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
The Lotso bear was a villain in the movie, but it was a pitiful villain because it was abandoned by its owner. It used various means and encountered a lot of hardships to return to Daisy, its owner. In the end, it found that its owner had long gained new toys.After getting hurt, it no longer wanted to be kind. It was used to act cunningly as a form of disguise. But honestly, it was a dear baby who needed love. Of course, it was not a villain at all. Renee liked it because she saw herself as well as others in it. Everyone was gloomy in some way. People got hurt and slowly became gloomy. Instead of criticizing such a thing, Renee felt more compassion and sorry for such a situation. "But you still don't want it and want to throw it away." Stefan was gripped with complicated feelings after listening to Renee's explanation. He sounded sad."Yes, I like it. But I still want to throw it away. It's better to stop in time." Renee laughed and stopped shaking her legs. She was her usual
A week later, Renee recovered because she listened to the doctor and underwent treatment. She could be discharged from the hospital.In the meantime, Stefan stayed outside the ward and did not enter the ward.On the contrary, Jovan kept entering the ward from time to time. Renee would either scold or drive him away. Stefan entered the ward on the day Renee was leaving the hospital. He quietly helped Renee pack up her things. Generally, a caretaker could do that. However, Stefan acted like he wanted to repent and felt better when he took it upon himself. "Do you still need this?" Stefan pointed at a Lotso bear toy at the head of the bed and asked Renee calmly.During the one-week hospitalization, Renee got bored. Stefan would give her some blind boxes as entertainment. Renee found Rubik's cubes, stickers, and keychains when she opened the boxes. She would always throw them away because she was not interested in them. When she unpacked a rather large Lotso bear toy, she became
Jovan had kidnapped Renee, but he risked his life for her though he appeared like a cunning and selfish man. Renee felt that she did not deserve his love. She had wronged both Jovan and Justin, but she could not love them back. On the other hand, the one she wanted to love kept pushing her away cruelly…She slapped herself fiercely. Her action frightened the nurse. "Ms. Everheart, we can talk things out! Why did you hurt yourself? You can't…" "Don't worry. I'll get better and won't harm myself again." Renee was teary and laughed at herself. "I slapped myself because I recalled the things I'd done. I was very stupid, and I wanted to knock some sense into myself." "Okay, I'm glad to hear that." The nurse heaved a sigh of relief, but she was afraid to see Renee keep acting crazily. After she was done bandaging Renee's wound, she left hurriedly.When Stefan saw the nurse exit the ward, he walked in nervously and inquired about Renee. "How she's doing?" "She's already feeling be
Having said that, Justin turned to leave. He knew that if he stayed, he would only look more of a fool. "Tsk! What a pity!" Jovan watched him leave, shrugging and sighing. "He's sincere and loyal. Too bad he pales in comparison to the scumbag!""Get out!" Renee was overcome with sadness and pushed Jovan away fiercely. "Get out! I don't want to see anyone!" Knowing that she had harmed Justin again, she was filled with guilt. She just wanted to be left alone."Rest well. I'll be with you until you're recovered and discharged from the hospital," Stefan said calmly before exiting the ward.In a while, a nurse came to tend to the bandages that Renee had removed. She advised Renee, "Ms. Everheart, you have to be careful. You're weak now. You can't get angry, or it might be life-threatening.""I don't care. My life is so messy, I'd rather die."Thinking of the recent events and the men around her, a severe headache hit her. She wanted to keep being unconscious."Please don't say tha
"Do you still want to marry me?" Justin asked Renee."I…" Renee could talk nonsense with Jovan, but she couldn't joke with Justin. She had harmed him many times and couldn't keep hurting him. Honestly, she didn't want to marry him or anyone else. She did not want to rely on anyone. She knew she could rely on a man and lead a steady life if there was love. But without love, it would be very hard to rely on a man.However, she knew that Justin liked her and wanted to marry her. If she promised to marry him, the impulsive Jovan would get the staff of the City Hall here. If she turned Justin down at that time, she would harm him again."Fine. You don't have to feel stressed. I know the answer." Justin was no fool. Renee's hesitation told him what she wanted. "When I begged you to marry me, you forced yourself to say yes. You just wanted to repay me for saving your life.""No, you're wrong!" Seeing Justin hurt pained her more than when she was hurt. She hurriedly explained, "I reall
"What is it?" Renee looked at Justin curiously.Renee, Stefan, and Jovan were curious about what was on Justin's mind."If my family starts fighting the Hunt family, which side will you take?" Justin went straight to the point. He had been curious about that as he made wild guesses about Renee's mind. Since Renee was right before him, he wanted to get the answer from her before he could give up."Hmph! I thought it was something serious. Why did you make it sound that serious…" Jovan burst into laughter, finding Justin a loyal man. "Isn't that obvious? If she wants to take your side, you guys would be married by now. There wouldn't be so many shitty things either!""Shut up, Jovan!" Renee glared at Jovan. If she was stronger, she would beat him up. She said coldly, "Did you forget how you took me away?""Yes, I used some cunning means to take you away, but let's be frank. If I didn't come that day, would you marry him?"Jovan had long gotten used to Renee's fierceness. On the c
Similarly, Renee used an iron wire to cut her wrist just to meet Stefan."Am I right? You did so many things just to see him. Now you finally met him. Are you happy and satisfied now? But you look worse than before." Jovan teased Renee. He found her pitiful, but at the same time, he felt that it served her right. It seemed everybody was a joke in their romance with others. Only those who never loved could be at the top of the food chain. They would laugh at those who gave up their hearts to others and could not understand those people's bizarre actions."Stop gloating. It's none of your business! Let go of me, or I'll make you feel sorry for yourself."Renee had just escaped death and was weak. Had it not been for that, Jovan wouldn't be able to stop her or watch her make a fool of herself. Still, she would be fine with losing blood again just to torment him if he kept on talking nonsense. Then, he would watch his tongue."Tell me, Phoenix. Is he telling the truth?" Justin
The loud noises in the ward naturally alerted Justin and Jovan."What's going on?" Justin became very nervous and kicked the door of the ward open. He saw that Renee had woken up and was crazily tearing at the bandages."Uh…" Justin was struck dumb. He had thought of the possibility of Stefan waking Renee up, but he did not expect it to be that effective. Renee ended up becoming a maniac who had lost control of herself. "You're awake?" Jovan was stunned too. He instantly understood the whole incident and gave Renee a thumbs-up. "You're great!"Renee looked coldly at them and ordered them, "Get out, you two! I haven't settled things with him!" Although she was fine with the way they regarded her, she did not want them to see her as a maniac. Besides, their presence would affect her and stop her from being crazy."I won't get out."Jovan turned Renee down. He rushed over and hugged her, stopping her from hurting herself."What are you doing? Let go of me!"Renee was still ha
After a long pause, Stefan finally admitted honestly, "That wasn't a lie." He turned to look at Renee. He knew what he had to do, and heaved a long sigh."But life isn't just about love.""Why not?" Renee became teary as she stared at him like a child who failed to get what she wanted. "To me, that's already enough. As long as we love each other, we can conquer everything. Without love, it'll be hopeless.""If loving each other is already enough, there wouldn't be the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Didn't they love each other deeply? They loved each other a lot, but they ended up dead!" Stefan shot back.He could not stop himself from getting impulsive. Heartbroken, he turned around to look into Renee's eyes. "Compared to love, I'd rather you lead a steady and happy life. But I'm not the one who can give you that. I'll only bring you pain and death!""Romeo and Juliet?" Renee found that preposterous and bizarre. "What a lousy excuse! Did I kill your parents, or did you kill my p