“That's not it!” Renee denied it coldly. "That's just my moral principle. It has nothing to do with him.”The press conference continued under the supervision of the staff.A representative from Hunt Enterprise's PR Department showcased to the media the company's ongoing projects, financial power, and organizational structure.Finally, the PR representative enthusiastically told the media, "Hunt Enterprise is about to embark on a new journey. Let's welcome Mr. Jovan Hunt, the new CEO jointly selected by the board of directors and the major shareholders of Hunt Enterprise, to give us a speech.”The venue suddenly erupted with enthusiastic applause. The atmosphere was even more enthusiastic than when Stefan held a press conference in the past. It was heartbreaking to watch.Jovan spoke eloquently in front of the media.“Hunt Enterprise is currently facing an unprecedented crisis. For the future of Hunt Enterprise and the entire Beach City, I took on the responsibility of CEO at the
Everyone looked toward the direction the sound came from, including Renee.She saw Stefan's tall figure casually walking into the venue like a deity.Originally, Jovan was the center of attention, but as soon as Stefan appeared, he immediately became the side character, like a piece of glass compared to Stefan's diamond.The place exploded. The atmosphere, which had reached a climax before this, became even more intense. The sounds of shutters and flashes were deafening.“N-No way! Stefan Hunt?! But you're already...”Jovan went pale, like he had just seen a ghost. He slumped down in his chair, devoid of his earlier energy and enthusiasm.Stefan's gaze at Jovan was as cold and sharp as a dagger. He said, "You seem disappointed, Vice-CEO.”The senior executives and shareholders sitting to the sides showed various reactions. Some were happy, while some were not.Those who supported Jovan had their backs pressed against their seats. They sweated profusely and found it hard to brea
Stefan sat there like a king, dazzling and charming the people around him. Clearly, the man was a born leader—nobody could take their eyes off him. Even the reporters from popular media companies who were initially only interested in getting their hands on sensational news were now so captivated by Stefan's charisma that they forgot to take notes.Sitting amidst hundreds of other guests in the audience, Renee's icy gaze was locked on the man on the stage. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her fingernails dug deep into her flesh.So, Stefan had been alive all this time… and had now returned more powerful and arrogant than ever! It was truly a pity that she'd spent all that time grieving and shedding tears for him. It was all for nothing! Renee felt like laughing at how foolish she had been.Xavier crossed his legs, looking as if he knew all along that this would happen."I can't believe Stef actually went through with his outrageous plan!" He exclaimed with a grin. "But I've g
"Ms. Everheart, we heard that you recently replaced Mr. Osborne as the president of Azure Group. Considering your rather unusual relationship with Mr. Hunt, what does the future relationship of your companies look like? Would the two of you be competing as rivals or work together as partners?" The person asking was a head reporter from one of the most reputable finance and economics magazines.Renee's thoughts were still circling around the deep anger and resentment she felt for Stefan, and she glared at the man icily. In contrast, Stefan was calm and collected as he gazed at her indifferently."Unusual" was indeed a good word to describe their relationship!Stefan did not have to say anything—the damage was already done. His lethal silence could easily crush anyone's self-esteem to smithereens!Renee clenched her fists and sneered, "There are no friends or enemies in the world of business—there's only benefit and loss. If Mr. Hunt can help me make more money, then we'll work toget
Renee sat on the toilet in the restroom, so enraged that she drew a pentagram on the floor with the tip of her shoe, viciously cursing Stefan."Damn you to hell, Stefan Hunt! You wanted to die so much that you even got yourself a grave, huh? Well, then… I hope you choke to death when you drink water or when you swallow your food! I hope you get struck by lightning when you're on your phone or fall down a hole and die while you're walking…"Suddenly, she heard the voices of women coming from the nearby stalls."Ah, no imitation can beat the real thing… Jovan might be cute, but he's nothing compared to Stefan! They're as different as day and night. Oh, can Stefan be any more perfect? If only I could marry him one day!""Stop daydreaming—he's already found his true love! If you think you'll actually get a turn to be with him, you should get your head checked…""True love? You mean his ex-wife?""No, dummy! It's the woman Mr. Hunt has been protecting for four years—Briar Desrosiers!
There were a few men inside the men's restroom standing at the urinals, doing their business without a care in the world. When Renee stormed in, they were shocked and hastily covered their private areas with their hands."You…" One of them sputtered indignantly, his face red in embarrassment."What are you looking at?" Renee shouted at the men, holding her head high. "Have you never seen a woman in the men's restroom before? If you can't deal with it, then get out!"The men in there were all respectable gentlemen, and they had probably never encountered such a tough and intimidating woman before. Instantly, they hurriedly zipped up and ran out.In a few seconds, the restroom was empty, except for the lone figure at the innermost urinal—Stefan Hunt. He stood straight and tall, like a cold and flawless marble statue. He managed to exude an air of superiority and unattainable perfection even as he stood in front of a urinal.He had not yet done his business before Renee barged in, so
In a desperate attempt to stop her from walking away, Stefan stretched his leg out to block her path and grabbed her tiny shoulders with both of his hands."Don't you have anything to tell me?" He asked meaningfully."Is this a joke? What would I have to tell you?" She glared at the big hands on her shoulders and warned him in an icy tone, "Let me go!"Stefan gazed into Renee's eyes as he asked her, "I hid the truth from you because the situation forced me to, but what about you? Don't tell me you're not hiding anything from me!""What…" Renee was starting to feel unsettled. "What are you talking about?""You know what I'm talking about… In your eyes, I'm the stupid one, aren't I? You hid in a corner where I couldn't see you, and you laughed at me for years, didn't you?"Stefan's grip on Renee's shoulders unconsciously tightened, and his calm expression now gave way to a mixture of anger, pain, and helplessness… as if he was powerless against the woman in front of him!Renee was
Trepidation was written all over Renee's face. She was full of guilt, but she raised her fist and said threateningly, "Go on and speak if you dare, Jovan!""Ignore her," Stefan coldly stated. "Tell me everything you know."Jovan smiled wickedly, then began in a meaningful tone, "If I'm not mistaken, your marriage to Renee lasted for about four years. In our current society, that's not a short marriage at all. Do you think you know her well? Do you know what her real personality is like?"Stefan's expression turned ugly, and he said in a dangerously icy tone, "What exactly are you trying to say? Stop beating around the bush—I don't have time to chat with you.""Answer my questions then. Do you understand her? What kind of a person is she in your eyes? Once I've got your answers, I'll tell you the shocking secret that she's been hiding from you…"Jovan's words aggravated both Stefan and Renee, but in order to satisfy his curiosity, Stefan forced himself to keep calm and answered the
"I don't know how to tell you. I'm sure you can understand." Renee could not bring herself to say more because it was a humiliating privacy. She might as well keep it to herself."Let me guess…" Justin's gaze grew sharp as he went straight to the point. "The man in your story is Stefan, isn't it?" Silence washed over Renee as she kept her head bowed. It was a silent approval.Justin burst into reckless laughter, which was scary. He looked down at his cut wound and laughed pathetically. "This is why he could make you fall in love with him, and I couldn't. I'm too cultured compared to him.""Don't say that, Haze!"Seeing how defeated Justin was, Renee became uneasy. "It isn't written in the stars for us. Plus, I've fallen in love with Stefan a long time ago before I even got to know you. I also rely on him physically and psychologically. I can't control my feelings. It's not something we can change. We…" "Stop!" Heartbroken, Justin pushed away everything in front of him and s
Time passed by. Gradually, the pain knocked some sense into Justin. He no longer wanted to take advantage of Renee."Let me get you some water." Renee had no idea what she could do for Justin. After some contemplation, she got to her feet and poured him a glass of water.Finally, she studied the room closely and found that it was a wedding room as Justin had mentioned. Everything was set up according to her preferences, which she had occasionally mentioned to Justin. For example, she loved keeping some ceramic ornaments on the bedside cabinet and hanging some seashell wind chimes at the windows. The entire room was painted in beige and green, which were her favorites, too. Beige gave a sense of warmth, while green gave a sense of gloominess. All of those details became the perfect wedding room for Renee.If everything went on smoothly, she would spend most of her time there, and he would be her life companion. Unfortunately, there were no ifs in the world.Renee handed the gla
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