The following day, the sun shone brightly. Elijah immediately sent Stefan all the pieces of information he had on Renee. After reading it, Stefan was shocked, and he had a new perception of her. They had been married for four years and were about to get a divorce, and only now did he find out that his wife was the infamous genius that graduated from BC University. She skipped two grades in high school and entered BC University without needing to take the exam. She studied Electronic Communications and Technology, majoring in Electromagnetic Field and Electromagnetic Wave Direction. She became the lecturer's assistant in her second year, and whenever she was in class, it would be full of students. During her second year of postgraduate, she went to Asken as an exchange student and continued to have exceptional grades. However, everything changed when she was in her final year. The Everheart family faced insolvency and declared bankruptcy. Her parents committed suicide because
Renee subconsciously pursed her lips but didn't answer him, thinking to herself, 'You're aware of what I misunderstood. Why are you pretending not to know?'Stefan's dark eyes focused on her, and he said, "I don't care what you misunderstood about me, but I don't want you overthinking things. I'm doing all this to thank you for saving me. Besides that, I have no other intentions." After hearing this, she laughed mockingly at herself. She knew she had read too much into his actions.He had never liked her in the past four years, so it was impossible that he had feelings for her now!"That's good." She relaxed instantly and joked, "After the divorce, we won't see each other anymore."Stefan merely pressed his lips together and didn't say a word. He was thinking of the same thing, but he didn't feel happy when he heard her say it.Renee rolled up her sleeves, pointed at her injury, and said, "See, my injury is healing. I can take care of myself. You can leave now."He looked at
"You?" Shocked was written all over Renee's face. He was an unwelcome guest! "Am I not welcomed here?" Haze asked with his hand shoved inside his pocket. His charming face, hidden under his cap, gave off a mysterious vibe to him. "I don't think we're that familiar with each other," Renee replied coldly. She didn't know why a hacker like him was here, and she was instantly wary and on guard at his presence. "Not familiar?" Haze repeated and laughed sarcastically. "We're a great team in the hacker world. Although we've never met each other, we've worked together online multiple times before. We should be old friends, right, Phoenix?" When Renee heard this, she smiled helplessly. As expected, he purposely let her win that day at Hunt Enterprise cause he had long known her identity. It didn't matter anyway since she wanted to meet him too, and he came on his own today, so it was perfect. "Hi, I'm Phoenix. You can call me Renee," she said, extending her hand to the man.
Renee didn't take Haze's threat seriously, and she threw the card away. She didn't care if he exposed her. After all, she saved Stefan's life. She hoped Stefan wouldn't be cruel to her just because of a little prank.However, she was curious about the problem Haze said about the Hunt family.'Is that why Stefan keeps getting targeted? Who would be bold enough to attack the Hunt family of Beach City publicly?' she thought to herself.At first, she wanted to ask Liam to check it out, but she felt it was unnecessary, seeing as she and Stefan were about to get a divorce soon.She put the thoughts back in her mind and decided to care for herself first. It was a pointless venture anyway, as she had never gotten any gratitude from the Hunt family in the past four years despite all the sacrifices she had made for them.Seeing as the weather was great today and she hadn't gone out to shop in a while, she called Leia. The two decided to meet at three in the afternoon in Paragon Plaza.Thin
Francine snorted and sized Renee from head to toe before mockingly saying, "Stefan won't even touch her, so how can she be pregnant? She's just a waste of our money." Francine's words were so cruel that Renee instantly clenched her fist when she heard them. Just as she was about to say something, Leia stepped forward and insulted Francine. "Hahaha! You're not that capable, either. One of your sons died, and the other had an affair. If I were you, I would reflect on why my sons are useless. Aren't you afraid your grandchildren will get karma because of your nasty remarks?" Before Renee had a divorce, Leia kept quiet and didn't interfere in their family matter. But now that Renee was getting a divorce, she wouldn't stay silent anymore. Francine was furious when she heard that, and she turned pale with anger as she pointed a finger at Leia. "You…" When Briar saw this, she felt that this was an opportunity for her to get on Francine's good side. She instantly stood between Franci
Thinking that an explanation was unnecessary, Renee returned the man's cold stare with a calm one and said, "She was slapped. There's more to say about it." It didn't matter if he considered her unreasonable or disgraceful. There was nothing to explain, and it wasn't necessary. Everything about the Hunt family was nothing important to her from the moment she decided to divorce Stefan. What's more, it was just a mistress and a shrew. Francine, with a shaking voice and an arrogant look, said, "Look, she admitted it. What are you still standing here for, son? Make her get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness!" Having stood by the side watching, Leia started to get irritated again and shouted, "Fuck your forgiveness! I wouldn't have slapped her if your mother and this bitch didn't call Ren a parasite and a barren!" Stefan furrowed his brows deeply when he heard her and turned to look at his mother and Briar. "Is that true?" Briar, feeling guilty, choked on her words
Renee's shopping mood was swept away after the misfortune of meeting Stefan and the two toxic women, so she went straight home after leaving the mall. The following day, she woke up early. After changing into a black dress and tying up her hair, she went to the florist to get a bouquet of daisies and then drove to the graveyard. It was the third of March, the death anniversary of her parents. It had been four whole years since they committed suicide, and she had never visited them. Everyone said she was a cold-blooded, ungrateful wretch who forsook her family to please the Hunts. But only she knew how much she loved her family. She was angry that they were not brave enough to live on, for their cowardice, their choice to leave in such a stupid and stubborn way, and for leaving her alone in the world! She hadn't visited their graves for so many years because she hadn't wanted to face or accept this reality. Yet, it was different now. She had gained the courage to face everyt
Renee returned home after leaving the graveyard. Just as she entered the door, she received a phone call from an unknown number. It was Briar. However, her tome was extremely polite and gentle, unlike her usual domineering tone when facing Renee. "I am sorry to disturb you, Ms. Everheart. I've been cleaning the room recently and found some of your personal belongings. Do you have time to come and get them tonight?" 'Was Briar always so kind?' Renee thought, obviously skeptical about it. What was she up to this time? Despite that, Renee did not hesitate and replied calmly, "Sure, I'll drop by and get them later." She left in haste last time, leaving some important belongings behind. Even if Briar did not call her, she would still find time to return to the villa to pick them up. At around eight in the evening, Renee got a cab and went straight to the Hunt family’s residence. The servants were somewhat distant because the previous mistress was visiting. They did not eve
The Baldwin family was so excited that they couldn't sleep. They waited at the exit of the airport eagerly for a long time."Dad, you can't be this fierce. The past is the past. What's important now is Justin has brought Ms. Ren home. He didn't let us down. And don't scare her off again. Just smile!" Sophia boldly reminded Austin, who looked stiff, for the sake of the bigger picture."Why should I smile? I'm born like this. I hate smiling!" Austin retorted stubbornly. His face grew stiffer and he looked more solemn. "Why can't you take my advice? Ms. Ren came to a strange city all alone. I'm sure she's scared, but you're going to be so fierce to her. If you scare her off, you'll make a scene again. It'll be too late if you regret it by then!" Sophia nagged, insistent on explaining the interests at stake."Okay, stop. Dad's always like that. He's a general. No general loves to smile. When did he ever smile? Stop forcing him. We'll do the smiling." Jack dragged Sophia to the side, f
In the past, Renee recalled hurting Justin once. If she chose to get off the plane, she couldn't regret it. For a moment, she was unsure. She wondered if she was ready to make such a huge decision."It's fine. I told you, it's not too late if you don't get off the plane," Justin whispered. Although he looked hurt, he remained gentle and kind. "You have one minute to reconsider.""No, that's unnecessary." After taking a deep breath, Renee finally made up her mind. "I'll go with you."She had made such a decision after much contemplation. Since she was bold enough to board the plane, then she could get off it."Alright!" Justin's eyes brightened. He walked over and interlocked his fingers with hers. "You don't have to be scared. I'll be with you every step of the way. Let's face everything together."They walked side-by-side as they got off the plane.They took an individual pathway to exit the airport since they rode the exclusive plane of the Baldwin family. The Baldwin family ha
"I'm sorry!" Renee blurted—she realized her selfishness."I admit that I took you as a substitute. I wanted to get out of that suffering relationship, and I didn't care about your feelings. I'm so sorry."At first, she wanted to forget Stefan and start a new relationship. And then, Justin risked his life to save her. On top of that, they were compatible in various aspects. She felt that she could spend the rest of her life with him.However, Renee realized that her actions were purely self-serving. She never considered Justin's feelings or asked about his willingness. She merely took him as a convenient tool. "No, you did nothing wrong," Justin said. "You have your choices. Likewise, I have my choices too."He stared at Renee passionately, his teary eyes filled with pain, and held her hand. "I chose you. I want to stay with you while you're trying to forget about him. I want you to be happy with me.""You…" Renee looked into Justin's eyes. His generosity, firmness, and thoug
"Mmph!" Renee was sitting beside the window, watching the floating clouds up in the sky when a sudden pain gripped her heart—as if it was clenched tight. "What's wrong?" Justin asked nervously. Sitting across from her, he could feel something wrong with her. "I'm fine." Renee shook her head and tried to soothe her stuffy chest. "My heart suddenly hurt just now. I guess it's because of the sudden weightlessness when the plane took off."Justin sighed in relief. "I've heard that some people might get dizzy or feel their ears ring because of weightlessness, but I've never heard of hearts aching.""It's fine. It's something rare, I guess. I'll feel better after a while." Renee waved his concerns away, taking a deep breath. She picked up the cup in front of her and sipped some water, and felt better. Perhaps the water had cooled her heart. However, Justin felt a little uneasy. He knew her heart wasn't his though their destination was the same."If you can't forget about him, yo
Stefan got involved with Briar. At the same time, something seemed to be wrong with Renee and she insisted on meeting Justin's parents. In short, they were lying to themselves.Xavier found it ridiculous that they would break up and date someone else, when in truth they loved each other passionately and had gone through so much together. They were just cowards who refused to face their problems head-on."Well said! I agree." For the first time, Leia and Xavier shared the same thoughts on the issues related to love. Aside from Stefan and Renee, there were many similar examples. Leia was convinced Liam was doing the same thing. She couldn't understand why they had to hurt themselves like that. It would be better to make peace.Suddenly, Xavier turned around and looked at Leia passionately, and declared with utmost seriousness, "So, we can't do that!" Having his face so close to hers so suddenly, Leia's heartbeat quickened. She pursed her lips and stood up shyly. "You're nuts
Justin walked over and tapped his wristwatch. "It's almost time. Let's go.""Okay." Renee nodded, then said to Leia, "Just go home and take good care of Liam. Tell my brother and kids that I'm fine. I'll be back at Beach City soon.""Uh…" Leia wanted to stop Renee from going to Beach City, but she couldn't find a reason to make Renee refuse. Of course, Renee had to stop the program which never responded."Fine. Take care. Call me immediately if anything happens!" Leia, enlightened, decided to respect Renee's choices. She hugged Renee and sobbed, "I hope you'll pick happiness no matter who you choose to be with!""Of course. I want you to do the same." Renee hugged Leia firmly.Then, she got into the small private plane bound for North City with Justin."She left…" Xavier muttered. He watched the plane take off for North City as he sat in the lobby, feeling complicated. He felt sorry for Stefan, but at the same time, he felt that Stefan had brought it upon himself. Being on
However, Leia didn't believe that Renee would have given up on Stefan. Based on their night chats a while ago, she could tell from Renee's tone that the latter was still confused about Stefan and couldn't part with him.It wasn't long ago, but now, Renee wanted to marry someone else. It was abnormal."Yes, I did…" Renee coldly looked ahead and added, "I did just now.""What?" Leia's eyes went wide, and she didn't stop questioning Renee. "What happened just now? Nothing happened!""Let me be frank with you." Renee decided to be honest with Leia since Leia insisted on getting to the bottom of it. "Justin told me something the night he saved us. Stefan informed him and asked him to come to our rescue.""I know that. And then?"Leia had heard the same story from Justin. She and Liam kept cursing Stefan for being a dirty coward all night long. It was infuriating. Stefan didn't try to save his beloved woman, but made his rival in love do so instead. It seemed he had given up his belo
"What? You're going to meet his parents?" Leia cried in agitation when she heard that. She glared at Justin, then dragged Renee to the side to interrogate the latter."What's wrong with you, Ren? Why are you marrying someone else just after one night?" Leia pausing, finding her words odd, then corrected herself. "Oh, no! Are you going to remarry?""Justin is a good man. His grandpa was my grandpa's old comrade. Plus, his family is nice to me. And we survived this time because of the army Grandpa Baldwin gave me. I can't be ungrateful," Renee said, her tone calm and cold.Although it was ridiculous, Austin did give Renee that army as a wedding gift. She used that gift at a critical time, which meant she had accepted the Baldwin family. Naturally, she had to take her relationship with Justin to another level. "But…" Leia frowned, feeling that Renee was being impulsive. "But you were forced to use that army under that circumstance. It wasn't because you loved Justin that drove
Liam was an unruly rich heir who loved freedom, while Amber was a pure and ignorant young woman. It seemed they were a perfect match."Why did she suddenly give you a wedding gown? Obviously, she wants to marry you. Are you sure you don't want to say anything to her before leaving?" Xavier teased Liam, trying to sound the latter out.Everyone could tell that Amber liked Liam. Besides, it seemed like Liam also fancied Amber. If they parted ways, they might never see each other again. Their romance might end with a failure. What a pity! "There's nothing to say to her." Liam purposely looked aloof. "All I want is to get the hell out of here. I don't even want to waste another second here."Then, he strode into the airport lobby. Renee quickened her pace and walked alongside him. She looked at him, feeling sorry for him. "Are you sure you're going to leave like this?""I should long be gone." Liam kept his coldness, his tone impassive. "If I don't go now, I can't leave forever.""