Quinton's gaze travelled over Seraphina's body meaningfully, and he replied, "I heard you're Stefan's girlfriend now. Are you two getting married soon?" "Yes, Stefan and I are childhood sweethearts, and we have similar backgrounds, so it's only a matter of time before we get married. If you don't want to offend both the Hunts and the Murphys, let him go!" Seraphina said defiantly.Quinton merely smirked lazily in response. "Say, I think I want to have some fun with Stefan's woman. What do you think will happen if I do?""Don't even think about it, you hooligan!" Seraphina's face flushed in anger. She tried to slap Quinton's cheek, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.Quinton sneered, "You'll do anything for your fiance, won't you? How about I offer you a deal then? If you serve me well, I'll let Stefan go."Quinton pretended to be a pervert and caressed her body, making her shiver. "After that, I'll release the video of us to the public. When that happens, the whole
Stefan frowned. As he carefully made his way towards the door, the crying voice became louder."It must be Renee… they're torturing Renee! Chase was lying, Renee can't be the Midnight Demon's younger sister! She would never leave me behind!" Agitated, Stefan hurriedly opened the door. Unable to see, he tripped over the steps and crashed to the ground, hurting his palms and knees. He quickly got up, but tripped and fell again after just a few steps. He was a complete mess."Save me! Help! Don't touch me! Get away from me!"Stefan's heart ached with worry when he heard the woman's cries for help."Useless! Damn it, Stefan, you good-for-nothing!" Stefan snarled, feeling distraught. He covered his face with his hands, feeling like he was losing his mind. How he wished he could gouge out his eyes! He knew his woman was in danger but couldn't do anything about it. It was worse than having someone torture him to death!"Renee, wait for me. I'm coming! I'll save you!" Stefan swore, his bo
"Stef! What do you mean? I'm Seraphina. Don't you recognize me?" Seraphina tried to tidy her torn clothes, her eyes filled with tears. She looked at Stefan, feeling ashamed. "Are you disgusted? Those monsters hurt me and made me dirty. Is that why you don't want to talk to me anymore?""Oh, it's you!" Stefan exhaled, feeling relieved. Stefan had thought it was Renee who called for help, and images of her being tortured had flooded his mind and made his head ache. Fortunately, it was not Renee."W-What do you mean?" The desperation in Seraphina's eyes grew. Stefan's attitude towards her was a million times more painful than the abuse she had just suffered."Did you think I was Renee? Did you think those monsters tortured Renee as she tried to save you? Are you relieved to find out that it was just me? Because if it's me, you wouldn't have cared as much, would you?" Seraphina cried out bitterly.Stefan did not reply, and instead asked her, "Seraphina, what are you doing here? What ha
"That freak! I'm going to dig out his eyes and make him pay!""Don't be impulsive. This is his territory. He's unrestrained here. You won't be able to imagine how crazy he could be.""Stef, why have you become such a coward? That man made your eyes blind. He even sent those monsters to humiliate me. Are we going to let this slide? Aren't you the powerful Stefan? You…""No, I'm not!" Stefan said without any emotions in his eyes, "That Stefan is dead.""Don't say that. Even though you're blind now, it's not impossible to heal with advanced medical technology now and the right eyes."Seraphina hugged Stefan and wept. "Stay strong. The Hunt and Murphy families are rich and powerful. I'm sure your eyes will heal!""All the more reason to stay calm and find a way out of here. Things will get better," Stefan said emotionlessly. He wanted Seraphina to leave safely. Otherwise, this guilt would weigh him down for life like a mountain."You're right. Things will eventually get better!"Se
"What do you want from me? Just say it." Stefan knew Quinton would not let them go just like that. Quinton was vengeful and would not stop until he tortured Stefan."It's simple. I just received an order from an old customer. He's old and needs a strong heart. He wants a strong heart from someone powerful and strong, so he has his eye on you. After all, you're the second young master of the Hunt family. You're the only one deserving of the title in Beach City," Quinton said, smiling casually as if he was talking about the weather. "So, if you willingly cooperate with my surgeon and give your heart to my client, I'll release Ms. Murphy.""No, never!" Seraphina had been hiding behind Stefan, but when she heard that, she ran in front of Stefan and held her arms out to block the way. She no longer cared about anything at this moment. "You freak! Devil! You can find the right heart for a little money, but you want Stef's. What you really want is his life! Don't even think about it! I wo
Stefan was a little dazed. He touched his chest subconsciously and thought, 'It seems… my heart is still there. It's still beating.'"Damn. What happened?" Stefan had a terrible headache. He couldn't see and didn't know where he was. Suddenly, he heard Francine's miserable cries. "It's Stef. It's really Stef. He's back! Oh, thank God!"Francine hugged him so tightly she almost crushed him."Mom?" Stefan frowned slightly and called out, feeling unsure."Son! I'm right here. You've suffered so much, my poor boy!" Francine said agitatedly. During the days of Stefan's disappearance, Francine cried all day and night. She seemed to have aged ten years from crying so much. "Son, where the hell have you been all this time? We searched the whole of Beach City but couldn't find you. Are you okay? Who had the audacity to do this to you? We must take revenge. Our family…" Francine started heatedly, but was soon interrupted by Stefan."Mom, where am I now?""Silly boy, where do you think?
"Mom, I'm sorry. I couldn't protect myself, and now I've made you sad." Stefan's voice was calm.Francine looked at Stefan sadly. Her son used to be such a proud man, and now he was so depressed and melancholy. The light in his eyes seemed to have disappeared. Francine was devastated seeing her son like this; it was so painful that she could hardly breathe."Stef. Oh, son. What have you been through?" Francine hugged Stefan tightly. She couldn't imagine the kind of torture Stefan had been through during his disappearance to become like this."It's over. I don't want to talk about it," Stefan said indifferently. He did not want to reveal anything, and forbade Seraphina from saying anything.Stefan believed what he had suffered was the consequence of his past actions. It was to repay what he owed to Renee, and he deserved it. The debt was cleared, and the two no longer owed each other anything. There was no need to get involved with each other again."Okay. Let's not talk about it.
"I couldn't believe it either! I didn't think Ms. Everheart would be so cruel to Stefan, the man she truly loved. Her love may have turned sour, but she shouldn't have been so cruel. Unfortunately, it was indeed Ms. Everheart's doing. Love can be so beautiful, yet so scary sometimes!" Seraphina sobbed, deliberately slandering Renee. Renee's brother was the one who harmed them anyway, which was the same as Renee hurting them."Stef was reluctant to tell you for old time's sake. Ms. Everheart was the one who did it, but he did not want you to act impulsively and try to avenge him." Seraphina watched Francine's expression and continued to add fuel to the fire. "Also, when I went to save Stef, Ms. Everheart retaliated and hurt me. I..."Seraphina hesitated, then burst into tears."Good girl, calm down. How did she hurt you? Tell me…""S-She ordered a bunch of men to violate me. I almost died!" As Seraphina spoke, she lifted the hem of her nightgown, revealing the shocking bruises on he
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
After a while, a servant quickly came back with a bottle of wine tied with a piece of red cloth. "Sir, Madam, this bottle of white wine was brewed more than ten years ago. It comes with a rich taste and is strong. I'm sure it's suitable for Ms. Everheart to toast to everyone as a form of apology.""That's good. That's what I want." Rose accepted the heavy bottle of wine. Although it was yet to be unscrewed, she could smell its pungent scent. "I won't easily let anyone drink this. Plus… Believe it or not, a glass of this wine can knock out anyone here." Rose carried the bottle of wine and walked around the table. Finally, she stopped in front of Renee. "I'm letting a sinner like you enjoy such a great thing today. You must drink all of it. You can't waste it.""Huh? Does she have to drink it all? I'm afraid she'll vomit from drinking.""People will lose themselves with only three to five glasses of this wine. If they drink half of it, they might get alcohol poisoning no matter
If any Baldwin demanded an explanation from Renee, she would not resent them."Fine, I won't go easy on you since you said so." Rose laughed recklessly, looking malicious. Everyone knew Rose was fierce and malicious. But none of them said anything, including Justin. They behaved like onlookers and wanted to see how Rose would punish Renee. "Please go ahead." Renee nodded and sounded very calm. "Don't worry. Regardless, you were the only woman my dear grandnephew had loved and wanted to marry. So, I won't be harsh on you. If not, he won't forgive me." At that point, Rose purposely paused and wanted to see how Justin would react.However, Justin merely sat there indifferently and had no intention to get Renee out of the predicament. Hence, Rose became bolder. "Well, let's do this. You've wronged not only Justin but everyone in my family. Since you're here to apologize, you should toast to all of us. Then, we can forget about this."After that, Rose turned to Austin and asked