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
Stefan coldly asked the question."A-Alright, Mr. Hunt!" The security guard switched on the surveillance camera for the number two elevator.Renee was by herself the entire time, but a man in a plaid shirt suddenly walked in when the elevator stopped on the sixth floor.The duo conversed for a while before Renee retrieved her phone and made a call. The man took the phone from Renee.After that, Renee passed out in the elevator. The man then pulled her close into his arms."Damn it!" Stefan looked like he was about to murder someone. "Who is this guy? Find him right now."How dare that man touch Renee? Stefan was determined to break the man's arms since he'd laid them on Renee.The security guard rubbed his glasses before gasping. "T-This guy was the person we caught not long ago. He was caught secretly filming women in the bathroom. The company has already fired him. Why did he come back?"The surveillance footage continued to show the man carrying Renee out of the elevator aft
In a dim underground space, a light bulb flickered on and off. There was a damp, musty smell in the air. Rats squeaked and scurried about in a pile of trash.Renee was lying on an old, torn mat. Still groggy, she struggled to open her eyes."You're finally awake. I was worried I went too far with the drugs and ended up killing you!" The man in a plaid shirt gave his glasses a nudge while he stared at Renee. His smile was creepy.Renee wanted to get up, but her hands and feet were bound by ropes. The worst part was she barely had any strength to get up."W-Why did you kidnap me? I don't think I've ever done anything to you…" Renee mustered all her strength to speak, and yet her voice still sounded weak."You did nothing to me, of course. You're just unlucky for bumping into a pervert like me…" The man kneeled next to Renee and touched her face. The softness of her skin excited him."Tsk, tsk. Your face, your skin, and your body… Even if I only get to do this once, I'd die with no
Renee wasn't expecting this pervert to be smart enough to see through her plan. She had to change her strategy. "If I were you, I wouldn't choose me as a victim. Do you know who I am?""I don't know who you are, but I know you're a beautiful woman. Not just that, but you're a beautiful woman who's single. Otherwise, why would you work so late? Is no man in your life to treat you well? Hey, I'll treat you well. In fact, I'm doing a good deed!"The pervert kissed Renee's neck while he touched her body and continued his vulgar speech.Renee couldn't move at all, and she couldn't fight back. All she could do was try to intimidate him with her words. "Do you know who Stefan Hunt is?""Stefan Hunt?" The man stopped moving. "Who doesn't know him? He's Hunt Enterprise's CEO and has control over the entire Beach City. He's every man's idol. Why wouldn't I know him?""Do you know about Stefan's secret habit?" Renee asked."What's that?""Stefan is someone with obsessive-compulsive disorde
Stefan and Shelley were supposed to go to the police station in a patrol car.However, during the ride, Stefan pursed his lips, frowned, and seemed to be deep in thought.The police officer thought he was too worried. "Mr. Hunt, you can relax. There shouldn't be anything major to worry about. Perverts like him show up in office buildings throughout the year. Based on our experience, they're all cowards. The worst they'd do is take pictures or touch women inappropriately. They wouldn't go any further than that. Otherwise…""Stop the car!" Stefan ordered with a cold look in his eyes."W-What's the matter, Mr. Hunt?""I'm not in the mood to listen to your nonsense. I want to get out of the car right now." While the police officer was blabbering, he discovered new clues. However, he couldn't be bothered to tell the others.The driver didn't dare to disobey Stefan. He immediately stopped the car by the road.Stefan opened the door and got out. He turned around and faced Shelley. "Go
"N-No… I wouldn't dare… Mr. Hunt, please forgive me. I won't do it again. Please…""Don't worry. I'll spare your insignificant life. I'll give you a taste of hell on earth!" Stefan stepped on the man's head and pressed it into the mud.The pervert didn't dare fight back, and he soon passed out from fear…Renee was still lying on the cold mat. She was already untied, and her clothes were also loose. Her fair skin was slightly pinkish. She looked like the most enticing meal in the world.Renee wriggled her way to Stefan and wrapped her arms around his legs. She then pressed her face against him. "Stefan, you're really here. Am I imagining things?"Stefan looked down confusedly at her. "You've been saved. Hurry up and put on your clothes. Stop messing around!"He didn't know that Renee was under the drug's influence and couldn't think clearly. He also didn't know that, from her perspective, he was the only cure for her burning passion."I haven't been rescued yet. I feel awful. It'
Renee was dumbfounded. She blinked several times before carefully asking, "W-What do you mean?"Stefan's facial expression was cold. He looked Renee up and down without revealing the contents of his mind.Renee was wearing a revealing silk pajama. She quickly covered her exposed skin with a blanket. "I can't remember. Why don't you give me a hint?" She asked carefully."Don't you remember what you did to me?" Stefan walked to the edge of the bed and asked in a deep voice, "Or are you pretending to forget so you won't be held accountable?""I honestly can't remember a thing. Show me the evidence. Don't slander a good person!" At this moment, Renee felt like a part of her memory had been erased. All she remembered was lending her phone to a guy after work ended. She genuinely couldn't remember anything else that happened after that.Which was why… She wasn't sure if she had gone berserk and 'bullied' Stefan last night.She prayed she didn't—otherwise, it'd be too embarrassing—and s
"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