"Apologize to her."The demand that came out of Stefan's mouth sounded simple, but it was given firmly and coldly as he slowly stepped toward Sheila."What are you doing? Don't come near me! You… You…"Sheila backed away from Stefan in fright. She looked so distressed that she could barely hold her tears in.Renee tugged at Stefan's sleeve and whispered, "I'm fine, Stefan! Please, stop looking like a man-eating monster! We're still younger than them, so let's just…""I said apologize!"Stefan repeated his order to Sheila in a much more forceful manner now, completely ignoring Renee's pleas. He looked as if he might beat Sheila to death in a heartbeat!Seeing this, Arthur rushed over and acted as if he was teaching Stefan a lesson, asking him, "What are you doing, Stef? Is this how you speak to your aunt?""I'm only counting to three. Both of you will apologize to my wife…"Stefan had a savage expression on his face, and his eyes looked bone-chillingly cold as he counted, "One,
After Stefan had given his warning, the party then went on quite harmoniously, and the jeering and sneering were gone as well.Renee used to occupy an even lower status than stray dogs in the Hunt family, but she had risen to the pinnacle as if she was the main star of the show. Elders who used to hold her in contempt now surrounded her and praised her incessantly.This helped her understand a certain truth—how popular and respected you were with your in-laws had nothing at all to do with how friendly and sociable you were or how good you were at your career because, at the end of the day, it all depended on how your husband treated you.When your husband doted on you, it did not matter how lazy or unruly you were. When all had been said and done, you would be his one in a million, an irreplaceable wife and a remarkable daughter-in-law.But when your husband neglected you, it did not matter how much you abided by the rules or even if you were completely perfect. In the end, you wou
Meanwhile, Alexander and his wife, who were on the stairs, were so embarrassed that they shifted awkwardly and quickly turned around to look away."Geez," Francine muttered, "I didn't know our son could be so shameless!""Geez," Alexander exclaimed with pride, "I didn't know our son could be so good at it!"Renee mustered up all her strength to kick Stefan off her body and shot up to her feet. She tried her best to straighten her messy hair and clothes and said, "Mom, Dad, would you… would you like a cup of tea?""Oh, don't worry about us! You're both clearly very busy right now, so we won't trouble you. Your dad and I were just passing through."After that, Francine quickly dragged Alexander away, and they were gone."Oh god, I'm done for! My image is completely and permanently ruined! What will your parents and all your relatives think of me from now on?!"Renee buried her flushed red face in her hands out of bashfulness. She felt like crying, but no tears came out. She though
"Fine!"Stefan's renowned haughtiness finally gave way to Renee's gentle persuasions. He turned the steering wheel with one hand while he tousled her hair with the other. "For the sake of my angelic wife, I won't stoop to their level today."And so, they agreed to part ways—Stefan drove away and headed towards the open-air parking lot less than half a mile away, while Renee got out of the car and queued up in front of the kindergarten gate and waited her turn to pick up her kids. Once the kids were with her, Stefan drove back to the kindergarten, and they would meet up again.In fact, many other parents had opted to do the same thing because there were just too few parking spots in front of the kindergarten, so it did not matter whether you were a powerful official or a common citizen, once they became parents, they had to abide the rules to set a good example for their children.Meanwhile, the Panamera boastfully screeched to a halt in the parking spot that Stefan had just given u
"Well, so you do know your place!" Jasmine crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her chin high before she roared at Renee arrogantly, "Hurry up and kneel in apology. I won't hold you responsible for it." The surrounding parents tried to persuade Renee to give in. It was because Jasmine was Ethan's lover for many years. She had become quite arrogant because of how much he had spoiled her. The reason why she dared to be so arrogant was because she had given birth to a son for Ethan. It was a general fact that the Murphy family had only pronounced having a daughter called Seraphina, but in fact, Ethan's illegitimate son was more than four years old now. Jasmine was bold enough to even put Ethan's original wife down because of that illegitimate son. She also became very wilful and unscrupulous. "Great idea!" Renee cracked a smile and put on a queen's demeanor. She stated condescendingly, "I'm ready. You can kneel now." "You're so insensible. I asked you to get
Just when swords almost clashed, Ms. Apple, the class teacher, waved at them. "Ms. Everheart, Ms. Click, both of you happen to be here today. Please come over. I need to tell you something about your children." "Sure, Ms. Apple. I'll be there." Renee appeared devastatingly smug as she put on airs, but in the next second, she was full of smiles. She became brighter and gentler. Jasmine also quickly crawled back up and dusted off the dirt on her body. She also put on a very flattering front. "Ms. Apple, I'm coming!" Their humble and flattering looks were rather amusing. It was understandable. In today's world, women left their children to society as hostages, and the kindergarten teacher was the one who managed those hostages. So, nearly all parents, including the local dignitaries as well as the cleaners, would be flattering and humble in front of the kindergarten teacher. It was no exception for a pompous lady like Jasmine. Ms. Apple led them to the consulting zone of t
In comparison, Jasmine became more arrogant and ill-mannered. Ms. Apple quickly said to Renee, "Of course not. Adie and Abby are very smart and don’t create trouble at all. They never make me worry about them. But unfortunately, some students are more spoiled. They like to annoy or bully others, and it's giving all the teachers a very hard time..." When Ms. Apple mentioned that issue, she gave Jasmine and Hudson a cold glance before she sighed. "Adie and Abby have a great sense of justice, especially Adie. He's the prince and hero to all the girls in our class. Everyone likes him! "This noon, Huddie snatched a small cake from a girl in class. Adie boldly did the right thing and wanted to snatch the cake back for that girl, but Huddie was adamant about holding on to it. Eventually, he even threw the cake on Adie, and they broke into a fight. Seeing that, Abby quickly ran over to help Adie. And… they ended up in the state that you see now." After Jasmine heard the teacher's descrip
As soon as Jasmine made that statement, a man in a white suit with sunglasses barged into the place fiercely with three to four men in black suits. "Ms. Click, are you and Mr. Huddie okay?" The man in a white suit asked Jasmine nervously. "Ken, you guys are here at last. Hmm... Any later, and my son and I would've been chastised to the dump!" Jasmine grabbed the man's arm and complained about it while crying piteously. After that, she pointed at Renee and Renee's children. "They bullied Huddie and me. Even the teacher conspired with them..."Look at Huddie! His face was terrible with the scratches. If my man saw it, he'll feel very sorry!"You guys must take revenge for Huddie and me today. If not, my man will be greatly humiliated." Ken, Ethan's assistant, patted Jasmine's shoulders and consoled her softly, "Ms. Click, don't worry. My boss ordered me to make those who bullied you and Mr. Huddie pay a heavy price regardless of the mess it'll cause. We won't let any of them of
Similarly, Renee used an iron wire to cut her wrist just to meet Stefan."Am I right? You did so many things just to see him. Now you finally met him. Are you happy and satisfied now? But you look worse than before." Jovan teased Renee. He found her pitiful, but at the same time, he felt that it served her right. It seemed everybody was a joke in their romance with others. Only those who never loved could be at the top of the food chain. They would laugh at those who gave up their hearts to others and could not understand those people's bizarre actions."Stop gloating. It's none of your business! Let go of me, or I'll make you feel sorry for yourself."Renee had just escaped death and was weak. Had it not been for that, Jovan wouldn't be able to stop her or watch her make a fool of herself. Still, she would be fine with losing blood again just to torment him if he kept on talking nonsense. Then, he would watch his tongue."Tell me, Phoenix. Is he telling the truth?" Justin
The loud noises in the ward naturally alerted Justin and Jovan."What's going on?" Justin became very nervous and kicked the door of the ward open. He saw that Renee had woken up and was crazily tearing at the bandages."Uh…" Justin was struck dumb. He had thought of the possibility of Stefan waking Renee up, but he did not expect it to be that effective. Renee ended up becoming a maniac who had lost control of herself. "You're awake?" Jovan was stunned too. He instantly understood the whole incident and gave Renee a thumbs-up. "You're great!"Renee looked coldly at them and ordered them, "Get out, you two! I haven't settled things with him!" Although she was fine with the way they regarded her, she did not want them to see her as a maniac. Besides, their presence would affect her and stop her from being crazy."I won't get out."Jovan turned Renee down. He rushed over and hugged her, stopping her from hurting herself."What are you doing? Let go of me!"Renee was still ha
After a long pause, Stefan finally admitted honestly, "That wasn't a lie." He turned to look at Renee. He knew what he had to do, and heaved a long sigh."But life isn't just about love.""Why not?" Renee became teary as she stared at him like a child who failed to get what she wanted. "To me, that's already enough. As long as we love each other, we can conquer everything. Without love, it'll be hopeless.""If loving each other is already enough, there wouldn't be the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Didn't they love each other deeply? They loved each other a lot, but they ended up dead!" Stefan shot back.He could not stop himself from getting impulsive. Heartbroken, he turned around to look into Renee's eyes. "Compared to love, I'd rather you lead a steady and happy life. But I'm not the one who can give you that. I'll only bring you pain and death!""Romeo and Juliet?" Renee found that preposterous and bizarre. "What a lousy excuse! Did I kill your parents, or did you kill my p
"How could you…" Stefan looked at Renee in disbelief. For a moment, he was struck dumb. Renee quietly removed the oxygen mask and the needle. She calmly sat up in bed. "I thought you'd never be honest with me.""When did you wake up?" Stefan finally regained his wits. Because of his guilt, he was too scared to look into Renee's eyes. "I had long woken up." Renee was very calm. She looked weak because she had lost too much blood, but at the same time, she still looked firm like a rose blooming in winter. "So, you purposely lured me here, didn't you?"When Stefan learned that she had long woken up, he realized with shock that he might have stepped into the trap she and Jovan set up.Naturally, he was uneasy, given the proud man he was. He could plot against others but could not tolerate others doing the same to him, let alone the fact that it was his beloved woman."Hmph! Did I lure you here?" Renee laughed sarcastically and disappointedly. She looked at Stefan as he tried
"Can I wake her up?" Stefan seemed to be asking them and himself. He shook his head in self-hatred. "I'm afraid I'm the reason why she wants to escape this world. She must hate me to the core and refuse to see me. She might know that I'm here, so she's avoiding me and refuses to wake up."He recalled how much he had harmed her. He was not confident to wake her up, let alone face her."Yes, you're sinful, ut you must be held accountable for it!" Justin could not bother to waste his time talking to Stefan. He pushed Stefan into the ward instead. "You made her so angry, she's in a coma now. So, you have to wake her up. If she doesn't, you can't leave the ward!""Agreed!"Jovan was standing on the other side. He and Justin seemed to have formed a barrier and refused to let Stefan back down.After some contemplation, Stefan decided to face the music. He closed the ward door and quietly went to Renee's bed. It was the first time he was alone with her after a long time."You're tr
Unsurprisingly, Renee remained irresponsive. Justin gradually grew depressed. Before, he was confident. Seeing that he was getting no response from her, his confidence waned. Undeniably, he was probably not that important to her. If not, she wouldn't remain indifferent. She would have sensed that he was around. "I got it. You don't need me." Justin smiled helplessly. He felt pathetic too. He took a deep breath and finally stood up to exit the ward."How's it going?" Stefan asked.He kept waiting outside the ward, paying close attention to it in hopes that Renee could wake up. He also felt that Justin could bring Renee wonderful things and hope. She would wake up when she sensed that Justin was calling for her. "Hmph! Isn't it obvious? Of course, he couldn't wake her up!" Jovan casually leaned against the bench in the corridor, not even looking up. He sounded vicious. "He's just a backup guy. Of course she doesn't care about him! She's not in love with him." Justin glared at J
Stefan remained quiet as he calmly watched Renee. He extended his hand to touch her face but retrieved it before he could.She used to be the woman he was familiar with and the one he had hugged and kissed countless times, but now, he didn't even dare to touch her. "I think she doesn't even want you here. She must hate you so much and is disappointed in you. She'll be even more pressured if you stay here, and it'll push her further from this world. So please, get the hell out of here if you want the best for her!"Justin could not hold himself back from scolding Stefan. If Jovan was telling the truth, Stefan must be aware of the fact that Jovan was holding Renee hostage. Yet, he remained indifferent and feigned ignorance. He didn't even care if Renee was fine. What a cruel bastard! Justin was disappointed in Stefan. He wanted nothing more than to see what was really on Stefan's mind."Take good care of her." Stefan did not want to defend himself. He glanced at Renee, relucta
"What did you do to her?!" Stefan interrogated Jovan coldly, his eyes teary. "She isn't the kind to kill herself! What the hell did you do to her?" "Try to wake her up if you want to know." Jovan was pale. His previous sickness, coupled with his recent blood donation to Renee, made him very weak. Despite that, he refused to stop infuriating others. "Do you think I can't do anything to you? Do you really think that?" Stefan could no longer hold himself back and strangled Jovan. "I'm going to kill you! Repent for the terrible things you've done!"He couldn't imagine the kind of thing that could force the strong and stubborn Renee to resist by using such a desperate means. "You obviously won't go easy on me! I'm sure of that!" Jovan sneered. His pale face turned flushed as he suffocated from Stefan's powerful grip. "But you'd better kill yourself first if you want to avenge her! She ended up like this because of you." "What?" Stefan's face was frosty. He strengthened his grip a
Jovan slowly got up from the ground, looking incredibly weak. He whispered, "She lost too much blood. The doctor claimed she's out of danger, but…she hasn't woken up.""What did you say?" Stefan and Justin were bewildered. They couldn't process his words."So, she was the female college student who tried to kill herself?" Stefan said. He staggered after linking the information he had heard from a nurse with the things that Jovan had said."Stop acting dumb! You're so smart, how could you have missed that?" Jovan glared coldly stared at Stefan, scrutinizing him in disdain. "You were just too scared to face the truth and your woman! You're such a coward! You're an embarrassment to your family!""Agreed!" Justin added; he suddenly found Jovan useful, especially when the latter started insulting Stefan. It felt just right."Although I'm a fallback guy, I'm braver than you. I accept that she doesn't love me, and I'm willing to give it a try with her. And although this guy's a vill