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
"So, you do know the difference! How about you let me decide whether I want to have children, and who I want to have children with? There's no need for you to get involved!" Stefan said angrily and stopped the car.Renee figured that she was being too overbearing as well. Stefan Hunt had always been a prideful man, and was used to having everything under his control. If she were to take charge of something as important as having children, he would surely get upset."Ah, I'm sorry, I was too impatient… I don't have bad intentions. I just wanted to recommend this procedure to you both, since you and Ms. Desrosiers-""Get out," Stefan snarled suddenly, his expression dark."Huh? Are we here already?" Renee scanned her surroundings, but it was obvious they hadn't reached yet."Get! Out!" Stefan ordered once again, not explaining himself in the slightest. He was at his wit's end, otherwise, he would have never done something so discourteous."Fine then!" Renee snapped, and got out wit
"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
The party started officially at night. It was a small party, and only some close relatives of the Baldwin family attended.Austin took the main seat while his son and daughter-in-law sat in the secondary seats. Justin and the others sat accordingly.After dressing herself up, Renee attended the party in simple clothes. She looked like a young lady from a great family. Adie, Abby, and Quinton did not attend the party to avoid unnecessary disputes. Renee was the only one who attended the party. When she reached the hall, the people had already taken their seats. They sized her up maliciously and studied her as if they wanted to make her pay a heavy price."Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I got here late." Renee took a deep breath and naturally greeted everyone. She appeared composed, but she knew she was rather frightened. She never panicked when she faced such a scene alone in the past. She could easily handle it because Justin would always take her side no matter what happened.
Quinton was fine even if Renee wasn't that happy. But she must lead a steady life and live beyond a hundred years old. "Quinton, I know I owed the Baldwin family a lot, even if you didn't tell me. I won't be back if not for the sake of their kindness."Renee did not hide or lie even if Justin was around. She merely wanted Justin to hold no hope in her. "How could you be this straightforward?" Quinton had purposely brought Justin along because he wanted to bring Justin and Renee together. He felt that they could still be together since things weren't that hopeless. But the disappointing Renee ruined all possibilities easily. Kindness didn't exist between a romantic couple."It's fine." Justin looked indifferent before he snorted. "I'm glad she made things clear. It's better than being ambiguous.""I'm sorry." Renee looked at Justin. Although she had made herself clear, her guilt did not diminish. She immediately expressed her guilt and helplessness since Justin did not igno