"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
Austin was telling the truth."Of course, children will always stay with their mothers. Home is wherever their mother is. You'd better ask about Ren's opinion instead of making a scene here."Austin glanced at the gilded ancient clock above the hall, his eyes sharp."The engagement ceremony of my grandson and Ren is about to start in ten minutes. You can ask her opinion when she's here.""Really?"Francine was delightedly surprised. For the first time, she felt that Austin was not as horrible as legend had it. He was reasonable. She tried to reconfirm with him. "So, you're saying that I can ask Ren to come home with me when she's out, and you'll let her go if she says yes?" "No, you're wrong." Austin shook his head. "She came here willingly. Of course, it's not as if you need to ask me to let her go.""It's fine. That's not important as long as you remember what you said." Francine was confident and eager. She then said smugly to Austin and the others, "Wait and see! I have w
When things became awful, an old but awe-inspiring voice came from behind them."What are you doing?" Undeniably, it was the powerful Austin who also enjoyed the highest status in North City.Instantly, the onlookers retreated and held their breaths.They knew how horrifyingly powerful Austin was because he owned military power. It would be very normal if he asked his army to shoot them to death if they fell out with him.Francine and the others, who were engaged in a fight, stopped too."Old Master Baldwin, nice to meet you."Francine nodded at Austin but didn't let go of Sophia. The scene was tense, but her actions looked amusing. "Dad, hurry up and catch these two! They're being unreasonable!"Sophia's pinned hair was messy because Francine kept scratching at it. If she wasn't mentally strong enough, she might have cried. She had imagined endless ways how the Hunt family would make a scene—except for the most primitive way. Francine made a scene like a three-year-old ki
Francine went berserk again and gripped Sophia's neck. "I'm going to count to three! Get my grandkids here! I'm going to take them home! If not, I'll break your neck!" she yelled. She couldn't stop Renee from marrying someone else, but she couldn't tolerate her two grandchildren relying on others' charity like Renee.It wasn't only about her dignity, but more about the children's growth and mental health. She couldn't be careless."You're out of your mind! Drive them out of here!"Sophia was a decent woman who couldn't allow herself to go berserk. Although she had a glib tongue, she found herself unable to handle a figure like Francine. Francine was never too harsh and would only make a scene. But now, she was out of control and was screaming nonstop. "Talk it out with them. Don't use violence. We're parents. It's humiliating to be violent," Alexander interrupted.Alexander tried to make Francine calm down and behave herself. Even so, he didn't act accordingly and pushed Ja
Francine's obvious provocation made others draw in a cold breath, let alone Justin's parents.No wonder she was one of the Four Princesses of Beach City. She was much too impulsive. Justin's parents looked very hideous. However, Sophia wasn't so soft. After taking a few deep breaths, she faced Francine with the same fake smile. "Don't worry. I'll take Adie and Abby back home. Since Ren is marrying Justin, my family will treat the kids as ours. We'll be their grandparents. In a few years, my son and Ren will have more kids to be their siblings. Then, we'll be one family!""What? Do you want to take the kids back home?" Fury instantly gripped Francine. She ignored all decency and demanded fiercely, "What do you want to do to my grandkids? They're still young! How could you target them?" "You must be mistaken. Ren is going to be a part of my family, so naturally, her kids are going to come with her. I'm sure there isn't anything wrong with that." Sophia snorted. "You're their bi
Leia couldn't understand it. Both Renee and Stefan once loved each other passionately. They had soldiered through a lot of difficulties. But when everything became better, they stopped seeing each other. Such separation brought a fatal blow to her views on love. Suddenly, she found herself too timid to give up her heart. After all, it was nothing. People could break up with each other easily."No wonder Xavier refused to come. If he was here, I would have hated him because of Stefan. I'd beat the crap out of him!" Leia was furious, but she couldn't find someone to vent her anger on.The Stuart family was invited to the party too, but Xavier refused to come. He claimed that he would have betrayed Stefan if he had come to the party.However, Stefan was the greatest betrayal of his romance since he remained silent and indifferent. While Leia was still angry, everyone in the hall suddenly fell silent. They stretched their heads to look at the entrance of the hall."The Hunt famil
"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Liam muttered guiltily, avoiding Leia's scrutinizing gaze. "You must know what I'm talking about!" Leia refused to let Liam go and went straight to the point. "Look! Because of such a bind, you probably fell in love with Amber, who isn't related to you. Why can't Ren fall in love with Justin after spending a long time with him?""So, what's your point?" Liam didn't refute Leia. He was curious about what she was trying to say. Leia reasonably explained her opinion, "I'm trying to tell you that things might not be as bad as you imagine. Even if you take Ren away and stop this ceremony, things might not be better either."She was too timid to tell Liam that she regarded Renee and Justin's marriage in a favorable light because she found them similar. Similar people could at least lead a stable life though it might not be very passionate and exciting.After leading a wandering life for such a long time, Renee needed steady happiness. It
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve