In the end, Renee didn't feel like keeping this up, so she took the necklace begrudgingly.She then held her hand out to Cecilia, who was still on the ground. She sounded rather helpless as she said, "Fine, I'll take it. But you gave me the freedom to deal with it however I want, did you? So I'll just be throwing it into the trash."Cecilia didn't seem mad and still showed a bittersweet smile. "Sure, throw it away. I can't do it myself anyway, so you can help out instead… Just as I told Stef earlier, I admit defeat if you were the one I lost to."The woman's words made Renee extremely confused. 'Huh? Aren't they planning to elope? Why did they include me in this? And the whole admitting defeat thing… What does she even mean?!'However, she didn't intend to ask any further questions. With Cecilia being the bride, she should be able to have the choice of eloping or going through with the wedding. 'She can think about it on her own. Prying would only make it seem like I care about
Everyone started gossiping among themselves.The priest had never handled such a situation but cleared his throat and said, "Love may be late, but it's worth the wait. Let's welcome the bride once more!"Once again, the music echoed through the halls, but when that ended, Cecilia was still nowhere to be found.Both parents of the families were panicking at this point, ordering their employees to investigate this matter. All of the guests were making their own assumptions as well, and the entire event fell into a state of chaos.Renee couldn't help her urge to nudge Stefan with her elbow, whispering. "Hey, is this your doing? Did you hide her somewhere?"Stefan's expression darkened, his voice frosty. "Mind your tongue if you'd like it to stay intact."Renee gulped and instantly shut up. 'Well, was I wrong? Why did he have to be so mad?! Petty bastard!'Xavier was panicking the most out of everyone, rushing up the stage and calming the guests down as much as he could.“No need t
The guests gasped in shock as they looked toward the person who was speaking. It was Ruby, the woman who had managed to win the best actress award last year.At the time, Ruby was sitting right next to Charlotte, which meant that she was sitting in the same row as Stefan and Renee.She kept a low profile the whole time, silently sitting next to them without causing a ruckus. Hence, she was able to watch as the two interacted with each other.From an outsider's perspective, Stefan and Renee acted as if they were sworn enemies. However, Ruby's sharp observation skills allowed to notice the special relationship between them, which made their banter seem rather flirtatious.She was consumed by jealousy, which strengthened her determination to take Renee down.Xavier quickly dashed towards Ruby, asking hurriedly, "What the hell are you saying? Do you know where the bride is?""I don't exactly, but I can make a wild guess as to who is responsible for her disappearance…."She then used
Charlotte's instigation immediately made the people who were on Renee's side immediately switch stances. With that, Renee turned into a criminal in their eyes. Everyone began calling her a cruel witch, apart from… Stefan and Christopher."Silence!" Christopher put up a serious face and approached Renee.He then brought out the ring he had prepared for Cecilia, handing it to Stefan. "Stef, put this ring on Ms. Everheart."The intelligent Stefan instantly understood what Christopher was trying to do, and he nodded gently.He grabbed Renee's hand without saying anything, attempting to put the ring on the woman's finger.Renee started backing away out of anxiousness. "What are you doing? You can't just put a ring on anybody! Get it off me!""Wear it!" Stefan demanded.Hence, the two started struggling to achieve their individual wishes, looking as if they were in a fight.Ding ding ding…The bells started chiming again, as it was the perfect time to watch the sunset. As the gold
Everyone immediately looked toward the employee. The male employee's forehead was covered in sweat, as he tried his best to catch his breath. "The… winding bank… We found Ms. Smith's shoe around the cliffside of the winding bank! She must've fallen into the ocean!"The winding bank was quite a famous sightseeing spot within the area, as it was formed by a short mountain range in the shape of the letter 'C.' Moreover, it was known for its treacherous terrains as well."She fell into the sea?!" Xavier howled. "But Cecy doesn't know how to swim! We need to save her right now!"He was the first to rush out, with Christopher and Stefan following behind.Renee, on the other hand, froze slightly. She then followed a group of curious guests to the site.The tides around the bank were actually rather calm. However, with the sun already set, there wasn't enough light for them to locate Cecilia well.Renee observed the heels placed neatly at the edge of the cliff and tried analyzing the s
"We were married for four whole years! How could she possibly have nothing to do with me?" Stefan sounded determined, making it seem like his absurd statement was reasonable.Renee stood behind him with mixed feelings stirring up in her chest.She had never expected Stefan to defend her in front of this many people, nor had she expected him to say all those things. 'Isn't he supposed to be the coldest and harshest person regarding our past marriage? Shouldn't he be expressing his disdain more than anything? What is he doing acting as if he cared?'Christopher spoke up too. "Stef is right. We have no proof pointing to Ms. Everheart pushing Cecilia off the cliff, so please do not make any hasty assumptions or use violence against her."Instead, we should split up into groups and look around the area… find Cecilia as soon as we can!"Everyone found his words quite understandable, and they started calling out to Cecilia, covering more ground as they tried to look for her. Stefan a
No matter how much she screamed and called, Stefan soldiered on, seeming as if he had no intention of turning back."Fine! If you're so tired of living, then just die! If you die, I won't even cry a single tear for you!" Renee clenched her fists, her chest tightening while she grew more and more furious at his recklessness. 'God damn it, Stefan Hunt! Do you have no one else you care about in this world?! Are you really willing to give up on everything for your first love?! Is she really that important to you?!'It was also then that she finally realized that the cold man she once knew was actually quite loving. However, his love wasn't hers to dream of, and she had no right to expect that from him.Stefan was quite a skilled swimmer and was able to reach Cecilia within minutes. Using one arm, he carried her back to shore.Just as they were about to reach the safe zone, a large wave came crashing down, dragging the two backward.Their figures were unable to be seen after that, wh
As the two headed to a safer area, Christopher sat her down gently and whispered, "Sorry if I overstepped. I was acting out of panic as well. I hope you understand.""It's alright. I should be thanking you, actually. I was being too rash," Renee replied, calming down and realizing she had momentarily lost it.She put some thought into this and asked herself, 'What does my ex-husband's life have to do with me? We're already divorced.'However, despite regaining her rationality, Renee still continued staring out into the ocean, crossing her arms before her chest. She started calling out to the man in her head, 'Come back, Stefan Hunt. For the sake of your two children, I'm begging you to come back!'After that, as if the man himself had heard her pleas, she witnessed a miracle happening right before her eyes. Stefan, who had disappeared into the waves earlier, was able to swim against the current, returning to the shore with his extraordinary swimming skills."They're back! They'r
"I'm sorry!" Renee blurted—she realized her selfishness."I admit that I took you as a substitute. I wanted to get out of that suffering relationship, and I didn't care about your feelings. I'm so sorry."At first, she wanted to forget Stefan and start a new relationship. And then, Justin risked his life to save her. On top of that, they were compatible in various aspects. She felt that she could spend the rest of her life with him.However, Renee realized that her actions were purely self-serving. She never considered Justin's feelings or asked about his willingness. She merely took him as a convenient tool. "No, you did nothing wrong," Justin said. "You have your choices. Likewise, I have my choices too."He stared at Renee passionately, his teary eyes filled with pain, and held her hand. "I chose you. I want to stay with you while you're trying to forget about him. I want you to be happy with me.""You…" Renee looked into Justin's eyes. His generosity, firmness, and thoug
"Mmph!" Renee was sitting beside the window, watching the floating clouds up in the sky when a sudden pain gripped her heart—as if it was clenched tight. "What's wrong?" Justin asked nervously. Sitting across from her, he could feel something wrong with her. "I'm fine." Renee shook her head and tried to soothe her stuffy chest. "My heart suddenly hurt just now. I guess it's because of the sudden weightlessness when the plane took off."Justin sighed in relief. "I've heard that some people might get dizzy or feel their ears ring because of weightlessness, but I've never heard of hearts aching.""It's fine. It's something rare, I guess. I'll feel better after a while." Renee waved his concerns away, taking a deep breath. She picked up the cup in front of her and sipped some water, and felt better. Perhaps the water had cooled her heart. However, Justin felt a little uneasy. He knew her heart wasn't his though their destination was the same."If you can't forget about him, yo
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