"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 took a sip of her grape milk tea, then sighed. "Well, it would be rude if I didn't see it then, right?""Prepare yourself. It may be a little heartbreaking," Quinton said mysteriously.Renee could not help but roll her eyes. "Enough with the dramatics, brother. Hurry up, or I'm going to fall asleep.""You lazy pig. You sleep so much every day! I guarantee you'll suffer from insomnia after watching this," Quinton scoffed and sent a video to Renee.Renee casually clicked on it. However, the second the video started, she froze and clenched her fists subconsciously.After a few minutes, Quinton asked, "Well, have you finished?"Renee said indifferently, "I finished it.""You finished it?" Quinton was slightly surprised and asked eagerly, "So, how do you feel?""I don't feel anything," Renee replied calmly."No way! How can you not feel anything? I'm usually unemotional, but even I felt touched seeing it. Shouldn't you be feeling something more?" Quinton urged.When Renee di
"Mommy, look! Uncle Xavier took us to a treasure cove today! We caught a lot of fish and colourful starfish! Aren't they beautiful?" Abigail was carrying a small bucket, her round face flushed like a red apple. "Look, Mommy! It's a colorful starfish! Isn't it beautiful?" The little girl took the starfish by its two arms and excitedly showed it to Renee."Yeah, it's so pretty." Renee forced a smile, looking distracted.Little Abigail put down the colorful starfish and hugged Renee tightly. She looked up and asked worriedly, "Mommy, what's wrong? Are you unhappy? Did someone hurt you?""No. I'm happy. You're amazing, Abigail. Did you collect many good things?" Renee tried her best to keep her spirits up and share her children's joy. Unfortunately, her depression was like a dark cloud in the sky—it was so obvious that Aiden, Xavier, and Leia felt it too."Ren, what's wrong?" Leia put down the bucket full of fish and took Renee's hand. She asked worriedly, "Is it him again? Did he pr
The Lotso bear was a villain in the movie, but it was a pitiful villain because it was abandoned by its owner. It used various means and encountered a lot of hardships to return to Daisy, its owner. In the end, it found that its owner had long gained new toys.After getting hurt, it no longer wanted to be kind. It was used to act cunningly as a form of disguise. But honestly, it was a dear baby who needed love. Of course, it was not a villain at all. Renee liked it because she saw herself as well as others in it. Everyone was gloomy in some way. People got hurt and slowly became gloomy. Instead of criticizing such a thing, Renee felt more compassion and sorry for such a situation. "But you still don't want it and want to throw it away." Stefan was gripped with complicated feelings after listening to Renee's explanation. He sounded sad."Yes, I like it. But I still want to throw it away. It's better to stop in time." Renee laughed and stopped shaking her legs. She was her usual
A week later, Renee recovered because she listened to the doctor and underwent treatment. She could be discharged from the hospital.In the meantime, Stefan stayed outside the ward and did not enter the ward.On the contrary, Jovan kept entering the ward from time to time. Renee would either scold or drive him away. Stefan entered the ward on the day Renee was leaving the hospital. He quietly helped Renee pack up her things. Generally, a caretaker could do that. However, Stefan acted like he wanted to repent and felt better when he took it upon himself. "Do you still need this?" Stefan pointed at a Lotso bear toy at the head of the bed and asked Renee calmly.During the one-week hospitalization, Renee got bored. Stefan would give her some blind boxes as entertainment. Renee found Rubik's cubes, stickers, and keychains when she opened the boxes. She would always throw them away because she was not interested in them. When she unpacked a rather large Lotso bear toy, she became
Jovan had kidnapped Renee, but he risked his life for her though he appeared like a cunning and selfish man. Renee felt that she did not deserve his love. She had wronged both Jovan and Justin, but she could not love them back. On the other hand, the one she wanted to love kept pushing her away cruelly…She slapped herself fiercely. Her action frightened the nurse. "Ms. Everheart, we can talk things out! Why did you hurt yourself? You can't…" "Don't worry. I'll get better and won't harm myself again." Renee was teary and laughed at herself. "I slapped myself because I recalled the things I'd done. I was very stupid, and I wanted to knock some sense into myself." "Okay, I'm glad to hear that." The nurse heaved a sigh of relief, but she was afraid to see Renee keep acting crazily. After she was done bandaging Renee's wound, she left hurriedly.When Stefan saw the nurse exit the ward, he walked in nervously and inquired about Renee. "How she's doing?" "She's already feeling be
Having said that, Justin turned to leave. He knew that if he stayed, he would only look more of a fool. "Tsk! What a pity!" Jovan watched him leave, shrugging and sighing. "He's sincere and loyal. Too bad he pales in comparison to the scumbag!""Get out!" Renee was overcome with sadness and pushed Jovan away fiercely. "Get out! I don't want to see anyone!" Knowing that she had harmed Justin again, she was filled with guilt. She just wanted to be left alone."Rest well. I'll be with you until you're recovered and discharged from the hospital," Stefan said calmly before exiting the ward.In a while, a nurse came to tend to the bandages that Renee had removed. She advised Renee, "Ms. Everheart, you have to be careful. You're weak now. You can't get angry, or it might be life-threatening.""I don't care. My life is so messy, I'd rather die."Thinking of the recent events and the men around her, a severe headache hit her. She wanted to keep being unconscious."Please don't say tha
"Do you still want to marry me?" Justin asked Renee."I…" Renee could talk nonsense with Jovan, but she couldn't joke with Justin. She had harmed him many times and couldn't keep hurting him. Honestly, she didn't want to marry him or anyone else. She did not want to rely on anyone. She knew she could rely on a man and lead a steady life if there was love. But without love, it would be very hard to rely on a man.However, she knew that Justin liked her and wanted to marry her. If she promised to marry him, the impulsive Jovan would get the staff of the City Hall here. If she turned Justin down at that time, she would harm him again."Fine. You don't have to feel stressed. I know the answer." Justin was no fool. Renee's hesitation told him what she wanted. "When I begged you to marry me, you forced yourself to say yes. You just wanted to repay me for saving your life.""No, you're wrong!" Seeing Justin hurt pained her more than when she was hurt. She hurriedly explained, "I reall
"What is it?" Renee looked at Justin curiously.Renee, Stefan, and Jovan were curious about what was on Justin's mind."If my family starts fighting the Hunt family, which side will you take?" Justin went straight to the point. He had been curious about that as he made wild guesses about Renee's mind. Since Renee was right before him, he wanted to get the answer from her before he could give up."Hmph! I thought it was something serious. Why did you make it sound that serious…" Jovan burst into laughter, finding Justin a loyal man. "Isn't that obvious? If she wants to take your side, you guys would be married by now. There wouldn't be so many shitty things either!""Shut up, Jovan!" Renee glared at Jovan. If she was stronger, she would beat him up. She said coldly, "Did you forget how you took me away?""Yes, I used some cunning means to take you away, but let's be frank. If I didn't come that day, would you marry him?"Jovan had long gotten used to Renee's fierceness. On the c
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