Stefan put on a fake smile, and said smoothly, "You're right, I should train more. Once I've recovered, why don't you train with me?""Ahem!" Renee couldn't help but imagine it, and she felt so awkward that she was unable to keep up her arrogant front. She changed the topic immediately. "Fine, I'll get you to the hospital.""No need." Stefan seemed to have a plan in mind. "They'd just ask me to rest anyway. Just get me back to my room and inform my family doctor about my condition. Ask him what we're supposed to do about this.""Sure." Renee found his idea pretty good. The Hunt family's doctor was a professional from the most prestigious hospital in Beach City, after all. His skills were unmatched."Put your arms around my neck, then. I'll get you upstairs." Renee bent down and grabbed Stefan by the hand, placing it on her shoulder. Seeing this, Stefan felt his heart ache for her and rejected her offer. "It's okay. You're too small. I'm worried you might strain your muscles too…"
After considering it, Renee decided to stay and discuss the divorce with the man.Soon, the Hunt family's doctor arrived at the manor. With his years of experience in the medical field, he diagnosed Stefan with mechanical back pain. His back muscles were slightly damaged, so it would take a lot of effort to even walk or sit."Mr. Hunt, your back is severely damaged due to excessive strain. Now, I need to ask you a few questions to determine the appropriate treatment for your wounds…""Go ahead." "Well…" The doctor glanced at the two, hesitant to speak."Doctor, is something the problem? Are his injuries so serious that he's going to be partially paralyzed, or worse, bedridden?" Renee asked anxiously.Normally, doctors would only behave this way if a patient was about to pass. Thus, the woman naturally jumped to the worst conclusion possible."Umm, well, no. I'd just… like to know how you hurt yourself, Mr. Hunt. This is a very serious injury, but I didn't think it was appropria
"You're toying with me again! How could you discuss such intimate topics in front of a woman?!""What do you mean? This is merely a normal conversation between husband and wife…" Stefan said casually, but his eyes were filled with pride. "Don't forget. We are legally married now, so this isn't crossing any lines.""Hmph, legally married?!" This angered Renee, and she scoffed. "You played despicable tricks to obtain my documents and bribed the registration personnel too! How could you bring that up with absolutely no shame?!""Of course. But if you have any objections regarding this matter, you could just try to annul the marriage. We'll see if the judge supports you on that.""You really are a despicable man, Stefan Hunt. You're a fraud!" Renee yelled at the man, helpless. She knew well enough that the judge wouldn't support her even if she tried. Stefan Hunt was a perfectionist and would definitely make sure to avoid every single loophole when carrying this plan out.The woman kn
Stefan's gaze turned cold, and shock flashed in his eyes briefly. However, he was able to compose himself within seconds, putting on a fake smile. "Your martial arts skills are quite impressive, so that's not surprising."He had long guessed that Renee was someone with great power. Her identity as the gentle daughter of the Everheart family was a mere mask to please the public. Her secret identities would definitely blow everyone's minds if she were to be found out.However, the man never found enough concrete evidence to rip that mask off. Thus, he was very excited to hear her reveal her secrets."Really now?" Renee cracked her knuckles and approached the bed, smirking coldly. "Are you not afraid that you'd be my next target? After all, you can't move. A mere flick of my finger would be enough to take your life. Our marriage would automatically be dissolved then, so I wouldn't have to negotiate senselessly with you."She then placed two fingers on the man's neck as quick as lightn
Stefan remained composed, despite facing Renee's utter disbelief. "No… No way! That doesn't make sense at all!" The woman had goosebumps all over her body, and she quickly left the room. She had always thought that Stefan had some kind of ulterior motive for pestering her so much. The kinder he seemed, the worse his schemes could be. Hence, she knew that she couldn't let her guard down.Since she couldn't seem to read him, the only thing she could do was distance herself from him, not giving him a single chance to 'plot against her'. However, she was still considerate of his current condition, and knew that he wouldn't be able to survive on his own for the next few days. Thus, she dialed Francine's number, getting straight to the point. "Your son's back is strained, so you should hire a caretaker for him."Francine, on the other hand, seemed overjoyed to receive a call from her. She said brightly, "Oh, my dear daughter-in-law, I was just about to call you! Guess where I am righ
Just as Renee was wondering if she should just allow Francine to take the kids with her, the old woman's voice turned unusually serious. "Ren, I know you still hold resentment towards the family. I know you hate my son, and you hate me too. I understand that we were horrible towards you, but Grandpa Timothy has always treated you with nothing but sincerity, hasn't he? He always treated you like you were his own granddaughter, right?""I will always remember the kindness he showed me," Renee admitted."So please, can you go along with it just this once? For his sake? We just want him to be happy."Renee remained silent.Seeing that the woman wasn't giving in, Francine sighed. "You might not know this, but the old man's health is deteriorating rapidly. The doctor said he wasn't even sure if he'd make it through winter this year.""What?" Renee felt her heart sink. "But didn't Grandpa Timothy go through a heart transplant surgery? It went really well too! So why…""Child, have you a
"Oh, to think you were just saying how I'm the only woman you'd marry! And now I'm not supposed to know about your family matters?" Renee burst out sobbing. "Have you ever wondered how I'd feel if Grandpa Timothy passed away all of a sudden?!"Stefan flashed her a cold smile. "How would you feel? You think everyone in the Hunts is evil anyway. You avoid all of us like we're the plague!""Stefan Hunt, you jerk!" Renee stormed over to him and raised an arm to punch him. However, she remembered that he was currently injured, and couldn't bring herself to harm him. Instead, she merely yelled at him in a fiercer tone, "Who do you take me for? I'm not a cold-blooded monster like you! You know how much I love Grandpa Timothy, and you know I see him as my second grandfather! Why did you hide his illness from me?! Do you want me to feel guilty for all eternity?!""And what can you do about it?" Stefan's gaze was hostile, his voice disdainful. "It's not like anything would change after you
'Wait, did he find out that I was in a fake relationship with Mr. Q?! We did really well in playing the role of a loving couple to fool the kids though… No one should know about our fake relationship apart from us! Unless… Mr. Q decided to come clean with Stefan Hunt about this for some reason. If that's the case, what is their relationship with each other? What secrets are they hiding?' Renee's mind was working overtime thinking about all this."What are you thinking about?" Stefan asked."N… Nothing.""Really?""Of course!" Renee clicked her tongue, feeling guilty. "I mean what I say. Why would I ever lie to you?""Okay then." Stefan looked at Renee with a knowing smirk as if he saw right through her. He knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment, but he knew he couldn't let her find out about the truth. If she did, she'd definitely beat him to death."What do you think about my suggestion, Stefan? If you agree, let's pay the old manor a visit, for Grandpa Timothy." Rene
Austin was telling the truth."Of course, children will always stay with their mothers. Home is wherever their mother is. You'd better ask about Ren's opinion instead of making a scene here."Austin glanced at the gilded ancient clock above the hall, his eyes sharp."The engagement ceremony of my grandson and Ren is about to start in ten minutes. You can ask her opinion when she's here.""Really?"Francine was delightedly surprised. For the first time, she felt that Austin was not as horrible as legend had it. He was reasonable. She tried to reconfirm with him. "So, you're saying that I can ask Ren to come home with me when she's out, and you'll let her go if she says yes?" "No, you're wrong." Austin shook his head. "She came here willingly. Of course, it's not as if you need to ask me to let her go.""It's fine. That's not important as long as you remember what you said." Francine was confident and eager. She then said smugly to Austin and the others, "Wait and see! I have w
When things became awful, an old but awe-inspiring voice came from behind them."What are you doing?" Undeniably, it was the powerful Austin who also enjoyed the highest status in North City.Instantly, the onlookers retreated and held their breaths.They knew how horrifyingly powerful Austin was because he owned military power. It would be very normal if he asked his army to shoot them to death if they fell out with him.Francine and the others, who were engaged in a fight, stopped too."Old Master Baldwin, nice to meet you."Francine nodded at Austin but didn't let go of Sophia. The scene was tense, but her actions looked amusing. "Dad, hurry up and catch these two! They're being unreasonable!"Sophia's pinned hair was messy because Francine kept scratching at it. If she wasn't mentally strong enough, she might have cried. She had imagined endless ways how the Hunt family would make a scene—except for the most primitive way. Francine made a scene like a three-year-old ki
Francine went berserk again and gripped Sophia's neck. "I'm going to count to three! Get my grandkids here! I'm going to take them home! If not, I'll break your neck!" she yelled. She couldn't stop Renee from marrying someone else, but she couldn't tolerate her two grandchildren relying on others' charity like Renee.It wasn't only about her dignity, but more about the children's growth and mental health. She couldn't be careless."You're out of your mind! Drive them out of here!"Sophia was a decent woman who couldn't allow herself to go berserk. Although she had a glib tongue, she found herself unable to handle a figure like Francine. Francine was never too harsh and would only make a scene. But now, she was out of control and was screaming nonstop. "Talk it out with them. Don't use violence. We're parents. It's humiliating to be violent," Alexander interrupted.Alexander tried to make Francine calm down and behave herself. Even so, he didn't act accordingly and pushed Ja
Francine's obvious provocation made others draw in a cold breath, let alone Justin's parents.No wonder she was one of the Four Princesses of Beach City. She was much too impulsive. Justin's parents looked very hideous. However, Sophia wasn't so soft. After taking a few deep breaths, she faced Francine with the same fake smile. "Don't worry. I'll take Adie and Abby back home. Since Ren is marrying Justin, my family will treat the kids as ours. We'll be their grandparents. In a few years, my son and Ren will have more kids to be their siblings. Then, we'll be one family!""What? Do you want to take the kids back home?" Fury instantly gripped Francine. She ignored all decency and demanded fiercely, "What do you want to do to my grandkids? They're still young! How could you target them?" "You must be mistaken. Ren is going to be a part of my family, so naturally, her kids are going to come with her. I'm sure there isn't anything wrong with that." Sophia snorted. "You're their bi
Leia couldn't understand it. Both Renee and Stefan once loved each other passionately. They had soldiered through a lot of difficulties. But when everything became better, they stopped seeing each other. Such separation brought a fatal blow to her views on love. Suddenly, she found herself too timid to give up her heart. After all, it was nothing. People could break up with each other easily."No wonder Xavier refused to come. If he was here, I would have hated him because of Stefan. I'd beat the crap out of him!" Leia was furious, but she couldn't find someone to vent her anger on.The Stuart family was invited to the party too, but Xavier refused to come. He claimed that he would have betrayed Stefan if he had come to the party.However, Stefan was the greatest betrayal of his romance since he remained silent and indifferent. While Leia was still angry, everyone in the hall suddenly fell silent. They stretched their heads to look at the entrance of the hall."The Hunt famil
"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Liam muttered guiltily, avoiding Leia's scrutinizing gaze. "You must know what I'm talking about!" Leia refused to let Liam go and went straight to the point. "Look! Because of such a bind, you probably fell in love with Amber, who isn't related to you. Why can't Ren fall in love with Justin after spending a long time with him?""So, what's your point?" Liam didn't refute Leia. He was curious about what she was trying to say. Leia reasonably explained her opinion, "I'm trying to tell you that things might not be as bad as you imagine. Even if you take Ren away and stop this ceremony, things might not be better either."She was too timid to tell Liam that she regarded Renee and Justin's marriage in a favorable light because she found them similar. Similar people could at least lead a stable life though it might not be very passionate and exciting.After leading a wandering life for such a long time, Renee needed steady happiness. It
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve