"I've decided to cancel my marriage with Liam and be his friend instead," Amber announced calmly, smiling. A heavy silence followed her statement."Uh, did you just cancel the marriage just like that?" Renee asked.She had no idea what else to say, feeling awkward. After all, this concerned Liam and Amber's relationship. They should be the ones deciding on their marriage. Renee didn't know what to do about the current situation. She wasn't sure whether she should tell them to be together or break them apart. Her identity was special and her relationship with Liam seemed ambiguous. It wasn't suitable for her to give them any advice.On the contrary, Leia was momentarily startled. After that, she started clapping. "Great! I've wanted to discuss this with you before. It's wonderful that you're canceling the marriage. Liam's more suited to live in a normal world. This place is far too barbaric. It's a disaster for a rich heir like him who has always led a wealthy life. I hope you
Amber sounded relaxed and casual. She didn't find anything meddlesome at all.As Benjamin's only daughter, it all came down to her whether she wanted the wedding or not. She didn't have to bear the consequences or risks, either.Previously, she hoped she could have a future with Liam. After getting in touch with Liam's family and friends, she learned about his world and saw the difference between them. It couldn't be overcome by having a casual wedding. She might as well eliminate the possibility of feeling regret entirely instead of feeling regret after the wedding."Did Mr. Jenkins oppose it?" Liam kept asking Amber. Previously, he wanted to leave but Benjamin refused to let him go. If he did, Benjamin would tear him a new one. Liam didn't expect the stubborn Benjamin would yield. He feared there might be a bigger trap waiting for him."Dad didn't agree at first, but Matt and I kept persuading him. Plus, we suggested a better resolution. He might be moved and stopped forcing
Flabbergasted, Liam's face fell. He became quite angry. "Nonsense! I disagree!""Huh?" Dumbfounded, Amber did not expect to see Liam show such a strong reaction. She asked softly, "Why don't you agree? Isn't it a win-win solution?" "What? No, it isn't! It's nonsense!" Liam calmed his rapid breathing. He earnestly tried to advise Amber, acting like he was her senior. "You said marriage isn't a joke. We can't get married to people we don't love, or we'll be miserable. I agree with that. I know you're mature now. But then, you said you're going to marry Mateo. Isn't that nonsense? You don't like him. Why do you want to marry him?""I don't like Matt, but he likes me. I think I'll be very happy to marry a man who loves me. But if I marry the man I love, I'll be unhappy," Amber explained seriously, her tone calm."I agree!" Leia eagerly snapped her fingers and hurriedly supported Amber. "We women are simple. We'll gradually fall in love with the men who are sincere and kind to us. But
"Matt and I have discussed. We agreed to give it a try so we could help Liam leave safely, resolve this mess, and satisfy Dad and everyone. Maybe it'll work, and we'll be in love with each other. Isn't that a happy ending?" Amber said.She was bright and enthusiastic. Finally, she looked up and saw other people other than Liam.The moment she met Liam, she seemed to have been bewitched and could no longer see other men. She was full of love, regardless if Liam was good or bad. She felt that as long as she could be with him, she could tolerate everything. Though Benjamin had long planned to let her marry Mateo, she had been firmly against it. She even threatened to kill herself. "You don't know, but Dad raised Matt as my prospective husband. Then, Liam came out of nowhere. I could think of nothing but marrying him. I told Dad that I would kill myself if he didn't let me marry Liam. It scared him and made him adjust his plan. He regarded Liam as his son-in-law and kept Liam as the
Only Renee, Liam, and Leia were left in the room.Amber was like a breeze, gently touching their faces and raising some feelings in them before leaving calmly. Liam stood where he was, silent. His poker face made it hard for others to guess his feelings."Wow, Amber's great! I was wrong about her. It wouldn't be a bad thing if she's my sister-in-law, either," Leia said. She watched the direction Amber had gone while perched on the sofa, her mind full of thoughts.At first, she went to the fort full of hostility. She assumed that those rude people had used cunning means to trap Liam there. She even imagined many ways to successfully rescue Liam out of there.After Amber's reassurance, Leia felt a strange loss."Yes, Amber is great. When I came here alone and finally met Joanne, I wanted to take her away, but Benjamin wanted her dead. Amber threatened to kill herself, which gave me a chance to leave. Now that I'm talking about it, Joanne and I… We owe Amber a huge favor!" Renee
"No, I'm not!" Liam finally looked sober. He shook his head as if he had come to his senses. Standing, he said, "I'm not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Benjamin did so many crazy things to me! If I fell in love with his daughter, I'd look down on myself. At most, I lost something to help me control Benjamin."Agitation filled Leia. She grabbed Liam and asked, "What do you mean? What did that old guy do to you? He must have done a lot of bad things! If not, you wouldn't have changed so much. You look desperate and dispirited. You weren't like this in the past!"In the past, Liam always bickered with Leia and drove her mad. But in short, he was a bright and optimistic man. He would make others happy the moment they met him. He was full of positivity unlike what he looked at that moment. He was like a man who had spent his time in darkness—his eyes were dull, and he seemed like one with a twisted mind."I don't want a gloomy brother. I want a bright brother. I want you to be as
Silence overcame everyone. After a long while, Renee lowered her gaze. "So, it was Stefan, right?" She either seemed to be asking Liam or muttering to herself.She should know. Stefan must have meddled in it since she could escape smoothly. If not, she wouldn't coincidentally run into him at such a remote place. However, a weird feeling gripped her upon learning that she had owed him a favor after such a long time."Stefan is no doubt useful even though he's unreliable. Plus, I think he cares about you. He must have sacrificed a big interest to help you escape," Liam said melancholically. In the past, Liam looked down on Stefan and felt that the latter was cruel and cared only about his interests. Renee would suffer by dating him. She should have avoided such a selfish man, or she would have been betrayed sooner or later. However, it was beyond Liam's expectation that such a selfish man would allow himself to fall under Benjamin's mercy. Liam knew Benjamin well—Benjamin woul
Stefan might be lacking in other aspects, but he was strong. It was acceptable to make him Renee's supporter who could ease her mind."Forget it. Stop bringing him up!" Leia said.She never anticipated Liam to take Stefan's side one day. Liam had always hated Stefan deeply, so this was preposterous and bizarre. Leia wondered if he had lost his soul after staying at the fort for such a long time."Ren has long fallen out with Stefan. They no longer mind each other's business and are unrelated. Stop putting them together. It disgusts me," she went on.She was one of the few who was aware of the relationship between Renee and Stefan. She also knew how deep their conflict was. Naturally, she looked down on Stefan and hated him deeply. Women could accept their men to be poor, ugly, or cruel—but they found it unacceptable when their men had a change of heart. Once the men changed their minds, all love was nothing but trash. "What happened? Weren't you guys doing fine the other day?"
Alexander took a deep breath and analyzed logically, "This wasn't Stef's style. If he wanted to snatch her away, he would have done it openly in front of everyone. But this trick was cunning and dishonest!""Yes, you're right, but this is a special case. If he didn't use a trick, his woman would marry someone else. It's normal for him to be restless." Although Francine agreed with Alexander's analysis, she felt that Stefan could do anything if it concerned Renee. Naturally, he would stoop this far. "Regardless, we have to leave," Alexander whispered to Francine, sensing danger. "Austin has always been decisive and cruel. Since Stef humiliated him, I'm sure he wouldn't let Stef off easily. We're in danger too.""Is it that serious?" Francine looked at Austin, who was standing on the stage. He coldly ordered his assistant about something. It seemed like he wasn't that crazy. "I don't care what he'll do. We have to get out of North City right away because this city is controlled b
"What?! She's gone?" Justin's face fell immediately. He grabbed the collar of the person who came to inform them and demanded coldly, "What do you mean?! Why is she gone for no reason?""We… We don't know!" That person looked at Justin while trembling and reported everything. "When we got there, we found no one else in the makeup room except the makeup artist lying on the ground. We didn't see Ms. Everheart, either. We don't know what happened!""Something must have gone wrong with her!" Justin pushed that person away without hesitation and rushed toward the makeup room."Hey, Justin! What are you doing?" Sophia watched Justin disappear in front of everyone. She wanted to pursue him but failed.Everyone below the stage fell into an uproar and discussed among themselves endlessly. "The bride went missing all of a sudden! Did her ex-husband come for her?""It's possible. They were once madly in love with each other. Plus, the Hunt and Baldwin families were in conflict for many yea
On the surface, everyone felt that Justin was passionate and respected the bride well. However, only he knew that he was just terrified. He was afraid that the reality might exceed his anticipation. He was terrified to find that he was betrayed in the end when he had trusted Renee that much and treated her so sincerely."Justin, what's going on with you? How could you talk about that at such a time like this? The most important thing now is to make her come out and have this engagement ceremony. We should do the guests justice. If not, everyone will laugh at us after we've kept our dignity well for so many years!"Sophia couldn't understand his hesitation. They were just going to urge Renee to appear. It had nothing to do with their patience or ability to take good care of Renee.Both Alexander and Francine looked at each other in confusion."Dear, did you do anything?" Alexander asked Francine softly.If Renee suddenly failed to attend the ceremony, it might have been Francin
Renee was furious—he was ridiculous!"You won't allow that?" She snorted and looked at him as if he were crazy. "Who do you think you are? You can't meddle in my life!""I'm nobody, but I know that I don't want you to marry another guy." The man approached Renee, wanting to catch her."Stay away from me, or I'll get somebody! You should know how powerful the Baldwin family is in North City…" Renee spat coldly. She did not want to make things too ghastly, so she wouldn't alert the Baldwin family if she could help it. The man sneered wickedly. "Yes, the Baldwin family is strong. So? Even if they're strong, they can't fight against my cunning means!""What do you mean?" A bad feeling gripped Renee. She wanted to ask more questions, but found herself dizzy. Her surroundings became blurry. "I'm so dizzy! What…did you do?" The next second, she staggered and fainted.He firmly caught her and whispered, "You've suffered a lot, so I'll let you rest a bit.""Ah! You… You…" The make
"You flatter me." Renee smiled, sadness in her eyes. She recalled the day she was about to marry Stefan many years ago. The young female designer responsible for her makeup had praised her the same way. At that time, she had recently lost all her family members and was gripped with excruciating pain. Her waist had been much slimmer. She looked pitiful but bewitching. "Don't worry! Master Hunt is a great man. He'll be nice to you and protect you. You guys are a perfect match."Renee remembered that the makeup artist used a makeup blender to soak her tears and firmly told her that. The artist at that time also felt that Stefan would be her protector for the rest of her life. Renee had a crush on Stefan for many years. He was the ray of light that had saved her from her despair. Although she was strong, she couldn't help but regard him as her savior. At that time, she never imagined spending the rest of her life with someone else other than him. Many years passed since then. Sh
Twenty minutes ago, Renee's gown was accidentally splashed with wine. Hence, she changed into a spare slim-fit strapless gown. The long gown reached to the floor and was full of shining diamonds. It set off her curvy figure and made her appear like a noble princess from a painting. Unfortunately, her waist was too slim, so the gown didn't fit her well.The young woman who was responsible for Renee's makeup patted her chest and said confidently, "It's fine. I'll tighten the waistline a bit. Leave it to me! I'll get it done in ten minutes.""Are you sure?" Justin couldn't hide his amazement as he watched Renee, who had changed into a new gown. He cleared his throat and said, "I think this is already perfect. It's fine even if you don't adjust the waistline."He felt that Renee was the most perfect woman no matter how she appeared. She would always bewitch him, even if she was just wearing slippers and casual coats.If his parents hadn't insisted on getting a renowned designer t
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