Renee thought she was about to fall flat on her face.Just then, a man wrapped his strong arm around her waist, catching her fall. The fresh scent of peppermint filled her senses, entrancing the woman entirely. "You're burning hot… Do you have a fever?" Stefan asked her with a hint of concern in his voice.The urge to protect her sprang up in his mind, accompanied by the following thought.'She's so thin and frail, like a feather.'"This doesn't concern you!" Renee hissed through her teeth as she regained her balance. She stubbornly tried to free herself from his arms.After the procedure was done, she intended to walk away elegantly, leaving Stefan in the dust. She wanted to avoid casting the impression that she was using her illness to gain sympathy.However, no matter how tough she tried to act, her body was simply exhausted. Even after gaining her footing, she staggered backward.Seeing this, Stefan lifted her bridal style and said, "I'll take you to the hospital.""What
Liam's relaxed voice came to a sudden halt as soon as he noticed Stefan standing inside the ward.He studied the man before him as the man did the same. An odd tension settled in the room."Do you know each other?" Stefan asked Renee with a chilling tone.He wondered how an infamous playboy and a modest rich lady would ever get the chance to interact when they were from completely different worlds."Well…" Renee buried her face in her hands awkwardly. She was the one who texted Liam to meet at the hospital, but she didn't expect him to arrive so soon.'A soon-to-be ex-husband bumping into the dashing playboy… This was weirdly reminiscent of a scene from a romantic drama.’“Know her? She’s my muse!” Liam exclaimed as he approached Renee with a bouquet of sunflowers in his hand. With a sarcastic smile, he turned to Stefan. “Little do you know, Master Hunt, Miss Everheart has quite the reputation back in our school! She has so many admirers that she could build an army if she want
“I’ve got it right here. How would I dare slack off when you’re my boss?” Liam stopped his cheeky act and handed the woman a thick stack of documents.Renee couldn’t care less about her sick state and skim through the pages quickly.After a few moments, a pleased grin formed on her lips. “Good. I knew these lawyers weren’t as ordinary as they seemed. They’re worth way more than what he offered as compensation!”“Tsk, but they’re Stefan Hunt’s employees. How great can they be?” Liam questioned, crossing his legs while leaning against the side rails of her bed. “I know lots of lawyers who are better than them. If you need any, I can give you some recommendations.” “No, I want them,” Renee said with a determined expression. She seemed in a great mood, absolutely unbothered by her divorce.“Boss, are you planning something? I feel like I can smell a scheme coming our way.” Liam expressed sheer excitement.‘Four years! It’s been four whole years! I’m so thrilled the goddess herself h
Stefan stood tall and proud, an indifferent look on his face as he pondered over his father's words.His eyes landed on Briar’s stomach, and he said dismissively, “As you can see, Briar is already three months pregnant. This child is part of the family bloodline, so she will need a proper title before the child is born. I’ve already proceeded with the divorce with Renee. Once we're legally separated, I will register my marriage with Briar.”Francine and Briar let out a sigh of relief at the same time after hearing this.However, this statement only made Alexander even more furious. He was on the verge of slapping his son. “You bastard! So, you’re serious about this?! You… You’re so foolish that you kicked your wife out to make space for your mistress! Are you insane?!“If Ren’s grandfather found out about this, how should he rest in peace? You should know that he used to be quite the soldier and was even appointed as an esteemed general! Aren't you worried that he’d haunt you in yo
If one could turn back time, Stefan was willing to risk everything to return to that night three months ago.That night, on the streets of Newrest, the two brothers were assaulted as they were chatting about the family’s future. Tristan had selflessly protected Stefan using his body and took a bullet for him. Moments before his death, Tristan mentioned that he had a girlfriend who he loved deeply, Briar Desrosiers. Moreover, Briar had just conceived their child. “Marry Briar and live on in my stead. Please… give them a complete family.”Stefan couldn’t possibly forget how his brother’s bloody hands held onto him, begging him with despair consuming him whole.Stefan would surely push his brother away if he could turn back time, as it would have been better if he had died instead.Hearing his answer, Briar continued with her pitiful act nonetheless. “Not only have you upset your father for me and the baby’s sake, but you’ve also hurt Ms. Everheart in the process! I feel really ba
Renee was extremely anxious when she arrived at the hospital. She was even more confused when she received the medical report from the nurse. “Ms. Everheart, according to your blood test, it would seem that your HCG and progesterone levels are higher than usual. You have been pregnant for a month or so.”“What the hell? I’m… one month pregnant?!”“Yes. Congratulations, you’re going to be a mother!”Even after the nurse had left, Renee remained rooted to the spot in shock. ‘There’s no way… right? I just fainted once. Once and I’m pregnant? How strong is my fertility? Or was it his fertility that was the problem here? Oh god, why me?!’However, there was no doubt that she was pregnant with Stefan’s child.About a month ago, the Hunt family was just finishing up with Tristan’s funeral as sorrow dawned upon the entire family. It was the first time Renee saw Stefan shed his distant and hostile act. He was so vulnerable that he seemed like a defenseless child, sobbing into his palms
Stefan looked extremely serious and determined this time. Thus, Renee’s grip on her report tightened as contemplation rose within the depths of her heart.Briar, who was standing at the side, seemed to have noticed something off and placed herself in between them. Then, she took her own report out and shoved it toward Renee’s face.“Ms. Everheart, look at my baby. He’s three months old now! We just had an ultrasound done, and the baby is fully formed! Here’s a picture of him… isn’t he so cute? It’s great that we managed to bump into you today. I have to thank you for giving my baby and me a complete family and for such an excellent father like Stefan! Because of your generosity, we can live in bliss!”‘She just wants to brag!’ Renee thought, glancing at the ultrasound picture. She could tell that it really was a fully formed fetus with limbs and facial features. On the contrary, her own child was just an embryo. Some would say that it wasn’t exactly alive, either. ‘How funny. Th
Stefan clenched his fists tightly, unable to respond.In the past, he had always perceived this woman as a boring little puppet with no opinions. He didn’t think she would have such a feisty attitude like this. She didn’t need his protection at all. Seeing this, Briar immediately played the victim card again, clinging to Stefan’s arm. “Stefan, please don’t get mad at Ms. Everheart. It’s all my and the baby’s fault! Ms. Everheart was forced to give up on you even though she loves you so… It’s natural for her to be upset with us! Just let her take her anger out on…”“Nope, wrong again.” Renee scoffed. “You don’t have to thank me because I’ve made myself loud and clear that I wasn’t being generous. I merely threw away a piece of trash I didn’t want, and you just happened to pick him up. That’s why this baby is your karma. I told you the name suits it well, didn’t I?”She then turned to Stefan with a fake smile across her lips. “Indecent people usually get bad karma though, Mr. Hu
Flabbergasted, Renee had no idea what they were talking about. She also couldn't understand their dance. Terror gripped her hard. She found them more frightening than Lucas. At least she could converse with Lucas. These people, however, were no different than animals despite looking like human beings. As an injured person, Renee could foresee her ending after running into a group of fierce animals.Another man reminded the guy who was dancing happily, "Tie her up. She's such a plump prey. We can't let her run away. I'm sure the chief will be very happy!" The man grinned ferociously. "Yes, tie her up. I want to show off by walking along the entire village!" A few people rushed over and tied Renee up. Renee quickly fished her gun out and aimed it at that man. "What do you want? Leave me alone, or I'll start shooting!""Hey, this prey comes with a gun! That's a good thing!" However, the man wasn't afraid of Renee's gun. On the contrary, he acted like he had seen a treasure and
Thus, Renee and Leia parted ways.After more than ten minutes, Lucas was tired too. He said helplessly, "Hey, I think you should stop now. Do you want to keep torturing me until nightfall?" "I think so too, but can you let us go?" Renee asked.Her arm was so sore, it was about to break. Luckily, she had practiced martial arts for many years. If not, any three-year-old child could defeat her easily, let alone control Lucas."Whether I let you go or not isn't important. Once you enter this area, you'll either suffer by my or someone else's hand. I'm already considered good. Usually, women like you would be sent to a red-light district and forced to entertain all sorts of men. You'd get a taste of hell!"Lucas glanced at the gradually darkened sky expressionlessly. He never felt that he had done anything wrong. On the contrary, he saw himself as a very kind person."Plus, it's getting dark. My factory isn't the only one around here. There are many factories more outrageous than min
"I… I want to go too!""And me! I want to go too!" There were around seven to eight men and women.Lucas found it unacceptable and glared fiercely at Renee. "Motherfucker! Bitch, stop flattering yourself. You can just run away on your own, but you want to take my manpower too. You're trying to ruin my business!""Is this business? This place is hell! You've ruined their lives!" Renee snarled.In the first place, she wasn't a kind person. Most of the time, she would just protect herself. But after having a tour of the factory just now, she noticed how dispirited and dull those young people appeared. She couldn't bear to leave them behind. After all, she wanted to run away. She might as well help the others leave while at it. However, whether they could escape or not depended on themselves."Hmph! Do you think they're wronged? Most of them came here willingly! They wanted a high salary and earned a lot of money. They stole across the border to come here even though they knew tha
"Step out of the way!" Renee ordered Lucas' fighters, who were raising electrical batons and steel pipes, while she gripped the back of his neck."Lucas…" His subordinates, full of hesitation, did not dare to act rashly."Step down. Do what she said," Lucas instructed his subordinates through gritted teeth, frightened that he would die. Renee gradually left the basement, dragging the chains along. "Get your subordinate to untie the chains around my legs," she ordered.With Lucas under her control, she finally left the building and arrived at the open space in front of it. "Come and untie her!" Lucas didn't dare to hesitate at all and acted as per Renee's orders.At the same time, other victims who had been tricked into coming to such a place stared at the two. Having been beaten up so much, they looked numb. "You guys want to leave?" Renee asked them.These people were engulfed with silence, numbness, and fear. They lowered their heads and quickly returned to their work.
"I'd rather die than touch a man like that, but you actually flirted with him! God, you have such vulgar tastes! I've got to hand it to you!" Leia went on.Renee glanced at Leia nonchalantly while she massaged Lucas. "If you can't do this, then pipe down. My friends should do me good, but all you bring me is trouble. I don't want a friend like that. If you're not here to earn money for Lucas, I'll ignore you. Selling you to a red-light district will save us a lot of trouble."Lucas enjoyed the massage while listening to the argument between Renee and Leia. "Hey, stop fighting over me. You guys need to serve me from now on. Well, you'll come on the odd days, and she'll come on the even days…"He imagined how the two beauties would get jealous and fight for his affection. His vanity as a man had reached its climax."This fierce chick doesn't have a good temper, so I'll leave it to you to discipline her. You're so obedient, I'm sure you can discipline her," he said."Of course. I
Renee and Leia started arguing with each other in front of Lucas and his lackey, saying a lot of fierce things to each other."Hey, this is interesting!"Lucas kept clapping as he listened. "Just now, you guys risked your lives for each other. But now, you've fallen out. I knew it! Human nature is complex."Renee turned, giving Lucas a very seductive look. Smiling, she said, "Even a married couple becomes selfish when there's danger, let alone friends. She's noisy and talks so much. If she drives you mad, I'll be in trouble. But I want to make a lot of money with you, so of course I need to cut off from her first!""You're smart. I like smart people a lot." Gradually, Lucas grew to trust and admire Renee more. "Well, come and give me a massage if you can do that. Let me see your skills. It'll be best if you can show me your skills in other aspects too.""No problem." Renee smiled charmingly. "I'm good at a lot of things. What do you want to see? I can show it to you.""Cut the
"But if I keep you guys here and make all the films I want for sale, I can earn a lot of money in the long run. My company will also get more famous. Which do you think I'll choose?" Lucas went on.Renee nodded. "You're right, but it's boring to just conduct the punishment. Why don't we use another method as a form of punishment?""Oh, what do you have in mind?" Lucas' eyes brightened. After spending so many days and nights here, he was gradually losing his rationale. The thought of new torture methods for victims who refused to obey filled him with excitement. "You want us to act, don't you? Let's not waste time. We should start filming now." Renee smiled seductively. "I'm eager to be the first.""So, you're saying that you can't wait to start?" Lucas stood up, excited. He rubbed his hands together as he sized Renee up. "Yeah, I guess. I can't wait to earn money for you," Renee said. "Great! You're a sensible one!" Lucas clapped. "Well, let's start… How about this? Since it
"Watch me!" the guard said fiercely. He walked to the table and placed a basin filled with hot water on it. Then, he grabbed a sheet of white paper and drenched it with water. He then put it on Leia's face. "Mmph!" Leia's face was fully covered, her mouth and nose blocked. She couldn't make a sound or breathe properly. Her face flushed from the suffocation, and she was in great pain."Let go of her now!" Renee screamed, anxious and restless. Though handcuffed, she rushed toward Leia and tried her best to remove the paper from Leia's face.Suffocating for five to ten minutes could kill. If Renee didn't stop them and let them have their way with Leia, she might die!However, Renee slipped and fell. She tried to get up, but failed due to her handcuffed limbs restricting her movement. "Mm, mm!" Leia struggled violently at first, but she slowly stopped moving as though she was dying.At the critical moment, Renee finally got up and hurriedly yanked the paper off Leia's face."W
When Renee noticed Lucas' growing trust in her, she started begging for mercy for Leia.Unexpectedly, Lucas turned hostile and cunning. "So, you said that much to me just because you wanted to beg for mercy for your friend. Were you talking nonsense?" he snapped. "No, it was a sincere suggestion! I mean it! I wanted to help you make this company bigger and stronger." Renee swallowed, and added, "My friend and I are close. A normal person like me wouldn't want her to suffer so much." "Yes, any normal person wouldn't. But people in our industry can't afford to be normal. Only crazy people can do this kind of work."Lucas raised his brow, and looked at Leia before turning back to Renee. "How about this? You punish her to prove your loyalty. Then, I'll believe that you're on my side. What do you think?" "Motherfucker! Just come at me! Stop talking crap! I'm not afraid of you!" Leia suddenly shrieked.Lying on the table, her initial fear gradually turned into anger. Finally, sh