Renee appeared calm when she said to the two women, "Well, it's true that I had a divorce, but I don't think that I'm inferior to others because of it. Everyone has the right to choose their happiness; I just chose a way that made me happy. What's more... Ladies, can you guarantee that you'll never get a divorce? When you're putting me down, did it ever occur to you that you may face the same situation one day? I'm afraid you'll be much more miserable than me if it happens." "Why, you..." The two women were furious but couldn't argue. The surrounding people clapped enthusiastically at Renee's response, especially the married women who felt the same as her. Their hands soon became numb from clapping. "Good! You made a good point. Women should never look down on other women. We should unite to fight against those vulgar and crafty men instead of fighting against other women!" A woman with black glasses added on eagerly. Renee glanced at the woman and nodded approvingly. Women lik
Renee was sitting on a leather chair in the chairman's office. She had a powerful aura and a composed expression. She looked at Laura, who was sitting across from her, and got straight to the point. "You waited for me for so many days here, so what is it you want?" "Isn't it obvious? I want my shares back," Laura scoffed bluntly. Renee shrugged. "I'm fine with it. I'll transfer your shares back to you..." "No, you don't understand." Laura adjusted her glasses slightly, her gaze cunning. "Both you and I know what a bad situation Azure Group is in. I don't want shares—I want you to convert my shares into cash for me." Renee smirked and sipped her coffee before saying, "Ms. Osborne, your thought process is rather amusing. I really don't understand… What kind of bad situation is Azure Group in? Why do you want to get cash and run away?" "What do you think?" Laura said disdainfully, "It's still acceptable if Azure Group suffered losses all year round, but you persisted in building
Laura replied immediately, "Isn't it obvious? Of course, I'll pick the 520 million. Azure Group is going to be ruined, so which fool would stay? You don't even know if the company will survive until the end of the year, and yet you're talking about a year-end bonus. It'll be a blessing if the company doesn't go bankrupt by then!" Laura sneered mockingly. After all, she had worked hard for four years, but she saw no benefits. The competition between these companies was also getting stronger year by year, so it was very difficult to make a turnover. "Got it!" Renee raised her brows and said to Laura, "Sign this contract then. I'll ask the finance department to transfer the money to you later." She pushed the contract to Laura as if she had expected her to choose that option. "I didn't expect you to be so agreeable." Laura quickly signed her name and stood up arrogantly. "I'm leaving, but... I believe that we’ll meet again soon." After she left the office, one of the company staff
The girl adjusted her glasses and looked at Renee sincerely, "In my opinion, I think Azure Group has a promising future. The company isn't very big or profitable yet, but the company's vision is very inspiring. I heard Azure Group is planning to build its own production and R&D center. Hunt Enterprise is one of the few companies in Beach City that dares to do the same, so I think Azure Group will become a big company on par with Hunt Enterprise in the future. It's the right time for me to join now!" The young girl's statement made the senior employees laugh.The PR director put Renee on the spot as he told the girl, "Young lady, you're too naive. You don't know how terrible it is to follow the wrong boss. Our boss isn't a strong woman—she's just a miserable divorcee of a rich family. President Liam and Vice President Laura always supported her, but now they've abandoned ship. Don't you see why?""They ran away due to their lack of vision. I believe in my choice and Ms. Everheart's
"I should head home. I'm a bit worried about my cat. My cat was spayed not long ago, and I live alone. I want to head home and take care of her…" Shelley admitted."Understood. You should head home then, don't worry." Renee said reassuringly.Shelley walked away but turned around when she remembered something. "Ms. Everheart, when I took the elevator this afternoon, I heard about a pervert in this office building. Don't work too late. It might be unsafe.""Don't worry. If he comes to me, he'll get into trouble instead." Renee smirked."You're beautiful, Ms. Everheart, so you'd better be careful. We should stay far away from twisted men like these." Shelley looked at her boss worriedly."Yes, I understand. I'll be careful." Renee looked up and smiled warmly at Shelley. Her concern was touching.After Shelley left, Renee was the only one still working overtime on that floor. All the lights in the office area were turned off except for the ones in Renee's office. The floor seemed co
Once Shelley got home, she realized she had left her keys at the company's workstation. She had no choice but to take a taxi back to Azure Group.When Shelley arrived at the office building, she spotted a dark gray sports car parked in the open parking lot of the building. "Wow! It's an Aston Martin One-77. Isn't this a limited edition? There are only three of these cars in the world. How come it's here?"Although the young lady seemed like a nerdy girl, she was rebellious at heart. Ever since she was a kid, she loved sports cars, rock music, and extreme sports. Shelley froze, her eyes glued to the car. She hurriedly took out her phone and took multiple photos of it, then realized the car's owner was still sitting inside the car.Shelley's cheeks turned red, and she quickly leaned down and apologized to the car owner. "So sorry for causing you trouble!"As she turned to leave, the car owner suddenly rolled down his window and said in a deep voice, "Are you working for Azure Group
Shelley had some of Renee's rebelliousness in her. She was uncooperative and rebuked Stefan. "Mr. Hunt, please be clear. I'm working as Ms. Everheart's assistant, not yours. Why should I listen to you?""If you want your boss to be safe, do as I say. If we delay, the situation might get worse." Stefan commanded.Shelley sensed the murderous aura in Stefan's eyes and quickly gave in. When she dialled Renee's number on her cell phone, she got an automated reply instead. "The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable.""Why can't I get through? The signal in the building is excellent. Is Ms. Everheart's phone out of battery?" Shelley found it a little odd. Ms. Everheart would keep her phone charged if she was still in the office. Why would her phone be out of battery? Was she off work and on her way back home?"You're taking too long!" Stefan had lost his patience. He opened the door, stepped out of his sports car, and headed straight to the office lobby.Although she was confused
Shelley searched around but did not find Renee, so she figured Renee must have gone home.Shelley said to Stefan, who was still sitting in Renee's chair, "Mr. Hunt, Ms. Everheart must have gone home. This is Azure Group's office, so I hope you remember your position as an outsider. You should leave now. I'm going to lock the door."Stefan rested his chin on his interlocked fingers, then said with a cold look in his eyes, "No, she's not home yet."If she had gone home, he would have seen her."If she's not home, where else could she be?" Shelley gathered her courage and questioned Stefan, "Mr. Hunt, you insist on staying and won't leave. Are you trying to steal the company's secrets?"Stefan snorted in disdain. "This is such a small workshop. What secrets would this company have that are worth stealing?"Shelley fought the urge to roll her eyes, and said awkwardly, "Right. Hunt Enterprise wouldn't have to steal information from Azure Group. Even if they did, it's unlikely for you
"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
The party started officially at night. It was a small party, and only some close relatives of the Baldwin family attended.Austin took the main seat while his son and daughter-in-law sat in the secondary seats. Justin and the others sat accordingly.After dressing herself up, Renee attended the party in simple clothes. She looked like a young lady from a great family. Adie, Abby, and Quinton did not attend the party to avoid unnecessary disputes. Renee was the only one who attended the party. When she reached the hall, the people had already taken their seats. They sized her up maliciously and studied her as if they wanted to make her pay a heavy price."Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I got here late." Renee took a deep breath and naturally greeted everyone. She appeared composed, but she knew she was rather frightened. She never panicked when she faced such a scene alone in the past. She could easily handle it because Justin would always take her side no matter what happened.
Quinton was fine even if Renee wasn't that happy. But she must lead a steady life and live beyond a hundred years old. "Quinton, I know I owed the Baldwin family a lot, even if you didn't tell me. I won't be back if not for the sake of their kindness."Renee did not hide or lie even if Justin was around. She merely wanted Justin to hold no hope in her. "How could you be this straightforward?" Quinton had purposely brought Justin along because he wanted to bring Justin and Renee together. He felt that they could still be together since things weren't that hopeless. But the disappointing Renee ruined all possibilities easily. Kindness didn't exist between a romantic couple."It's fine." Justin looked indifferent before he snorted. "I'm glad she made things clear. It's better than being ambiguous.""I'm sorry." Renee looked at Justin. Although she had made herself clear, her guilt did not diminish. She immediately expressed her guilt and helplessness since Justin did not igno