A sumptuous feast was served in the dining room. Both Austin and Jack had taken their seats. They were a little unhappy when they noticed Sophia return to the dining room alone."Why aren't they coming? The food is getting cold." Jack started complaining. "Is Ren that conceited? She can't be so rude for the first meal. How can she make us wait for her? This is unacceptable.""Shut up!" Austin glared at Jack and berated him. "You always eat on your own, and you never wait for me. Why are you pretending to be a good son today?""No, Dad. I think…" "Ren suffered a lot these days. I'm aware of the Jenkins family. They're inhumane barbarians. They do all kinds of messy things and are not governed by law. She must have gone through a lot there. She finally escaped from hell and wanted to take a good rest. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Stop finding fault with her," Austin said grumpily.As Renee was Maurice's granddaughter, Austin favored her and tolerated her without bo
"Dad, stop looking at me like that. You got the wrong idea. I did nothing. I just…" Sophia, feeling guilty, averted her gaze. She couldn't face anyone else at the dining table. Then she added in a whisper, "It's just that… It's written in the stars.""What happened? What are you saying?" Austin grew more solemn. Worried his insensible daughter-in-law might do something outrageous and hurt his future granddaughter-in-law, he said fiercely, "Hurry up and tell me! If not, I'm going to punish you.""Please don't! I'll tell you everything. Don't always talk about punishing me. I'm getting old, and I can't stand that."Sophia grew frightened. She retreated, ready to run away at any minute. "I prepared a head-to-toe treatment for Ren to relax. But… One of the aromatherapists made a mistake and gave a chance to the young couple. So, I think we should eat first. We shouldn't disturb them."Austin didn't let it go. "What kind of mistake?" "Uh… The aromatherapist used an arousal-induc
"Baby…baby Baldwin. He'll be the baby for every Baldwin!"Austin was always a solemn man, but he grinned heartily when he thought about his future great-grandson. He didn't look serious at all. "Baby Baldwin? Don't joke around. I think we need to come up with a name that has a good message." At first, Jack didn't join their conversation because he found drugging others a very shameful trick. Still, he couldn't help chiming in when he heard them talk about the baby. "What kind of name has a good meaning?" Sophia sounded dissatisfied. "I think the name we got for Justin isn't good. It made him wild and uncontrollable, like the wind."Her son was always insensible and casual, and she felt that it was most probably because of his name. Justin was as fickle and unmanageable as the wind. He always stayed away from home all year round, and was incredibly rebellious."I agree. Justin isn't serious since we didn't get a good name for him, so we need to be careful when picking a name fo
"Well, he…" Renee averted her gaze and waved. In the end, she gave an ambiguous answer. "He's tired and is lying down, so I came to have dinner with you.""I see…" Hearing the explanation from Renee, Sophia was disappointed with her son. Justin could run a marathon for a few miles, but he unexpectedly tired easily when he needed to hold on for a little longer. It was a rare chance that might never happen again. Sophia was rather disappointed, let alone Renee. Sophia tried to save face for her son. "Don't take it to heart. He's usually strong. Maybe he likes you so much that he…got agitated.""I didn't take it to heart," Renee said seriously. "I can understand him. After all, he's a young man. I taught him a lesson, too. I believe that he'll be careful from now on.""Yes, we should give the young man a chance!" Austin chimed in.They enjoyed a pleasant dinner together.Sophia held Renee's arm and said, "Are you tired? If you're not, let's take a walk in the garden. I'd like t
Sophia hurriedly asked Renee."Uh…" Renee flexed her fingers; she couldn't bring herself to lie. She wondered if she loved Justin. She couldn't tell.A large part of her reason for choosing Justin was because she didn't hate him. Sometimes, she felt that he was her soulmate. If she had to start a new romance, she hoped it would be with him. At least, she could be intimate with him and could imagine sleeping in the same bed with him. "I got it. You don't love him." Sophia saw through Renee at a glance. A long sigh escaped her. "We're all sports of fate. If we insisted on him marrying you when your family was ruined, the ending might be different.""Did you guys know me at that time?" Renee asked curiously.She had heard Justin mention that before, but she assumed that he had purposely talked nonsense to set up a good image. Since Sophia had admitted, it seemed to be the truth."Of course!" Sophia smiled and added, "Your family was prosperous at that time and was famous at North
"Inside story?" Confused, Renee looked at Sophia. "What is it?" "I can't tell you that. All I can say is the Hunt family isn't as good as you see them. Even if they've helped you, it's because they're trying to make up for their sins. You don't have to be grateful to them. Getting away from them is the best choice you made."Sophia, being from the last generation, had heard of the complicated relationships among the three families even though she had not seen them. However, she couldn't expose those affairs to the younger generation lest the worst happen. The most she could do was to remind Renee. Renee could tell that Sophia wouldn't tell her too much and stopped asking. However, she kept it in mind and decided to find the truth."Okay, Ren. Stop overthinking. Since you're here, just spend your days with peace of mind. My family is strong and can protect you for the rest of your life. Just enjoy your life with Justin.""Got it." Renee nodded, pretending to have seen it through.
Renee understood Justin and frowned. She tore off the tape on his mouth and pinched his cheek. "You have five minutes to repent since you're awake. If you do a good job, I'll let you go. If not, I'll keep you tied up here."The scene just now was awkward for the two of them. Renee had to come up with a way to get rid of that. If not, she didn't know how to face him, let alone spend the rest of her life with him."Repent?" Justin took deep breaths and cleared his throat. Then, he looked into her eyes. "What do you want me to repent for?""You…"Justin's bold gaze rendered Renee helpless. She bit her lip awkwardly. "What do you think?" "Are you referring to me kissing you, or…me trying to make you mine?" Although Renee knocked him out, he remembered everything that happened before he fainted, including what he had seen."Yeah, you were rude. Shouldn't you repent?" Renee tried to make herself bolder. If not… She would seem unreasonable, especially when her dignity was violated.
"Have you thought it through?" Justin looked at her as she lay in bed. Though she was still wearing clothes, her curvy figure sparked endless imagination in him.Undeniably, Renee was an attractive and smart woman. Her amazing skills were merely one of her charms. Her devastatingly beautiful face and seductive figure were the reasons why so many men fell for her. People generally loved wonderful things, regardless if they were elite men or the average Joe. No one could resist Renee's charm and figure. In short, it was a physical attraction."Yes, I've thought it through." Renee looked up at Justin. He seemed like a familiar stranger to her—familiar because he had always been her soulmate and best friend who shared many interests and the same views. They dreamed of the same thing too: world peace.Justin mirrored her character. She would see herself every time she looked at him. They were a perfect match. Hence, he was a familiar stranger to her. For the first time, she realized
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