The man's eyes were fierce as he snarled, "Everyone will die with me. I don't care about the consequences!" "I know you don't care about the consequences, but what about your wife and daughter? Did you ever consider what might happen to them?" Renee asked him calmly. "Didn't you hear me?! They're dead, so I want all of you to die with them!" The man shouted at her. "Heh! You're too naive. Death is not the end..." Renee shook her head, smiling as she approached him slowly. Everyone there was shocked to see her approach him. The man's body was covered with bombs, so going closer would only mean courting death! Stefan clenched his fists so tightly they turned white. He desperately wanted to carry the fearless Renee away but feared agitating the madman in front of them. His handsome face turned frighteningly cold. However, Renee appeared very relaxed as she slowly approached the man, talking to him as if they had been friends for many years. "People go to hell after they pass a
However, Renee was much faster. She lifted her hand and forcefully hit the man's chest. The man doubled over in pain and stumbled back, and Renee managed to free herself.Everyone couldn't believe what they'd just seen."How dare you? This is your fault, girl! Now, you'll all die!" The man screamed and yanked the bomb's safety string.Everybody screamed in fear. "Watch out!" Renee was pulled aside, and was soon buried in a warm chest. Confused, she looked up and found herself in Stefan's strong arms. It was strangely comforting, like an impenetrable wall against the dangers outside. It felt like they were in an apocalypse drama… The two of them had never been so close to each other before!However, the explosion they expected never happened.A white puff of smoke appeared, signaling that the bomb had failed to explode."W-What's going on? Why didn't it explode?" The man looked at the bomb strapped to his waist in confusion. The people around him looked at each other, equally pe
The woman was none other than Jane's biological mother, Sandra. "Jane, are you alright? I think your neck is bleeding! Does it hurt? I'll take you to the hospital right away!"Sandra picked Jane up and looked her over anxiously, tears streaming down her cheeks. She had been reading a dossier when she saw the live broadcast on TV and was shocked when she realized that her precious daughter had been kidnapped. She immediately dropped whatever she was doing and drove as fast as she could to get to the mall.Fortunately, her daughter had only suffered some minor external injuries, thanks to Renee's selfless act.Initially, Sandra couldn't even be bothered to spare Renee a glance, but now, she felt nothing but gratitude toward her. "Thank you so much. I can't imagine what would've happened if it weren't for you. You saved Jane's life, and that makes you my savior too. I owe you my life!"Renee waved her off awkwardly. "It's nothing. I would've done the same for anyone. But if it gains y
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the mall became peaceful again.Renee looked at Jane's neck worriedly. "Although the wound isn't deep, it still needs to be looked at. I'll take you to the hospital."Renee looked around for Stefan, but he was nowhere to be found. She felt very upset. The man was so selfish and heartless! They had barely survived a dangerous situation, but he had just upped and left!Renee brought Jane to the shopping mall's entrance to hail a taxi. Immediately, Stefan's silver car slowly moved toward them and stopped in front of them.Renee's tense expression relaxed slightly. Looks like he still had a shred of humanity in him! She opened the door to the backseat and got in after Jane.Stefan sat in the driver's seat, wearing sunglasses. "Jane can stay. You, get out," he said to Renee coldly."Huh?!" Renee was in shock. Was the man serious?"The weather is scorching hot, and I narrowly escaped death earlier. How could you ask me to get out? Are you trying to
Soon, they arrived at a nearby hospital.After the doctor tended to Jane's wound, he turned to face Stefan and Renee. "The wound is just on the surface, so it's nothing serious. She just has to make sure the wound doesn't get wet, and she'll have to apply ointment on it once in the morning and once at night.""That's good to know." Renee finally felt relaxed. She held Jane's hand and told her regretfully, "Jane, I'm sorry. It's all my fault for not looking after you well enough. Can you ever forgive me?"Jane blinked at her and patted Renee's head like Renee was the child. "Ren, don't be silly. You're so cute and brave. You saved all of us, so of course I'll forgive you!"Jane then turned to look at Stefan. "Stef, don't you think Ren is extremely cute and brave?"Stefan harrumphed and muttered darkly, "I don't know about that, but I do know that there's something very wrong with her brain."He still hadn't fully recovered from the fear he experienced at the shopping mall. If that
Yes, that had to be it!-The next day, at Hunts & Co., Zack rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Renee had actually managed to handle Sandra, the most difficult lawyer in the firm, within three days.Not only did Sandra not cancel her contract, she'd also begun accepting cases for the law firm."Boss, you're amazing!" Zack slipped into Renee's office and gave her a thumbs-up.Renee, however, was focused on the document in her hand. She didn't even look up as she said, "Mr. Rosenwell, do you have too much free time on your hands? If you don't have any cases to work on, I can assign some to you.""No, thanks." Zack waved his hands quickly. He walked around Renee with a look of admiration in his eyes. "Boss, everyone saw how you defused the bomb...You're amazing! Who taught you that? Do you have a secret identity? Or do you work for the special forces maybe?"Renee rolled her eyes at Zack. "My grandfather was Maurice Everheart, a famous general back then. I learned how to defuse a bomb w
"Let's do it!" After listening to Sandra's plan, Renee's eyes glowed with excitement. "Ms. Lee, I've got to hand it to you… You actually found a solution for such a tricky case. I knew I needed you to join my firm! With the three of you around, I can do whatever I want. The entire Beach City… No, the entire world is mine!" Renee declared gleefully.Zack laughed. "Boss, you're exaggerating. You might not be able to get the entire Beach City, but I think you can acquire thirty to forty percent of it."Clearly, Renee wasn't satisfied with that amount. She frowned. "Why only thirty or forty percent? What about the rest?""What do you think?" Zack brought Renee crashing back to reality. "Naturally, the remaining sixty to seventy percent belongs to your ex-husband, aka our ex-boss, Stefan Hunt."The Hunt family was one of the Great Eight of Beach City, and the other seven families were also not to be underestimated. The Everheart family wanted to return to its peak position, but the chal
Christopher's question instantly killed the mood.Xavier couldn't resist letting out a sigh. "I admire you two for even wanting to talk about whether you love someone. I've never faced this kind of issue. I don't love women enough to give up my freedom. However, if I lose that damn case, I'll have no freedom to speak of!"After saying that, he downed his glass and clapped his hands. "Alright, enough. We need to stop moping around. Why don't we play something fun?""Like what?" Christopher perked up."Let's play a drinking game. Whoever loses will have to accept whatever punishment we impose. What do you think?""Boring," Stefan said indifferently. Clearly, he wasn't interested. However, something suddenly occurred to him. "How about Fingers?" Stefan asked."Sure. I can handle any drinking game." Xavier shrugged."In that case, let's do that." Stefan suddenly seemed eager to play. Truthfully, he couldn't accept that he had lost to Renee the last time they played. He wanted to
"Cut the crap!" Sabre was a man who had undergone a lot of things and problems all year round. He abruptly gripped Jovan's chin and said coldly, "You can't keep your head for long. You'd better not waste your energy, and you should watch your tongue.""Well, there's something I should say." Jovan didn't resist as he grabbed the chance to touch Sabre's face. "What's your name, dude? Why are you doing this job at such a young age? How much did Austin pay you every month? I'll give you ten times your salary. Just betray him and work for me.""I'm going to kill you!" Sabre was always a serious man, and got furious because of Jovan's words. He was about to slap Jovan before Renee immediately stopped him."Don't do this, Sabre. Let's talk it out. He's the vice president of Hunt Enterprise, but you wanted to slap him. We should keep peace. Plus, he generally never watches his tongue, and he scolds his family more fiercely. Don't take him seriously." Renee tried her best to calm Sabre dow
"I'll come even if you don't welcome me. Bye." Renee hung up. She knew that Justin resented her and feared that Austin might punish her. Regardless, he could not stop her from going to North City. She understood that no one could be at ease if the issue was unresolved. She was the cause of the conflict—the key factor. Thus, she must go there.Finally, the plane took off. Renee fell into thoughts while watching the dense clouds. Jovan sat beside her and noticed her worry. He wanted to hold her hand to comfort her and give her strength. However, his hand stopped in midair. He decided against holding her hand. He knew that she did not need his consolation or reassurance. Instead, she would only resent him."Don't worry. It's going to be okay." Jovan sounded casual. "I'm the culprit and will be blamed. You don't have to be scared."Renee turned and frowned at him. "I don't want to see you in danger, either."Jovan looked serious before he beamed. "Well, I'll risk my life for
Hence, Renee did not beat around the bush or refuse to answer Jovan's question on purpose. She had no idea what her heart wanted and could only see how things went."What?" Jovan narrowed his eyes, wearing a complex expression. The current situation gave him a great sense of danger. He teased, "It looks like I've underestimated that guy. He can end up your man though he's your fallback guy.""Can't you watch your tongue?" Renee became angry as she stuffed a piece of cake into his mouth. "Eat something and stop talking."At that time, her phone rang. Justin did call her back—just like what Jovan had said. Renee quickly picked it up, sounding anxious. "Justin, why didn't you answer my calls? I called you several times!""What's the matter?" Justin sounded extremely icy. Renee had never seen him act that way—it felt unreal. She said carefully, "I want to ask where you are now.""What's the matter?" Justin kept his cold demeanor and repeated the same question without saying anythi
A minute passed by. Renee was holding the phone but had yet to get a call back from Justin. She was not that very confident."Why isn't he calling me back? Should I call him again?" Although she did not want to be embarrassed, she already did after making six calls. She was fine with it already."Calm down. Let's wait a little longer." Jovan sipped some coffee and sounded at ease."Will he call me back?" Renee held her chin, uncertain. For the first time, she knew how aggrieved a kiss-ass felt. In a way, she was considered one as she tried to please Jovan.Jovan placed the cup of coffee down and looked at Renee with leisure and surprise. "Are you that eager to get in touch with him?"After all, based on his observation as an outsider, he knew Renee did not love Justin. Renee only cared about Stefan and regarded Justin as merely a friend. Logically, she shouldn't be that upset."Of course." Renee was open about her feelings and added honestly, "I did want to spend the rest of
Jovan was not mad. Instead, he smirked with satisfaction. "Yeah, that's right. Never let me get that. We need to keep owing something to each other and always get tangled up with each other!"Renee could not take it, and acted like she was about to vomit. "I can't keep on eating. It's disgusting." Although she had made such a claim, she sat down and was engrossed in enjoying the food. She was not as tense as before and started to relax.Similarly, Jovan started eating with satisfaction. The current situation was what he wanted the most. She hated him, but it was her true self.When they were full, it was almost time for them to board the plane. Before boarding, Renee hesitated for a long time before calling Justin. She gave him three calls, but he picked up neither of them.On the other hand, Jovan was sitting in the exclusive lounge for the passengers of first-class cabins. He was flipping through magazines to kill his boredom when he noticed Renee's phone. Jovan smiled and
At that time, Jovan was peeling prawns for Renee. They were hot but fresh. When he was peeling them, their hotness burned his fingers, but he was fine with it."Yes, I had…" While blowing the prawns to cool them down, Jovan smiled and said, "I didn't find one at the moment, so I can't forget about you."Renee frowned and said grumpily, "Don't blame it on me. You just can't settle down. I don't want to be accused wrongly."She never felt that Jovan loved her deeply. He merely acted like an overbearing child who tried to snatch away his cousin's beloved woman because he always regarded his cousin as a role model. It was not that different from trying to snatch away one's toy. Of course, that wasn't true love."Just introduce a woman to me then." Jovan finally peeled the prawns and poured some sauce on them before he placed them on a plate before her. He added, "Have them while they're hot. They taste the best now. You need more protein since you're weak."Renee found it difficul
Vermillion was neither eye-catching nor dark. It suited the scarf around her neck well, making her look brighter and more sophisticated. She was not as pale and weak as she looked just now. "I like this color. I didn't expect you to know women this well. You picked the right lipstick color." Renee pursed her lips and sincerely praised Jovan.Usually, insensible men would pick pink lipstick, which was awful. When Jovan picked that lipstick, Renee's heart skipped a beat. She was even wondering where she should go to remove the lipstick. However, it was not pink. It happened to be vermillion, which she had always favored. It would be hard to gain such knowledge if Jovan had not had experience with it. It could be seen that he had dated quite a lot of women."I'm glad you like it." Jovan looked at her rosy lips which were wonderful and charming. He inevitably swallowed.Renee noticed that he was charmed—but he was not simply attracted by her. Instead, he admired her religiously, whi
"His money?" After a brief pause, Renee waved her hand and said without hesitation, "Well, I'll take this then!""Sure! Please wait for a moment." The saleslady's eyes brightened as she quickly packed the bracelet for Renee.Renee took the gift box and handed it to Jovan. Jovan took it readily and willingly carried it for her like her lackey.They exited the jewelry shop and went shopping someplace else. "You didn't want to use my money, but you used his. Do you value him or me?" Jovan was asking for rebuff. Renee turned and glanced at him. "What do you think?""Of course, you value me." Jovan grinned. "The greatest love is feeling sorry for and doting on your beloved. You must have felt sorry for me. So, you didn't want to spend my money.""Congratulations. You're good at comforting yourself." Renee was quite amused. She could not tell who she valued more. She had wanted to spend Stefan's money because she resented him, so she wanted to waste his money. She refused to use J
It would cost around 150 fifteen dollars or less. Renee found it hard to spend so much of Jovan's money.Jovan stood behind Renee and acted like her wallet. He pocketed his hands and said straightforwardly, "Just show it to us.""Sure!" The saleslady's eyes lit up. She said something to the walkie-talkie, then asked them to wait. The headquarters were trying their best to deliver the item quickly. "May I know how much the new item costs?" Renee asked the saleslady tentatively."It depends on the individual prices of the jewelry and antiques. Its starting price is around 450 thousand dollars," the saleslady explained calmly.It was not a small figure for jewelry or an antique. If they were combined, the item would be more expensive. But people who came to the jewelry shop were powerful and rich figures. Hence, it was not an expensive price either."450 thousand dollars?!" Renee pursed her lips and tilted her head to look at Jovan. "I'll make an excuse to go to the washroom late