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
Of course, there might never be an objective truth. Renee was simply trying to save face, since she was reluctant to accept things as they were. "Don't say that," Francine said icily, her face serious. "I know you. You aren't that kind of person. If you are, my son wouldn't love you so deeply. Adie and Abby wouldn't be raised so well either.""Stop flattering me. I won't say bad things about him in front of the kids, but I won't glorify him either. I'll just tell them what I know. What I saw was that he insisted on leaving the kids and me for another woman. Isn't that bad of him?" Renee said. She approached Francine, her tone overbearing. She hoped Francine would tell her the truth, especially considering the latter's bad temper and straightforward character."No, you're wrong! My son isn't that kind of man! He did that for you and the kids. He was worried all of you would be sad, so he endured it all on your own. He cares about you and the kids, and he just wants all of you to
Being straightforward, Francine was about to expose the truth when a cold voice came from behind them."You woke up so early today, Mother?" Stefan looked icy and dangerous, as if he were about to fly into a rage. He seemed quite frightening.Francine, despite her boldness, immediately became timid. She pursed her lips and said, "Of course. You know I'm older now. I can't sleep much. I just happened to wake up early today." She breathed in, feeling some lingering fear. Fortunately, Stefan interrupted her in time before she blabbed about the truth.If she revealed the whole truth, he would hate her! That, and everyone would suffer. Renee might even take revenge on the Hunt family, given her temper. Francine might never get to meet Adie and Abby. In comparison, the current superficial peace was better despite there being some regrets. Renee didn't stop them from taking Adie and Abby to Hunt Manor, either. Maintaining the current situation was probably the best ending for Renee
When Francine suddenly left, Stefan felt ridiculous and awkward. He looked at Renee awkwardly, and explained, "You know my mother. She always speaks nastily, and doesn't watch her tongue. It gets worse now that she's older. Don't take it to heart.""Don't worry. I've heard things worse than that from her and I was fine with it. Plus, I think she's reasonable.""Where?" Stefan curiously whispered a question."The thing between men and women." Renee nodded in agreement. "It doesn't sound nice, sure, but it's full of simple knowledge." Stefan was speechless. "You two are insane. You should stop spending time with her." Francine's madness knew no limit. If Renee spent a long time with Francine, Francine's bad habits would rub off on her. Renee couldn't stop herself from asking, "Anyway, what am I doing here?" She remembered leaving the restaurant first, but she was dizzy since she was drunk. She had no idea where she had gone to. Later, she remembered accidentally walking i
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he
"Uh…" Amber looked like she was being put in a difficult position. She found it impudent for a man and a woman to be alone in the dense orchard at night. "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" Liam frowned, puzzled. He felt that Amber was purposely avoiding him after expressing her desire not to marry him and making Mateo her groom instead.Before, she would always put on her favorite dress and stand at the entrance of the fort, looking eager no matter how late Liam and Benjamin returned from their work.Usually, she would carry a small bamboo basket containing the tea she brewed and dessert or food she had painstakingly prepared. When Liam returned, she would excitedly welcome him and inquire after him. Lately, she no longer did that. When Liam occasionally ran into her in the fort, she would bow indifferently at him and quickly brush past him as if they were merely acquaintances. They seemed distant.Honestly, Liam found it unfamiliar. He couldn't get used to the fact that Amber
"I don't know. Why don't you ask the guards to get us some fried chicken and French fries? Didn't Mateo say that we can ask the guards for food?" Renee said.Leia's anxiety eased as she relaxed. She turned around and got out of bed, then gestured at the guard and ordered quite a lot of food. Meanwhile, Liam accompanied Benjamin to West River in the morning for a negotiation that yielded a good result. Benjamin's attitude had improved. He didn't demand an explanation from Liam about the affairs between Liam and Amber, and didn't ask about Renee or Leia either. Liam was delighted. He carried the unique desserts he had bought at the local market for Renee and Leia to enjoy. Upon arrival, he found that they were not in the room. "Weird. Where did they go?" Liam looked around, but found no sign of Renee and Leia. He casually asked a servant, but the servant stammered and insisted on not knowing anything. Anxious, Liam kept looking for them in the fort. Coincidentally, he ran into