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
"I…"Cecilia was still feeling a little weak. She looked at the crowd with cloudy, bleary eyes, as if she had something she could not say out loud."I bumped into you and Ms. Everheart earlier," Ruby pointed out suggestively, continuing to fan the flame. "And you looked a little upset then. Was Ms. Everheart the last person you were with?"She felt that her implication was obvious enough, even if she did not spell it all out—Renee Everheart pushed Cecilia into the sea!Having climbed through the ranks in the entertainment industry for long enough, she had armed herself with weapons that helped her get ahead. Among all the weapons in her arsenal, borrowing the hand of another to eliminate a rival was her favorite, as it was the most convenient. Without lifting a finger, she could just stand back and let someone else eliminate the most threatening enemy on the battlefield—the perfect strategy!"That's right!" Cecilia's mother agitatedly held her shoulders and urged, "Don't be afr
Cecilia's mother then turned to Christopher. "Take your bride to the hospital, Chris, and hurry up, will you? If she stays a moment longer, I fear someone might beat her to death!""Of course," Christopher replied. "But I'd like to take the opportunity to publicly announce that the wedding between Cecilia Smith and I has been canceled. Our relationship as a couple ends today as well. I deeply apologize for dragging everyone into this mess and wasting your time today, but rest assured, you will be fully compensated by my family and I."This threw the crowd into an uproar.Xavier was flustered and anxiously tried to help save Christopher's situation. "What the hell are you talking about, Chris? Are you seriously canceling the wedding and breaking up with Cecy right now? Don't you think that's a bit too cruel? Tell me it's not true. Tell me you're just joking to lighten up the atmosphere."But Christopher said nothing in reply. He picked Cecilia up in his arms and carried her away.T
Renee's lips curled up, but her expression was cold. In a moment, her heart froze into ice.She assumed that Stefan would never have to ask such a stupid question, but since he had actually blurted it out, it was clear that a vast chasm had opened up between them, forever separating them from each other, no matter if he believed it or not…"I have nothing to explain," replied Renee. "If you trust me, I don't have to say a word, and you'd still trust me. But if you don't believe me, it won't matter even if I explain everything to you till my mouth gets dry. I could dig out my heart and show it to you, and you still won't believe me."Renee forcefully yanked her hand from him. There was only calm diffidence on her flawless face. Then, as if not caring at all what Stefan thought of her, she added, "Do whatever you want. I'm leaving!"Then she turned on her heels and left without having the slightest feeling left for the man, not giving a jot of what he thought of her. So what if he th
"You're lying!"Stefan's eyes were as keen and shrewd as an eagle's. He sneered at Ruby and added, "Didn't you just tell me you've admired me for a long time? Then how is it possible that you've never heard of my ex-wife's name?""I…" Ruby was stunned, speechless. Being a veteran of the entertainment world, she was used to pulling words out of her ass, and everyone would accept whatever she said without batting an eyelid. She never expected Stefan to be so perceptive that he could immediately catch the inconsistency in her speech. For a second, she was completely at a loss for what to do.Then in a hasty bid to save face, she blurted, "What… What I meant was that I've never personally met Ms. Everheart, but of course, I've heard of her. After all, your CP 'Hunt My Everheart' is really popular online. Lots of people in the entertainment industry are fans of that site.""Because you admire me…" Stefan ruthlessly interjected, coldly staring at Ruby. "You must be jealous of her because
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