"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.
The man's voice was hard and dangerous. "I'll tell them my way!"There was a bang in the next second—a human-sized celadon vase at the door was shot. Glass pieces lay everywhere on the ground."Ah, a gun! It's a gun! Master, hurry up and hide!" When Edith saw the man at the entrance holding a gun and walking toward them, she subconsciously opened her arms wide and stood in front of Timothy. Renee grew cautious. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the dark-clothed man slowly approaching them. When she saw him, she nearly fainted from anger. "Quinton?! What… What are you doing here?" Quinton pressed the gun on the security guard's head, as if he wanted to exterminate the entire Hunt family. "What am I doing here? Well, what are you doing here then…? If I was a bit late, what would they do to you? How could I not come?" he said coldly.Quinton had lost contact with Renee for a day, and it filled him with anxiety. He looked all over for her and went to the principal of Lone Pi
"Stop!" Quinton looked at Timothy suspiciously, and abruptly aimed the gun toward Timothy's head.Angry, Renee tried to stop him. "Quinton, put the gun down! You can't be rude to Grandpa!" Stefan rushed over angrily and warned Quinton coldly, "You can't make a scene here! Put the gun down, or you'll be sorry!""Humph! It's been a long time, my ex-brother-in-law." Quinton didn't want to move his gun away from Timothy. He grinned wickedly at Stefan. "Looks like this old man is very important to you. I can't let him go easily. If not, I can't control you.""Quinton!" Renee frowned, livid. "You can joke about anyone except Grandpa. He's a very dear friend our late grandfather trusted the most. We should respect him. It's your business that you can't get along with Stefan. Don't pull Grandpa into this mess!"Renee knew Quinton was crazy, but he wasn't one to run out of control. He aimed the gun at Timothy not because he wanted to harm the latter, but to make himself seem more powerful
"Shut up!" Stefan roared.He was standing nearby and he couldn't bear Quinton's perception about his grandfather, whom he respected the most. "You're mentally ill!" he roared. "Just because you're insane, doesn't mean everyone else is. You're petty-minded enough to misunderstand an innocent gentleman." "Who's the gentleman? Who's petty?" Quinton snarled. He was furious, but he put back his gun in the holster around his waist. Then, he boldly confronted Stefan. "Do you see yourself as a gentleman? If you were, why did you cheat on your wife and abandon your family? If you were, why did you persuade an ignorant girl to betray the man she relied on to defeat me?"Stefan, you're the mighty Master Hunt and the president of Hunt Enterprise. You're glorious and oh-so amazing. You look down on everyone. And yet, you've done a lot of nasty and vulgar things. You have no right to criticize me for being petty!"Despite Quinton's words, Stefan remained calm."Yes, you're right," he sai
"That's enough, Stefan!" Renee pushed Stefan away. She could no longer tolerate him. He had grown harsher and colder than when Renee first knew him. He even used such words to harm her closest family. He was inconsiderate toward her feelings, and it broke her heart.Speechless, Quinton stood where he was in a trance. He wasn't as fierce as he had been before. Instead, he seemed sullen and thoughtful."Let's go, Quinton." Renee felt she could no longer stay there, and grabbed Quinton's hand to leave with him."Okay," Quinton answered softly. He acted like a mental patient who had suddenly regained his wits. His obedience gave rise to sympathy from others."Grandpa, we're leaving. Quinton was rude today because he was worried about me. I hope you won't take it to heart. We'll visit you another day," Renee said, bowing deeply to Timothy to express her apology.Nevertheless, Quinton was her family. She would never distance him or cut him off. Hence, she would bear the consequences a
At his age, Timothy was a man held in high esteem. No one had ever been that rude toward him.If it were someone else, Timothy would have long gotten angry. Knowing that Quinton was the grandson of his old comrade, however, he grew to like Quinton. He couldn't be angry at Quinton at all. On the contrary, he tried to reflect on himself humbly. "Yes, it was our fault," he admitted. "I'm already very guilty. I don't care what their surname is, but half of their bloodline belongs to the Hunt family. You can't say they're not related to us. Of course, I know that the relation isn't much." "Well, aren't you rather friendly?" Quinton said. He now had a different impression of Timothy. In the past, he had heard of Timothy's character. The man was said to be very powerful; after retiring from the army, he became a businessman and established the powerful Hunt Enterprise. He was a very capable person.At first, Quinton assumed Timothy would be arrogant and condescending. Now, it seemed
"It isn't your fault," Quinton said. He shook his head and glanced at Renee, who was following him. A long sigh escaped him. "Stefan is annoying, but after some thought, I think some of his words made sense."Renee frowned, and stopped herself from complaining. Instead, she asked, "Which part?" If she remembered correctly, Stefan spouted a lot of messy nonsense. To her, none of them were logical. She wondered why Quinton would come to think that way, given that he always regarded Stefan as his enemy. "He said I'm crazy, and that I'll only bring you trouble. I should stay away from you for your sake." Quinton frowned, looking forlorn. He said gloomily, "Maybe I should. Do you think I should go away to work, and you and the kids return to Sun Island?""Quinton! What rubbish is that?" Renee retorted. Seeing Quinton so disappointed and blaming himself, she felt very sorry for him. "Even if I want to go back to Sun Island, I'm taking you with me. If not, I would've long gone t
It was especially useful when one's thoughts or directions were muddled, or when the stress was too much. That logic was a clear lamp that could help one see their future.In short, it would be better to pinpoint problems in others instead of stressing oneself out.For a very long time, Renee was engulfed by her failed relationship with Stefan. She acted like Quinton and kept reflecting on herself. She wondered what she could have done better, or if she wasn't good enough. She thought she was the reason Stefan didn't love her.But before long, she saw things through.Stefan rejected her because there was something wrong with him. Their relationship wasn't blessed, thus she couldn't be with him.She could be charming and unique if she wanted to. Even if she lost Stefan, she could simply find another man. And even if she stayed single, she still could lead a happy life.Hence, she happily went to Sun Island though she was pregnant. There, she lived several free and happy years.As
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