Leia was leaning into Xavier's arms and trembling nervously.Renee paced back and forth at the door, looking guilty. "It's all my fault!" She flexed her fingers and bit the back of her fist, filled with reproach."It has nothing to do with you. Stop blaming yourself." Justin patted her shoulder, hoping to help her relax a bit. "You aren't a superwoman. You can't do everything well. Plus, it's hard for us to do anything under this circumstance. It's hard to control.""No, I knew that Benjamin didn't want to kill Amber. He just wanted to test Mateo and Liam…"Renee was teary as she reflected on what had happened. She felt that she could have stopped that if she was more sensitive and active."I guessed that Mateo would attack Amber and that Liam might resist, but I didn't expect him to use his body to block the knife. Is this some kind of melodramatic movie? I taught him so many self-defense techniques. Why was he so dumb? If I stopped it earlier, this would never have happened!"R
Forsty silence overcame everyone. Everyone was full of complicated emotions."I need some fresh air," Leia said coldly, rising. She silently walked past Renee and went to a deserted corner.She knew she was being impudent, and that she should never blame Renee or get jealous for no reason.However, she was exhausted after so much torture these days. She almost had a mental breakdown, and she couldn't think straight. She just wanted to see Liam safe. She couldn't care about anything else."Lei…" Renee wanted to run after Leia, but Xavier stopped her."I'll be with her. You guys should get some rest." Xavier sighed. He gave Renee and Justin a profound look before he quickly caught up with Leia.Renee flexed her fingers as she watched their backs. She trembled slightly, growing teary. "I knew it! Lei's mad at me. Even I think I'm a scumbag, let alone her… It would be better if I stopped Liam. I was selfish!""It wasn't your fault!" Justin wanted to hug Renee, but he thought it migh
Leia quickly wiped away her tears and acted tough. "I'm crazy now. You shouldn't talk to me.""So?" Xavier calmly walked to Leia and spoiled her as if she were a disobedient child. He doted on her. "It's not the first day you act crazily. Plus, it's not the first time I've found you like this. It's not bad, either. You look pretty cute."Leia turned around and glared at him in confusion. Goosebumps spread across her skin. "Xavier, act normal. When did I act crazily?" "You're not always normal when you're with me. Whenever I said something wrong, you went mad. You'd go mad whenever I talked to any woman, too. Isn't that crazy enough?" Xavier spread his hands, sounding helpless. Previously, he had no idea that the seemingly noisy and careless young lady of the Osborne family would be so sensitive. She cared about details very much, especially ones about him with other women.Their arguments weren't about serious issues. Rather, it was all because of her jealousy. She would go mad
"How silly!" Xavier felt sorry for Leia when he heard her words. He hugged her from behind and whispered, "I feel the same about Renee like you do. I admire her and think she's perfect, but I don't love her the way a man does.""Really?" Leia was surprised. She found it unbelievable, as she had always thought that Xavier loved Renee.She always felt that he was a man with great taste. His love for Renee was unrequited, so he kept a special spot for her in his heart. Since she was aware of that, she always avoided that topic and never asked him about Renee. If she did, he would weigh their positions in his heart. Leia felt that she had no right to ask about that since the answer was obvious."Of course!" Xavier pinched Leia's cheeks and smiled. "Men's love can be divided into many types, but there's only one kind of love for women. I love you like a man loves a woman. Do you understand?"Leia's heart started racing. She felt flattered, but she bit her lips carefully and asked, "
"Oh, please!" Leia rolled her eyes at Xavier; her gesture was far from romantic. "We haven't been together that long. Plus, you dated Shirley for a long time. You were famous in the entire Beach City over how hard you worked to win her over. She made you fall head over heels for her. But you've never made such a big scene when you're dating me. People might even assume that you're single!""Why did you bring up Shirley again?" Xavier held his forehead helplessly. The scariest thing for a man was having his girlfriend repeatedly mention his ex. No matter what the man said, it would always end up in a fight."Why, can't I bring her up?" Leia snapped. Like a lot of women, Leia yearned to travel back in time and replace all the time Xavier had with his ex-girlfriend. She said jealously, "You can't forget about her, so you're afraid of me mentioning her. You're worried you might get exposed when I mention her.""No!" Xavier became impatient, his face looking awful. "I have many
"Oh, no! Something's wrong!" someone screamed, "Mr. Osborne lost too much blood and needs a blood transfusion immediately! Whose blood type is O?" Leia couldn't hear that well. She immediately calmed down and returned to Liam's room. "There was a slight deviation when we withdrew the knife, causing massive bleeding. The patient needs a blood transfusion immediately. If not, he'll die!" the nurse announced; her hands were bloody, and she was sweating profusely. "Use mine!" Leia hurriedly dashed over, gasping for breath. "I'm his younger sister. I'm sure my blood type is compatible."The nurse shook her head and cautiously refused, "No, it's advisable not to have an immediate family member do this. There might be a negative response." "Use mine. My blood type is O." Renee stood up and rolled her sleeve, her tone firm."No way!" Leia refused, looking at Renee. "You've just recovered. I can't see you take the risk."Renee was poisoned before, and barely survived because Stefan h
"No, Ms. Jenkins! If Mr. Jenkins learns you're donating your blood for another man, it'll drive him mad!" The doctor looked at Amber, too terrified to act. Everyone in the fort knew how much Benjamin cared about Amber. He would never let anyone off the hook if they harmed her, let alone donating so much blood."He won't be angry." Amber sounded indifferent. "He didn't even care about me. If it weren't for Liam, Matt would have killed me. I want to donate my blood to Liam. No one can stop me, not even Dad.""But…" The doctor was too scared to act rashly. "Do it. If not, I'll cut my veins to release the blood." Amber seemed to have anticipated the doctor's hesitation. She fished out a blade she got somewhere and abruptly placed it against her wrist. "Then, I'll die of blood loss. Is that worth it?""Oh, no!"The doctor never expected the usually gentle Amber would suddenly become so tough and stubborn. He stopped babbling and immediately started the blood transfusion. After all,
After a long wait, there was finally some news."Good news, everyone! Ms. Jenkins' blood matched Mr. Osborne's. Mr. Osborne is out of danger since he got a blood transfusion in time. He'll wake up soon. It's getting late, so you should all get some rest," the doctor said as he exited the blood transfusion room."Great! Liam's out of danger now!" Leia leaped happily, moved to tears. "Wonderful! I knew he'd be fine! Thank god!""Well, I told you not to worry, but you refused to listen. You were worried for nothing." Xavier was delighted, too. He watched her dotingly, happy that she had finally relaxed. At the very least, she would stop being cold to him and find fault with him.Unexpectedly, Leia still found Xavier an eyesore and glared at him. "What does it have anything to do with you? I don't want to talk to you!"Then, she held Renee's arm and yawned. "Let's go, Ren. We can finally sleep. I want to sleep with you tonight."The two friends returned to their room, leaving Xavie
"I'm sorry!" Renee blurted—she realized her selfishness."I admit that I took you as a substitute. I wanted to get out of that suffering relationship, and I didn't care about your feelings. I'm so sorry."At first, she wanted to forget Stefan and start a new relationship. And then, Justin risked his life to save her. On top of that, they were compatible in various aspects. She felt that she could spend the rest of her life with him.However, Renee realized that her actions were purely self-serving. She never considered Justin's feelings or asked about his willingness. She merely took him as a convenient tool. "No, you did nothing wrong," Justin said. "You have your choices. Likewise, I have my choices too."He stared at Renee passionately, his teary eyes filled with pain, and held her hand. "I chose you. I want to stay with you while you're trying to forget about him. I want you to be happy with me.""You…" Renee looked into Justin's eyes. His generosity, firmness, and thoug
"Mmph!" Renee was sitting beside the window, watching the floating clouds up in the sky when a sudden pain gripped her heart—as if it was clenched tight. "What's wrong?" Justin asked nervously. Sitting across from her, he could feel something wrong with her. "I'm fine." Renee shook her head and tried to soothe her stuffy chest. "My heart suddenly hurt just now. I guess it's because of the sudden weightlessness when the plane took off."Justin sighed in relief. "I've heard that some people might get dizzy or feel their ears ring because of weightlessness, but I've never heard of hearts aching.""It's fine. It's something rare, I guess. I'll feel better after a while." Renee waved his concerns away, taking a deep breath. She picked up the cup in front of her and sipped some water, and felt better. Perhaps the water had cooled her heart. However, Justin felt a little uneasy. He knew her heart wasn't his though their destination was the same."If you can't forget about him, yo
Stefan got involved with Briar. At the same time, something seemed to be wrong with Renee and she insisted on meeting Justin's parents. In short, they were lying to themselves.Xavier found it ridiculous that they would break up and date someone else, when in truth they loved each other passionately and had gone through so much together. They were just cowards who refused to face their problems head-on."Well said! I agree." For the first time, Leia and Xavier shared the same thoughts on the issues related to love. Aside from Stefan and Renee, there were many similar examples. Leia was convinced Liam was doing the same thing. She couldn't understand why they had to hurt themselves like that. It would be better to make peace.Suddenly, Xavier turned around and looked at Leia passionately, and declared with utmost seriousness, "So, we can't do that!" Having his face so close to hers so suddenly, Leia's heartbeat quickened. She pursed her lips and stood up shyly. "You're nuts
Justin walked over and tapped his wristwatch. "It's almost time. Let's go.""Okay." Renee nodded, then said to Leia, "Just go home and take good care of Liam. Tell my brother and kids that I'm fine. I'll be back at Beach City soon.""Uh…" Leia wanted to stop Renee from going to Beach City, but she couldn't find a reason to make Renee refuse. Of course, Renee had to stop the program which never responded."Fine. Take care. Call me immediately if anything happens!" Leia, enlightened, decided to respect Renee's choices. She hugged Renee and sobbed, "I hope you'll pick happiness no matter who you choose to be with!""Of course. I want you to do the same." Renee hugged Leia firmly.Then, she got into the small private plane bound for North City with Justin."She left…" Xavier muttered. He watched the plane take off for North City as he sat in the lobby, feeling complicated. He felt sorry for Stefan, but at the same time, he felt that Stefan had brought it upon himself. Being on
However, Leia didn't believe that Renee would have given up on Stefan. Based on their night chats a while ago, she could tell from Renee's tone that the latter was still confused about Stefan and couldn't part with him.It wasn't long ago, but now, Renee wanted to marry someone else. It was abnormal."Yes, I did…" Renee coldly looked ahead and added, "I did just now.""What?" Leia's eyes went wide, and she didn't stop questioning Renee. "What happened just now? Nothing happened!""Let me be frank with you." Renee decided to be honest with Leia since Leia insisted on getting to the bottom of it. "Justin told me something the night he saved us. Stefan informed him and asked him to come to our rescue.""I know that. And then?"Leia had heard the same story from Justin. She and Liam kept cursing Stefan for being a dirty coward all night long. It was infuriating. Stefan didn't try to save his beloved woman, but made his rival in love do so instead. It seemed he had given up his belo
"What? You're going to meet his parents?" Leia cried in agitation when she heard that. She glared at Justin, then dragged Renee to the side to interrogate the latter."What's wrong with you, Ren? Why are you marrying someone else just after one night?" Leia pausing, finding her words odd, then corrected herself. "Oh, no! Are you going to remarry?""Justin is a good man. His grandpa was my grandpa's old comrade. Plus, his family is nice to me. And we survived this time because of the army Grandpa Baldwin gave me. I can't be ungrateful," Renee said, her tone calm and cold.Although it was ridiculous, Austin did give Renee that army as a wedding gift. She used that gift at a critical time, which meant she had accepted the Baldwin family. Naturally, she had to take her relationship with Justin to another level. "But…" Leia frowned, feeling that Renee was being impulsive. "But you were forced to use that army under that circumstance. It wasn't because you loved Justin that drove
Liam was an unruly rich heir who loved freedom, while Amber was a pure and ignorant young woman. It seemed they were a perfect match."Why did she suddenly give you a wedding gown? Obviously, she wants to marry you. Are you sure you don't want to say anything to her before leaving?" Xavier teased Liam, trying to sound the latter out.Everyone could tell that Amber liked Liam. Besides, it seemed like Liam also fancied Amber. If they parted ways, they might never see each other again. Their romance might end with a failure. What a pity! "There's nothing to say to her." Liam purposely looked aloof. "All I want is to get the hell out of here. I don't even want to waste another second here."Then, he strode into the airport lobby. Renee quickened her pace and walked alongside him. She looked at him, feeling sorry for him. "Are you sure you're going to leave like this?""I should long be gone." Liam kept his coldness, his tone impassive. "If I don't go now, I can't leave forever.""
The box contained a red wedding gown with exquisite embroidered dragon and phoenix patterns. The embroidery was meticulous, making the dragon and phoenix look lifelike. With such intricate details, it would take three to five months to complete."So, she was busy with this." Liam caressed the patterns, bitterness and disappointment hitting him hard. Amber was always busy these days and couldn't be found. She also didn't talk much to him. She claimed that she wanted to sew wedding clothes for herself and Mateo. Unexpectedly, she ended up giving the wedding gown to Liam instead.There was a card at the bottom of the wedding dress. Liam opened it and read Amber's note.[Liam, I only want to be your wife my whole life…but from now on, I won't marry anyone. I want to live for myself. I hope we can meet again when we're both strong and capable!]Her handwriting wasn't neat, and her grammar was wrong. Yet it showed her shyness, pureness, and firmness.Liam clenched the wedding gown t
"Wait, Mr. Osborne!" Hailey ran to Liam and tried her best to catch her breath. Then, she said to him, "Ms. Jenkins… Ms. Jenkins, she…""What's wrong with Amber?" Liam asked nervously. His anxious and worried expression showed that he wasn't indifferent toward her after all."Take this!" Hailey handed a plain box to Liam. "Ms. Jenkins is busy today and can't send you off. This is the gift she's been preparing for a long time. She wants you to have it.""What she's busy about? Is it troublesome?" Liam was worried about Amber. If she wanted to take over Benjamin's business, she wouldn't be able to handle it since the fort was a violent place full of fights. "It's something feminine. Please don't ask about that…" Hailey obeyed Amber's instruction and didn't explain much. She waved at Liam and added, "Take care. Don't worry too much about Ms. Jenkins. She'll be fine since she's Mr. Jenkins' only daughter.""What do you mean?" Liam held the gift with worry. "Did Benjamin find fault wi