Stefan looked coldly at Shirley. He didn't answer her.Shirley realized she had overstepped a boundary, and she frantically apologized. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that. I think you might find me useful in the future, so… can I have your number?"This was the bravest thing that Shirley, who had been naive and conservative for many years, had done.Her careful attitude reminded Stefan of Renee when he met her four years ago, and his heart softened a little. "Give me your phone.""O-Okay!" Shirley quickly handed him her phone.The two stood very close to each other in front of the taxi, and to anyone watching, it seemed like a very intimate scene.At the same time, Renee and Liam walked out and happened to see this.Renee felt her heart ache. She wanted to pretend she didn't see anything and leave right away, but coincidentally, Stefan looked up, and their eyes met.His gaze was cold as usual, but there seemed to be an aura of superiority about him. He didn't feel awkw
Soul Travel was about an unsuccessful pianist who accidentally died just as his dream was about to come true. He met Soul Number 22, who hated life, and they helped each other find the meaning of life. It was a story of mutual redemption…The screen emitted a gentle glow. The graphics were beautiful, and the story was heart-warming.While watching, Renee silently began to weep. It wasn't because the story was particularly touching or that Stefan hurt her… She just felt like crying at that moment.According to the books she read, pregnant women tended to be very emotional due to fluctuating hormones, so it was very easy for them to get upset. Renee believed she was going through this phase, and so, she didn't want to hold it in. She began sobbing profusely…She gently placed her hands on her belly. "Hang in there, my little ones. I'll be able to leave with you very soon!"After crying, Renee felt much better. Her mood lifted significantly.Coincidentally, the movie had also ended.
Seeing how she wasn't replying, Stefan felt slightly annoyed and muttered coldly, "It's fine, I have other things to do anyway.""No! I'm free!" Renee instantly blurted out, then inwardly kicked herself for being too eager. She awkwardly brushed her hair to the side of her face and stammered, "I mean… I'm actually really busy, but it's not like I don't have time for supper..."Stefan felt rather amused with her bashful attitude, smiling to himself as he thought, 'She's actually kind of cute when she's like this.'The two exited the cinema and headed straight to a famous place known for their street food. "What would you like?" Stefan turned around, asking the woman standing behind him."Anything, just make sure it's not too savory.""Did I hear you right?" Stefan frowned. "I thought you used to love savory foods. What changed?"Renee naturally couldn't tell him that she was pregnant and had to monitor her diet, so she replied casually, "People change all the time. What's so w
Stefan looked at Renee and asked casually, "So, what are your plans?"Renee drank another mouthful of soup, then asked, "What plans?""You can't really stay in the business field forever, right? It's a complicated and dangerous world. You won't be able to handle it for long," Stefan explained, as he had experienced the struggles within the industry as well. He figured that a woman like her wouldn't be able to bear the stress of managing a business. Although they were divorced, he didn't wish such an uneasy life on her. "How would you know if I can't handle it?" Renee looked towards the man, a confident smile appearing on her face. "Just look at me now. Aren't I doing well? Azure Group has only been established for a few months, but we were able to secure a big contract! I even became the president of the Electronics Technology Association! Everything is going well as of now, so sorry for not seeing the dangers in this field, I guess.""You're too naive!" The man shook his head,
Stefan lowered his gaze, staring at the hands around his arm with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?""People! There are so many people!" Renee looked around anxiously, then tried pulling Stefan into the backseat of the car. As she continued to squeeze in, she mumbled under her breath, "There's so many of them! They're coming for us! Oh god, this is so scary… Let's hide in the car!""Many people?" Stefan looked around, the confusion on his face evident. It was midnight by the time they left, and they were the only two in the parking lot at the time. 'What is she talking about?'"Hey, why are you being so stubborn? They're right behind us! Do you have a death wish? Hide in here, quick!" Renee was so panicked that her face was red. She used all her strength to drag Stefan inside as if they didn't have much time.Helpless, Stefan could only listen to her demands, getting into the backseat with her. It was fortunate that there was a lot of space in the back, considering that it was an
Stefan opened his eyes, and yelled furiously at the shocked Renee, "Do you think this is funny?""No, there really are a lot of little people on you, they're crawling around your hair now…" Renee said desperately as she pointed towards his head anxiously. "And there are so many weeds growing out of your head! Let me pluck them out for you…"After saying that, she really did start yanking on Stefan's hair lightly. "Don't worry, I'll pluck them all out for you! One, two, three…""This is getting ridiculous!" Stefan was speechless. Eventually, his anger subsided and was quickly replaced with helplessness. Leaning against the backseat dejectedly, the man allowed Renee to yank on his hair continuously as if he were putting up with a naughty child.'Fine, if she wants to play it this way, she can do whatever the hell she wants! I'd like to see just how long she will keep this act up!'With that thought, the two could be seen pressed against each other in the backseat of the car, as Rene
Stefan was awoken by her shouting, and sat up with a frown. It seemed that he had taken his shirt off as well. His tanned skin was exposed for all to see, along with his muscular build. It was as if God had taken extra time to create this man, blindly giving him the gift of charm since the moment he was born.The intimacy of their current state surprised him so much that he was wide awake in seconds. His eyes were locked on Renee as he asked, "What's wrong?""You scumbag! You know what's wrong!" Renee immediately grabbed a jacket to cover her body, punching Stefan on the arm. "You're such a monster! How could you do this to me?! Just look at my stomach! If something happens to me, I'll make sure you rot in hell!" She really had no idea what happened last night, but she could put the pieces together. She thought, 'A man and a woman half naked, cuddling each other? What else could have happened?!'"Wait!" Stefan forcefully stopped Renee from hitting him, trying his best to recall
The man looked completely serious."I'm sorry, I must've been possessed last night or something. I have no idea why I would do those things…" Renee's cheeks were still flushed. She didn't dare to look directly at Stefan. Her voice was soft. "If you don't mind, we can just pretend nothing ever happened. I'll pay you compensation, and you delete that footage. What do you say?"Stefan retorted. "Do I look like I need any more money?""Nope!""So give up on that thought. You should think about how you can compensate me in other ways instead. Otherwise, I won't be deleting this any time soon," Stefan said in a nonchalant tone. "What else can I possibly compensate you with? Don't get greedy here!" Renee sat up, warning Stefan. "I'll be honest with you. I have a video of your antics while you were drunk too! If you dare to leak that footage, don't blame me for doing the same! We'll just have to go down together then!"Stefan seemed to yield to her threats, and he didn't push her an
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
Benjamin didn't play any tricks as he truly wanted to let them go. He had come to his senses and realized that Liam was sincere toward Amber, thus he wanted to let Liam go.Besides, someone else had instructed him to do so. It was obvious who that was.The Jenkins family would have closer cooperation with Hunt Enterprise in the coming years. Moreover, this cooperation would help them earn money easily. It would be ridiculous of him to give up those profits just to satisfy his wrath.Before leaving, Renee and the others sat in the pickup truck except for Liam. He stood at the door and kept looking around. He didn't get into the car for a long time."What's taking him so long? Why didn't he get in the car? We can't leave if Benjamin suddenly regrets it!" Leia said.She sat beside the window and lowered it, about to wave at Liam before Renee stopped her in time. "Stop urging him. It's still early. Nothing will go wrong since Benjamin agreed to let us go. You have to give Liam some
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!