“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
[The goddess is pretty no matter what she does. Bring her back!][Goddesses should only exist in paradise, yet one has appeared in our mortal realm. I love her so much.]Amidst the enthusiastic praises, a disharmonious message suddenly appeared.[Pretentious woman.]Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, the message immediately sparked a thousand ripples. People in the chat lashed out at the sender.[Why don't you stream, then? Let's see how unpretentious you are.][Are you blind? You call that pretentious? She's all natural!][The message was sent anonymously. The sender must be a lewd man who covets the goddess. Get out of the stream!][Kick the lewd man off the stream! Kick the lewd man off the stream!]When Mandy saw the chat arguing, she quickly tried to calm everyone down.“Stop arguing, everyone. Also, can the viewer called Anon12538 please stop it with the baseless accusation? My cousin Ren is a very sincere person. How is she pretentious?”Unfortunately, the viewer w
After all, Jovan was a human being. Such direct physical pain made him shake and groan. Normally, he should get angry and try all means to make her stop biting him.However, he was not an ordinary man. Although he trembled in pain, he maintained his posture and let her bite him as if he wanted to see who would give up first.Renee kept biting him fiercely, as if her teeth would gnaw through his palm. Blood oozed out of the wound. She was full of hatred, wishing to vent her anger. "Just bite me hard as long as you're happy. I'm enjoying myself too!"Jovan looked at her, whose head was lowered as she kept biting his palm fiercely. It was a bloody scene, but his words made everything sound ambiguous. Renee noticed his underlying meaning and was disgusted. She immediately let go of his palm. "Bah! Disgusting! You're sick!"Her lips were still stained with blood. From afar, it looked like a blooming rose from afar. It looked attractive on her. Aroused, Jovan held the back of her
The bed was around seventy inches large. Renee's eyes were closed as she moved anxiously.She thought she was still sleeping in the West Chamber, but the mattress didn't feel the same. Then, she abruptly opened her eyes. She saw a luxurious bedroom in the Paris La Nuit Club style. Above her hung a brilliant chandelier akin to the ones in medieval castles. A fragrant scent permeated the air. "You're finally awake…" A man's bewitching voice came from an inconspicuous corner. "Renee."Jovan was sitting in a luxurious chair, his legs crossed, swaying a glass of red wine. He appeared like a stereotypical vampire as he stared wickedly at Renee. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? What did you do to me?" Renee yelled.Recalling what had happened, she abruptly sat up. Once she realized her situation, she started snarling at him. "Do you or your family hold a grudge against me? Why did you kidnap me from my engagement party?! Have you thought about the consequences? I'm sure you know h
"I… I don't know! I really don't know!" The makeup artist's face was flushed, her eyes rolling back. She felt like she was about to faint again."Are you still trying to hide the truth?" Justin continued flexing his fingers. He was certain that the makeup artist who suddenly wanted to modify the size of the gown must be aware of the truth.With her eyes rolled back, the makeup artist begged him, "I'll tell you…! Please let me go! I'll tell you everything!" Hearing that, Justin slowly released his grasp.The makeup artist finally got a chance to breathe. She kept taking deep breaths and almost cried because of her terror. "What should I tell you?" She truly knew nothing."What?" Justin's gaze grew fierce."Oh, I remember it now…" She drew in a cold breath and hurriedly said, "A handsome guy came not long after you were gone. I think he's Mr. Hunt. When Ms. Everheart saw him, she was very…"She paused, trying to find her words. "She was very…?" Justin urged her. This was the
Meanwhile, Liam and Leia became vigilant when they saw that scene."What are they doing?" Liam walked past the guests enjoying the fun and stood between Alexander and the two guards. He faked a smile and said, "We're the guests you invited sincerely. Is this how the Baldwin family treats their guests?""Guests?" Austin got off the stage and strode toward them. Although he was smiling, coldness gleamed in his eyes. "Have you ever seen any guest steal the hostess?""You can't say that, Sir Baldwin..." Liam smiled and added, "How could you be sure that it must be the Hunt family?""Who else could it be?" "This is just your guess. They've always been here. Even if they wanted to do that, they couldn't. So… You should act fair and square, given your noble identity. Shouldn't you find fault with the culprit instead? Isn't that more reasonable?" Liam looked at Austin. Although he was younger and came from a family weaker than the Baldwin family, he was still domineering.Besides, his
Alexander took a deep breath and analyzed logically, "This wasn't Stef's style. If he wanted to snatch her away, he would have done it openly in front of everyone. But this trick was cunning and dishonest!""Yes, you're right, but this is a special case. If he didn't use a trick, his woman would marry someone else. It's normal for him to be restless." Although Francine agreed with Alexander's analysis, she felt that Stefan could do anything if it concerned Renee. Naturally, he would stoop this far. "Regardless, we have to leave," Alexander whispered to Francine, sensing danger. "Austin has always been decisive and cruel. Since Stef humiliated him, I'm sure he wouldn't let Stef off easily. We're in danger too.""Is it that serious?" Francine looked at Austin, who was standing on the stage. He coldly ordered his assistant about something. It seemed like he wasn't that crazy. "I don't care what he'll do. We have to get out of North City right away because this city is controlled b
"What?! She's gone?" Justin's face fell immediately. He grabbed the collar of the person who came to inform them and demanded coldly, "What do you mean?! Why is she gone for no reason?""We… We don't know!" That person looked at Justin while trembling and reported everything. "When we got there, we found no one else in the makeup room except the makeup artist lying on the ground. We didn't see Ms. Everheart, either. We don't know what happened!""Something must have gone wrong with her!" Justin pushed that person away without hesitation and rushed toward the makeup room."Hey, Justin! What are you doing?" Sophia watched Justin disappear in front of everyone. She wanted to pursue him but failed.Everyone below the stage fell into an uproar and discussed among themselves endlessly. "The bride went missing all of a sudden! Did her ex-husband come for her?""It's possible. They were once madly in love with each other. Plus, the Hunt and Baldwin families were in conflict for many yea
On the surface, everyone felt that Justin was passionate and respected the bride well. However, only he knew that he was just terrified. He was afraid that the reality might exceed his anticipation. He was terrified to find that he was betrayed in the end when he had trusted Renee that much and treated her so sincerely."Justin, what's going on with you? How could you talk about that at such a time like this? The most important thing now is to make her come out and have this engagement ceremony. We should do the guests justice. If not, everyone will laugh at us after we've kept our dignity well for so many years!"Sophia couldn't understand his hesitation. They were just going to urge Renee to appear. It had nothing to do with their patience or ability to take good care of Renee.Both Alexander and Francine looked at each other in confusion."Dear, did you do anything?" Alexander asked Francine softly.If Renee suddenly failed to attend the ceremony, it might have been Francin
Renee was furious—he was ridiculous!"You won't allow that?" She snorted and looked at him as if he were crazy. "Who do you think you are? You can't meddle in my life!""I'm nobody, but I know that I don't want you to marry another guy." The man approached Renee, wanting to catch her."Stay away from me, or I'll get somebody! You should know how powerful the Baldwin family is in North City…" Renee spat coldly. She did not want to make things too ghastly, so she wouldn't alert the Baldwin family if she could help it. The man sneered wickedly. "Yes, the Baldwin family is strong. So? Even if they're strong, they can't fight against my cunning means!""What do you mean?" A bad feeling gripped Renee. She wanted to ask more questions, but found herself dizzy. Her surroundings became blurry. "I'm so dizzy! What…did you do?" The next second, she staggered and fainted.He firmly caught her and whispered, "You've suffered a lot, so I'll let you rest a bit.""Ah! You… You…" The make
"You flatter me." Renee smiled, sadness in her eyes. She recalled the day she was about to marry Stefan many years ago. The young female designer responsible for her makeup had praised her the same way. At that time, she had recently lost all her family members and was gripped with excruciating pain. Her waist had been much slimmer. She looked pitiful but bewitching. "Don't worry! Master Hunt is a great man. He'll be nice to you and protect you. You guys are a perfect match."Renee remembered that the makeup artist used a makeup blender to soak her tears and firmly told her that. The artist at that time also felt that Stefan would be her protector for the rest of her life. Renee had a crush on Stefan for many years. He was the ray of light that had saved her from her despair. Although she was strong, she couldn't help but regard him as her savior. At that time, she never imagined spending the rest of her life with someone else other than him. Many years passed since then. Sh