Sensing someone watching her, Renee turned her head and saw Carl standing there. He was dressed sharply in a black suit, his long fingers resting against his temple. The ring on his hand glinted ruthlessly in the sunlight.Annie stood close to Carl, whispering something to him. They were standing close to each other, and Carl's face displayed a rare, gentle expression.Renee looked away, trying to maintain her composure as she lowered her hand."Thank you," she said."You're welcome," Carl replied, glancing in the direction that Renee had been looking. "That's Mr. Grey, isn't it? How devoted he is to his fiancée, personally picking her up."Indeed.Everyone could see Carl's love for Annie.Everyone except her foolish past self, who had waited for him, loved him.Renee was about to nod when Susanne tugged at her arm."Since we've run into them, go say hello to your Uncle Carl," she urged."No," Renee shook off her hand, turning to leave."You stubborn girl..." Susanne began,
Calvin pulled Renee back, and as she felt herself losing consciousness, she clenched her fist tightly. Her nails dug into her palm, the pain jolting her back to reality.She needed to save herself!Renee reached for the door handle to steady herself, her eyes scanning for anything she could use. The crystal ornament on the dashboard caught her attention. However, each time she tried to grab it, she fell short.Gritting her teeth, she resisted Calvin's pull, her fingers inching closer to the crystal ornament. Finally, she managed to snatch it off the non-slip mat and swung it backward with all her might.With a thud, Calvin groaned and loosened his grip on her.Seizing the moment, Renee hit the car door unlock button and stumbled out of the car.The autumn night, illuminated by the bright moon, felt like a blade slicing into her as she struggled to run forward. She had barely taken a few steps when she felt a hand choking her from behind. Resisting, she had her hair grabbed and he
When Renee woke up, a female police officer in uniform was sitting by her bed.The officer smiled gently, instantly putting Renee at ease."You're awake. Would you like some water?" The officer stood up and thoughtfully poured her a glass. "You only have some minor external injuries, nothing serious.""Thank you," Renee said, propping herself up to accept the glass.Even now, she was still trembling from the ordeal.The officer watched her, not immediately questioning her until Renee had calmed down a bit."Calvin is fine too, but you two have conflicting stories, so I need your statement," the officer explained.Renee paused mid-sip. "Conflicting stories? What do you mean?"How could there be any conflict when everything seemed so clear-cut?The officer replied honestly, "Calvin claims he was only aggressive because he had too much to drink. He produced a psychological evaluation from abroad. He also said... you willingly went to dinner and a movie with him, so he thought you were con
Michael was already furious, but his anger escalated when he saw his son's incompetence. He raised his hand, as if he wanted to strike Patrick's head, and shouted, "How did I end up with such a useless son? No brains! No backbone! Letting a woman lead you around! If you had even half of Carl's intelligence, we wouldn't be in this mess!"Patrick's expression darkened further.Renee withdrew her hand from the doorknob, realizing that leaving now would only further embarrass Patrick, who had always been kind to her. She couldn't bear to do that.Just then, a calm, deep voice cut in.A tall, dark figure approached with measured steps, composed and reserved.His handsome face was devoid of expression, and his eyes showed a touch of coldness."Dad, Calvin is fine now. There's no point in berating Patrick," Carl said calmly."I want to do more than just berate him! The Hendersons want an explanation. If this scandal gets out, where will the Grey family hide their faces? It all comes do
The police acted efficiently, wasting no time in presenting the settlement agreement to Renee after she agreed to settle. One of the officers was the female officer who had taken Renee's statement earlier. Kindly, she reminded Renee, "Are you sure you've thought this through?" Renee's hand trembled slightly as she held the pen and with a bitter smile, she said, "I'm sure. Let's just get it over with." She felt she had no choice but to go along with everything, feeling like nothing more than a pawn in someone else's control. Without giving herself a chance to reconsider, Renee quickly signed her name. The officer sighed, took the agreement, and left.Shortly after, Susanne entered the room carrying a basket of fruits. Their eyes met, and Susanne's were rimmed with red from guilt. "Renee..." she began. "I know everything. Is Patrick okay?" Renee asked. Susanne wiped her tears, sighing as she took out the fruits from the basket. "He's fine, just received a scolding. You know ho
At the university gates early in the morning, there weren't many people around.Exhausted, Renee was forcefully pulled into Carl's car despite her struggles. No matter how hard she tried to resist, a strong force continued to pull her back.Looking up, she realized that he seemed to be playing with her, as if her resistance was just a ploy to attract him.Finally, she gave up and let her arms drop.Carl pulled her close, lifted her face, and gently touched her reddened forehead."Looks like you haven't learned your lesson. Why did you leave the hospital?" he asked casually, as if he hadn't been the one pushing her to settle outside the hospital room.Renee stared at him, feeling like she couldn't understand him even after two lifetimes.Seeing her silence, Carl gripped her chin more firmly.She felt like a doll in his hands, manipulated at his will.Feeling humiliated, Renee gritted her teeth and forcefully slapped his hand away.The sound echoed loudly in the car.A tense s
Renee reluctantly followed Carl to Annie's apartment.Upon exiting the elevator, they were met with a shocking scene - bloodstains scattered on the floor and red paint smeared on the door.Before Renee could react, Carl rushed into the apartment. She heard a man's agonized scream and Annie's sobbing."Carl! I'm so scared! I'm afraid..."Annie's cries snapped Renee back to reality, and she quickly entered the apartment.Inside, she saw a man lying on the floor, his face contorted in anger, blood dripping from his mouth, and tightly gripping a knife.Annie, on the other hand, cradled her bleeding arm as she weakly leaned into Carl's embrace, her face filled with sorrow.The man continued to curse Annie, calling her derogatory names and accusing her of promiscuity.Annie pleaded, "No, no, I'm not like that..."The man laughed coldly, "Don't lie! That's what everyone online is saying! Someone told me you're easy to sleep with! Besides, men are coming in and out of your apartment e
She watched helplessly as she bled, while across the room, Carl pulled Annie behind him protectively.Annie smiled from behind Carl.Seeing this, Renee's face turned pale, and she let out a bitter laugh...Soon, the police burst in."Who called the police?""I did," Carl said coldly, pointing at Renee. "Her. Take her away."The police, seeing Renee's injury, exclaimed, "There's so much blood. We need to bandage this first."Carl didn't even look at her. "I said take her away. She must face the consequences of her actions."With that, Renee was handcuffed.The concerned police officer used his personal bandage to stop the bleeding from her wound.The slight pressure made Renee break out in a cold sweat from the pain.As she was being led away, she paused briefly and said nonchalantly, "I didn't do it."As Carl looked up at her, Annie fainted.He naturally ignored Renee, carefully picking up Annie instead.Renee glanced around, suddenly realizing that Carl's presence was ev