Liam stood rooted to the spot, and didn't even move his head away. The teacup hit him squarely on the head, and the wound started to bleed. Despite that, he said calmly and expressionlessly, "It's your call, Mr. Jenkins. I'll support you unconditionally.""Humph! Unconditionally?" Benjamin glared at him, furious. He said icily, "Mr. Waddell wants us to help him eliminate the ruffians at Southsand. Can you do that?""If you need me to do it, I won't say no," Liam replied, his composure unruffled. No one could tell what he was feeling.Grayson Waddell looked at Liam, and nodded with satisfaction. "Ben, you've got a lot of foster sons, but I prefer Liam best. No wonder you picked him as your future son-in-law. I'm sure he won't have any problems inheriting your work.""Quit praising him. Out of everyone, I despise him the most." Benjamin glared disdainfully at Liam. "He won my heart in the past, but he's getting more rebellious lately. He gets hostile easily, as if someone's forcing
Liam wasn't surprised that the incident had reached Benjamin so quickly. "You know that woman. She's a very good friend of mine in Beach City," he said calmly."Of course I know her!" Benjamin snorted. "She was the first who could escape from me. Plus, she took away that rebel Joanne. I haven't settled this with her yet, but I didn't expect her to be bold enough to come to my territory again.""She came to attend my wedding with Gem. If you're offended, I'll make her leave right away." Liam finally looked agitated, worried Benjamin might do anything to Renee.He had experienced many outrageous things while staying at the fort, and had developed a different mindset. Before, he might have been a straightforward and bright person. He believed that the world was a wonderful place. Lately, all he saw was crimes, indifference, and cruelty. If it was possible, he wanted to see the world end. No one expected that he wished the world would be a peaceful place.He had become one with t
As Liam was dying, someone suddenly pushed open the door of the lounge. Amber rushed inside, panic-stricken."Dad! What are you doing?" Amber threw herself at Liam, who was pressed against the tea table. Crying, she begged Benjamin, "Just talk it out! Don't hurt Liam… Let him go now!"Only then did Benjamin put away his whip. He glared condescendingly at Liam. "Remember. You get to live because of Gem.""Ack… Ugh!" Liam rubbed his neck, which was almost broken, and took deep breaths. He held the edge of the tea table to support himself. "Thank you for showing me mercy and letting me live, Mr. Jenkins." "Humph! Stop thanking me. You should thank your future wife instead," Benjamin said, his tone overbearing and disdainful. On the surface, he did that to punish Liam for being rude to him. In truth, he wanted to put Liam down and make the latter recognize his identity. Then, Liam would be nice to Amber."Dad, I told you, this is between Liam and me. We'll handle it well. Don't med
It was the first time Benjamin saw Amber rebel against him. In a moment of desperation, he slapped her hard. "He doesn't even like you, but you insist on marrying him! Why is my daughter such a dumb bitch? Would it kill you to break up with him? You're embarrassing!"Amber's face grew swollen, and her lips bled.Liam frowned and stopped Amber. "Stop arguing with Mr. Jenkins. Yes, what I did today was impudent. He should punish me. As for our marriage, I think it's better—"Before he could say that they should forget about it, Amber covered his mouth and shook her head. "Our marriage has been decided. There's nothing to talk about. I must marry you. As for what goes between you and Ms. Everheart, I knew that beforehand. I'm fine with it. I won't blame you, either.""Good grief, you're shameless! You're infuriating!" Benjamin didn't expect his gentle daughter to be so stubborn about the marriage. Furious, he clutched his chest. It took him a long time to calm himself."You're a fu
Liam looked at Amber, and sighed helplessly. He found himself owing her a lot, and thus deliberately avoided having much to do with her. He hoped she could see how bad he was, and willingly cancel their marriage.Yet, she foolishly and stubbornly desired him. She would rather turn hostile toward her father just to marry and protect him."You don't have to treat me this way. I'm a bastard." Liam said seriously, gripping her hand as she applied ointment to his neck. He was starting to feel bad. "What's…what's wrong?" Amber was stunned, blushing. Although she was about to marry Liam, they weren't very close to each other. They rarely spent time alone with each other, let alone had any physical contact. Liam suddenly held her hand, throwing her into anxiety. She had no idea how to react."What do you think?" Liam looked at the gentle and delicate woman. He tensed up and wanted to act fierce at first, but failed. Helpless, he sighed again. "Can't you see? I'm a disloyal and selfish s
Amber looked up and pondered it. Then, she cracked a bitter smile. "Of course I'll be sad, but I'll be delighted if you can be free and be with your beloved woman. I think it's worthwhile."Amber spent her entire life in the fort. Although she grew up in a place full of evil, others protected her. She grew up to be a pure, simple, and kind woman regardless of her environment's wickedness and evilness.Her thoughts were very simple—she wanted the people she liked to be happy. As for her happiness, she didn't care about it. She loved Liam more than anyone else. Hence, seeing Liam happy would be her greatest happiness. "No, you're wrong!" Liam yelled.Amber's simple thoughts drove him mad. He gripped her shoulders and looked into her eyes, and said seriously, "Remember! You're an independent individual. You must put yourself above everything else. Your happiness is the most important thing. You can't regard others' happiness as yours because others aren't under your control. Yo
"What…do you mean?" Amber asked carefully, swallowing.Liam pinched her face and turned it toward him. "If you don't listen to me, I'm going to take advantage of you. I'll make you see how wicked and vulgar this world is." He purposely said that to frighten Amber, as he knew that she always thought the best of him. She saw him as a gentleman without any vulgar thoughts.Hence, he could only use that method to ruin her perception and stop her infatuation with him. Then, she wouldn't seek justice for him or stand against Benjamin."No, you won't do that." Amber tensed up. Although she was very nervous, she met his gaze boldly. Liam was strikingly handsome, with his refined facial features and perfect figure. He was different from others in the fort. His skin was fair, though it was different from pretty boys. He was fair because he came from a wealthy family and led a comfortable life. Amber never understood what she liked about Liam. Later, she learned that it was most probabl
Amber was no longer her usual shy and quiet self. She opened up herself, and made faces at Liam. "Why didn't you listen to me? Do you think I'm just trying to scare you?" For the first time, Liam saw that side of Amber. Suddenly, he became interested in her. He touched her red lips. "But I'm not trying to scare you.""I don't know if you're trying to scare me or not, but I know that you won't harm me. You're the best and most accomplished gentleman I've ever met. I won't be mad at you no matter what you do. I'm sure you want the best for me." Amber said seriously and naively as she reacted to Liam's flirtation, raising her chin. "Fine. You said that, so don't regret it." A sudden urge rose in Liam. He couldn't tell if he wanted to teach her the vulgarity of humanity, or if it was just his basic urges desiring a woman. Unexpectedly, he kissed her.Speechless, Amber could feel Liam's warmth on her lips. It was warm and gentle. She was dumbstruck and stood rooted to the spot, no
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