"I could say the same about you!" Briar looked at William. Just as she was about to start mocking him, she caught sight of Aiden. Her heart ached a little.She took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly. She couldn't go easy on him!"This is the last time I'll do anything for you. I hope you can keep your promise. Delete those videos and voice recordings on your phone. We owe each other nothing after this. We'll pretend we don't even know each other!" William exclaimed before leaving the hotel with Aiden.Briar stood where she was and watched them leave. She didn't move for a very long time, and there wasn't any expression on her face, not unlike a soulless corpse.After remaining silent for a while, she squatted and began laughing like a lunatic. She even started rolling on the floor while she laughed…"Hahaha! Briar, you're such a sad case. Even that fool who loved you the most decided to leave you for good. You deserve to have nothing!"Briar clambered onto her feet and
"Leia, if you find out one day that I'm not as simple as you imagined, and I turn out to be a bad person, would you… Would you forgive me?" William asked."Why are you asking that? I knew you were up to no good… But it depends on how you define being bad. If you hurt me, I'll decide if I should forgive you based on how serious it is. However, if you hurt my friend, I will never forgive you. In my heart, Ren will always come first. She's more important to me than anyone else. If you cross this line, you and I are over for good. Do you understand?" Leia asked.To her and her brother, Renee wasn't only a good friend. She was the person who gave them a second chance at life. They treated her like their idol, and they were determined to protect her to the ends of the earth.William's facial expression froze after hearing this. He remained silent for a long while before replying. "Alright. I understand. I know what to do."Leia was confused. "What do you mean? Why are you beating around
Aiden hung up right after divulging the key information. He also switched off his phone's GPS system so that the police wouldn't find him too soon.On top of that, he intentionally left his belongings behind at the hotel when he left earlier. If the police caught Briar now, there'd be solid evidence of her crime. 'Hehe!'After William finished smoking, he returned to the car. Aiden was still sleeping. William couldn't resist sighing. "Poor kid."He filled up the petrol tank and started driving faster than before.Water Dock was even brighter at night than during the day. All types of people were out and about.Ordinary people wouldn't even dare enter this lawless place.Men would have their organs harvested, while women would be forced into prostitution. As for fair, good-looking boys like Aiden, one could only imagine the horrors that would befall him if he was caught on the streets!William's legs were shivering when he drove into this area.Unfortunately, their car stopped
"Ahh!" Aiden's voice sent William, who was already tense and nervous, screaming. "Kiddo, y-you're awake?" William stammered.Aiden rolled his eyes and started giving orders. "Idiot. I've been awake for a long time. Look ahead. Press the accelerator down all the way. Turn the car as much to the left as possible, and force your way through. Otherwise, we're both doomed!"Aiden initially wanted to pretend to be asleep, but this man didn't seem the least reliable. Although it was obvious the other party was driving their way, he still hesitated and didn't go full speed ahead. Aiden was terribly anxious."Huh? What?" William's jaw dropped. He looked ahead and realized that he ought to follow Aiden's instructions.Without thinking too much, William held onto the steering wheel tightly. "I'm going to make a rapid turn. Sit tight!"Vroom, vroom, vroom! The roar of the car's engine echoed throughout the dock. The vehicle headed toward a gap on the left, and just when it seemed they would
The one-eyed man didn't believe what Aiden said at all. He gradually lost his patience and directly picked up Aiden by his collar. "Kid, you better start telling the truth, or I'll hit you just like how I hit him!""L-Let him go!" William pressed himself onto his feet and tried to stop the one-eyed man. In the end, he was sent flying with a punch."Let me go, or you'll be in deep trouble!" Aiden shouted angrily. He fought as hard as he could, refusing to get into the one-eyed man's car."Shut up, kiddo. You deserve a beating!" Just as the one-eyed man was about to slap Aiden across the face, a car suddenly sped over and crashed into his car, sending it flying."Damn it! Who the hell…" The one-eyed man began cursing, but his knees went weak the moment he saw the car's registration. He directly went down on his knees and didn't even dare to make a sound.Aiden took the opportunity to set himself free. He slowly walked up to the heavy, off-road vehicle and looked directly at the driv
Aiden stroked his chin and furrowed his brows as he seriously contemplated the matter for a while, looking just like a tiny grown-up. When he was done thinking, he tiptoed and held out a hand for Mr. Q to shake, solemnly telling him, "Since you're repentant of your mistakes, then we can be friends. A pleasure to meet you. Your guidance will be much appreciated."The man's frozen lips arched up ever so slightly without him noticing it. He even bent down his body involuntarily so that he could get closer to the kid. "Pleasure to meet you too," he replied in a deep voice. "Your guidance will be much appreciated as well."Aiden was outstandingly tall for a four-year-old boy, but standing in front of a man who was well over six feet tall still made him look tiny in comparison, as he was not even as tall as the man's long legs. Yet the sight of them together standing side by side made such a comical contrast that they looked inexplicably cute together.Everyone around them, including Wi
The car soon arrived at the infamous Carmine Pawnshop. The place was rumored to be a treasure house, filled with displays of rare treasures, curious cultural antiques, exotic animals, and other peculiar paraphernalia from all over the world.Nevertheless, the actual pawnshop did not occupy a large area at all. In fact, it was just a simple building. It did not even have that many guards surrounding it, so it looked no different from the other buildings in the area.The car drove into the pawnshop's private garage. Mr. Q parked the car and turned to Aiden, and asked him in a leisurely tone, "Are you sure you want to go inside? You do know that anyone who's stepped into Carmine Pawnshop gives up control of their own fate, don't you?""I'm just a kid," Aiden replied chirpily, blinking his big bright eyes innocently, "so anything I say doesn't count. As for you being in control of my fate, you'll have to ask for Mommy's permission before you can do that."Aiden had always been an exper
"Well, about that…"Aiden's eyes darted around as he contemplated the question. He figured that he could not possibly let this man know that he was the villain Stefan Hunt's son, since that would lessen the chances that he would want to be his mother's helper.With that in mind, he told the man in a serious tone, "My daddy is Liam Osborne. You do know him, don't you? Mommy told me that he's not too shabby himself. He's the future heir to the Osborne family, which is one of the Great Eight of Beach City. Mommy also said that with the combined strengths of the Osbornes and the Everhearts, defeating the Hunts is only a matter of time!""Is that so? Hmph, your mommy is pretty ambitious, isn't she?"Mr. Q's words sounded especially curt and surly, as if he was upset about something.'Briar Desrosiers, you sly woman! How dare you lie to me?!'But it's fine,' he thought. 'It doesn't matter whether this kid has the blood of the Hunts or not. As long as he's Renee Everheart's son, then th
"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