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
Stefan pursed his lips. "I tried to resist, but it didn't work. You know how strong you are, don't you?" He asked."Well…" Renee glanced at the ridiculous scratch marks on his body and suddenly felt less sure about her line of reasoning. "You should think about whether your outfit was too revealing. Did you use suggestive body language? Were you intentionally seducing me?""As a man, especially an attractive one, you should abide by modest virtues. Don't flirt all the time. If you can't even protect yourself, how can you expect others to protect you? If you tell people that you were 'bullied' on the internet, they'll only say you deserved it!""..." Stefan was speechless.What was wrong with him? Why was he arguing with her about this?In the end, Renee still felt a little guilty. She started coaxing him. "Alright, alright. Don't be sad. I acted too rashly and didn't take your feelings into consideration… I'll transfer some money to your account later. You can buy some supplements
"Renee, why are you in front of Stef's room? Did you two…" Xavier was the first to gasp.The others, including Christopher, who were from wealthy families, all appeared equally surprised.Renee cleared her throat and pretended to be calm. "I came here to talk about business. Nothing happened between us. Don't let your thoughts wander," she said arrogantly.In the next second, Stefan walked out of the room in his pajamas. His hair was still wet. "Oh, good thing you haven't left. Don't you want your scrunchie anymore?"Renee's facial expression froze. 'Damn! This is embarrassing!'She accepted the black scrunchie from Stefan. "What a coincidence. I was looking for it everywhere. It seems that you found it."Stefan crossed his arms before looking at her from top to bottom. "You look sexier with your hair down. Last night…""Ahem!" Renee coughed profusely in an attempt to stop him from speaking.Was he blind? There were so many people around. Was it necessary to describe such intim
Stefan looked at Renee and smiled. "What do you think, Ms. Everheart?"Renee rolled her eyes out of anger. "You're all sick. Do we even know each other that well? Why would a bunch of guys have the audacity to ask a woman to roast food for them? I…""That's true!" Stefan smiled vaguely. "After all, you used up a lot of your energy last night. It's such a pity that I…""Shut up!" Seeing how Stefan was about to take off his robe, Renee quickly cut him off. "Fine, I'll do it!"She wanted to discuss something in private with Xavier anyway.There were various ingredients, and a barbecue grill on the green field made up part of the vast backyard.The sun was blazed with fury. Stefan and the other men sat on deck chairs under the canopy and chatted.Renee, on the other hand, sat in front of the barbecue grill, roasting food for them. She had a sour expression on her face.The roasted pork belly was oozing oil, and the crispy chicken wings were coated with a layer of honey. There was a
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