She could not believe that the man who treated her so sincerely would become so merciless. The only possibility was that bastard Stefan must have done something despicable to Mr. Q, forcing him to do this!She wanted to see Mr. Q. She must see Mr. Q!“I'm warning you guys, step aside right now. I have important matters to discuss with Mr. Q. I don't want to hurt you.”Renee's eyes became cold. She clenched her fists, ready to go ham.The guard had also undergone strict training. He raised his weapon and said, "I'm sorry, Ms. Everheart, but we're just following orders. If you really try to break through by force, then we can only stop you by force.”“Is that so? Well, here I come.”Renee's left leg kicked the ground to propel her forward. She pulled her right hand back and launched a right hook at the guard.The guard dodged, but Renee dropped him to the ground in mere seconds. After that... more guards rushed forward and surrounded Renee.“Looks like you all want a beating to
Renee was someone who would not give up until she found what she was looking for.“I'll do just that. Even if I have to turn this place upside down, I'll find him and make him give me an explanation.”She pushed Chase away with a frosty face and walked straight into the Carmine Pawnshop.A few of the injured guards tried to stop her, but Chase waved them aside.“But Mr. Chase, Mr. Q explicitly forbids Ms. Everheart from entering the Carmine Pawnshop. If you let her in...”“It's okay. If I don't, she’ll never give up.”Chase stared at Renee's thin but stubborn figure and sighed. "Sometimes, it's easier to achieve happiness if you're ignorant, especially for a woman. I wish she'll be kept in the dark forever!”This was not Renee's first time in the Carmine Pawnshop. She could not say that she knew the place like the back of her hand, but she was familiar with the layout and furnishings inside.She searched every corner of the pawnshop, even the restricted area, but could find no
Rosie looked up at the bright moon and said, “Mr. Q is a good person. After I stole the treasure from the Carmine Pawnshop, not only did he spare my life, he even helped me quit my addiction. After that, he hired me as his assistant with a generous salary. I paid off my debt and sent my son back to kindergarten. Our future became bright again, like the moon.”“You're Mr. Q's assistant?”Renee's eyes lit up. As if she had caught onto a life-saving straw, she grabbed Rosie's hand and asked, "Do you know where he is? Can you tell me? I have something very important to ask him!”“Mr. Q has always kept his whereabouts a secret. Although I'm his assistant, I have no right to know where he goes. But...”Rosie was about to say something when Chase walked over and interrupted her words coldly.“Rosie, Mr. Q already told you that starting from this week, you're no longer his assistant. You've been dismissed. What are you doing here?”Chase's eyes were cold, and his voice was threatening, "
”Alright, let's go have a drink. I haven't had a good drink with anyone for a long time!”Renee felt that she got along well with Rosie. They hit it off right away. They came to a bar street on the Water Dock. They picked a cozy little bar, ordered a few bottles of strong beer, and started to drink.The bar had a wonderful ambiance. A man on stage was singing folk songs while playing the guitar. It was refreshing to see a bar with this kind of atmosphere in the Water Dock, an unlawful area.“Rosie, how long have you known Mr. Q for? You seem to have a crush on him.”Renee gulped down half a bottle of beer in one go. The sting she felt in her throat actually cleared her head. It even made her feel a bit excited. She started feeling the urge to gossip.“No woman can resist a man like Mr. Q. However, I have self-awareness. I know I'm already lucky enough to be his assistant.”Rosie had also relaxed a bit. She downed half a bottle of beer with great fervor. She did not hide her admir
"Yeah, you understand, right? A broken heart isn't easy to mend—even if it was fixed, there'd still be cracks…" Renee said softly as her beautiful eyes teared up. She held her head up high, not wanting to let her tears fall. She refused to cry over that man again, especially when so many years had passed. It would be too humiliating."Honestly, for the longest time, I felt like my heart had crumbled to dust. I didn't want marriage, I didn't want love, I didn't even want any type of relationship. I just believed that I would never become a bride again… until I met Mr. Q. For once, I felt like marriage could be a good thing…" Renee started thinking about their brief time together. Although it had been a mere facade orchestrated by her children and she had never taken it seriously, every minute she spent with the man had been blissful. No other man had made her feel that way before.Hence, she really didn't want her judgment to be wrong again. "Yeah, Mr. Q does have a certain charm to
"Who the hell is calling?! So annoying!" Renee snapped as she stumbled around. She was rather frustrated by the constant ringing of her phone, and just threw it away as a solution."Hey, why did you throw your phone away?" Rosie groaned, trying to keep Renee steady as she picked up her phone from the ground.The person on the other end of the line was quite stubborn as well. They kept calling, especially since Renee was not picking up.Helpless, Rosie had to answer the call instead. "Hello? Who is this?""You're not Renee.""Umm, I'm her friend. She's had a bit too much to drink, so she can't come to the phone right now.""She's drunk?" The voice sounded extremely icy. "Where are you?""I'm at this pub in Water Dock. Who are y-""Take care of her. I'll be there in a minute!" The man ordered harshly as he ignored Rosie's words, hanging up right after."Ah…" Rosie was utterly stunned, still holding onto the weak Renee. She didn't know if she should leave or wait for the man. He
The bar owner wasn't even trying to stop them, and instead, egged them on. "Come one, come all! It's time to place bets on who will win this fight…""I bet on that fat guy!""Me too!""That pretty chick seems like quite a fighter, though. I'll bet on her!"Everyone crowded around Renee and Max as if they were in an underground boxing arena. All of them were more than happy to gamble.Rosie immediately panicked, afraid that these big burly men would actually fight them, putting both her and Renee in grave danger. Trying her best to settle things calmly, she flashed a desperate smile at Max and his group. "Sir, you took us too seriously. We were just joking, you know? Please calm down, and forgive my friend and I… We're modest people, so I think it's best if you find someone you can have more fun with. We don't have to go to such extremes over a small matter like this. People are going to laugh at all of us, you know?"Seeing Rosie begging for mercy, Max's interest in her was piq
The person seemed to be making a call, and the phone in Rosie's hand started chiming at the very same time as well."You must be Stefan Hunt. You were the one who called Ms. Everheart, right?" Rosie asked nervously. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the tall man, then at the ringing phone. Stefan was wearing a long black coat and frowning down at her. He looked like royalty, extremely elegant and completely out of reach. He furrowed his brow and asked slowly, "So, you're Renee's friend?""Uh yeah, kind of," Rosie replied unsurely. She knew that Renee hated her ex-husband, so she didn't really want to engage with this jerk either. However, the situation was rather urgent, so she looked past his menacing aura and blurted out, "You're just in time! Please save Ms. Everheart—she's surrounded by a bunch of perverts!""They're trying to attack her?""Yeah! Right there! Just listen to the screams yourself… I can't even get through because there are so many people around!" Rosie was t
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
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