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
Apparently, the person giving him CPR wasn't Renee, who he initially expected. Instead, it was one of the members of the rescue team, a tanned burly man."Damn it!" Stefan immediately leaped from the ground, pushing the burly man harshly and forcing him ten feet away.Seeing this, Renee was overwhelmed with glee. "Oh my god, you're alive, Stefan! Thank the stars!""Did you do that on purpose, Renee?!" Stefan looked exceedingly disgusted as he wiped his mouth over and over using the back of his hand.He thought to himself, 'That was so humiliating! I can't believe that I, Stefan Hunt, was tricked! I cannot accept this. I won't let this damn brat off so easily!'However, Renee was clueless about Stefan's intentions from the start. She truly believed that the man needed CPR and went out of her way to find the best professional around them.Seeing how energetic the man seemed, Renee was genuinely happy that he was no longer in critical condition. She instinctively gave him a big hug,
Cecilia's mother was still crying, holding onto her hand as she asked, "My dear, are you okay? What are you looking for? Just look at me…."Stef… Where is he?" Cecilia's voice was hoarse and weak.After experiencing such a deadly situation, she decided that she had to stop hiding her true feelings. She loved Stefan Hunt, and she couldn't possibly move on from him.The only person she wanted to see now… was Stefan Hunt."M… Mr. Hunt?" The atmosphere felt tense and awkward, as everyone had the same thought in their heads.'The first thing this bride did, despite having just survived drowning, was to look for another man… Poor Mr. Jacobs…'Christopher's handsome face turned stiff, then he spoke softly to the woman in his embrace. "Stef risked his life to save you, you know? You have to give him a proper thanks later.""He did?" Cecilia's pale face finally livened up, bursting into tears. "I knew it… He does care about me! Oh, Stef… Where is he? I have to see him!"At that moment
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
"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
"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
"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
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
Everyone looked at Yvette. Sophia, grumpy, asked fiercely, "What's going on? Why are you screaming? You're so rude."Yvette bowed and reported nervously, "I… I suddenly realized that there was something wrong with the spices I prepared for Ms. Everheart. There's something special in there." Anxiety instantly gripped Sophia and she hurriedly demanded, "What is it?" "Uh… It's something that can arouse people." Yvette fearlessly reported everything. "Generally, aromatherapists will take care of this kind of thing while serving customers. We'll add it for our female customers to deepen their bond with their significant others. I did the same thing this time, but it doesn't seem appropriate.""Is that so?" Sophia's fierceness immediately subsided, replaced with a gentle look. She grinned. "That isn't a problem at all. In fact, I'll reward you handsomely!" "Huh?" Yvette looked up, flattered.While the average people might generally find that kind of thing fun, it might seem disres
The next second, Renee instinctively slapped Justin."What are you doing?" Renee shyly interrogated him. "I don't know. I think I'm greedy today. It seems like a kiss isn't enough…"He held her face and closed his eyes, trying to continue with the kiss. However, this kiss was not as simple as the previous one. It was full of his desire, unlike his usual self."Mmph, you can't…!" Renee resisted and tried to push Justin away.But he grew more outrageous and stepped into the bathtub, the water soaking him. The frightened professional physical therapists stood outside and talked among themselves. Holly, the massage therapist smoothed her chest and said, "Oh, I'm embarrassed! I'm sure Mr. Baldwin didn't see anything, did he?"Nova, the top beautician, said sensibly, "You're overthinking. It isn't a big deal even if he saw anything. Do you want to hold him responsible for it? He came home with his fiancee. Stop imagining things.""No, I'm not overthinking. I'm just embarrassed. Y
"I want to take things slowly too," Justin whispered, holding Renee's cheek gently as his gaze grew more amorous, "but I'm just a normal guy. I can't take things slow when I see something like this."He loved Renee very much—he had fallen in love with her at first sight. The more time he spent with her, the more he grew to like her. Renee was devastatingly beautiful, with exquisite facial features. However, she didn't look meek or submissive, giving men the notion that it was impossible to conquer her, even if it seemed doable. In the steam, Renee's cheeks grew rosy. Her hair was tied up high, exposing her delicate neck. She looked like a seductive woman in an oil painting from Varangia. No man could resist her."We're about to marry each other. We can kiss, can't we?" Justin raised her chin, looking like a hunter who wanted to swallow his prey. "If we can't be this intimate, we don't have to marry. It means we can never fall in love with each other.""I…" Renee pursed her lips,
Justin walked quietly to the bathtub and looked down at her as if he were enjoying a plate of wonderful dessert. His gaze deepened. "You came here to spend the rest of your life with me. Plus, we're about to get married. Don't you think our bodies are still strangers to each other?"The only time that they were intimate with each other was when he kissed her as a joke, which earned him a beating from her.At that time, Justin didn't intend to do much. He just behaved like a naughty boy while teasing his beloved woman. His action didn't have the desire men held for women.But that was a different time. When he wanted to get close to her, it was for different reasons. This time, he was full of possessiveness for her. "Stop messing around! If you make things weird, we can't be friends anymore," Renee said.She didn't dare to move in the bathtub. She feigned indifference while teasing him and trying to make him regain his wits. "Friends?" Justin snorted and bent over a little. He