Renee could rule out that the Hunt family planned to ambush her since the electricity had gone out due to a faulty circuit.She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed somewhat. She let go of Stefan's neck and tried to move away from him, but his strong arm suddenly circled her waist. He pulled her towards him, and she tumbled onto him with a yelp. When she felt his warm frame against hers, she immediately froze. "What... What are you doing?"Stefan remained silent, but his grip on her tightened.Renee lost her cool and hissed at him, "Stefan, don't you dare try to take advantage of me. Let me go before I hurt you!""Stop moving!" Instead of letting her go, he held onto her like his life depended on it."Clearly, you don't value your life. Do you want me to break your arm?" She was going to push him away when she heard sniffling. She hesitated, her eyes wide in disbelief.'Is Stefan… crying?' She thought in shock. She immediately calmed down, taken aback by this unexpected occurren
“You can't open the door until the electricity is restored," Stefan said bluntly.Renee's jaw dropped. "If the electricity doesn't come back on by tonight, I'll have to spend the night with you!""I can handle it. It's only one night, after all." Stefan was so calm that Renee wondered where his anxiety from earlier had gone. Only now did she realize that she had fallen into his trap."Didn't you say you had PTSD and that your organs would fail and you'd die?" She asked him suspiciously."I'll be alright if you're here to give me hugs. I can handle you," Stefan said smoothly.Renee was speechless."You might be able to stand me, but I can't stand you," she remarked, rolling her eyes. "I have to get out of here today!"She wanted to use the light from her phone to try to figure out how to open the doorknob, but unfortunately, her phone ran out of battery and turned off.The room became dark once again."Damn it!" Her patience had reached its limit, and she patted the ground arou
Renee's mind went blank as Stefan's lips claimed hers passionately.She pushed everything to the back of her mind and grabbed Stefan's collar, snarling, "If you want to kiss me, do it properly." Pulling him down to her, she kissed him back with a hunger that surprised them both.That wasn't the first time they'd been this close—when they had gotten drunk back then, they had been even more reckless. Back then, they could blame it on the alcohol, but they were both sober now, so the aftermath was surely going to be messy.As a result, they both instinctively came to a halt.Renee sat on the carpet, leaning against the door and breathing heavily. She tugged at her hair agitatedly as she tidied her clothes. "I must have been insane to do that! Don't overthink it—it's only normal in such a situation."Stefan's raspy voice revealed hints of suppressed longing. "I understand." He coughed softly. "I feel the same way."He subconsciously moved closer to her, and they sat next to one oth
"Don't you think there's something wrong with your mother, Stefan? What is she attempting?" Renee lamented hopelessly, "When I initially married you, she saw me as a monster and wouldn't let me get close to you at all because she was worried I'd take advantage of you. But now she's locking us up like animals because she wants us to reconcile?""You're right. My mother's greatest dream right now is for us to have a grandchild for her to play with. We should be grateful she hasn't drugged us." Stefan couldn't help but grin and nudge her. "Even if you wait until tomorrow, as long as her aim is not met, she will try even more bizarre methods to get us together. So, I propose that we try something.""Try... what?" Renee choked out, her cheeks flushed."We should make some noise so she'll let us go sooner," Stefan suggested.Renee's cheeks flushed even more as she stammered uncomfortably, "What? Is this some sort of joke? I… I'm not sure how to fake those noises!""I can teach you."Be
Francine leaned against the door, looking more and more confused. "This doesn't sound right. Now it's Stefan screaming… Is he getting beaten up?""How can that be? Ms. Renee is so graceful and delicate, like a feeble, wealthy lady. She couldn't possibly do such heinous things.""Ah, you don't know her. Don't be deceived by her kind exterior—she's actually a tough fighter on the inside. She reminds me of myself when I was younger!""If that's the case, don't be concerned. It demonstrates Ms. Renee's ability to keep Mr. Hunt in check. Well, I never imagined Mr. Hunt would have such a day. I'm embarrassed to hear what's going on inside." Lisa couldn't help but cover her face as she imagined what was happening."You're right... She can keep him in check!" Francine's eyes shone, and she praised Renee, saying, "Renee is a gem. She excels at everything, even this! She really is flawless. Oh, my wish to have a grandchild seems to be coming true."They quickly left, and the electricity was
Renee's expression was grave as she stood before Timothy.The old man looked up at her innocently. "What do you mean? I've just finished reading the news."Renee pursed her lips. "You can drop the act, Grandpa. There's no way you would have been able to read in the dark, and besides… your newspaper is upside down."Renee raised an eyebrow at him expectantly.“Hmm… I…” The old man mumbled in embarrassment and adjusted the newspaper. Refusing to admit defeat, he just went along with it. "Since I'm farsighted, I'm accustomed to reading things upside down. This is actually the easiest way for me to read.""Is that right? I don't believe you." Renee was initially upset but couldn't help giggling at the old man's antics.Seeing her laugh, he gently laid down the newspaper and said, "Ren, don't blame us for doing that… We just want you back. Unfortunately, like me, you have no acting talent. Your little performance earlier might have been enough to deceive Francine, but it's not enough
Renee returned to her apartment late at night after the children had fallen asleep.Margaret heard the ruckus and went outside, wearing a jacket over her pyjamas."Where have you been, Ms. Ren? The kids were waiting for you all night.""I went to Hunt Manor to search for the children, but it was a mistake. Stefan, like the rest of the Hunt family, was unaware of Adie and Abby's existence." Renee gave an awkward chuckle. Her cheeks flushed subconsciously as she remembered what had transpired earlier."Ah, that was a misunderstanding. I heard from the kids that the person who took them is Mr. Q, the man you brought to Sun Island a few days ago. Adie followed him because he claimed Abby as his goddaughter."Margaret informed Renee of what she had learned from the children. "Mr. Q is a nice guy," she added with a relieved grin. "The kids adore him, and he treats them like they're his biological children.""Oh, so it was him!" Renee scowled and said, "What does he want? Not only does
Aiden held his small water bottle and gulped l a mouthful of water before he started talking non-stop, "If Abby acknowledges another man as Daddy, I'll be the first to oppose it, but Mr. Q is different. He's awesome and very patient with us. I asked him to cook nice food for us, and he took my word and improved his cooking skills... Do you know what's the most important thing?" "I don't know. I just know that he's not a good guy, and I don't know how he fooled you guys!" Renee was speechless. She did not know how Mr. Q, who was a villain with such a bad reputation, could make those two children so obedient toward him. Her two children were no naive fools. They were quite witty, so ordinary people usually had no way of winning them over. "The most important thing is that I heard that he's our Bad Daddy's sworn enemy. I think if you and Q work together, Bad Daddy will be ruined. He can no longer harm you!" "Why, you…" Renee opened her mouth slightly, and her anger quickly faded.
"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