Quinton couldn't understand why Renee would be so obstinate when she was generally straightforward and casual."You don't know." Renee sighed and kept her past with the Baldwin family from him. She stood Justin up back then and ran away from the Baldwin family. When Austin learned about that, he nearly made her pay a heavy price for it.At that time, she learned about how dangerous Austin was. When he was happy, he could give all kinds of rewards and make one feel superior. But if he got unhappy and was provoked, he would make one pay a heavy price."Forget it. Let's not talk about that." Renee looked ahead and said curiously, "I wonder what kind of surprise he got me. I hope it's not too much.""I know what it is." Quinton raised his chin and smiled. It looked like he was aware of what the surprise was. "What is it?""Let's go. You'll know when you reach there." Austin asked Renee to head to the West Chamber because the surprise was there. When she reached, she opened the d
Abby blinked and felt that Adie was right, so she stopped resisting it. "Adie, you're right. I think Mr. Baldwin is a pretty good guy though he's not as handsome, mature, charming, and capable as Daddy…"Abby couldn't stop talking. She compared Justin to Stefan and mentioned endless aspects where Justin was worse than Stefan.Coincidentally, Justin came with a lot of local delicacies for Adie, Abby, and Margaret when he learned that they had come. He happened to witness that scene. "Mr. Baldwin isn't as smart as Daddy. Plus, his voice isn't as pleasant as Daddy's. Sometimes he's more childish than us though he's an adult…""Ahem, ahem!" Renee noticed Justin's arrival and immediately cleared her throat to try to stop Abby from commenting on Justin. Unfortunately, Abby didn't stop. It was unknown if she did it on purpose or if she admired Stefan too much."But…" Abby finally stopped talking about Justin's weaknesses.A sigh of relief soon escaped Renee. She knew Abby was abou
If they fell out with each other at that time, Adie could casually make a few viruses. He couldn't fight them head-on, but he could at least make the properties under the Baldwin family plummet."Same with me," Quinton chimed in, shooting Justin a cold and threatening glare. "If you guys are lovey-dovey, I'll sincerely give you my blessings. If you let her down, I'll ruin your family."The air grew fierce because of Adie and Quinton's warning. "Uh…" Justin was clueless about how he should respond to them. Feeling awkward, he raised the food. "Let's eat something.""This is a serious moment, and I'm still waiting for your reply. I don't want to eat anything!" Quinton kept his solemn face, his tone far from joking."Yeah, say something!" Adie urged Justin and hoped to get a reply."I…" For the first time, Justin felt stressed. Both Quinton and Adie were difficult to handle. Undeniably, Renee's family was powerful."Okay, stop it! What are you doing? How could you bully the host h
Francine's cry attracted Alexander's attention. He was reading the newspaper while sitting on the sofa. It was the New Year, and everyone was waiting for Stefan to come home for a meal. Alexander put the newspaper down and looked at Francine with confusion. "Dear, it's the New Year. Why are you making so much noise?" "Nothing." Francine found herself unable to hold the invitation card. She wanted to throw it away, never to expose it to anyone else. However, her reaction made Alexander feel that things weren't that simple. He placed the newspaper down and walked toward her. "What have you got there? Who's getting married? They sent us an invitation card."Alexander was already retired and no longer took note of the happenings around him. He also disliked handling people and affairs. Hence, he generally would not attend his relatives' or friends' events. He would just let Stefan handle them.No one ordinary could deliver an invitation card to Hunt Manor. Francine's expression c
Francine was confident in Renee. She felt that Renee and Stefan sincerely loved each other deeply, and their romance wouldn't be over that easily. Unfortunately, they cared too much about their reputation and were stubborn. Someone needed to resolve that stalemate. "You made it sound so easy. Ren is single. If she wants to marry, she can marry anyone. We're just her ex-in-laws. We can't meddle in her affairs." Alexander shook his head. He was full of remorse since he felt that the sail had shipped. He blamed his insensible son instead of Renee. Stefan didn't cherish such a good woman—served him right to lose her!"We can't do anything about it, but our son can!" Francine said confidently. "They're always caught up with each other, and they can't stop loving each other.""What do you mean?""Stef can win Ren back as long as he does something.""But they've ended up like this. If they wanted to remarry, they would have long done so. You made it sound too easy," Alexander said,
"Uh, well…" Suddenly, Francine found it hard to tell Stefan the truth. After all, she knew better than anyone how much he loved Renee. However, Renee was going to marry another man. It must be a big blow for Stefan."What's wrong?" Stefan narrowed his eyes and studied Francine, who was acting weird."Nothing! Let's eat. It's the New Year. Let's eat together." Alexander found it cruel to expose the news to Stefan since it was the family reunion day, so he changed the topic of the conversation. "Fine." Stefan stopped raising questions and walked straight toward the dining table.Francine watched his back and hesitated. She was about to speak up when Alexander held her wrist. "Calm down."Alexander whispered to her, "Let's eat first. Don't ruin the New Year for him.""Yes, you're right. I should calm down." After some contemplation, she felt that Alexander was considerate. She nodded and decided to wait until after the New Year.It was a grand feast.Usually, the Hunt Manor
After a pause, a long sigh escaped Timothy. "Well, children are lacking."Both Alexander and Francine kept quiet. They knew he was going to start talking about that again.Timothy would always talk about the same thing whenever they sat down for a meal. He would make Stefan ask Renee to remarry him, and then demand he get his children home. The harmonious atmosphere would become particularly gloomy and tense every time Timothy brought that up. They knew the thing he yearned for was a prohibited topic for Stefan.It seemed Stefan had made up his mind to never have anything to do with Renee. His face would sink every time they talked about him making peace with Renee, remarrying her, or the children. He would put the fork down and leave. However, Timothy mentioned that topic straightaway during dinner. Awkwardness soon filled Alexander and Francine, and they didn't dare to speak at all. They were afraid that the reunion dinner would become a battlefield."Yes, you're right."
Coldness rapidly engulfed everyone. "It's said that Ms. Renee Everheart and Mr. Justin Baldwin have been best friends for many years and ended up as soulmates. They're going to hold a grand engagement ceremony three days later. They've also announced that the Baldwin family has finally made peace with the Everheart family. Many distinguished guests will attend the ceremony. It's still unknown if this event will bring any new changes to North City and Beach City. Let's wait and see!"The host was reporting the affair excitedly on the TV as if he was an eager onlooker."Tsk! What TV station is this? How lousy! I'm going to acquire it!" Francine criticized it before she told the servant to turn the TV off. She also looked at Stefan and Timothy carefully from time to time. She wondered what was on their mind since nobody spoke up.After the TV was turned off, a strange feeling overcame everyone."Let's enjoy our reunion dinner. Don't be angry." Alexander urged everyone to start eat
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
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