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
Francine shook off Alexander's hand grumpily, her gesture immature and childish. She kept on arguing with Timothy. "Dad, I'm sad too! We're separated from our grandkids, and we find it hard too. But what can we do? Young people nowadays care a lot about their freedom. What's important is how comfortable they feel. I don't find anything wrong with that. If all they feel when they're together is pain, they should be apart. We should also learn to be open-minded and accept it. Don't you think so?" For a long time, Timothy stared at Francine quietly. It was unknown if he was angry at her, or convinced by her words. After a long pause, he looked at Francine before glancing at Alexander. Sneering, he said, "You're advocating freedom now, yes, but you weren't so nice to talk to in the past. If I acted like you back then and let Alexander follow his heart and do what he finds comfortable, he might have long broken up with you. You know that very well. The woman he loved the most back the
Francine, Timothy, and Alexander were dumbstruck. They stared at Stefan, who was at the door, as well as the woman in his arms. They were flabbergasted. "Oh, you're all home." Stefan looked perfectly calm. To the servant beside him, he ordered, "Edith, get me some green tea and bring it upstairs for me later." Then, he kept walking calmly. His composure was such that it made others feel awkward instead. At that time, Renee had her arms around his neck and her head buried in his arms. She was drunk and unconscious. "Now, just a minute…!" Timothy said.Moments ago, he was angry with Stefan. Seeing Stefan arriving home with a woman in his arms, Timothy's fury surged. "Are you trying to drive me up the wall?" he yelled. "I can't tolerate you engaging in casual relationships with other women, and now, you bring your indecent woman home! Don't you have any respect for me?" Stefan frowned; he guessed that Timothy had not recognized Renee. However, he didn't explain much. "This
On the other hand, Francine stood where she was and watched Stefan for a long time. Then, she asked Stefan seriously, "Who's the woman in your arms? You weren't that interested in women in the past. Why are you engaging in such ambiguous relationships with indecent women lately?"You betrayed your wife for that scheming Briar. Now, you've fallen head over heels for another woman. Are you sick? Is there something wrong with your hormones? Have you become a womanizer?" Hearing that, Stefan's face turned livid. As expected, his mother had a vicious tongue."I have nothing to say. You should all turn in early!" he snarled. He bypassed Alexander and Timothy, who were blocking him, as well as Francine, who was blocking the stairs, and thundered upstairs.The remaining three were left looking at each other in dismay and confusion. "Was I over the line just now?" Francine started reflecting on herself. She lowered her head as tears filled her eyes. "He's always so proud and noble, b
Stefan carried Renee to his bedroom on the second floor, and gently put her in bed.After such an endeavor, he was already sweating and gasping. "You're so heavy! Looks like you didn't skip meals even when you were sad!"After settling her down, he yanked his tie and unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt before looking at her.He was glad he could hold her in his arms again. He thought he could never do that again. After experiencing it again, he felt steady and happy—it was a feeling he couldn't put into words. Aside from that, she looked fine. It seemed she could eat and sleep well lately. Her cheeks were plumper, making her look chubby and less fierce than before. She looked adorable. Seeing her like that, Stefan's worries were eased. They could still lead normal and happy lives even if they were separated. It was another form of luck.Stefan bent over and patted her face before whispering gently in her ears, "Do you want some water?"Renee's eyes were closed, but when she he
Stefan felt quite desperate when he saw the mess on the bed and his body. Renee might be the only one who could boldly vomit on him and his bed. He vowed to make her stop drinking wine again. Although he was angry, he couldn't do anything about her. A long sigh escaped him as he took off his shirt. Then, he went downstairs shirtless."Stefan, you… You can't be so open even if you found true love. Did you forget you're not alone at home?" Francine said.Francine was about to head upstairs to check the situation out. When she saw her son come downstairs in that state, she got so scared that her expression changed. She covered her lips, and looked away from him."She vomited, so I asked Edith to clean it up," Stefan explained helplessly. After going downstairs, he took a bottle of iced water from the fridge and gulped it down to calm his arousal. Since they were alone in the living room, Francine walked to Stefan and tried to sound him out. "Hurry up and tell me what's going on."
"Yes." A sudden silence washed over Francine. She became contemplative, and said, "You two aren't just incompatible. There are many obstacles that will keep on tormenting you. It's a good thing you broke up with her early.""Mom, are you aware of something too?" Stefan asked. He suddenly looked up to stare deeply at his mother. Stefan had discovered something, and learned that he could never be with Renee for the rest of his life. Hence, he suppressed his reluctance and pain. He would rather bear the blame for abandoning his family to break up with Renee, but he was uncertain if Francine was aware of the same discovery. "What am I supposed to know?" Francine laughed, sounding ambiguous. "I've seen and experienced a lot of things. Maybe it's a big issue for you, but I might find it insignificant.""It's about…" After a pause, Stefan continued, "It's about Renee's brother."Francine was stunned. She panicked as guilt gripped her, then quickly shook her head and said, "I don't kno
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