"Um…" Surprisingly, Justin was quite calm. For a moment, Elijah was rendered speechless. When he hesitated, he got a call from Stefan. "Please wait a moment."Elijah covered his phone and cautiously nodded at Justin before he walked to a corner. Justin pocketed his hands and acted like an outsider. He watched from afar as Elijah's expression changed drastically. He was quite confident now. Renee's sudden disappearance probably had nothing to do with Stefan."Mr. Baldwin…" Elijah finally hung up and heaved a long sigh. "Mr. Hunt would like to talk to you alone in his office.""That sounds about right." Justin raised his brow, unsurprised. He knew Stefan would see him regardless of whether Renee was with him because both of them cared about Renee greatly. Justin went to the top floor where Stefan was, with Elijah leading the way."Come in."The spacious president's office was rather quiet. The members of the secretarial team were sent away. Hence, Justin was left alone with
"An eyewitness?" Stefan caught the key information and frowned. He interrogated icily, "What kind of eyewitness?" "A makeup artist from my engagement party. She claimed you were the one who'd taken Phoenix away," Justin said.When he remembered the makeup artist's words, he was still angry, but he maintained his rationale. After dwelling on them, he felt that the makeup artist would not have easily gotten knocked out if she had conspired with Stefan beforehand."I didn't go to North City," Stefan stressed again, looking worried. "If someone impersonated me and took her away, her situation would be bad now.""That's my concern, too."Initially, Justin hated Stefan so much that he wanted to beat the latter up. Gradually, he subconsciously took Stefan's side to ensure Renee's safety."I happened to have brought the eyewitness here to prove that you weren't lying. Do you dare to confront her?" Justin asked Stefan, just to play it safe."Of course." Stefan shrugged, composed. "I wou
The makeup artist smiled awkwardly. People of her profession had met various kinds of handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies. Of course, they would be excited to see those with exceptionally good facial features, since being the stylist of such a person was an honor."Just leave! You're useless now!" Justin hurriedly drove the makeup artist away for fear that Stefan might get too smug from being praised."Wait!" Stefan stopped her and asked coldly, "Do you still remember what that man looked like?""Of course!" The makeup artist looked at Stefan with bright eyes, eager and enthusiastic. "That gentleman was very handsome and looked a little like you. He was also called Mr. Hunt, but I don't know his name."The makeup artist tried hard to recall the details of that affair. She told Stefan everything that she could remember."Okay, I know who it was." Stefan looked calm, not at all agitated after learning the truth. He also sounded indifferent."Do you know who it was?" Justin, res
"I know." Justin looked at Stefan. He saw through Stefan's inner thoughts easily. "What do you know?" Stefan calmly asked. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?" Justin subconsciously flexed his fingers, furious. "If you wanted to stop your crazy cousin, you would have done so—but you didn't. Instead, you let him do as he pleased. You used him to help get what you wanted. Your crazy cousin was just your tool!""You're overthinking." Stefan kept his calmness, not at all guilty even though Justin had exposed his thoughts. He looked gloomy as he said, "Jovan merely did what he wanted to do. I just followed my heart and acted as an outsider.""You, an outsider?" Justin grabbed Stefan's collar and glared at him. "Then, I'm sure you know where he took her to. We've got to find her together. When we find her, you must leave her forever and never appear in front of her. Can you do that?" Similarly, Stefan confronted Justin fiercely and answered honestly, "I don't know where he is. He a
Justin didn't expect Stefan to cooperate. He had no idea what to do."Really?" He tried to confirm with Stefan, as he didn't believe Stefan could be persuaded that easily. "I don't have to lie to you." Stefan looked calm and heartbroken. "I'm already very lucky to have spent some time with her. Plus, I'm satisfied that we've loved each other deeply. I can't wish for other things." Justin pursed his lips, almost moved by Stefan's deep passion. "Tell me what you want. I'll satisfy you if I can."Stefan promised Justin too easily. If Justin did not provide anything in return, he would feel insecure. Yet, he knew that it was simply because Stefan had lost his mind and wanted to break up with Renee."My actions have nothing to do with you." Stefan looked cold and contemptuous, not even taking Justin seriously. However, he had some conditions. "I think I have to talk to you about something." "I'm listening." Justin let down his guard and anger. At the same time, he let go of Stefan'
"What happened?" Stefan frowned, noticing how serious it was. He was about to go downstairs to check it out when Elijah stopped him."Don't go out!" Elijah immediately rushed into the office, anxious. "Mr. Hunt, it's a mess downstairs! Two men with guns barged into the company and claimed they had placed bombs in the core foundation of the building. They want us to let somebody go. If not, they're going to blow up the building!""Bombs?" Stefan had considered that things might get serious, but this exceeded his anticipation. Surprisingly, they boldly challenged Hunt Enterprise in broad daylight in front of everyone. It was an open challenge against the Hunt family, and they wanted to start a war. "Who is that bold? And who do they want?" Elijah couldn't figure it out. Recently, they were cautious, so he had no idea who they had offended. "Uh…" Justin raised his hand and tried to say something.Stefan was no longer in the mood to entertain him. He said icily, "I don't care who
Justin didn't expect Elijah to be so good at fighting despite appearing to be a mere assistant. Elijah defeated and caught him with ease.If Justin knew, he would have learned martial arts properly when his grandfather taught him back then instead of being absorbed in coding. "I don't want to do this either, but there are thousands of employees here. I don't want to see them sacrificed just because we're rivals in love," Stefan said.Stefan believed that Justin was telling the truth, but he needed a safety measure. If anything went wrong, he wouldn't be on the losing end."Fine. Take me downstairs. Let them have me. They'll dismantle the bombs," Justin said.After struggling a bit and failing to break free, Justin accepted his fate. He could understand why Stefan did that. Cadmus and Tiger were reckless and rough. They were the reason why he was in this state. At the same time, the reporters outside were agitated. They had no idea about the result of the negotiation between Ste
Jovan's face was frosty. He smashed the box containing the pearl on the bed and glared at Renee. "Do you have to make both of us uneasy?" "It's not the first day we're uneasy. If you don't want me to lose my remaining affection for you, you'd better let me go now." Renee looked at him, refusing to give up. She hoped he would change his mind and let her go."What can you do if I let you go?" Jovan snorted. "It's already too late. You'll only make things worse if you go out.""What do you mean?" Renee was isolated in the room and had no idea what had happened. But she knew something must have happened, or Jovan would not have said that."Well…" Jovan checked his watch. "The Hunt family started fighting the Baldwin family an hour ago. It's just like a war film."Anxiety overcame Renee when she heard that. She flexed her fingers and hurriedly asked, "What happened? Why did you say it's just like a war film? Did they make a big scene?"Although she was mentally prepared for the Ba
"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
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