"What the hell?" Renee dismissed it quickly and hung up.However, Leia called her soon after, hurriedly saying, "Ren, where are you? Come to The Blue Inn, quick! If you don't, your little escort is going to lose his purity card!""Lose his purity card?" Renee was confused."Yeah! One of the employees in the pub called and asked me for help, saying that your favorite escort's popularity has gotten him into trouble! Some lady boss took a liking to him and offered 150 thousand dollars to spend the night with him, but he told her that he was saving himself for you!""What on Earth… Saving himself for me?" Renee was in sheer disbelief. She had only made out with that handsome man briefly, and she hadn't even been completely sober at the time. She thought, 'We didn't even do anything, but he's saying he's saving himself for me? Are you sure this isn't a prank?!'"Ah, they've gotten into a fight! There might be a lot of escorts here, but none of them have the strength to defend themselve
The lady boss was incredibly angry after hearing that. "So that's how you're going to play it, huh? Fine then, I'll be the bad guy! Hold him down!"After that, two men in black grabbed hold of Isaac's arms, securing him in place. The boss lady then brought out the whip she carried around at all times, then slashed it towards Isaac's chest.In an instant, the man's white dress shirt was torn open, with streams of blood flowing down his skin. His gorgeous looks, along with his cold elegance, made it a hauntingly beautiful sight."I'm asking you once again! Are you coming with me or not?!""I won't go with anyone but her!" With that, the escort earned himself yet another few slashes. The pub's owner and employees were watching fearfully from the side, not daring to lend a hand at all. The place was filled with the lady boss's underlings, so it would cost their lives to even speak up against this ordeal.When the wicked lady lifted her arm again, she noticed that she was unable to m
"Huh?" Renee watched as the gang left the pub with a confused expression on her face.She wondered, 'What just happened?! Was that lady toying with me? How could she just leave like that?!'Everyone in the pub was instantly relieved, and they quickly surrounded Renee. They stared at her in adoration as if she was their idol, nearly falling to their knees to express their gratitude towards her."Ms. Everheart, you truly are a heroine! Your fighting skills are even better than that viral video from a while ago! You're our goddess!""Ms. Everheart, please take care of our pub from now on! You know how some women are wild and unreasonable when it comes to the service industry! The escorts in my pub have been harassed multiple times up till now!" The pub owner sobbed uncontrollably."Especially our Isaac, his charm brought a lot of business ever since his debut, but it also attracted a lot of unwanted attention! That woman from earlier was quite powerful too! If you hadn't come here to
"Fine, I'll just treat his wounds first!"Just as Renee was going to send him to the hospital, Isaac shook his head. "We don't need to go to the hospital. It's not that serious. Just send me back home so I can rest for a couple of days."Renee figured she'd be able to send this clingy man away this way, and at that point, would have done everything she could to help. She'd be able to leave him without feeling any guilt then. "Okay, I'll take you home."Isaac's place was just nearby, and it was a single-story house with only one bedroom inside. The furnishings were rather minimalistic, which didn't seem to match his seductive appearance."Alright, I got you home. Get some rest, okay? It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now." Renee was wary of heading in, as it was quite inappropriate for her to enter a man's home in the middle of the night. On the other hand, Isaac's tall figure felt immensely fragile without her support; it looked as if he was going to fall unconscious if she l
"It's inside that shelf over there, at the doorway. I'm so sorry for all this trouble," Stefan said while panting softly, as if he was so frail that he couldn't do anything himself. He had truly mastered the art of being a knight in distress.Renee found the first aid kit, which contained bandages, antiseptic cream, and some basic essentials.As she got to the sofa, she stared at the man's perfect facial structure, along with his beautifully sculpted body and frosty aura. The woman thought to herself, 'What eye candy! He's like a damn incubus!'"Take your shirt off," Renee ordered, looming over him like an experienced maneater.'Oh my god, she's so bold!'This time, Stefan was the one who felt quite bashful and covered his chest with both arms, asking, "Why? I can't do much in my current state… But if you insist, I'll still try and do my best to please you."Renee's cheeks turned red as she clenched her jaw. "What are you thinking? I was going to apply medicine for you! How am
Stefan seemed serious. "On the surface, I'm just an escort, but I'm actually a therapist too. I can provide professional therapy, and I am skilled in hypnosis as well. Your best friend mentioned that you have a lot of unhappiness suppressed, so I hope you can open up to me. If you trust me, I can help you come out of that darkness.""A professional therapist?" Renee was quite surprised. She really thought the man's bread and butter was his looks."What's with that look?" Stefan smiled lightly, brushing her hair to the back with his long fingers. "Do you not believe me? Or do you feel disappointed… Well, I can still actually pay special attention to your body too, if you want me to.""No thanks!" Renee's face turned red, and she pushed the man away forcefully as she sat up straight. Her tone was frosty as she said, "Of course I don't believe you! You've been flirting with me the whole night! How could you be a professional therapist?!"Professional therapists need to possess a lot o
Renee huffed and smiled, thinking to herself, 'He sure knows how to put up an act. I really wonder what you're going to come up with!'"Looks like what your best friend said was true. You've repressed a lot of emotions in your heart. You'll be past your limit soon… If you keep this up, you'd be at risk for depression…""Don't make me laugh, I'm enjoying life to the fullest, and I'm in great shape! What would I even be depressed about?""You can lie to me, but your drawings can't…" Stefan furrowed his brows. "People would normally draw a house with a chimney. Even if they didn't, they'd have a door, or maybe windows… All of these symbolize an exit for their emotions.""But your house has no chimney, doors, or windows… it's a completely closed-off space. This indicates that you have purposefully isolated yourself and are unwilling to show anyone your true emotions…"Renee was speechless, clenching her fists as she was unable to come up with a reply. Sure enough, this proved the man
However, the woman still chose to reject his offer. "Maybe some other day. I'm getting tired, so I'll go get some rest."Despite believing the man's occupation, she still chose to lock these secrets away. There were just some things she'd rather hide than face…Stefan didn't push her any further but was still quite devastated. He wasn't sure if Renee was depressed over his 'death', but he knew for a fact that she wasn't as happy as she seemed on the outside.It was as if she was an onion, wrapping herself in layers upon layers to turn herself into someone everyone would like. "The past few years weren't kind to you, were they?" Stefan asked in a deep and solemn voice.Renee smiled bitterly, being completely honest with him. "Yeah."The only people in the room were herself, and this escort, who was merely an acquaintance. Without her loved ones and rivals around, she no longer wanted to play pretend. Pretending to be depressed might be easy, but trying to fake happiness was just…
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