"Alright, alright, let her in!" Francine said reluctantly.In reality, she wasn't very pleased with Briar. If that woman hadn't gotten pregnant with a child of the Hunt family, then ended up in such a sorry state, she would have abandoned her long ago.After a while, a servant guided a plainly dressed, frail Ms. Desrosier into the garden."Look at her, outsiders would think she was here to mourn the dead! She's going to bring us bad luck! " Francine frowned as she looked on with scorn, ranting to Edith."Madam Francine!" Briar slowly approached and started sobbing as soon as she was in front of her, "Madam Francine, I think I've ruined everything! You have to help me this time! If you don't, Stefan might never forgive me, and he'll ignore me forever…""Really?" Francine's first thought was, 'Could this really be true? My angel of a son is finally going to get rid of you?'Regardless, she kept up a regal facade out of courtesy, and feigned concern. "Stop crying first. Tell me what
Thus, Francine took her phone out and dialed Stefan's personal number. "I'd like to ask Stef about the entire situation. I really don't believe that the girl would be so insolent!"However, it turned out that she couldn't reach Stefan as well. Not even Elijah knew about his whereabouts."That's weird, why can't I reach him? That kid's usually at work at this hour, and Hunt Enterprise is facing quite a lot of challenging matters that require his attention. Where has he run off to?" Francine's face was painted with concern as she realized the severity of the situation.After that, she contacted everyone she could, trying her best to find Stefan, only to find that they were looking for the man as well."Why can't I contact that child? Did something happen to him?" Francine seemed uneasy.Lately, Hunt Enterprise was gaining quite a lot of traction as they were about to mass produce their new smartphone model, the ME2350. Once they successfully signed a contract with KCL Group, the ent
Francine and Briar soon arrived at the hospital Renee was at. Liam had to handle some matters regarding Azure Group, so Renee was the only one present in the ward at the time. She was currently on a video call with her daughter. "Abby, is your brother still busy with his research? Is that why he won't see Mommy?""Yes, Mommy. Adie is very focused on his research, so he can't have any distractions. You might not see him for a while…""Not even for a second?" Renee poked Abigail's adorable cheek on her screen, pouting. "Abby, please… Just secretly point the camera at Adie, okay? Let Mommy see your brother for a bit!""No, no!" Abigail shook her head profusely, seemingly determined. "Abby pinky-promised Adie that I won't let anyone see him before his research is successful! I want to keep my promises, or else my nose will grow long like Pinocchio's!""Ah, okay then…" Renee sighed, as she had failed once again. Her heart always naturally melted in front of her two babies, no matter h
"Yeah, exactly!" Renee agreed quickly. "My friends are all weirdos—we even call each other Mommy in private!""What in the world… your friends are just as weird as you are!" Francine exclaimed. Although she did find it odd, she didn't press her. After all, this wasn't the reason she was here.She placed the beautiful bouquet of lilies on Renee's desk, then pulled a chair over to sit down next to the bed. Her natural movements made it seem like she was a close loved one to the injured woman."Tell me. Where have you been hiding after making such a big mistake? Did you get married? Any kids?" Francine behaved like an elegant rich lady, and every question sounded like an interrogation. She knew her idiot of a son wouldn't ask such questions, especially with his temper and ego, which was why she had to do it in his stead.Renee smiled coldly. "Madam Francine, why do I need to answer your questions? Do you think we're close?"It had been four years, and yet her ex mother-in-law was sti
Francine collected herself, preparing to go on yet another rant.Just then, Briar interrupted her with a darkened expression, turning towards Renee. "Ms. Everheart, we actually came to ask if you know of Stef's whereabouts. It's been an entire day, and we've tried everything we could to contact him. For some reason, we just couldn't reach him, and he wouldn't pick up the phone! We're worried something might've happened to him…""You can't reach him?" Renee frowned, visibly confused. "That's not right. He already went through surgery, so he should've called you guys the moment he woke up.""What? Surgery?!" Francine jumped abruptly, her expression panicked as she continued, "What kind of surgery? Where is he now? What happened to him?""Uhm…" Renee read Francine's reactions and realized she might not know anything about the accident. After a brief pause, she decided to tell the truth. "I fell down a cliff and injured my leg. He hurt himself while trying to save me, and I heard he
Renee felt as if she was about to explode after hearing Briar's words. She glared at her and thought to herself, 'Ha, good one, woman. You were clearly implying that I have something to hide, so don't act like you're helping me! Now I'm really going to be blamed for whatever this is!'"Briar, so you're saying I'm threatening the nurse on purpose, so she won't reveal Stefan's condition to you?""I didn't mean that, Ms. Everheart. Please don't assume things. Unless… you really are hiding something.""What do I have to hide? I myself want to know of his condition too! I feel very bad that he injured himself while saving me, alright?""How would I know what you're thinking, Ms. Everheart? There's a possibility that you want to avoid taking responsibility if Stef's condition is worsening, so…"The two then started fighting with one another, each providing quite valid arguments."Enough!" Francine yelled furiously, causing the entire room to fall silent. Her face was frosty as she poin
"Calm down, Madam Francine!" Renee was having a hard time moving around with a cast and an IV drip connected to her arm.Francine was quite a bad-tempered person. On the verge of a meltdown, she would've choked Renee to death if it weren't for the little bit of rationality she had in her."I'm giving you one last chance to tell me where Stef is! As long as you're willing to tell me, I can look past everything! I just want to know if my son is safe! Please, I'm begging you!" Francine was still holding onto Renee's shoulders, her insanity replaced with despair as tears welled up in her eyes.As a mother, she was willing to risk her life for her child."I already told you—I don't know either! I didn't even expect him to come save me! I have no reason to harm him, nor do I have any reason to hide him from you, alright?" As a mother herself, Renee understood how Francine felt, so she didn't blame her for her actions. If the roles had been switched, she wouldn't have been as level-head
"Come at you, right? No problem. Just don't beg for mercy later." Liam was the "Supreme Overlord" who even The Great Eight of Beach City shied away from. He was the best at dealing with such pretentious sluts like Briar.Cracking his knuckles, he sneered and said, "It's been a long time since I boxed, and my hands can't wait. In the past, when I boxed, one of my favorite things was using a bad women's face as a sandbag. It was so much fun to give them each a punch and bruise their face. Now that you are the one who asked for it yourself, nobody would have more pleasure than me to do the honors…""D-Don't come near me. I am a member of the Hunts. If your dare to hurt me, the Hunts will not let you go easily!"Briar had long heard of Liam's "terrifying" deeds.This young man was fearless on account of being favored in the Osborne family, and his means were particularly ruthless, so much so that anyone who had seen it would stay as far as possible away from him. Literally no one had
Renee covered her lips, her tone filled with disbelief. "I…cut myself." Justin leaned against the corner and frowned deeply. He was in deep pain."Why did you cut yourself?" Renee was scared out of her wits and grew more sober. In her panic, she threw herself at him and tried to stop his bleeding.Justin reacted aggressively as he waved his dagger and warned fiercely, "Get away from me! Don't touch me!" "I…" Renee paused, too afraid to act recklessly. She pointed at his wound and said, "I'm just worried about you. You're bleeding. It must hurt a lot. Why did you hurt yourself?" "It's better to be in pain!" Justin gnashed his teeth and said in agony, "The pain will knock some sense into me, so I won't act like an animal and lose control of myself.""I see…" Stunned, Renee was moved to tears. She understood why he cut himself. Surprisingly, he wanted to stay sober and not be controlled by the drug in the wine.He could have used her to satisfy his desire, and she would never b
"You're playing with fire!" Justin leaned close to Renee's ears and said fiercely, "What do you think there is in the wine? Maybe I'm not someone who will take liberty on women, but I can't promise that the wine won't make me so." "So, you're saying that the wine…" Suddenly, Renee realized the wine was not as simple as she thought. She also understood why Rose had behaved in such a mysterious manner. "Stay…away from me!" Suddenly, she became frightened and wanted to keep some distance from Justin. She knew that people could not be trusted completely, especially under the effects of chemical reactions. Things would certainly get out of control. Justin probably did not want to do anything to her, but both of them would lose their minds under the effect of the wine and do something that would fill them with regret. The only way to prevent such an incident was to avoid each other."You want to stay away from me, but it's too late now. I'm no saint. I'm just a normal guy!"Just
"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