A man dressed in black clothing was there, his legs set on a desk as if he were some kind of young delinquent. He was turning around in the revolving chair he was sitting in nonchalantly, clearly not showing any respect to the others in the room.He was wearing a cap that covered half of his face, only revealing his sharp nose and thin lips.He was, in fact, the one and only idol to many within the IT field, the four-year consecutive champion of the Global Hackers Union competition, one of the two legendary figures amongst all hackers—Haze."Please wait just a little bit longer, Mr. Haze! Mr. Hunt will be right with you any time now!""You must be tired from all this waiting! Here, let me give you a massage!"Having been given the honor to meet their idol, many employees from the technical department were gushing over Haze, with some even asking for photographs and signatures. It was quite a desperate sight."Don't you all have work to do?!" Elijah was the first to witness this a
"Okay, it's a deal." Stefan's icy gaze was fixed on the 'Run' button on the screen. "Go ahead.""Awesome!" Haze clicked on the button without thinking twice.Everyone held their breath, and all eyes were focused on the monitor screen. Some of Phoenix's fans clenched their fists, their hearts pounding in excitement."Almost there! Almost got it!""The identity of the mysterious legendary hacker Phoenix is going to be exposed!"Fifteen minutes seemed to fly by. Everyone started counting down."10, 9, 8, 7…"At that moment, Renee nonchalantly returned to the scene."Aren't you done yet?" She asked mockingly as she watched Haze, who was frowning deeply. "Are you sure you can do it? I think there's some errors in your code. If it turns out that you've been chasing your own tail this whole time, aren't you worried that you'll have to call someone Daddy instead?""What does a woman like you know about coding? All you know how to do is clean up garbage."Haze was so full of disdain f
Despite suddenly becoming the target of everyone's critical gazes, Renee remained perfectly calm."Wait," she chuckled, "surely you guys aren't suspecting me of being Phoenix, are you?""I'd just gone out to the restroom for a few minutes," she said incredulously, "and in that time, I somehow turned into a famous genius hacker! What a magical turn of events! Perhaps I should celebrate it with fireworks!""I think it's all just a coincidence," Elijah chimed in quickly. "Based on my understanding of Mrs. Hunt's character, her shrewdness and practicality are more suited for a housewife. Her proficiency with computers is limited to watching movies and videos online. She doesn't even play any video games… If someone like her is a genius hacker, then I must be the president of this country!"Although his words were unflattering at Renee's expense, he had only said that to help get her out of trouble, and it worked well. Everyone thought that Elijah's words made a lot of sense."That's r
After Haze left, the atmosphere became calm again."If there's nothing else," said Renee to Stefan, "then I'm leaving now."After all, she had performed the obligatory public display of affection, and even Haze had left. There was simply no reason for her to remain at H Group."Free up your evening," Stefan ordered as he sat at his office table, burying himself in his work. Renee was extremely irritated by the authoritative air he exuded, as if he was ordering her around."What for?" She growled.Stefan did not answer her. Instead, he opened a drawer and took out a beautiful gift box. He handed it to Renee and said, "Be at the banquet hall on the first floor of the Cosmopolitan Hotel this evening, at eight o'clock sharp. Make sure to dress well.""What's this? You're giving me a present?" Renee found it so surprising that she wondered if the sun was going to rise in the west tomorrow.Unable to stifle her curiosity, she opened up the present. Inside, she found a silvery dress
Charlotte never expected that Renee, who had always been a pushover, had the guts to fight back."You shameless witch!" She cursed furiously. "Why don't you take a look in the mirror and realize how wicked and depraved you are? You're just a gold digger whose family was financially ruined! Nothing about you says you're worthy of my cousin, and yet, you have the nerve to delay the divorce?""Do you think there'd be any use of you dragging this out?" Charlotte hissed. "Don't you see how Bri's belly is getting bigger and bigger every day now? Her marriage to Stefan will undoubtedly happen! You have no right to decide whether or not you'll get a divorce!""I won't discuss whether or not I have the right to decide that right now," Renee calmly responded. "But in any case, what's certain is that you have no say in it whatsoever."And so what if her belly is getting bigger? As long as your cousin and I haven't finalized our divorce, I am still his lawful wife and she is just his mistress,
Renee and Liam walked side by side in the hallway that led up to the banquet hall. Liam, who had been a dignified and proud gentleman outside only moments ago, had now transformed completely into a docile little puppy—all smiles and adoring glances at Renee."I can't believe those people from the Hunts dared to bully you like that!" He grumbled. "The next time they do it, I definitely won't let them off so easily!"Renee smiled slightly and teased him, "Wow, Liam… I'm used to seeing you all meek and frivolous, but when you get serious, you're actually pretty intimidating! I was shocked to see you earlier.""There's nothing shocking about it," said Liam proudly. "I am Master Osborne, after all!"However, despite his words, Liam still looked like a meek little puppy. He looked at Renee's windbreaker and commented, "But, honestly, Ren, don't you think you're dressing a little too shabbily for the event?""You have to address me as Miss," Renee corrected him. "Did you forget that yo
"Whether or not your figure is worthy of being shown in public and admired is my business and mine only." Stefan stared at Renee with burning eyes as he said that, and there was a hint of possessiveness in his tone that even he did not notice himself. "You're my wife," he reminded her. "Don't forget that. It's your most basic duty to appear as dignified as possible. Dressing the way you do now is completely indecent. In fact, you're only attracting unwanted attention this way!" Stefan thought of those men just now who had been ogling Renee as if their eyes were going to fall out of the sockets, and he felt strangely furious. He even had the urge to gauge those men's eyes out! "Put this on!" he ordered, taking off his coat and roughly wrapping it around Renee's body. "You're acting like my dad!" Renee laughed, but her charming eyes were full of mockery and disdain. "I'm not sure if you noticed that it's no longer the Victorian era, Mr. Hunt. I'm the master of my body, so if I
Inside the exhibition box shone a pink peach-shaped pendant, dazzling the eyes that saw it. "As you can see," said the host, "this peach-shaped pendant was cut from a single whole piece of pink crystal, and it was given an incredibly romantic name—Everlasting Heart…" "This is far from being a normal crystal pendant," the host continued. "Legend has it that it was specially made for the adopted daughter of the king of a small kingdom in Varangia, which means that this… is a royal treasure, ladies and gentlemen. It is absolutely one of its kind in this world. Currently, it's being valued at around three million dollars!" The host's colorful descriptions endowed the already luxurious pendant with even more hype and splendor. The audience's continuous gasps in awe were enough to show how highly regarded this crystal pendant was. Numerous ladies even cast an envious look at Charlotte. "So," Micah took Charlotte's hand and asked in a groveling manner, "do you like this surprise that
Renee covered her lips, her tone filled with disbelief. "I…cut myself." Justin leaned against the corner and frowned deeply. He was in deep pain."Why did you cut yourself?" Renee was scared out of her wits and grew more sober. In her panic, she threw herself at him and tried to stop his bleeding.Justin reacted aggressively as he waved his dagger and warned fiercely, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" "I…" Renee paused, too afraid to act recklessly. She pointed at his wound and said, "I'm just worried about you. You're bleeding. It must hurt a lot. Why did you hurt yourself?" "It's better to be in pain!" Justin gnashed his teeth and said in agony, "The pain will knock some sense into me, so I won't act like an animal and lose control of myself.""I see…" Stunned, Renee was moved to tears. She understood why he cut himself. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay sober and not be controlled by the drug in the wine.He could have used her to satisfy his desire, and she would never b
"You're playing with fire!" Justin leaned close to Renee's ears and said fiercely, "What do you think there is in the wine? Maybe I'm not someone who will take liberty on women, but I can't promise that the wine won't make me so." "So, you're saying that the wine…" Suddenly, Renee realized the wine was not as simple as she thought. She also understood why Rose had behaved in such a mysterious manner. "Stay…away from me!" Suddenly, she became frightened and wanted to keep some distance from Justin. She knew that people could not be trusted completely, especially under the effects of chemical reactions. Things would certainly get out of control. Justin probably did not want to do anything to her, but both of them would lose their minds under the effect of the wine and do something that would fill them with regret. The only way to prevent such an incident was to avoid each other."You want to stay away from me, but it's too late now. I'm no saint. I'm just a normal guy!"Just
"I'm so thirsty!" The burning sensation of the wine made Renee thirsty. She wanted to drink some water.In the dark, she heard some rustling. The next second, something was on her lips. It seemed to be someone else's lips. She wondered if someone had secretly kissed her."Who are you?" Renee grabbed the person in front of her and interrogated angrily, "How dare you kiss me without my permission! Do you know who I am? I'll cut off your lips!""Let's see if you can do that or not." The man sounded dull and drunk, but he was also overbearing.Although Renee was drunk, she could discern who it was. She called out in the dark and tried to confirm her doubt. "Haze…?" "Yeah, it's me," Justin admitted, but he did not plan to let her go. He used a more overbearing manner and trapped her between him and the door."What do you want?" Renee panicked. She wanted to kick him away, but she did not resist when she learned that it was Justin. After she had done so many things to hurt him, s
The servant walked forward with trepidation and helped Justin back to his room. Austin's eyes were dark. He whispered to his assistant, who nodded and immediately carried out his order.After two glasses of strong wine, Renee felt dizzy and could not stand steadily. "It's weird. Is this wine this strong? I just had two glasses of it, but I feel quite dizzy." It was hard for her to exit the hall. She could not stand properly, so she supported herself against the wall."Ms. Everheart, you didn't seem well. Let me help you to get some rest." Austin's assistant caught up to her and stood behind her. He even sounded respectful. "It's… fine. I can go back to my room." Renee waved; she didn't want to trouble others. Besides, she did not want others to see how miserable she was. She had assumed that she was good at drinking and would not get drunk, but it seemed like she had overestimated herself. After two glasses of wine, she became quite drowsy. She would not easily leave if s
Renee blinked and smiled brightly at Justin, asking him, "Are you worried about me?" "No, I'm not worried about you!" Justin said angrily. "I don't want you to get killed here. I can't explain it to your brother and kids. It's hard to handle the three of them."He was not lying. Although he had befriended Quinton, Adie and Abby might make a scene there if they realized that Renee had drunk so much wine at the party. They were witty, always full of ideas.Hence, it was better not to cause trouble. Before they could make a scene and things get out of control, Justin must stop Renee. He wasn't worried about her at all. "So, you're not worried about me?" Renee's gaze turned dull as she sighed. "It looks like you didn't forgive me. So, I must drink this glass of wine." Something was wrong with Renee, or perhaps she just wanted to torture herself. It seemed like she insisted on drinking the wine. She swung off Justin's hand and gulped down the wine."You're out of your mind!" Justi
The aged white wine was strong. Ordinary people would find it hard to drink a glass of it. Yet, Renee had drunk two glasses of it consecutively. It was a little dangerous. Everyone at the dining table was initially watching the fun, but they showed Renee some pity after she drank two glasses of wine consecutively. After wiping her lips clean, Renee staggered and said to Justin, "Let me toast to you now. I've wronged you the most." Justin, sitting there, said with a poker face, "You don't have to say sorry to me. We don't hold each other any grudge. After all, we can't make others fall in love with us.""No, I must apologize to you. It's for my sake." After that, Renee used a bigger glass and filled it with wine."Whatever!" Justin frowned and ignored Renee. He had no idea what was wrong with her. He had yielded and let her off, but she stubbornly wanted to keep drinking the wine.He wondered if she had forgotten the fact that she had just recovered from a serious illness. She
Suddenly, Justin became mature and stopped making jokes. He talked steadily and was no longer emotional. It filled Austin with worry because it made him feel like Justin was an emotionless robot.In comparison, he liked Justin's previous self better. At that time, Justin was simple and sentimental. He was the grandson Austin doted on the most.Sophia grinned and commented, "Dad, you don't have to worry about Justin. Men will change. Previously, he was just a childish kid even though he was in his twenties. He didn't know how to see through people's pretense. But he's all grown up now. He knows what's right or wrong. That's a great thing!" As a mother, she naturally did not want her son to get hurt. Although she favored Renee and wanted the latter to be her daughter-in-law, she would give up since Renee had let her son down and harmed him. All she wanted was to see Renee get away from her son."Yes, you're right. People need to grow up. He has grown up a lot lately, but the price
After a while, a servant quickly came back with a bottle of wine tied with a piece of red cloth. "Sir, Madam, this bottle of white wine was brewed more than ten years ago. It comes with a rich taste and is strong. I'm sure it's suitable for Ms. Everheart to toast to everyone as a form of apology.""That's good. That's what I want." Rose accepted the heavy bottle of wine. Although it was yet to be unscrewed, she could smell its pungent scent. "I won't easily let anyone drink this. Plus… Believe it or not, a glass of this wine can knock out anyone here." Rose carried the bottle of wine and walked around the table. Finally, she stopped in front of Renee. "I'm letting a sinner like you enjoy such a great thing today. You must drink all of it. You can't waste it.""Huh? Does she have to drink it all? I'm afraid she'll vomit from drinking.""People will lose themselves with only three to five glasses of this wine. If they drink half of it, they might get alcohol poisoning no matter
If any Baldwin demanded an explanation from Renee, she would not resent them."Fine, I won't go easy on you since you said so." Rose laughed recklessly, looking malicious. Everyone knew Rose was fierce and malicious. But none of them said anything, including Justin. They behaved like onlookers and wanted to see how Rose would punish Renee. "Please go ahead." Renee nodded and sounded very calm. "Don't worry. Regardless, you were the only woman my dear grandnephew had loved and wanted to marry. So, I won't be harsh on you. If not, he won't forgive me." At that point, Rose purposely paused and wanted to see how Justin would react.However, Justin merely sat there indifferently and had no intention to get Renee out of the predicament. Hence, Rose became bolder. "Well, let's do this. You've wronged not only Justin but everyone in my family. Since you're here to apologize, you should toast to all of us. Then, we can forget about this."After that, Rose turned to Austin and asked