think…we should do now?" "What should we do? I've made it clear to you before." Stefan stood
Stefan walked to Renee. He felt very sorry for her, and kept his head low as he looked at her. However, he had to keep his feelings hidden…"Hey, how are you?" Stefan's low voice came from above Renee. It sounded surreal, like a dream in the vacant corridor."Who are you…?" Feeling dizzy, Renee kept her posture without raising her head. She was slurring her words. At first, she didn't feel much after gulping down glass after glass of white wine. However, it began to take effect and turned her dizzy after a while. She felt like her body and soul were separated. Honestly, she liked this kind of feeling. She rarely got so drunk after becoming a mother because she had to be a role model for her children."I'm your destiny…" Stefan replied. Since Renee was drunk, he stopped pretending to be aloof and distant. He sat down beside her, and faked a smile. "Can you share your thoughts with me?""My destiny?" Finally, Renee looked up and blinked at him. "What do you mean?""Well…" Afte
On the contrary, they behaved like they had survived a thunderstorm and were terribly injured. They had lost their previous enthusiasm and hope for the future. "Mushroom, stop moving! You won't look nice if I don't pick you properly," Renee instructed seriously as she squatted down. Then, she faced him. "Don't be scared. I'll pick you now."After that, she held Stefan's face and started twisting it to left and right."Stop!" Stefan held her wrists. "If you keep doing this, you'll break my neck!""No, I won't stop! You didn't listen to me! I'm going to slap you!" While talking, Renee slapped him twice. Although it wasn't hard, it was quite humiliating."Renee, you did it on purpose, didn't you?" Stefan's face was icy, and he pulled her into his arms. "You're actually sober, aren't you?""Yeah, I am! I'm a girl who's picking mushrooms. I must pick you and take you home, you big mushroom." Renee grinned, struggling to continue what she was doing. "I think it's better if I pick yo
Both Alexander and Francine kept their heads down when they heard Timothy's words. They went on eating, not daring to breathe. Everyone knew that Timothy's former granddaughter-in-law was his favorite. His two great-grandchildren were the source of his happiness. However, various reasons caused Renee, Adie, and Abby to grow further and further away from the Hunt family. Now, they rarely gathered together.Hence, Timothy would sigh every time dinner came. On top of that, he would be angry and rebuke anyone who tried to comfort him. Alexander, worried Timothy would feel lonely from staying in that manor alone, stayed there with Francine in the long term. However, both of them were burdened instead. Timothy would occasionally blow his top at Alexander or Francine. When Stefan was home on Sundays, the three of them would work together to admonish Alexander instead. The manor was rather chaotic. "Why are you two keeping your heads low? Are you looking for something?" Timothy slam