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'll bring Phoenix to see my parents. If she's okay with it, we'll get married. This army is the wedding gift my family prepared for her." Justin smiled, his tone eager."Stop fantasizing! Renee won't go there with you," Xavier said. He found Justin's plan ridiculous. "I don't believe you. Has Renee ever said yes? You keep saying you were going to do something big, but you might not even get anything out of it.""It's not up to you whether she'll say yes or not." Justin was indifferent toward Xavier's mockery. He seemed to be very confident, his eyes cold. "I told you that because I wanted you to pass the message to Stefan. I'm not trying to take advantage of the situation, because I already gave him a chance to win her back.""Then, I need to thank you on Stefan's behalf." Xavier didn't take Justin seriously at all, and instead waved provocatively at him. "We'll talk about that once you make Renee say yes. Bye!"Back in the guest room, Xavier held his phone, hesitating. In the en
Nothing went wrong that night. Renee and Leia slept soundly after such an exhausting day. The next morning, a servant of the fort woke them up early. "Ms. Everheart, Ms. Osborne, Mr. Osborne is awake. You can visit him." "Great! Liam's awake!" When Leia heard that news, she got out of bed and quickly washed up.Renee, finally relieved, breathed a sigh. They reached Liam's room as quickly as they could. There, armed guards were around, guarding the place fiercely. "What's going on? Do they take Liam as a criminal?" Leia was furious to see it. She wanted to demand an explanation from those guards, but Renee stopped her.They had to bow down since they were staying in Benjamin's territory. It was up to him to treat them politely or otherwise. Even if they were locked up like prisoners, it was only expected.Liam had just regained consciousness and was seriously injured. If they offended Benjamin, he and the others would only suffer.Liam leaned against the head of the bed in
Amber's emphasis made both of them awkward. It seemed like Liam had flattered himself.Renee and Leia happened to run into that scene when they opened the door. Feeling out of place, they wanted to leave and hide.Finally, Renee walked over and faked a smile despite the stiffness in the air. "Hahaha! Liam, I'm glad that you're awake!""Renee…" Liam's facade faded as he blinked. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" "We did, but you guys were so absorbed in talking to each other that you didn't hear us," Leia eagerly explained.There was a screen between the bed and the door. A servant informed Liam and Amber about the visitors, but they didn't hear that since they were absorbed in their conflict.Thus, Renee and Leia were forced to watch an awkward romance. They found it stifling, just like Liam and Amber."Okay. Let's not talk about that."Liam didn't want to recall that awkward scene and changed the topic. "I was just stabbed. Stop making a big fuss over it. And don't wo
"It was just a test from my father. He had seen through people. He wouldn't make things difficult for the people who were nice to me," Amber explained.She knew what kind of a person her father was. At this point, she didn't want to keep it from Renee and the others either. She felt that it was more important to reassure them. "So, it really was a test!" Leia was enlightened, but failed to understand Benjamin. "Is he out of his mind? He didn't have to make it seem so real! If Liam didn't block the knife for you, he would have lost you!"Leia was filled with lingering fear when she recalled the terrifying scene yesterday. Benjamin's madness surprised her. He could even be harsh on his daughter! At the same time, Leia mocked Mateo's fake passion. He said so much, but he could still attack his so-called beloved woman at that critical moment.What amazed her the most was Liam. He claimed that he didn't love Amber, but he was the one who used his chest to block the attack for her. It
"But…" Renee insisted."This is worth it. I was able to gain Benjamin's trust and calm his anger, which in turn helped us leave. I would've done the same thing again without hesitation."Liam looked relaxed and sounded casual, as if he didn't have a close brush with death. Rather, he treated the whole thing like a game he nearly got disqualified from and in turn rewarded for. The result was worth it. He took everything as an exciting adventure rather than a life-threatening incident. "Oh, you're always so casual. What do you mean, worth it? If that knife reached your heart or the doctor wasn't skillful enough, you would've been killed. And I… I might have to watch you die just because I left things to chance!" Renee yelled.She couldn't dwell on what had happened. The memory chilled her blood, and she hated herself for being so scheming. Renee could feel herself changing. Before, she was direct, bold, straightforward, and did everything she could for the sake of justice. Now, sh
Three days later, Liam got better and could get out of bed.Benjamin held a party to express his apology to Renee and the others.Before attending the party, Leia held Renee's hand, frightened. "Is he plotting something?"After all, they had witnessed Benjamin's craziness. He could even kill his only daughter! It seemed unlikely that this was just an ordinary party."Don't be scared. We can fight them if worse comes to worst," Justin said casually as he walked behind them. He found a spot and sat in front of them.The army Austin had promised Renee was already on guard outside of the party, hence Justin's confidence. Besides, the Baldwin family was informed beforehand to come assist them if anything went wrong.Since he had absolute power, he was fearless."You're right. We can still fight them. I'd like to see what tricks that crazy Benjamin is trying to pull." Leia said.She stopped taking things too seriously, and casually walked into the place and took her seat. Xavier, sit
Macsen got up angrily and pointed at Renee. "You nearly got me killed by biting me! I didn't even make you pay for that, but here you are, trying to accuse me. Do you think I won't do anything to you?" "Of course you will. You nearly got us killed," Renee sneered, glancing at the glass of mulberry wine. "So, it's logical that you poisoned the wine.""No, I didn't!" Macsen raised the glass of wine and leaned backward to gulp it down. Then, he glared at Renee. "I'm not such a petty man!"Instantly, the air grew tense. Liam, sitting on Benjamin's right, tried to keep the peace. "Okay, stop bickering. Since Mr. Jenkins held this party today, he wanted us to bury the hatchet. We don't have to take to heart what happened a few days ago. The most important thing is to keep peace and come up with a win-win situation."Benjamin nodded and clapped. "Liam knows me the best. He didn't take the stab for nothing. At least I can see that he's sincere toward me, Gem, and the fort.""Oh, gosh!
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"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