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
"I'm sure of that." Francine sighed. She admired Stefan, but she also felt sorry for him. "You didn't let me down. You could take whatever that came.""I need to, even if I can't." Stefan cracked a bitter smile. "I'm not as strong as you think. But after pondering over it, I realize that we'll be happier being separated. Why should I force her to be with me if we're happier apart?" "So, you could take whatever that came your way." Francine looked toward the second floor. "If you're willing to forget about your old love and look for a new one, it's a sign that you've let go of the past. I'm curious as to what kind of woman can charm you. I guess she should be quite straightforward, since she got so drunk and vomited on you.""She…" Stefan just wanted to avoid trouble, so he didn't explain much. "Yes, she's special. She can easily affect my mood.""Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's not easy. You two should rest well tonight. I'll cook early in the morning and welcome her nicely."Although Fran
"Mom, don't…" Stefan wanted to stop Francine, but the latter moved agilely and bypassed him. She quickly reached the bedroom on the second floor.Francine opened the door to the bedroom, and immediately smelled the unpleasant stench of alcohol. She quickly developed a very bad impression about the woman lying in bed, but she kept consoling herself inwardly. "It's okay. As long as my son likes her, I can even accept a beggar. It's fine even if she drinks. People who love to drink are healthy!"At the same time, Edith went upstairs with the cleaning tools. "Madam Hunt, please wait a moment. I'll clean it up for fear that it might be too smelly for you.""Okay, you're just in time. Hurry up and clean it up!" Francine quickly urged Edith to go into the room to clean it up. Meanwhilr, she stood aside and watched the woman lying in bed."Tsk, would a decent woman drink so much? And she vomited all over the bed… It's baffling that Master Hunt didn't get mad," Edith complained while we
Edith felt that the former Mrs. Hunt was a very nice person, so she tried to seek justice for Renee with feedback she gave Francine."What do you mean?" Francine frowned. "You can't say I'm a bad person. I helped a lot of people in need all these years. I think I'm kind and nice.""Yes, Madam Hunt. You're a very kind and noble person, but I think that you're nice to everyone except Mrs. Hunt. You were very strict toward her. I don't understand why," Edith said. She stopped working and asked what she had wanted to for so many years, risking offending Francine at the same time. In these years, she was just an outsider these years. She had watched Renee marry Stefan. With the exception of Timothy, the Hunts weren't nice to Renee at all.Stefan was aloof, and rarely came home. He only dined with Renee for very few times. Besides, Francine openly made things difficult for Renee. She would always find fault with Renee, regardless of what a great job Renee had done. But now, the two of
However, Stefan walked into the room in time and blocked Francine before she could approach Renee."Mom, it's late. You should rest." Stefan stood tall and upright, like a large and heavy wall. He blocked Francine's view."Oh, stop blocking me! Can't I just look at her?" Francine looked sideways, trying to catch a glimpse of Renee."No!" Stefan was firm. He knew his mother well. If Francine knew that Renee was the woman lying there, she wouldn't let it go that night. Things would get very troublesome. "Hey, just let me look at her!" Francine was unwilling to admit to defeat. She behaved childishly and kept pestering Stefan, insisting on taking a look at Renee. At first, she was just slightly curious. However, her curiosity deepened because of how Stefan had stopped her fiercely. "Not a chance." Stefan refused to give in. He kept a cold face and said, "If you insist on this, I'll take her away and won't come home for a very long time."When Francine heard that, she stopped str
"Here you go." Stefan handed Renee a glass of water."Thank you!" Renee accepted it without hesitation and gulped it down quickly. The refreshing and cold feeling sobered her up. However, because of her body's inertia, she couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality. After placing the glass down, she said casually, "Thank you, darling. You're the best." Then, she lay in bed again and closed her eyes to doze back to sleep."What did you…call me?" In the dark, Stefan paused and watched her in bed. Her words had flattered him deeply. Never had he imagined she would address him that way again, especially after he did such terrible things to her and harmed her. Many times, he told himself that everything was over—they would never return to being a married couple. He might never again hear her call him darling so sweetly and softly, nor would she rely on him wholeheartedly.Yet now, he experienced it again. An unspeakable and complicated feeling gripped Stefan. He was both
"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
Time passed by. Gradually, the pain knocked some sense into Justin. He no longer wanted to take advantage of Renee."Let me get you some water." Renee had no idea what she could do for Justin. After some contemplation, she got to her feet and poured him a glass of water.Finally, she studied the room closely and found that it was a wedding room as Justin had mentioned. Everything was set up according to her preferences, which she had occasionally mentioned to Justin. For example, she loved keeping some ceramic ornaments on the bedside cabinet and hanging some seashell wind chimes at the windows. The entire room was painted in beige and green, which were her favorites, too. Beige gave a sense of warmth, while green gave a sense of gloominess. All of those details became the perfect wedding room for Renee.If everything went on smoothly, she would spend most of her time there, and he would be her life companion. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in the world.Renee handed the gla
Renee covered her lips, her tone filled with disbelief. "I…cut myself." Justin leaned against the corner and frowned deeply. He was in deep pain."Why did you cut yourself?" Renee was scared out of her wits and grew more sober. In her panic, she threw herself at him and tried to stop his bleeding.Justin reacted aggressively as he waved his dagger and warned fiercely, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" "I…" Renee paused, too afraid to act recklessly. She pointed at his wound and said, "I'm just worried about you. You're bleeding. It must hurt a lot. Why did you hurt yourself?" "It's better to be in pain!" Justin gnashed his teeth and said in agony, "The pain will knock some sense into me, so I won't act like an animal and lose control of myself.""I see…" Stunned, Renee was moved to tears. She understood why he cut himself. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay sober and not be controlled by the drug in the wine.He could have used her to satisfy his desire, and she would never b