"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
"That's good." When Renee heard a satisfactory answer, she wrapped the blanket tightly around her and muttered, "You know I hate people lying to me the most."She seemed to be in a beautiful dream that she had fantasized about numerous times. Soon, she dozed off steadily and sweetly.Stefan remained quiet and tenderly patted her back, as if he was trying to comfort a child. In the dark, his eyes shone with a deepened passion and restraint. Even so, he didn't lie to Renee.Before he fell out with Renee, he spent a lot of money to buy four sets of professional diving equipment. He planned to return to Sun Island with her, Adie, and Abby after he was done with his work at Hunt Enterprise. He wanted a peaceful life with them.Sun Island had always been a peaceful island with beautiful scenery. The quality of the water there was top-notch in the world. It was a great place for diving.Stefan had imagined going there many times. They would be very happy living on the island. Unfortunate
Renee smoothed her hair. Since she couldn't hide, she waved awkwardly at Francine.At the same time, she complained inwardly since she had gained yet another spectator who found her in such an awkward state. It was humiliating how she had gone back to her ex-husband. Everyone would look down on her and find her finicky. On top of that, it was the always overbearing and arrogant Francine who found her. Francine would most definitely assume she was pestering Stefan, and that she couldn't live without him."So, you were the woman my son carried back home last night? You were the one he doted on like that?" Francine asked.She wasn't actually asking Renee, but herself. Without waiting for the latter's reply, she laughed."I knew it! He wouldn't be so amazing all of a sudden and get another woman. Unexpectedly, he still cares about you after all this time. Well, it's normal. No one else can make him lose his mind and disregard his principles. I don't know whether I should be happy abo
Renee frowned; she keenly caught something unusual in Francine's words.She looked around, and purposely lowered her voice as she asked Francine, "So Stefan has done such a humiliating and bad thing, but it isn't what we think? Was he in a tight spot?"At first, Renee felt that her choice to divorce was right. The man she fell for wasn't an irresponsible scumbag who indulged in his desires.She believed firmly that Stefan just wanted to cover up his difficulties, especially given how he suddenly turned so cold and ridiculous. He just wanted to make her hate him on purpose, then separate with her.Despite trying her hardest for a long time, Renee failed to find whatever it was that troubled him and was deeply disappointed. She once had high hopes for him, so she was unwilling to believe that he had a change of heart.Francine might be the one who knew Stefan best since she was his mother. Given her words, something that Renee wasn't aware of probably happened. "Um, well…" Francin
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