"Stop lying to me! I know you've drawn a line and regarded my family as outsiders, haven't you?" Timothy said.Being a smart person, he could see the change in Renee's emotions. Although he was sad, he had to accept it."I don't blame you. Everyone is entitled to their choices. You chose to keep some distance between us because it might set you at ease. That's very normal," he said. "Thank you, Grandpa. I'm glad that you can understand me." Renee stopped pretending. She admitted that her feelings toward the Hunts had changed. There was now a rift between them."You don't have to worry about the kids' upbringing. I won't give them the wrong idea. I'll tell them their father, grandparents, and great-grandfather are very good people. I'll encourage them to come and visit you, too," Renee promised sincerely. She wasn't a petty woman, and would never manipulate the children to vent her dissatisfaction toward Stefan. On the contrary, she always regarded the children as individuals i
Stefan followed closely, and went downstairs. He happened to overhear Renee's reply. It made him frown. He cared about that very much, but tried his best to suppress it and not show his feelings. "Justin is pretty good…" Stefan slowly walked to Renee, looking nonchalant. "At the very least, his background matches yours. I think he suits you well as your lover." Both Timothy and Renee looked at Stefan in unison, as if they were looking at a fool.Timothy frowned and asked, "Do you know Justin well? What's your relationship with him?"Stefan pocketed his hands and replied bluntly, "No, I don't know him. I'm not close to him, either.""If that's the case, stop giving your opinions. Ren's looking for a boyfriend. It has nothing to do with you," Timothy snapped.He was full of disdain, finding Stefan an eyesore. In the past, he found Stefan reserved, aloof, and noble. Now, his opinion had changed. It was all but an illusion. After spending a few days with Stefan, people would find
"Not bad. I think we're very slow compared to you and Justin," Stefan said expressionlessly. He wanted to compete against Renee.At first, he didn't want to use such insincere words and anger Renee. However, she just had to suggest doing a double wedding. It was heartbreaking. It meant that Renee and Justin were serious. They were dating each other under the premise of getting married.When he imagined them getting married and having children in the future, Stefan grew livid. They would spend the rest of their lives together! He had no choice but to vent his feelings using such a childish method."No, you and Ms. Desrosiers are faster. Justin and I were in an ambiguous relationship for many years. We just started dating each other lately. But you and Ms. Desrosiers fell out and lost touch with each other. When you got back together, you guys were full of passion. You abandoned your wife and kids for her, and now, you're going to marry her soon. I'm sure you two are far more lo
Renee wanted to turn Timothy down because she had separated from Stefan. It was inappropriate for her to be too close to the Hunts.However, Timothy's eager face made it hard for her to turn him down. Besides, she always had breakfast with him in the past."Okay." At last, Renee agreed. She obediently helped him walk toward the dining room. Timothy cared about his health. His habit of having breakfast was because of his upbringing.There was a classic and common breakfast on the table, including pasta, buns, prawns, oatmeal, and so on. It was coupled with nice tea. Everything smelled delicious. "Come. I got a professional new cook today. I'm sure the taste is authentic." Timothy took the main seat, and had Stefan and Renee sit at either side of him. He smiled amiably; he cherished the rare chance to dine with them.Both Stefan and Renee were obedient. They kept their heads low and ate quietly. They were amazed at the authentic breakfast. "Ren, what do you think of the pasta
Stefan found himself bewitched by her charms, and couldn't control his heart. He wasn't laughing at her. Rather, he was sincerely happy because he admired and liked her."Of course!" Renee raised her chin. "I feel that I'll get good feedback if I make others happy. It's a good way to recharge myself. I don't think it's bad. But you don't know how to be nice to your grandpa, even when he's at such an old age. All you do is drive him up the wall. If I were him, I would've long beaten you up." Renee purposely criticized him as she wanted to tease him."I…" Stefan was at a loss for words. These days, he did nothing else except drive Timothy up the wall. "You're right, Ren. You spoke my mind." Timothy felt quite happy, as if he had found someone who understood him. He glared disdainfully at Stefan. "Honestly, he's spoiled and annoying. He drives me mad! You're right. He'll only come to his senses with some beating."Stefan frowned, but he couldn't retaliate them as they ganged up
Timothy loomed over Stefan, his tone solemn. "Don't just sit there! Give me your hand. I'll teach you a lesson!"Stefan was silent as he put the cutlery down. He extended his hand, not a trace of resistance in him. "It's all my fault. Punish me as you see fit, Grandpa."Renee was flabbergasted. She wondered why Stefan was so submissive, even more so than Adie when the boy was punished. Stefan could easily defend himself; in fact, he could simply leave. Timothy wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop him. Yet, the unexpected happened. Stefan obediently extended his hand, waiting for Timothy's punishment. Renee was puzzled, uncertain as to what she should do. Should she beg for Stefan's mercy, or just watch everything unfold silently? Regardless of her choice, whatever she decided on would be too sudden. She felt so awkward, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. All she wished was to hide."Humph! You know very well this is all your fault. A pity you never amen
In a way, Stefan wasn't being unyielding. Rather, he felt that he was a scumbag who deserved his punishment. He had repeatedly harmed Renee and his children. Everything was his fault. Though his conscience tormented him, he was incapable of self-harm. Timothy's punishment was just what he wanted. It helped ease his guilt.Renee watched from nearby, the heavy sound of Timothy's beatings ringing in her ears. At first, she wanted to feign ignorance and refused to meddle. However, the severity of the punishment was such that a terrible accident would happen if it continued.Unable to sit still, she tried to stop Timothy. "Grandpa, please, stop! If you keep doing this, I'll get angry!"Seeing Renee's solemn expression, Timothy suppressed his anger and stopped. He asked confusedly, "Ren, I'm doing this for you. Why are you speaking up for him? Don't tell me… You still can't forget about him? Do you still love him?" "No, that's not the reason," Renee replied, shaking her head. She
"Ahhhh!" Edith screamed, terrified by the painful blow.Timothy immediately stopped, feeling pained for Renee. "Ren, why… Why did you do this?! You took the blow for this bastard!"Stefan was so stunned, he couldn't feel any pain. He stared at Renee, his emotions in turmoil. "Are you okay?""I'm fine." Renee shook her head, pretending that it was nothing. In truth, she had a feeling her left shoulder was broken. The pain was excruciating. "Why did you do that?" Stefan grabbed her shoulders, intent on inspecting her wound. He knew personally how painful Timothy's blow was. Renee must have been terribly hurt!"I have nothing better to do, that's why. Happy?" Renee glared at Stefan grumpily, pulling away from him. She didn't want him touching her."You'd better go now," Stefan said, flexing his fingers. He didn't want to be a burden to her, and he had no idea how long he could hold himself back.The longer he was with her, the more he could see how wonderful and precious she was.
Liam looked certain. "The Baldwin residence is strictly guarded. Plus, Austin owns military power. If the Hunt family wants to take Renee away, they'll have to fight the Baldwins. Things will get very hideous. But if they use a little trick, they don't have to waste any manpower to take her away. Why wouldn't they do that?""So, you're saying that Mr. and Mrs. Hunt fought against Justin's parents to purposely attract others' attention and to cover for Stefan. They wanted to give him the chance to take Ren away secretly.""That's very likely."Liam nodded. Else, he couldn't figure out why the decent Alexander and Francine would do such an indecent thing in front of so many rich and powerful people. After all, the Hunts would be ridiculed for what they had done just now if it got exposed. It was such a great price. They wouldn't have to make such a great sacrifice if not for their son's lifetime happiness."If that was true, the Hunts are just too cunning." Leia shrugged. She fou
The spotlight shone on the entrance as everyone looked forward to the prince and princess' entrance.However, only Justin appeared like a charming prince in front of everyone in his white suit. There was no sign of his princess. Austin's initial confident smile stiffened. He flexed his fingers slightly and held himself back as he waited quietly for Justin to get onto the stage. Justin took calm steps. Smiling, he waved and greeted everyone, looking very much like a future bridegroom. When he got on the stage, Austin pulled him over. While lowering his voice, he interrogated coldly, "Why are you alone? Where is Ren?""Don't worry, Grandpa. Ren is the princess. Of course, she has to come last. We're just people who set off her charms. All we need to do is wait for her patiently."Then, Justin held the microphone and faced all the guests below the stage. He cleared his throat and said, "Please calm down, ladies and gentlemen. My future bride's gown is rather grand and needs more
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