Stefan's grip on Renee's neck tightened as his emotions overwhelmed him. At that moment, he seemed to have lost control of himself. He just wanted an outlet to release his guilt and anger, so his mind wasn't thinking straight. Renee was in too much pain to say anything. She stared at him calmly, but tears had welled up in her eyes. She could definitely fight back, but she did not struggle—she just suffered in silence. It was because Briar had lost her child because of Renee's careless mistake. If Stefan wanted her to pay the price with her life, then she would make it up to them with her and her two babies' lives. She would rather die at his hand than spend the rest of her life living in guilt. After a while, her vision started fading to black, and her eyelids fluttered. She closed her eyes in deep pain and bitter disappointment... However, Stefan could not bear to do that. He pushed her away with the last bit of rationality that was left in him. Renee gasped for air, coughin
While Stefan was taking care of some business, Briar started to go crazy again after the sedative wore off. "Let me die! Let me die!"Briar went crazy and hit her head against the wall hard. With a swollen bruise on her head, she screamed, "My baby is gone! I don't want to live anymore! Let me die!"The nurses were frantic and called Stefan. When Stefan received the news, he dropped his business and rushed over as fast as possible.Briar was out of control. Stefan grabbed her and comforted her repeatedly. "It's okay. It's okay."Briar suddenly hugged him docilely. She kept crying and murmured, "Stefan, the baby is gone… The only thing Tristan left for ms is gone…""They said my womb is no more! I won't be able to conceive anymore. What should I do? My life is finished!"Stefan silently laid Briar down on the bed. He put a hot towel on her swollen head and whispered, "Your life isn't finished. You'll have the Hunts as your biggest support.""Really?" Briar continued crying and
The computer screen glowed with a white light in the dark room.Stefan replayed the surveillance footage from Redwood Mansion over and over again. He wanted to see if the tragedy happened because of Renee's arrogance, as Briar claimed.Stefan tapped the forward and backward buttons again and again. He repeatedly watched how Renee humiliated and pushed Briar. He watched how indifferent Renee was as she watched Briar lie in a pool of blood.Stefan's eyes were glued to the screen. His face was tense with anger. At last, he hissed a low curse of disappointment in the silent darkness. "Damn it!" Stefan never thought of Renee as someone evil. She was just a willful woman with a strong sense of self. However, this video really hit him hard. He never knew she could be so vicious and hurt an unborn child like that!As Stefan struggled to restrain himself from losing control, he took out his phone and called Elijah."Bring Renee to Sutton at once," Stefan ordered coldly, "She must apologi
Stefan was so angry that he wanted to choke Elijah to death. He narrowed his eyes and hissed, "How could she just vanish into thin air? That's ridiculous!""Right? We've tried searching all we could but failed to track Ms. Everheart's whereabouts… By the way, Ms. Everheart's nanny Margaret disappeared along with her…"Elijah sighed repeatedly and apologized. "Mr. Hunt, I've tried my best, but I can't help. If you don't believe me, you'll have to do it yourself!"Stefan didn't hesitate and immediately took a private jet back to Beach City.Stefan firmly believed that anyone alive would leave a track of activity. 'That's impossible. How could she have completely disappeared? Unless… She's still in Beach City!' thought Stefan. He did not mind using all the power he had to find her.Stefan sent more men to search all of Beach City. He also had Christopher and Xavier use whatever method they could to search for her.Xavier had recovered by this time and was discharged from the hospita
"I mean it literally," Stefan confessed with an expressionless face and steady breath.Anyway, the baby and Renee were gone. It did not matter anymore whether the secret was kept or made public."W-what?" Xavier gapped in shock.Christopher had a similar reaction to Xavier's. He spent about ten minutes sorting out the whole story. After a good while, he finally let out a long sigh. "Stef, you're such a fool. It must be aggravating."Stefan said coldly, "I'm fine. My late brother saved my life. I have to give my all to fulfill his last wish, but unfortunately… I can't do anything!"Stefan slammed his fist hard on the table. His eyes were slightly red. It was clear that he felt very guilty about Tristan."Of course you're fine. It's your wife who suffered!"Xavier could not help but fight for Renee. "If you feel responsible for Tristan's death, so be it, but why did you have to hurt Renee? You did so much for Briar and her child, but what about Renee? She was married to you for fo
"I almost choked her to death. Did I go too far?" Stefan asked."Yes and no." Xavier was an outsider and said impartially, "Considering your usual behavior, choking someone wasn't the worst thing I've seen you do, but… I think hurting Renee was a little too much."Xavier had never seen the usually sober and sensible Stefan in such distraught in all their years of friendship, heartbroken to see the state Stefan was in despite finding his actions maddening. Therefore, he toned down his words."She deserved it!" Stefan's calmness evaporated instantly like a long-dormant volcano that erupted suddenly. His voice was cold. "It's only fair to repay a life with a life!"Xavier took a step backward in shock and grimaced. He ridiculed, "Okay, fine. It's fair. So are we spending so much effort to find her for you to continue choking her to death?"Stefan hissed coldly, "We'll talk about that when we get her back!"Xavier and Christopher exchanged a glance, smiling. They shrugged and shook t
Truthfully, Stefan knew all too well that Renee couldn't possibly be living in Hunt Villa.Even so, he still had the faintest hope that a miracle might happen.It's a little funny. In the past, he used to be decisive and never hesitated about anything. Why had he become so indecisive and illogical?Stefan walked into the bedroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and carefully ran his fingers across the duvet. It was as if he was caressing her hair, her face, and her soft, fair skin…All he could think about was Renee.He thought of the times she smiled at him, when she was angry, when she yelled at him, when she was embarrassed, and finally, when she turned around and left without looking back.There was an emptiness inside him. It was like an endless spiral that devastated his soul!"Damn it!" Stefan took a deep breath. He couldn't go on like this.His life shouldn't be affected so drastically just because a woman left him. He shouldn't be suffering like this.Besides, that woma
"I never thought 'love at first sight' actually existed in this world. We met in the most beautiful way possible, but we spent our time together in the worst way imaginable… I knew he didn't love me, but he had no choice but to marry me. That's why I can understand why he treated me so coldly the way he did…"I guess he must have had a lot on his mind—dreams, poems, songs, ambitions, the girl he loved… everything but me. Even so, I still cried tears of joy when we exchanged vows in front of the priest and put the ring on each other's fingers. I fantasized about the day I'd finally find a place in his heart… even if just a tiny part!"I cried my lungs out. He was petrified when he saw me in that state. Although he was disgusted, he still wiped my tears away and put the ring on my finger. He was cold yet gentle… At that moment… I started falling."Chapter Three, The Long Wait."I've imagined us doing things together after getting married…watching variety shows on the couch, building
The Baldwin family was so excited that they couldn't sleep. They waited at the exit of the airport eagerly for a long time."Dad, you can't be this fierce. The past is the past. What's important now is Justin has brought Ms. Ren home. He didn't let us down. And don't scare her off again. Just smile!" Sophia boldly reminded Austin, who looked stiff, for the sake of the bigger picture."Why should I smile? I'm born like this. I hate smiling!" Austin retorted stubbornly. His face grew stiffer and he looked more solemn. "Why can't you take my advice? Ms. Ren came to a strange city all alone. I'm sure she's scared, but you're going to be so fierce to her. If you scare her off, you'll make a scene again. It'll be too late if you regret it by then!" Sophia nagged, insistent on explaining the interests at stake."Okay, stop. Dad's always like that. He's a general. No general loves to smile. When did he ever smile? Stop forcing him. We'll do the smiling." Jack dragged Sophia to the side, f
In the past, Renee recalled hurting Justin once. If she chose to get off the plane, she couldn't regret it. For a moment, she was unsure. She wondered if she was ready to make such a huge decision."It's fine. I told you, it's not too late if you don't get off the plane," Justin whispered. Although he looked hurt, he remained gentle and kind. "You have one minute to reconsider.""No, that's unnecessary." After taking a deep breath, Renee finally made up her mind. "I'll go with you."She had made such a decision after much contemplation. Since she was bold enough to board the plane, then she could get off it."Alright!" Justin's eyes brightened. He walked over and interlocked his fingers with hers. "You don't have to be scared. I'll be with you every step of the way. Let's face everything together."They walked side-by-side as they got off the plane.They took an individual pathway to exit the airport since they rode the exclusive plane of the Baldwin family. The Baldwin family ha
"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.""