"What do you want to know?" Joanne had turned serious. She was curious about what Renee wanted to ask."I can affirm your parents wouldn't adopt an unrelated boy for no reason, given their character," Renee said. "Probably, they might even sell him to another person. But they adopted him, which was unprecedented. Although they weren't nice to him, they fed and raised him. So, I wanted to know…"After a pause, she continued, "How did they adopt my brother? Or did someone let them have him?""I'm not sure about that." Joanne frowned, trying hard to recall it. "He's only three years older than me. When I was old enough to remember things, he was already living at my home. But at that time, my family openly said he wasn't blood-related to us. So, I knew from the start that he wasn't my biological brother."But there was something quite special. My parents and biological brother had always been lazy. However, my family conditions were okay. They didn't work, but we had money for food an
"I know my family caused your brother's tragedy. I can't calmly make peace with him as if nothing has happened. My guilt doesn't allow me to do that. Plus, my hatred didn't drive me away from him. It's because of my selfishness. I wanted to get away from the situation where I kept punishing myself. I'm so sorry!"Joanne's eyes were red as she sobbed and confessed everything to Renee.Her family had been torturing Quinton, turning him into a gloomy and vicious demon when in fact, he was God's favored child. However, Renee let bygones be bygones and kept helping Joanne. She pulled Joanne out of her abyss and kept teaching Joanne, leading Joanne into a normal path. It filled Joanne with shame."Don't say sorry to me. You and your family are different. You're my brother's light. I should thank you instead," Renee said. She took a deep breath as resentment gleamed in her eyes. "The mastermind hidden behind your family is the worst!"She had no way of knowing the past between tha
For the subsequent few days, Renee gave Joanne lessons while investigating the Garcia family's adoption of Quinton.However, the seemingly clear lead suddenly broke, as though someone deliberately and secretly stopped her. After several attempts, Renee grew more determined. She was certain there must be something fishy in it. One ordinary weekend, she took the two children hiking. The spot she chose was a wild mountain around 60 miles away from Beach City. Leia, her best friend, tagged along.Leia and Xavier had talked things out recently, and were quite lovey-dovey.The two children hiked quickly and steadily. Renee and Leia followed them calmly while chatting."Are you going to get married to Xavier soon?" Renee asked. "Oh, stop that! We're the kind of people who don't get married. We'll just enjoy our relationship," Leia said, gasping as she leaned on the hiking stick. She sounded quite casual. "Oh, so you guys won't get married?" "What's so great about getting marrie
Leia cleared her throat awkwardly. "Yes, he had rather advanced thoughts before. But honestly, the texts he sent me lately show that he has abandoned those ideas.""What do you mean?" Renee asked curiously.She hadn't gotten in touch with Liam lately, but he had sent her a letter inquiring about her affairs some time ago. However, he rarely brought up his situation. He just mentioned that he was doing very well, and told her to not worry about him. Even so, Renee would of course worry about him. Liam had sacrificed himself to help Renee and Joanne escape that hellish place. Renee had no idea how he was doing lately. She had wanted to visit him many times, but real-life circumstances kept her from doing so. "Is he doing fine? Is he having any problems?" Renee asked Leia eagerly."I guess…he's doing fine," Leia stammered.Finally, she failed to hold back the truth from Renee. "Actually, he texted me a few days ago and told me that he's going to marry the daughter of the mas
Although Leia and Renee were best friends, Leia had her own opinions regarding Renee's romantic life. She found Renee too stubborn and stupid for having loved an awful man after so many years.On the other hand, Liam was even more foolish. While Renee kept obsessing about Stefan, Liam remained by her side and was attentive to her every need. He even helped bring them together. Just looking at the way he acted made Leia anxious. "It's been so many years. I'm sure you know how Liam felt about you. For a while, I wasn't happy with you. I felt that…" Leia paused, then added sharply, "You were stringing him along.""I never thought of doing that!" Renee defended herself. Though she felt wronged, she could understand Leia's accusation.Before, Stefan kept ignoring her for a long time. Through all that, Liam stayed by her side like a bright sun that encouraged and warmed her. He helped her settle many of her problems. Gradually, Renee got used to his sacrifices. She would subconsciously
"Don't worry, I'm not unhappy. Maybe I wasn't sensible or prudent enough, but my feelings for Liam are honorable. I see him as my younger brother. Since my brother is going to get married, of course I'll happily give him my blessings." Renee was feeling quite helpless because she had no idea how she should explain herself."I see…" Leia looked disappointed. "If Liam hears this, I guess he'll be disappointed and unhappy.""Then he shouldn't get married," Renee said, hitting the nail on the head."He'll still feel that way. You can't be easily replaced. Maybe no one will ever replace you for him. As his sister, I'm sure of it," Leia said. She didn't blame Renee, but she found it unacceptable for her loyal brother.On second thought, nothing could be done. The relationships in the world were closely linked together. It was hard to find two people who were mutually in love with each other. There was no fairness. Besides, no one could change that just by working hard. It depended
A week later, Renee and Leia flew to Goldshire without anyone's knowledge.Goldshire was a primitive, old, remote city full of speeding motorbikes and leering men. Beautiful Aeos women like Renee and Leia were very eye-catching there. It was easy to predict the kind of obstacles they would face. A slim, tanned man in an old-fashioned T-shirt blocked them casually while smoking. "Hey gorgeous, are you here for a trip or business? I'm a local. I can accompany you!" At that time, both Renee and Leia had just gotten off the plane. They were waiting for their luggage at the baggage carousel. The other passengers who rode in the same plane were either men, families, or foreigners. Renee and Leia were the best candidates to accost. "No, thank you. I've been here before, and I'm quite familiar with this place." Renee waved, not wanting to have much to do with the man. Although she was good at fighting, it was hard to fight a local tyrant. She wouldn't make a big scene if she could hel
Under such circumstances, the best solution was to quickly get away from that man.Both Renee and Leia took the escalator and walked a long way before they finally exited the airport. Only then did Renee breathe a sigh of relief. She said to Leia, "Okay, call Liam. Ask him to get someone to pick us up."They kept their trip to Goldshire a secret from Liam, as he didn't want Leia to attend the wedding with the excuse that the city came with a complicated environment. It would be easy for her to run into bad guys. Giving him her blessings was enough. At first, Leia hesitated to come, but after planning it out with Renee, she became bolder. She felt that it was fine since she was just there to attend a wedding.Unfortunately, they ran into an annoying sleazebag at the airport. It was a real bummer."Okay." Leia nodded. "I know this place would be chaotic, but I didn't expect it to be this serious! What the hell was that? I have to ask Liam to get someone here quickly. If not, thos
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