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
Renee was so angry that she punched Jovan in the back twice. She did it so naturally that it was like they knew each other for a long time—there was no awkwardness between them at all.Stefan's expression twisted even more, and he subconsciously clenched his fists."You see, Stefan… this is Renee's real personality. She's not dignified or gentle like you said, nor is she elegant or prim and proper. The real Renee Everheart has a violent temper, and she beats people up when she's displeased with them. She always beats me up when she sees me; she's basically a tigress! I bet you've never seen this side of her, have you?"Although he'd just gotten punched, Jovan could not be happier. In fact, he even looked proud as he crowed triumphantly, "You were married to her for so many years, but I bet she's never punched you, has she? That's too bad… Research shows that when a woman is relaxed enough to show her real self to a man, she is more likely to love the man with all her heart and spend
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc
Renee turned and found Jovan unscathed. Relief washed over her. She said grumpily, "It's none of your business!""Tsk! How cruel!" Jovan clutched his chest and pretended to be in deep pain. At the same time, he teased, "I know. Your soulmate is better. I'm so jealous of him, though he's still a fallback guy.""Go to hell, Jovan!" Jovan's nasty words drove Renee mad. She grabbed a piece of napkin, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his face. "If I knew you'd talk so badly, I wouldn't be bothered to save you. Maybe you'll get reborn in Ulria. Then, you have to watch your tongue!""Hey! Yeah, I was wrong. You don't have to curse me like that!" Jovan raised his hands to surrender, but felt quite moved. He poured himself a glass of milk and devotedly toasted to her. "Thank you for caring about me and trying your best to save me. I'll toast to you. And you can do whatever you want.""You're so childish." Renee rolled her eyes and was amused.Justin was quite jealous to see them
"What's that?" Justin frowned and said with disdain, "That's something to fool naive women like you. Only lovestruck fools will believe that." As a materialistic person, he never believed in things like horoscopes and fortune-telling. At most, they were mixed with some psychology. They weren't trustworthy at all.If Renee wanted to use those things to talk about their relationships and destinies, it would seem very childish. "Don't be so extreme. Those things are real and logical." Renee acted like an experienced salesperson and gradually eliminated Justin's prejudice. She said patiently, "If you believe those things, they can guide you and help you to see things through. If not, you can use them to kill time. Just try to get to know them. Isn't that nice?"Finally, Justin was convinced. He had some milk and asked her leisurely, "Fine. Tell me what kind of relationship we have based on those things." "I learned that our relationship is a declining friendship based on our birt
"I…" Renee paused. For a moment, she had no idea how to answer that question."Don't put yourself in a difficult position. Just follow your heart," Justin said calmly. "If you want to stay, my family will still welcome you readily. If you want to leave, I'll come up with a way to help you leave smoothly."After listening to Justin, Renee answered honestly, "Maybe it's better for me to leave, though I know this choice will hurt you."She could choose to stay to protect Justin's dignity and give Austin a good explanation. It would be more relaxing and steadier for her. However, Renee knew that it could only last briefly. She would cause Justin greater harm. She might as well be decisive and stop the damage in time. "Don't say that." Justin cracked a bitter smile and said with relief, "I've stopped taking things too seriously. If you like me, you won't stop loving me even if we're apart. Similarly, you'll think about another man if you don't like me, even though you're always b
Austin was having breakfast in the dining room. When he saw Justin and Renee walk over intimately, he finally believed that they had slept together. They seemed like a real couple."Good morning, Grandpa Baldwin!" Renee obediently greeted Austin just like before. She acted normally."Good morning." Austin nodded, unable to suppress his smile. After sizing them up, he calmly said to Renee, "We know how apologetic you are after you toasted to us last night. We'll forget about the past. You're still a part of my family." "Grandpa!" Justin interrupted Austin; he was very protective of Renee. "She's a woman, and we're not married yet. Please don't say that. A woman's reputation is the most important thing.""You…" Austin wanted to refute Justin, but their conflict was just resolved so it would be bad to pressure them more. He shook his head and said, "Fine. You two always have a bland romance. Finally, you've made some progress. I'll let you two decide what to do next.""Got it, Gr
"Hey, Haze! What are you doing? Get off of me!" Renee struggled in confusion."Hush!" Justin gestured and stopped her.In a while, someone unlocked the door of the room."Mr. Baldwin, let me help you and Ms. Everheart change your clothes." A kind middle-aged woman walked into the room casually. When she found them sleeping together intimately, relief washed over her. "Oh, you guys are still sleeping… Fine, I'll leave you be." Then, the woman exited the room.After that, Justin stopped hovering above Renee, looking awkward. "I'm sorry. It happened all of a sudden. If I hadn't done that, they wouldn't let us go. I just did a small thing to resolve the issue." Justin was fully aware of Austin's thoughts. Although Austin was still angry at Renee, he was satisfied with her and wanted to see her get into a real intimate relationship with Justin. If that did not happen, Austin might tie them up together since the drug had failed. Justin could only act with Renee to avoid the in
Renee grinned, satisfied after a long rest. "Why didn't you sleep a bit longer? This bed is comfortable and fluffy." While talking, she behaved like a fish as she extended her limbs and rolled around in bed childishly. In comparison to her calmness and ease, Justin behaved gingerly and did not dare to move as he lay in bed."Do you have any idea what had happened? We aren't dreaming. We're lying in the same bed," Justin said.He was certain that Renee was not fully awake. It explained why she was that composed. Otherwise, any normal woman would get out of bed with a start and keep screaming if they found herself lying in a man's bed."I know!" Renee said. After having a great time rolling around, Renee faced Justin with her head on her arm while lying on her side. "I wanted to drink wine to say sorry to you guys last night, but your family drugged the wine. You drank the same wine when you tried to stop me. We were controlled by the drug and were locked up in this room. T
Renee instantly understood what Justin meant by that. It turned out that the incident was just a part of the Baldwin family's plan. If she left, the Baldwin family would not easily let her off the hook.Justin still cared about her at a time like that, which moved her. "Thank you. You're great." Renee cried; she had no idea how to repay him. "You don't have to thank me. I'm not so great, either. I just hate that they always pester me." Justin purposely sounded relaxed. He finally calmed himself down as he casually grabbed some bandages to bandage his wound. Then, he lay in bed.He slept on one side of the bed and said to Renee, "It's late. You should rest early. This bed is large enough. If you don't mind, you can lie in bed too."The bed was large. It was more than enough even if Renee and Justin lay there."I…" Renee hesitated briefly before she finally got in bed. She trusted Justin. If he wanted to do something indecent to her, he would have long done that. He would no
"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