"I find their relationship wonderful. Their love is so deep! I envy it—imagine having such a passionate and intense romance!" Amber gushed like a lovestruck fool, her eyes bright.Movies were popular in the fort. Hunt My Everheart gained high popularity there that year. After that movie, Shirley won multiple film awards and Best Actress. Stefan, who acted in it as well, gained a lot of female fans.Fans soon dug up the story behind the movie. Since Amber could use the internet, she could talk about the movie with great familiarity. She had always assumed that Stefan and Renee belonged together. They were the perfect match for each other! She had never considered the possibility that there were other unknown things between them."The movie's nothing but a sham. It's all an act! It's not the same as reality, and you can't believe it at all." Liam had never watched that movie because he held it with disdain. Grumpily, he continued, "Plus, Stefan invested in that movie. Of course
Amber's eyes lit up, showing admiration for Renee. "Ms. Everheart has kids? And they're fraternal twins? She established a company, too? She's awesome! I never expected a woman could be so amazing! She's a great role model for women!"To Amber, the most amazing woman was Luneth, who managed her family well and was lovey-dovey with her husband.Once she heard about Renee from Liam, however, her worldview expanded. She realized that women could still lead incredible lives even after leaving men and romances behind. She could do the same—she could focus on her career instead of her marriage or a man. "Of course! If not, I wouldn't have called her my boss!" Liam couldn't stop talking about Renee, feeling proud. He began reminiscing about Renee's amazing past. "To be honest, she's a great scholar and is talented in the sciences. Plus, she was the top hacker in the world…""Wow, she's amazing!" Amber kept gushing; she had never heard about such things. The two of them spent almost a
In the silent night, Renee suddenly kept sneezing hard while sleeping."What's wrong with you, Ren? Did you catch a cold?" Leia noticed something wrong with Renee and immediately wrapped a blanket around Renee. At the same time, she glared around the room. "This is so annoying! Why couldn't they let us go? Do they take us as criminals? And this lousy heater isn't working well! It didn't warm you at all! I'll get them!" she hissed. "Come back!" Renee hurriedly pulled Leia back and shook her head. "I'm not cold. I just suddenly sneezed for no reason.""Well, I think someone's gossiping about you," Leia joked. "I think it's Liam. He's telling these people how powerful your background is. Or… It's that scumbag, Stefan. He missed you and regretted it. I bet he's getting emotional now!""Oh, please. You're so imaginative." Renee was amused; she admired Leia for the latter's positivity. Leia was truly warm and optimistic. Leia paced to and fro in the room while looking outside in f
"Really?" Leia instantly breathed a sigh of relief. "I can wait if it's only for two to three days. If it's one day longer, I'll go insane!""Fine, I know you're bored. Read the comic with me. The comics here are pretty interesting. Check this out…" Renee got closer to Leia, sharing the comic book to distract her.They lay in bed together and read the comic to kill time. In half an hour, Leia started feeling sleepy and soon dozed off. Renee was sleepy too, and looked around vigilantly before deciding to take a brief rest. However, she hadn't laid down for long when she heard footsteps getting closer to the room.She wondered who it was. Although she was lying and her eyes were closed, she could sense someone hiding in the dark and observing them closely with a gaze of fierceness and hatred. After a while, the footsteps grew fainter. It seemed the person had gone away. Renee abruptly opened her eyes and looked out of the room. There was nothing strange except for a few guards.
Leia turned and looked at Renee, who was sitting in bed looking solemn and vigilant. She found it strange."I think this is weird," Renee said solemnly, frowning as she looked at the door of the jail."What's so weird about it?" Leia became confused again. Unlike Renee, she was eager to leave. "Don't you want to go out? The world outside is great! If it weren't for Liam, I would have run away. I think it's normal for them to let us go now.""They might not want to let us go," Renee said coldly, flexing her fingers. "Logically, Mateo wouldn't admit to defeat so soon. I think there might be someone else who wants us to leave.""Someone else?" Leia found herself unable to accept such a thing and grew even more confused. "Who else wants to make things difficult for us in this fort except for Mateo? Is it Amber…? That doesn't seem like it. Who dares to target us by risking the possibility of offending Liam?"Leia knew Liam was considered powerful and influential in the fort. Besides, A
The guard stood behind them and urged fiercely, "Get in the car!" Leia felt weak; she looked at Renee and whispered, "Ren, are we going to get in the car? Should we run away? If we leave the fort, we might get killed since we're no longer under Liam's protection.""Calm down." Renee lifted her chin at Leia, calm. "Let's see who wants to meet us. I know what to do." Her curiosity was greater than her fear. She wanted to know who else dared to be this reckless other than Mateo. "Okay, fine." Although Leia was scared, she felt that they could be safe and sound since Renee was around. She stopped overthinking and boldly got into the car.After they got into the car, its engine started and it disappeared in the dark…Meanwhile, Liam and Amber were still talking about Renee and Stefan, whose romance was full of twists and turns.While talking, Liam kept pouring wine for himself. He began to get drunk. "Listen! Renee and I were a great match back then. She trusted no one else but
"Do you think I'm amazing?" Liam asked seriously; he stopped drinking and stared at Amber, still drunk."Yes!" Amber nodded firmly, showing her admiration for him. "You're the most amazing and the funniest guy I've ever met! You've been to so many places. You've caught crabs at the bottom of the sea in Komier, looked for diamonds in Zier Dessert, and learned to hunt like Mori People on an island in Nouveauland… Plus, you learned professional sewing techniques. One year of your life is more interesting than ten years of mine!""Uh, well…" Liam scratched his head awkwardly, feeling guilty. Yes, he had been to a lot of places and experienced many bizarre and interesting things. However, those experiences were fabricated, especially sewing… In truth, he had just watched a professional sewing master do the job and never learned it.He didn't expect that Amber would believe a joke he casually made. She even got the wrong idea, thinking he was an interesting and awesome man. It fille
Amber pursed her lips, her tone cautious."Of course, you can." Drunk and dazed, Liam approached Amber and held her shoulders. "I'm just worried if you can find a better guy than me since you admire me that much."Amber could smell the alcohol on him as well as the fresh scent of his breath. She found it unfamiliar. Uneasy, she moved away and tried to put some distance between them. "Liam, let's call it a night. You're drunk.""Yes, I'm drunk, but I can still think straight. I'd like to know the answer to that question." Liam ignored Amber's avoidance and instinctively approached her. "You just need to tell me what you'll do if you can't find a better guy than me.""If I can't find a better guy than you, I won't get married." Amber disliked it when Liam acted like a confused scumbag. Her frown exposed her loathing. "I can focus on my career like Ms. Everheart. Men don't seem like a necessity.""Men aren't necessities?" Liam chuckled when he heard that. "Oh, Amber! I can't believ
"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
Time passed by. Gradually, the pain knocked some sense into Justin. He no longer wanted to take advantage of Renee."Let me get you some water." Renee had no idea what she could do for Justin. After some contemplation, she got to her feet and poured him a glass of water.Finally, she studied the room closely and found that it was a wedding room as Justin had mentioned. Everything was set up according to her preferences, which she had occasionally mentioned to Justin. For example, she loved keeping some ceramic ornaments on the bedside cabinet and hanging some seashell wind chimes at the windows. The entire room was painted in beige and green, which were her favorites, too. Beige gave a sense of warmth, while green gave a sense of gloominess. All of those details became the perfect wedding room for Renee.If everything went on smoothly, she would spend most of her time there, and he would be her life companion. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in the world.Renee handed the gla
Renee covered her lips, her tone filled with disbelief. "I…cut myself." Justin leaned against the corner and frowned deeply. He was in deep pain."Why did you cut yourself?" Renee was scared out of her wits and grew more sober. In her panic, she threw herself at him and tried to stop his bleeding.Justin reacted aggressively as he waved his dagger and warned fiercely, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" "I…" Renee paused, too afraid to act recklessly. She pointed at his wound and said, "I'm just worried about you. You're bleeding. It must hurt a lot. Why did you hurt yourself?" "It's better to be in pain!" Justin gnashed his teeth and said in agony, "The pain will knock some sense into me, so I won't act like an animal and lose control of myself.""I see…" Stunned, Renee was moved to tears. She understood why he cut himself. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay sober and not be controlled by the drug in the wine.He could have used her to satisfy his desire, and she would never b
"You're playing with fire!" Justin leaned close to Renee's ears and said fiercely, "What do you think there is in the wine? Maybe I'm not someone who will take liberty on women, but I can't promise that the wine won't make me so." "So, you're saying that the wine…" Suddenly, Renee realized the wine was not as simple as she thought. She also understood why Rose had behaved in such a mysterious manner. "Stay…away from me!" Suddenly, she became frightened and wanted to keep some distance from Justin. She knew that people could not be trusted completely, especially under the effects of chemical reactions. Things would certainly get out of control. Justin probably did not want to do anything to her, but both of them would lose their minds under the effect of the wine and do something that would fill them with regret. The only way to prevent such an incident was to avoid each other."You want to stay away from me, but it's too late now. I'm no saint. I'm just a normal guy!"Just
"I'm so thirsty!" The burning sensation of the wine made Renee thirsty. She wanted to drink some water.In the dark, she heard some rustling. The next second, something was on her lips. It seemed to be someone else's lips. She wondered if someone had secretly kissed her."Who are you?" Renee grabbed the person in front of her and interrogated angrily, "How dare you kiss me without my permission! Do you know who I am? I'll cut off your lips!""Let's see if you can do that or not." The man sounded dull and drunk, but he was also overbearing.Although Renee was drunk, she could discern who it was. She called out in the dark and tried to confirm her doubt. "Haze…?" "Yeah, it's me," Justin admitted, but he did not plan to let her go. He used a more overbearing manner and trapped her between him and the door."What do you want?" Renee panicked. She wanted to kick him away, but she did not resist when she learned that it was Justin. After she had done so many things to hurt him, s
The servant walked forward with trepidation and helped Justin back to his room. Austin's eyes were dark. He whispered to his assistant, who nodded and immediately carried out his order.After two glasses of strong wine, Renee felt dizzy and could not stand steadily. "It's weird. Is this wine this strong? I just had two glasses of it, but I feel quite dizzy." It was hard for her to exit the hall. She could not stand properly, so she supported herself against the wall."Ms. Everheart, you didn't seem well. Let me help you to get some rest." Austin's assistant caught up to her and stood behind her. He even sounded respectful. "It's… fine. I can go back to my room." Renee waved; she didn't want to trouble others. Besides, she did not want others to see how miserable she was. She had assumed that she was good at drinking and would not get drunk, but it seemed like she had overestimated herself. After two glasses of wine, she became quite drowsy. She would not easily leave if s
Renee blinked and smiled brightly at Justin, asking him, "Are you worried about me?" "No, I'm not worried about you!" Justin said angrily. "I don't want you to get killed here. I can't explain it to your brother and kids. It's hard to handle the three of them."He was not lying. Although he had befriended Quinton, Adie and Abby might make a scene there if they realized that Renee had drunk so much wine at the party. They were witty, always full of ideas.Hence, it was better not to cause trouble. Before they could make a scene and things get out of control, Justin must stop Renee. He wasn't worried about her at all. "So, you're not worried about me?" Renee's gaze turned dull as she sighed. "It looks like you didn't forgive me. So, I must drink this glass of wine." Something was wrong with Renee, or perhaps she just wanted to torture herself. It seemed like she insisted on drinking the wine. She swung off Justin's hand and gulped down the wine."You're out of your mind!" Justi
The aged white wine was strong. Ordinary people would find it hard to drink a glass of it. Yet, Renee had drunk two glasses of it consecutively. It was a little dangerous. Everyone at the dining table was initially watching the fun, but they showed Renee some pity after she drank two glasses of wine consecutively. After wiping her lips clean, Renee staggered and said to Justin, "Let me toast to you now. I've wronged you the most." Justin, sitting there, said with a poker face, "You don't have to say sorry to me. We don't hold each other any grudge. After all, we can't make others fall in love with us.""No, I must apologize to you. It's for my sake." After that, Renee used a bigger glass and filled it with wine."Whatever!" Justin frowned and ignored Renee. He had no idea what was wrong with her. He had yielded and let her off, but she stubbornly wanted to keep drinking the wine.He wondered if she had forgotten the fact that she had just recovered from a serious illness. She
Suddenly, Justin became mature and stopped making jokes. He talked steadily and was no longer emotional. It filled Austin with worry because it made him feel like Justin was an emotionless robot.In comparison, he liked Justin's previous self better. At that time, Justin was simple and sentimental. He was the grandson Austin doted on the most.Sophia grinned and commented, "Dad, you don't have to worry about Justin. Men will change. Previously, he was just a childish kid even though he was in his twenties. He didn't know how to see through people's pretense. But he's all grown up now. He knows what's right or wrong. That's a great thing!" As a mother, she naturally did not want her son to get hurt. Although she favored Renee and wanted the latter to be her daughter-in-law, she would give up since Renee had let her son down and harmed him. All she wanted was to see Renee get away from her son."Yes, you're right. People need to grow up. He has grown up a lot lately, but the price