“Ren, it really is you! I finally see you again.”The man was none other than Renee's despicable uncle, Elon Barnes.“You again?”Renee snorted. "Leave me alone, you lowlife. Every time I come to visit my parents, you're always here.”“Sigh, you're right, Ren, I am a lowlife. But thank god, I come here to wait for you every year and now I finally get to see you again...”Elon wiped away his tears and said, "You have no idea what I've been through all these years. I missed you so much!”Renee sneered, "Missed me? More like you missed my money.”“Ugh...”Elon rubbed his chin, feeling a bit awkward.“What's the matter? You've already finished the 7 million dollars Stefan gave you four years ago?”“Oh, those? They're long gone!” Elon waved his hand and said regretfully, "I thought I'd use that money to invest in the stock market and make even more money, but luck wasn't on my side... I lost it all in the last two years. I've lost everything.”“Is that so? Well, it's none of my b
“You have Stefan's number? That's surprising.”Renee was indeed surprised.The Stefan she remembered was distant, indifferent, and unfriendly. He would not give others his phone number easily, nor would he arrange work for his friends and relatives.She did not expect him to take special care of his ex-wife's uncle!While waiting for the call to be picked up, Elon said with some pride, "Well, we're family, and I'm his elder after all. He would at the very least show me this much respect.”Unfortunately, reality soon hit Elon in the face.The phone rang for a long time without being picked up. He called again, but this time, it was instantly disconnected.Renee crossed her arms and couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, I can definitely see how much respect he's showing you.”“Ahem!” Elon awkwardly cleared his throat and explained, "My nephew-in-law is a CEO, so he's a busy man. I'll call him again in the afternoon. He usually answers. Even if he doesn't show me respect, he'll show you
Mandy Barnes was Elon's only daughter. When she was a little girl, she followed Renee everywhere. She was very fond of Renee.Unfortunately, when Elon turned on the Everheart family, he forbade Mandy to keep in touch with Renee, or the two of them would have been even closer.Elon's house was located in an ordinary community in the Eastern Third Ring District, It was a house of about 80 square meters that had three bedrooms and a living room. It was an ordinary house, but it was very cozy.When Renee entered the house, her aunt, Hannah Johnson, was cleaning some vegetables in the kitchen, while her cousin, Mandy, was singing in her room.“Guys, look who's here!”Elon shouted with a booming voice and a smile on his face.The mother and daughter came to the living room. When they saw Renee, their eyes almost popped out in surprise.“Ren! It really is you! I've wanted to see you for so long! This is awesome!” Mandy gave Renee a big hug and said excitedly, "Ren, we haven't seen each
The voice that Renee had not heard for four years was still as cold and distant as she remembered it to be.Renee listened quietly, with a calm expression and no inner turmoil.“Umm, M-Mr. Hunt, sorry to bother you...”Elon did not expect Stefan to pick up this fast, so he got nervous and stammered incoherently, "It's like this... My niece, Renee, just got back to Beach City today. It's a real surprise to see her again after she disappeared for so many years. You've taken good care of me in the last few years, so I want to invite you to my house for a meal together with Ren. You...”“There's no need.” Stefan, on the other end of the phone, refused without any hesitation or emotion.After that, without saying anything else, he hung up the phone.“But Mr. Hunt... Mr. Hunt?”Elon called out to him a few more times but the only response he got was the sound of a disconnected call.He tried calling again, but it seemed like Stefan had blocked him.“Ren, don't mind it... Mr. Hunt mu
Now, she had been through storms and hell, and was riddled with wounds and scars. There was no way to go back to those innocent, carefree days now...“Ren, look at you and your mother back then. You're both so beautiful that you glowed. You look completely different from us, as if your genes have mutated.”Mandy had come in at some point. She sighed, looking at the family portrait.“Nonsense. You're beautiful too. As expected of a girl from our Barnes family.” Renee turned around and held Mandy's face, which still had some baby fat, in her hands while praising Mandy from the bottom of her heart.Mandy's facial features were not stunning, but they were very soft and lovely, and they drew people in.It was a face that would do very well in the entertainment industry because it would be popular with the general public. She was blessed!“Hehe, I agree with that. I'm beautiful too. Let me tell you a secret, Ren. I'm actually an influencer that has over two million fans online. My ID
“I've seen it.”Stefan was working at his desk. He replied calmly without lifting his eyes.Four years had left no trace on his perfectly handsome face, except it was maybe even colder now.“You... you've seen it?”Elijah found it hard to believe. He boldly said, "No way. If you've seen it, there's no way this is how you react.”The trending topic was about Renee Everheart, the woman who had disappeared for four years and the woman Mr. Hunt could not stop thinking about for four years. This was his reaction?!Stefan finally raised his head. He slowly put the lid back on his pen and twirled it with his long fingers. "How should I have reacted?”“If you had seen the trending topic, you would have gone to meet up with Ms. Everheart already. At the very least, you should be so excited that you would be freaking out... There's no way you would remain this calm!”Elijah was emotional and puzzled.“What does she have to do with me? Why must I meet up with her just because she's retur
He was scared to continue the conversation. With how understanding Christopher was being, he felt like he would get depressed and burst into tears any moment!Calls came one after another, but Stefan did not pick up his phone again. Instead, he turned it off to get some quiet.Stefan took off his rimless glasses and leaned against his expensive office chair, looking up at the white ceiling. He suddenly felt a little tired.He rubbed the space between his eyebrows with his long fingers. The tall bridge of his nose made his face appear even more handsome, more defined, and more profound.Over the last four years, he had disguised himself as an ice-cold machine, going through his daily routine like clockwork. His life was filled with work and more work—no joys, no sorrows, no... life.Outsiders may think he was unhappy, but he actually enjoyed the feeling—the feeling of being in control of everything.'But... damn you, Renee Everheart. Why have you suddenly come back after disappear
It did not take long for Stefan to find Mandy's account on Instagram.Renee's beautiful and delicate face popped up on the small phone screen.The screen may be small, but the power of its destruction was immeasurable, like an atomic bomb.Stefan froze. His deep, wolf-like eyes locked onto the screen and his grip on the phone involuntarily tightened.“Good evening, my babies! Welcome to Cutie Pie's live stream! As you all know, the popular dating show "Heart Signal" is currently looking for non-celebrity guests. I secretly signed up for it. The organizer's condition is, whoever receives the most donation tonight will be eligible to participate in the program. Therefore, I hope you guys can support me, Cutie Pie, and help me debut in the entertainment industry!”Wearing a pink dress and a cat ears headband, Mandy made all kinds of cute moves towards the camera and worked hard to get donations.The dating show "Heart Signal" was very popular lately. Anyone who could show their face
Renee understood Justin and frowned. She tore off the tape on his mouth and pinched his cheek. "You have five minutes to repent since you're awake. If you do a good job, I'll let you go. If not, I'll keep you tied up here."The scene just now was awkward for the two of them. Renee had to come up with a way to get rid of that. If not, she didn't know how to face him, let alone spend the rest of her life with him."Repent?" Justin took deep breaths and cleared his throat. Then, he looked into her eyes. "What do you want me to repent for?""You…"Justin's bold gaze rendered Renee helpless. She bit her lip awkwardly. "What do you think?" "Are you referring to me kissing you, or…me trying to make you mine?" Although Renee knocked him out, he remembered everything that happened before he fainted, including what he had seen."Yeah, you were rude. Shouldn't you repent?" Renee tried to make herself bolder. If not… She would seem unreasonable, especially when her dignity was violated.
"Inside story?" Confused, Renee looked at Sophia. "What is it?" "I can't tell you that. All I can say is the Hunt family isn't as good as you see them. Even if they've helped you, it's because they're trying to make up for their sins. You don't have to be grateful to them. Getting away from them is the best choice you made."Sophia, being from the last generation, had heard of the complicated relationships among the three families even though she had not seen them. However, she couldn't expose those affairs to the younger generation lest the worst happen. The most she could do was to remind Renee. Renee could tell that Sophia wouldn't tell her too much and stopped asking. However, she kept it in mind and decided to find the truth."Okay, Ren. Stop overthinking. Since you're here, just spend your days with peace of mind. My family is strong and can protect you for the rest of your life. Just enjoy your life with Justin.""Got it." Renee nodded, pretending to have seen it through.
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