However, since Liam left, no one sent her any of these cupcakes. She tried looking for it herself, but to no avail, which worsened her cravings. With the comfort awarded by the cupcake, Renee felt much better. She silently chewed on the cupcake at the table as she looked for the user's IP address.Liam glanced at her screen and smiled. "Who's the big shot? Why are you personally looking for them?"Renee waved her hand dismissively, clearly not in the mood for banter. "Oh, you won't get it, kid. Go along and play somewhere else."Liam folded his arms and cleared his throat. "Boss, you can just stop. The person who wrote that article is right underneath your nose.""What do you mean?" Renee finally turned her attention to Liam, looking the man up and down.Liam smirked pridefully. "I mean it literally.""You're not saying you were the one who leaked that information, are you?""Pleasure to meet you." The man nodded, patting Renee on the head as if he wasn't scared for his life
Renee's words piqued Liam's curiosity."Key figure?" Liam rubbed his chin and closer toward the woman with an intrigued expression. "Keep going."Renee rolled her eyes at him and mindlessly scrolled through the webpage, her expression blank. "My brother doesn't only hate Stefan for destroying his face, but also for making his most trusted person betray him. She used to be the light of his life, but she betrayed him for Stefan and stabbed him in the gut.""That's when my brother lost all morality. And well… How do I say this? He takes things to the extreme now.""Yeah, he is pretty extreme." Liam nodded in agreement. "No wonder I felt a sense of empathy when I first saw him. I knew he had hurt the same way I did, for love."Renee rolled her eyes again. "For love? Since when? Oh, stop playing the victim?""Is it not miserable enough that I acted as a loyal lapdog for almost a decade with no one to love me back?"The woman was speechless. "You might not know this, Boss, but peopl
Renee would no longer have to worry once she's brought Joanne back to reconcile with her brother, after all."Hell no." Liam refused, putting his index fingers into the shape of an 'X'. "I can't even handle being there, and I play around a lot! You're a girl and a beautiful one at that! Who knows what would happen when you're there! I won't let you risk your life!""I heard it's a pretty hellish place. Even a beast would be left with scars all over its body. But don't you know me? When have I, Renee Everheart, ever been scared of anyone?""I know you're strong, but you need to know that there are stronger people out there. My master is no joke! I almost made him explode when I refused to be his godson and escaped! He might imprison you and make you his concubine if you went there!""Shut it with the nonsense. Hand me the address!" Renee was impatient, restricting the man's arms behind his back, increasing her force with every word she spoke until it was unbearable to him. "So, a
Renee walked into Stefan's office, led by a secretary. It had been so long since she last came here, but everything was still the same… except the man opposite her. Renee stared at him, and sadness filled her. He was standing in front of the large French windows like he used to, his back as straight as an arrow."What are you doing here?" Stefan turned around and shot Renee a cold glare, looking hostile and unwelcoming.The secretary glanced at Renee, and suggested hesitantly, "Mr. Hunt, I can show Ms. Everheart around if you're too busy. We can come back after you're done with your work." Inwardly, the secretary was grumbling, 'Why is Mr. Hunt behaving like this? They've been married for a long time, but he doesn't show his true feelings for her. He deserves it if Ms. Everheart runs away!'Stefan's face turned livid as he turned to the secretary and growled, "Get out." "I apologize for intruding," Renee said and bowed her head slightly, about to turn around and leave.Stefa
Infuriated by his carefree attitude, Renee stormed over to him and grabbed his tie, jerking his head down as she snarled, "Can you swear that you didn't slash and ruin my brother's face? Can you honestly tell me that you didn’t defeat my brother because of Joanne's betrayal?" "Joanne just did what she felt was right. I don't think it was a betrayal." Stefan looked up and met Renee's gaze intently. They were so close that they could feel each other's breath on their skin, and suddenly, the air became thick with tension. Renee swallowed briefly and put some distance between them. She gritted her teeth and said, "As a man, you should at least have the integrity to admit to what you did. You tricked Joanna and ruined my brother… Don't you feel even the least bit guilty?""As opponents in a battle, it's only natural that there's a winner and a loser. If I didn’t do what I did, it might have been my face ruined or my corpse in the sea.""You..." Renee couldn't argue."Do you believe t
Renee felt relieved after getting Stefan's answer. Some part of her knew that the man wasn't as aloof and cruel as he made himself out to be. Although she did not have much time to carry out that difficult mission, at least Stefan would not do anything to Quinton during that period. She could leave Beach City with peace of mind.After she walked out of the president's office, she saw a lot of employees in the corridor. She only knew some of them, but all of them looked at her with sparkling eyes. "Hi, Mrs. Hunt!"When some of the senior employees saw her, they waved at her frantically as if they were fans who were meeting their idols."Umm… hi." Renee nodded politely before she corrected them, "Please don't address me as Mrs. Hunt anymore. I've divorced your president." She felt annoyed every time she thought about it. She had divorced the same man twice, and the second time had been thanks to Quinton. It was just like when Stefan pretended to be Mr. Q and married her. She was
Seraphina gritted her teeth and said, "Didn't you hear what the employees call you? If this goes on, Stefan will remember everything sooner or later, and it'll be bad for his brain if that happens. We both know what he experienced a year ago and how painful it was for him. He's better now, but seeing you will probably affect him. Don't you feel bad harming him again and again like this?""I... I didn't think of that." Renee lowered her head in shame after hearing that. Stefan nearly died by her hand a year ago, so she swore to God that she would never get back with him in exchange for his safety and happiness.However, even if she didn't do anything, sometimes things developed beyond her expectations. The grudge between Quinton and Stefan was the perfect example—she was caught in the middle of it, so she couldn't just stand aside and do nothing about it...Seraphina sniffled, wiping tears from her eyes. "Ms. Everheart, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to insult you, but my relationship wit
Renee returned to Carmine Pawnshop from Hunt Enterprise.Quinton had a great time chatting with Liam, so he invited both Liam and Leia to stay for dinner.Meanwhile, Renee booked a flight ticket to Goldshire, the capital of Cyndiago, at ten o'clock that night. A sumptuous dinner was served. Everyone chatted and ate happily, and the atmosphere was warm and harmonious."Come, let's toast! I hope we can all gather here for a good meal and fine wine every year from now on." Quinton raised his wine glass and proposed heartily."Cheers!" Everyone stood up and toasted. Even Aiden and Abigail raised their cups, not wanting to be left out.Since Quinton was in a good mood, Renee leaned over to him and said softly, "Quinton, can you promise me something?"Quinton smiled warmly at her. "Of course! You're my sister. You can have whatever you want.""I'm about to set off again..." "What?" Quinton's face immediately twisted with displeasure. "You just came back, so why the hell do you wan
"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
"This is your welcome ceremony. This hand-drum dance is to help eliminate bad luck." Leia held Renee's arm, satisfied with her arrangement. She said happily, "Listen to their song! It's a great song!""Is there a song?" Renee frowned; she felt that Leia was always doing bizarre things. She wondered how Leia could come up with such a preposterous welcome ceremony."Mm, listen carefully! It's English. You can understand it." At that point, Leia said to the Zambawi people, "Put on your microphone. And sing louder."The Zambawi people gave their cooperation. They used their typical Zambawi singing to sing the English song. While listening to the song, Renee found it very familiar. "The flowers will bloom in spring, and the birds are free. I'm still waiting, waiting for my love to come back. Hurry home!""Isn't that Spring Flowers by Curtis Harrett?" Renee finally recalled what song it was. It was a song with a happy beat. It could make people happy. The Zambawi people made th
"I don't know, either. All I ever remember from when I was young is that I led a very painful life. I once tried my best to make the Garcia family accept me. I did all the dirty and tiring jobs. I went out to work at an early age to get money for them. I also did all the house chores. "But my foster parents were never nice to me. They would always beat me up or scold me. My elder foster brother also saw me as an eyesore. He always tried to get me killed…" Quinton calmly described his past. He no longer seemed to be in pain. All that was left in him was numbness, as if he were talking about someone else.However, Renee was always in pain whenever she heard him talk about his past. She felt like she had returned to his past with him and experienced those painful things. It was normal for her to feel that way because they were twins. A lot of their thoughts and feelings were synchronized. "I suddenly recalled that I would inexplicably become gloomy many times when I was young. I