The study was big and dark, with rows of bookshelves.Stefan turned on the light expressionlessly, only to find Timothy sitting on the sofa, causing him to step back in shock.“Grandpa, why are you trying to scare people instead of sleeping?”Timothy's face was stiff. While leaning on his cane, he scolded, "I'm trying to scare myself to death. I'm sick of worrying about my children and grandchildren every day. I'm better off dead!”“There you go again...”Stefan rubbed his forehead and stabilized his emotions, then walked up to the old man and squatted to meet him in the eye. He patiently asked, "Did something happen today that made you unhappy?”“It's nothing. I'm lamenting my own uselessness, that's all. My old eyes are so blurry that I can't even see a person clearly now.”The old man shook his head, sighing.He thought back to the time when he followed General Everheart and fought against enemies on the battlefield. He used to be so brave and spirited.But now, he couldn't
The next day, Renee and Leia arrived at a high-end seafood restaurant together.“Ren, look, that's my boyfriend, William Jones. Isn't he handsome?”Leia pointed to a young man in the VIP area and said shyly.Renee looked in the direction Leia was pointing at and saw a man waiting there anxiously, occasionally fiddling with his clothes and tidying up the tableware. He was clearly a bit nervous and probably placed great importance on this meeting.“He looked very gentle. I can't believe this is the type that you would fall so hard for,” Renee joked.She always thought that Leia would like the domineering CEO type. After all, the male idols she liked were all of that type.But the gentle type was good too. At least they're considerate and reliable. He would complement the carefree Leia quite well—provided he truly was what he seemed.The man had also noticed them by now. He immediately flashed them a warm smile while waving to them.“Lei!”He quickly walked over and took the bag fr
Kevin had many connections in Newrest because he loved socializing, and this gave him access to a lot of information. Looking into someone's ancestry was a piece of cake as long as he put his mind to it, no matter the person's status."William Jones? Of course I know him!" Kevin said excitedly. "Give me ten minutes; I'll compile all his information for you.""Thanks so much. I'll be waiting." Renee ended the call and frowned. Although she had approved of William earlier, there was a part of her that was still skeptical of the man. The man seemed flawless, which only made her even more suspicious of him. She needed to thoroughly look into him!While waiting, she went to the children's section on the third floor, as she wished to get her little ones some new clothes. Ever since she gave birth to her beautiful babies, her biggest hobby was to buy them cute clothes, like little jackets or dresses."This, this… Oh, and this…" Renee quickly picked out six outfits and asked the sales empl
"You seem eager to have her dead." Stefan shot Renee a dirty glare, carrying Briar bridal-style and laying her down at a resting area nearby.Renee had almost died because of Briar's sudden outburst, and a panicked Stefan had no choice but to hit Briar on the back of the neck to knock her out for a while. Renee might not have survived otherwise.Briar would probably be better after resting, so Stefan didn't try to wake her up. Instead, he turned to Renee, who was still in the children's section, and pointed at the clothes on the ground. His eyes narrowed as he asked, "Why are you buying so many children's clothes?"Renee and the employee were busy putting the outfits on the ground back into her bags. She scoffed dismissively, "Why do you care? Am I not allowed to buy cute things?"Stefan squatted down and picked up one of the striped socks near him, observing it curiously. The sock was pink, soft, and no bigger than his hand. He couldn't deny it was cute, and it softened his heart
"Come on, hit me! Aren't you a great fighter? Beat me till I bleed, or you can always return the favor and choke me to death!" Stefan declared as he shifted her hand to his neck, his expression serious to show her he wasn't joking."A-are you insane?" Renee was utterly stunned by the man's actions, and her anger morphed into confusion. She tried to pull her hand away, scowling. "There are cameras here, so don't you dare try to get me in trouble!""Then I'll just let them see that I allowed you to hit me! If you kill or cripple me, I'll take full responsibility for it.""You've definitely gone mad!" Renee was finally able to escape his grasp, and quickly stepped away from the man like he was a rabid animal.'Ugh, as expected from the madman Stefan Hunt—he's actually willing to get beaten up! It's pretty creepy, honestly…''"I wronged you four years ago, so now I'm giving you the chance to take revenge! You're the one who refused the opportunity, so let's not bring this up anymore.
After Stefan made sure Briar took her medication, he ordered her to stay in the resting area next to them.Briar didn't object to this, and merely headed back to the resting area with a blank stare. She sat down on one of the benches quietly, as if she was a mindless zombie.The man then turned back to Renee with a cold glare. "How can you ask me that? Do you really not know why she's acting like this?"Renee instantly became angry. "Can't you just be direct, Stefan? If you really think I'm such an evil person, then feel free to take revenge on me! Don't act like you're on some kind of moral high ground to punish me."Stefan continued to look into her eyes, his gaze clouded with sadness as he asked softly, "Do you really feel no pity towards the child whose life you took, or the woman you destroyed? Do you really believe you don't have to be held accountable for all this?""I…" Renee was speechless, and thought miserably, 'How could I possibly not feel any regret or pity? I've bee
Stefan looked pained. He had sealed those memories away already, and didn't want to bring them up anymore. He told himself that he would use the rest of his life to repent for his sins.However, Renee had returned now, and he just couldn't pretend that she didn't exist in his heart."You said that I hated you, and I admit that I did for a while. But the truth is… I hated myself the most, since I couldn't manage our relationship well. I idealized everything, and in the end, I was too late. I couldn't stop this from happening…" Stefan trailed off, unable to continue. He turned away, shaking, as if he was forcing himself to suppress his emotions.Renee had rarely seen him be vulnerable like this. He was always cold and conceited, but now… he looked like a lost child. She had only ever seen him like this one other time - at his brother's funeral. Her heart was breaking for him, and she couldn't stop herself from wanting to hug him…Suddenly, a voice inside her mind reminded her, ‘You'l
"I'll come with you. No matter what, the child was innocent." With that, Renee chose to head to the cemetery with Stefan and Briar. It was located on the west side of Beach City, and was surrounded by a large forest. With the tombs built within such a secluded area, it seemed rather eerie from the outside.Renee was sitting in the backseat at the time, watching as the car drove by the woods, her expression rather gloomy. She knew that the child had been the victim here, and whatever was going on between her and Briar had to be put aside for now. She couldn't deny that she had harmed an innocent life.The atmosphere in the vehicle was extremely tense, with the only sound in the car being Briar's sobbing. Although Renee hated Briar, she understood how painful it was for a mother to experience such a thing."Here." She handed Briar a piece of tissue.Briar turned to look at her with teary eyes, and shook her head. "Ms. Everheart, I'm not trying to put up a pitiful act in front of yo
"You're trying to take revenge on Stefan, aren't you? What did he do? Why do you hate him so much?" Renee demanded.She was particularly clueless.At the very least, she felt that Stefan and Jovan didn't have a grudge even if they couldn't get along. Besides—back then, Stefan survived because of Jovan's blood.In a sense, they should be close to each other. Stefan was able to live on because of Jovan.Yet now, Jovan wanted to ruin the one he had once risked his life to rescue."No, I don't hate him," Jovan answered honestly. "I even admire him, and I'm jealous of him. He's my role model, the pride of my family.""Then, you're envious of him!" Renee went straight to the point. "You can't defeat him, so you tried to make him disappear. When that happens, you'll feel better. No one will block you, and you'll get a chance to shine."Jovan, speechless, slowly stopped smiling. Renee had accurately guessed his innermost thoughts. Since he couldn't defeat Stefan, he would let Stefan b
The thing Renee feared the most was that Jovan's action would infuriate the Baldwins.Quinton, Adie, Abby, and Margaret were still there. If the Baldwin family wanted to do something bad, Renee's family would be in danger. Her happiness was secondary. She just wanted to ensure that her family was safe and sound.It seemed Austin was full of schemes. Though he seemed to have brought her family to live with her, he in truth just wanted hostages to control her…Unfortunately, she couldn't go back in time even though she had seen through his tricks."What's the rush?" Jovan watched Renee with a meaningful smile. "Someone will handle it even if it's a big mess. Your family will be fine. My foolish cousin won't let them be in danger. At most, the two families will fight fiercely."Renee was shocked. She glared at him, and suddenly understood something. "So you did it on purpose! You wanted to watch them fight and get something from it.""That's not my concern. Once, I was more powerf
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