After finishing his sentence, Xavier ran off the same way he did before."How childish!" Stefan rubbed his temples and shook his head speechlessly.However, he was a little worried that something bad might happen to Renee. He stood up and prepared to leave.The old man stopped him. "Young man, that is your friend's fate. You don't have to get involved. Why don't you stay here and browse through these treasures? Perhaps, something you buy might one day become the thing that brings you and the love of your life together."It was strange. Whereas others would've thought this old man was making nonsense up, Stefan trusted him and stayed. He scanned the things on display, and that was when a silk object caught his eye.To be more precise, the art on the silk object caught his attention."How much is this?" Stefan asked."Since you and I met by fate, I'll sell it to you for a dollar. Consider it as a payment for drawing the bamboo stick." The old man then put the silk object in a box
Stefan murmured to himself, "Renee, oh, Renee. You're such a pain in the ass. You're going to be in deep trouble once I get my hands on you!"The casino was huge. People gathered in large groups in each area, but there was one particular area with the greatest number of people. Eager gamblers surrounded a round casino table as they made excited cat-calls.Stefan instantly knew something fishy was going on, and he quickly strode over.Unsurprisingly, there was a young woman all tied up on the table.The woman barely had any clothes on—the white silk dress that concealed little of her skin was extremely thin, while a feathered mask covered the upper half of her face. Curled up into a ball in the corner, she was evidently trembling.Stefan felt a tightness in his chest. He clenched his fists and prepared to charge forward.That's because he could tell the woman's facial features were nearly identical to Renee's despite the feathered mask she was wearing.She had the same pointy nos
"Watch out!" Stefan shouted from the edge of the crowd.After all, this was someone else's turf. Xavier's behavior was too conspicuous, and he was putting himself in a passively dangerous situation."You actually have an accomplice!" The man discovered Stefan and gave instructions to another group of security guards. "Capture him and shoot him right away!""How dare you?" Xavier, who was relatively calm in the beginning, instantly lost his cool.He gently put Renee down before glaring coldly at the man. "You can be rude to me, but you're asking for trouble if you talk to Stefan like that!"The man was dumbfounded by Xavier's reaction.He'd met fearless people before, but none audacious to such an extent. Xavier was practically dicing with death. How was Xavier brave enough to provoke him like this?Without saying a word, Xavier delivered a kick to the man's stomach. "Get on your knees and apologize to Stefan!"Stefan felt a little speechless. 'You can get on your knees, but tha
"Of course!" Hank nodded repeatedly. The man on the ground nearly peed his pants. "Thank you for sparing my life… Thank you for sparing my life," he muttered continuously.It wasn't their fault for being so humble. The Stuart family was leagues above them. They might not care about the law when it came to grey areas like these, but they wouldn't dare go against the Stuart family unless they no longer wanted to dabble in this field.In actual fact, Xavier was only so arrogant because he had told his subordinate to inform Hank about the situation before he went there."This casino is simply too gory. I can't stay here for another minute!" Xavier covered his nose and exclaimed in disgust."It can't be helped, Mr. Stuart. This is the only way the casino can attract people. It's messy, but it's also where all things are possible. Here, you can win anything under the sun, things that you'll never be able to buy anywhere else!" Hank wasn't the owner of this underground casino. He was, at
After Stefan finished his sentence, he turned around and left without even looking at Renee."Hey, Stefan. Are you leaving already?" Xavier realized that his joke had gone too far with the joke when he watched Stefan leave. "I was only joking, and you took it seriously. Don't worry. Renee still belongs to you. Even if I rescued her, she's still yours. I won't do anything stupid!""It doesn't matter. Do whatever you want." Stefan made an 'okay' gesture with his hand before walking out of the controversial place.Xavier couldn't make Stefan stay, and he stood there dumbfounded.Was Stefan so generous that he'd give his wife away?Xavier turned around and looked at Renee, who was still tied up. She looked like a gift waiting to be unwrapped. For some unknown reason, Xavier felt embarrassed."Renee, don't be afraid. Stef is probably just jealous. He's gone. I'll have to take care of you for now."Xavier had never spoken to Renee like this. It only served to show what a gentleman he
Xavier gulped. He couldn't process what the woman just said."I sold myself to the casino, and the casino could do anything it wanted to me. I had already lost the will to live because my fate would be equally torturous no matter which man I ended up with. Thank goodness, God took pity on me and left me in your hands…" The woman was overly emotional and couldn't help but lean closer to Xavier."Wait a second. Don't come near me!"Xavier, a towering man of over six feet, backed away as if he'd just seen a terrifying beast. He intentionally kept his distance from the woman.The woman seemed visibly hurt by his response, and she stopped moving. "Mister, are you disgusted by me? Are you afraid I might keep bugging you?""No, that's not it!" Xavier waved his hands. "That's not what I meant. I just think that you're a person, not an object. You shouldn't allow others to control your life.""I get what you mean, but I've already signed a contract with the casino. If you don't want me, I
"Oh no! Someone fainted!" There was a panicked scream from the crowd.Xavier had already gotten into his car. He didn't want to get involved with a woman who had nothing to do with him.However, the crowd grew larger and larger, and among them included some men with ill intentions. Hence, he couldn't resist frowning and walked over quickly."Get out of the way!" Xavier pushed his way through the crowd. His voice was loud and powerful.The crowd could instantly tell that he was from a rich family, and they made way for him.However, there was an arrogant goon who didn't think much of Xavier. He tried to carry Shirley, who was now unconscious, back to his place for his own pleasure."Let go of her!" Xavier shouted at the man with a scar on his face, keeping his hands in his pockets while doing so."Who the hell are you? Mind your own business. I found this chick first. Don't try to snatch her from me!" The man exclaimed before openly carrying her over his shoulder and trying to le
"Uhm. What did you hear?" Xavier asked."I heard you saying I belonged to you. Does this mean you've accepted me?""Please don't misunderstand. It was an emergency. I had to…""Thank you!" Although Shirley was smiling, her eyes filled with tears. "I have no regrets after hearing what you said. Thankfully, I won't become an aimless, wandering spirit after I die.""What are you saying? What do you mean after you die?"Xavier felt a tightness in his chest. This woman was weird. It sounded like she was saying her last words."Can I ask for a small favor from you?" Shirley grabbed Xavier's arms and asked in a sad voice.She looked so pitiful that Xavier couldn't help but give in. "Tell me what it is.""After I die, keep my ash in a small box and bury it in a well in the village. You don't have to organize any rituals. Just send someone to pray for me each year…" She was barely breathing when she said this.Xavier felt something was off. He asked sternly, "What's the matter? Are you
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St