"Stef, what's happening?! Don't scare me! Say something!" Seraphina just realized Stefan's condition had worsened, with all color draining from his face. It seemed he had fallen unconscious as well."His heart rate is going up! Call the doctor! Now!" Renee looked towards the heart monitor, whose lines were dancing, as if indicating that the man was in a very unstable condition.The chief doctor quickly rushed over and started providing emergency care. "Please wait outside, ladies. The patient's blood pressure is unstable, and he needs urgent treatment!"Renee and Seraphina didn't dare to stay any longer, immediately cooperating with the medics and leaving the ward."You unlucky bitch! Look what you've done to Stef?! Haven't you caused enough harm?!" Seraphina wailed as she hit Renee harshly. "Nothing happened when you were gone! The doctors even said his condition had stabilized! He only needs a few more days of rest before he can get discharged! "But as soon as you showed up, hi
She had no idea Stefan's condition was so critical.'So… he really did forget about me? And he's not putting up an act just because he resented me?'"Yeah, brain surgery. I did tell you about this the moment you woke up, that the surgery might induce partial memory loss. If you keep forcing him to remember things, it would increase the pressure on his mind. So I'm guessing… that's why his condition suddenly worsened."Renee was stunned, unable to say anything as she stood there frozen. Jovan's statements were enough to prove her doubts right. 'Stefan really forgot about me.''Like every cliche drama out there, he remembered everyone else but me.'"Yeah, yeah! That's the reason! I told you not to trigger him, but you wouldn't listen! Are you happy now, you vicious witch?!" Seraphina finally found a proper reason to scream at Renee.However, she immediately stopped when she noticed Jovan's indifferent glance. "I'm terribly sorry. I really didn't know that my appearance would br
"You? Help me and Stef?" Seraphina froze in disbelief as if she had just heard the most ridiculous myth. She then scoffed. "Do you think I'm dumb, Renee Everheart? Do you think I'd really believe your fake empathy?"Renee's gaze was cold and retorted. "Do you really think that I'd waste my energy to lie to you?" "W… What do you mean?""Meaning, even if I really wanted to compete with you, you wouldn't even get the chance to go against me. I don't need to play these mind games with you.""You!" Seraphina was speechless.Despite her rage, she knew that Renee was right and was unable to mount a reasonable comeback.Jovan stared at Renee with a conflicted gaze and asked coldly. "What do you mean by 'till he gets better?' How much better does he have to be?" "That's hard to say." Renee turned to Jovan. As if the two were playing a tug of war, she continued. "At the very least, I have to make sure he won't get taken advantage of."Seraphina took a deep breath and reached her ha
With eyes darkened, he grabbed her by the chin and mocked her. "Now you're pretending to love him unconditionally, huh? Why weren't you considerate of his condition when you decided to make him go through brain surgery to wipe his memories about Renee? Why didn't you think of that when you substituted his memory of her saving him with yourself?" "I…""Both you and I know that the surgery was just a facade. Your main goal was just to replace Renee in Stefan's memories! Now that you've become the person he loves and trusts most, what else do you want?! Why do you have to get her involved?!""I'm sorry, I was wrong. I… I wasn't thinking," Seraphina admitted to her faults anxiously.The woman used to be a prideful rich lady. She was so arrogant that she looked down on everyone but Stefan, as she was in love with him. However, now, when faced with Jovan, she couldn't help but feel a natural fear arising within her heart. The man knew too many of her secrets, and she was afraid that
That day, Renee had just finished brewing some medicinal tea. She pushed open the door to Stefan's ward.Inside were Seraphina and Stefan, cuddling each other lovingly. The two looked glued to the hip, unwilling to separate at all."Seraphina, I thought about it. Let's get married once I get discharged!" Stefan said, his arms wrapped around her and his chin placed on top of her head. His expression seemed longing. "I hope we can have our wedding in Tahato. I hear they have the bluest seas and the softest sand. Since you love the sea so much, that will be the most suitable place for our wedding."Seraphina's blissful expression was instantly replaced with fear. "Marrying right after you've recovered?! Isn't that… too soon?"'Besides, when have I ever said I liked the sea?''I hate it! It's too sunny out, it's boring as heck, and it's the worst when it gets too windy!'"How is that too soon?" Stefan's face turned serious. "I love you so much that I want to put a ring on you right
Seraphina immediately tried chasing Renee away.Stefan, who was silent the entire time, furrowed his brows as he spoke frostily. "You got injured the same day I did?""Uhm…" Renee froze, her expression stiff.'Shit, I misspoke.'"How did you get hurt?" The man continued questioning."I… I tripped and fell by accident." Renee came up with a simple excuse and rushed out of the room.She actually didn't intend for him to notice her. She wanted to do as promised. She acted like she was mute and only took care of him quietly. She only wanted to see him recover fully and leave with no regrets.However, she knew that it would now be difficult for her to hide away, especially with her previous mess up…"She left?" Stefan seemed rather disappointed."What? Did you not want to leave? And you just said you love me so much you wanted to marry me right away!" Seraphina huffed out of jealousy, feeling quite anxious.She then wrapped her arms around the man's neck and voluntarily kissed him
Renee stayed quiet, not uttering a word the whole time. However, this only piqued the man's interest further."Is your identity classified? Why won't you even tell me your name?" Stefan continued questioning, persistent to get an answer.Renee bit down on her lips. After a few moments of hesitation, she replied clearly, "No, not classified. My name is Renee Everheart. Do you know me, Mr. Hunt?""How could you go back on your word, Renee Everheart!" Seraphina shoved Renee aside, visibly agitated.She felt as if Renee was about to snatch her precious toy, which gave her the urge to fight the woman right there and then."Renee Everheart…" Stefan repeated the name over and over again, trying his best to look through his memory but to no avail. His expression was cold and solemn.Renee was disappointed, but let out a sigh of relief. She responded lightly, "Don't waste your energy, Mr. Hunt. You definitely won't remember anything, we don't know each other at all. I only know of you bec
Since Renee was able to keep a safe distance from him, she left the room nonchalantly.They had to admit that Margaret's recipe was almost miraculous. Despite merely having had one cup of the tea, he noticed that his wounds were much less painful the next morning. The effects were quite obvious, as he seemed more energetic as well."Stef, have some water." Seraphina poured Stefan some warm water carefully. As she stared at the steam coming from the glass, she looked for a reaction when she asked, "Do you remember you said the other day that we could get married once you are discharged? Is that offer still available?" Feeling the warmth of the water around the glass, Stefan raised an eyebrow at her question. "Of course. Why do you ask?""You've been so distracted for the past few days! I just feel kind of insecure!" Seraphina whined softly, then started picturing their future. "I've been thinking for a while, and I think it's best we change our wedding venue.""Why? I remember you
Justin smiled and described the children's experiences, acting like a stepfather. When he talked about the children, he made it sound like they were his biological children. Stefan didn't look so good. He felt that the glass of wine was getting bitter."Well, I'm sure kids will find everything new and exciting when they go to a new place. But they'll get bored with it when time passes. They'll love their real home better." Stefan had wanted to act relaxed and casual, but he could not stop himself from refuting when he heard Justin's provocative words. "Mm?" Leia sat beside Liam and leaned against his arm, and whispered, "What are they doing? This is weird. Are they going to fight?""It's just a competition between men. They won't get into a fight." Liam kept eating and watching the fun. He merely found it amusing. As expected, Renee was greatly admired. Although she remained silent, she would always be in the limelight. Liam was amused to see people like Stefan or Justin
"How dare you!"Stefan's words instantly made Leia speechless. She had wanted to rebuke him, but he snatched the chance from her and struck her dumb.In short, he was an utter scumbag.After a moment, Leia finally managed to comment, "How shameless!" Justin had kept silent all the while. He looked at Stefan with a scrutinizing and mocking gaze. "Mr. Hunt, I admire your honesty and self-awareness. If that's the case, let's stop being reserved and have fun together!""Yes, let's have fun together. I'm shameless, too!" Liam joined in the effort to mock Stefan. He swayed his glass of wine and faked a smile. "I've known her a long time, so of course I know what shameless things Mr. Hunt has done. I think I'd better grab this chance to tell you all of them since everyone is here today."Standing at the door, Renee was worried that Liam might say more indecent things. She hurriedly stopped him. "Pipe down, Liam!" "Got it." Liam shrugged helplessly but obeyed her.Although he yea
"Do you want to leave?" Stefan saw Renee. He was calm, indifferent, and distant. His behavior stung Renee. Renee could easily recall their lovey-dovey memories. They had both risked their lives for each other and vowed to be together forever. They had two children, too. Yet, they ended up as strangers.Although Renee was heartbroken, she became competitive. She smoothed her hair and said in a similarly cold manner, "I'm going to the washroom." "Okay." Stefan did not have anything to say. He nodded and walked past Renee before heading to the dining table. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to come so boldly," Quinton sneered.At the sight of Stefan, Quinton subconsciously clenched his fists, acting like he was about to fight Stefan. On the surface, he wouldn't act aggressively because he knew Renee would stop him. "It's not easy for the few great families to get together. It's good and meaningful for us. If I refused to come, it would make me seem heartless."Stefan kept his co
Having said that, Renee lowered her head, about to leave. She didn't even have the time to bother about Adie and Abby, and told Quinton to take them home later. Her strange behavior filled Quinton with displeasure. He blocked Renee and said solemnly, "Are you afraid? Do you want to run away? People might think that you're guilty and have cheated on your husband!""No, I'm not!" Renee refuted him loudly, then explained seriously, "I'm busy. I need to handle something right away. Plus, I'm not guilty. I did nothing wrong. There's no reason for me to feel guilty." Quinton went straight to the point. "What are you afraid of since you know you're not guilty? Why do you want to run away? He should be afraid instead!""I told you. I'm not afraid of him. I'm just…" "What?" Quinton crossed his arms and looked at Renee coldly. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.Renee came up with a ridiculous yet normal excuse. "I… I recalled that the dessert shop that I want to head to is about to
Jovan called Stefan to sound the latter out. Anyway, it would be convenient for Stefan to rush over since they were both at the same spot. "I'll be right there," Stefan said. Then, he hung up.For a moment, silence washed over everyone, as if something terrible was about to happen.After taking in the new information, Leia said indignantly, "What's going on? Why does he want to come? Isn't he too shameless? How dare he come?" Although everything wasn't discussed openly, everyone knew why Stefan and Renee broke up all of a sudden, despite how lovey-dovey they were. The reason was that Stefan had cheated on Renee.Even if the adultery was faked, it was still the cause of their breakup. If Stefan were shameful or guilty, he wouldn't have agreed to come. He was going to face Renee there with their friends and family around. Certainly, it was embarrassing. "Hmph! Why not? He impersonated me, seized my business, and snatched away my woman. Plus, he led a steady life, got married
Jovan's words made the atmosphere quiet and bizarre. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? It's already very annoying to have someone like you here. Do you have to get another annoying guy?" Leia frowned, crossing her arms. She kept scolding him.Initially, the atmosphere was considered harmonious. It was still considered fine even if there was an annoying person like Jovan. Unexpectedly, he wanted to call another, more terrible person to come here. Things would certainly go wrong. "Ms. Osborne, you're famous for talking harshly, too. You're just like me. I love it." However, Jovan was not mad at all. He grinned while waiting for Stefan to answer the call. Generally, Stefan would not answer Jovan's call. Surprisingly, he picked it up that time."What's the matter?" Jovan purposely put it on speaker mode. Stefan sounded aloof and emotionless.Jovan sounded wicked as he calmly asked Stefan, "Do you want to join a gathering, Stefan?""I'm going to hang up if you don't say anythi
In the past, Jovan had always regarded Stefan as a coward. Stefan couldn't forget about Renee, but he kept pushing Renee to another man. It seemed like Justin was more responsible, considerate, and gentle. Of course, Renee would lead a very happy, steady, and comfortable life with such a man. At the very least, Jovan felt that he could not be that meticulous and considerate. He would only drive Renee mad just to get her attention. "Hmph! Are you trying to humiliate me or yourself?" Justin didn't find that a compliment. Instead, it sounded like smockery. Jovan made it sound like Justin was a nice guy, but would not be picked by Renee. Usually, people like that had to suffer and would not end up well."I'm praising you." Jovan was helpless because of his reputation as the villain. Although he had said a lot of annoying things, he did want to compliment Justin. His love was probably as deep as Justin's, but his and Stefan's ways of loving Renee were much inferior to Justin's.
"That's unnecessary." Justin stood in front of Renee, his face cold. He said firmly, "She's unwell and can't have wine." "Is she unwell? I didn't see that." Jovan sized Renee up before he sized Justin up. Then, he sneered, "And who are you to her? You can't stop her from having wine.""It's none of your business who I am to her. I said she can't have wine." Justin always kept peace with others, but at that moment, he was dominant. He didn't always want to control Renee, but she had drunk a lot of wine that day. It might have hurt her belly. Hence, he felt it better for her to abstain from wine lately. However, Jovan was unaware of that affair. He simply found Justin purposely showing his ownership over Renee, which disgusted him."Waiter, get her a glass of milk. She only wants that," Justin instructed a waiter, showing his consideration for Renee. "It's okay. I can have a little wine. Plus, I'm rather good at drinking. It's not easy for everyone to get together tonight. I do
They danced for around ten minutes. Renee danced to the song heartily. Her initial gloomy mood also improved.Renee drank some water and took a few deep breaths. Then, she sincerely praised Leia, "Alright. Your welcome ceremony is bizarre, but it helped relieve my stress. I like it very much!"She could tell that Leia had painstakingly prepared that gift for her. After all, it was not easy to ask the Zambawi people from primitive tribes to sing an English song. "I'm glad you like it. I did this because I wanted you to relax and stop taking things seriously. You need to stop being so hard on yourself and get rid of all the pressure!" Leia said honestly. The Zambawi hand-drum dance came with the charms of a primitive dance. Its goal was to set people free. Of course, it was suitable for Renee to relieve her stress."Yeah, your stress is relieved. From now on, you'll start afresh. This is for you. I'm sure it'll be one of your happy memories." Liam handed the previous Polaroid to