Lying in bed, Renee could feel a dull ache around her waist but it didn't affect her much. Both Leia and Justin exchanged hesitant glances when she said that, and Renee immediately picked up on it. "Don't tell me I'm really paralyzed?" "Stop saying such unlucky things!" Quinton grumbled and clenched his fists. "I'll get the best doctors in the world to cure you, there'll be no risks.""Calm down, I'm not that weak. Even if I'm really paralyzed, you guys can just let me go," Renee laughed and said indifferently. She felt that it was better to die instead of living like a useless person. "I don't want that, Ren! I don't want to see you suffer… You have to get better, okay?" Leia started crying again as she spoke.Sighing, Renee said, "Okay. Could you all please leave? I want to sleep." She hadn't been too bothered when she arrived at the hospital, but all the people who came to see her kept crying as if she was going to die tomorrow. "Okay, let's leave and let her rest." Quinton
"What do you think I'll do?" Stefan crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair, smiling wickedly."How would I know..." Renee tried to get her phone and warned him coldly, "Get out now or I'll call somebody." "Give up. You can't reach anybody at this time because I've stopped them all." Stefan laughed at Renee's naivety. Of course, he would have ways to stop others from coming since he had come to Renee's ward at this hour. "Yeah, you're right." Renee put her phone down and laid back on the bed with a sigh, then closed her eyes. "Go ahead if you want to take revenge. You can break my neck, and I won't even be able to stop you." Stefan frowned unhappily and scoffed, "Do you really think I'm that wicked?""No, I didn't say you're wicked..." Realizing he meant her no harm, Renee opened her eyes and glanced at him. "But we all know how vindictive you are, and you'll never allow yourself to suffer any losses. It's only fair for you to want to break my neck.""Oh, so being fair i
Renee held the bedsheet tightly and purposely criticized him to make him regain his wits because she was afraid that he would take liberties with her.Unfortunately, Stefan's wits helped him see through her trick. He murmured teasingly, "You've got me all wrong. I'm not a gentleman, and I am petty enough to use any means necessary to get what I want. I'd be a fool if I didn't enjoy the grand feast laid out before me." After that, he purposely slid his fingers across her collarbone and unbuttoned the first button of her hospital gown. More of her skin was exposed, and Stefan's gaze darkened with desire. "Stefan, I'll never forgive you if you don't stop this right now!" Renee exclaimed, her voice high-pitched with panic. "Weren't we a couple in the past? Although I seem to have forgotten everything about you, we must have been intimate given our relationship. Don't you think you're overreacting?" Stefan said casually, offering her a lazy smirk."So what if we were once a couple? Do
The atmosphere in the silent ward became tense, and after a while, Stefan finally bit out, "I've got to hand it to you—you had two kids secretly. I'm definitely a failure compared to you." "Thank you for your praise. You should hurry up and marry Miss Murphy so you can have lots of kids and catch up with me." Renee didn't care if he misunderstood her because she wanted to cut him out of her life. "I don't want kids," Stefan said icily."Why? Haven't you had enough fun already? Are you worried that you'll be bound by the kids?" Renee glanced at him while sighing. "Don't have kids if you don't want to—they're a big responsibility. You need to love them wholeheartedly and give up a lot for them, which might be tough for a self-centered person like you who likes their freedom. Your kids will suffer if that happens."As an experienced person, she was well aware of what a child meant to an adult. An adult had to sacrifice a lot to raise a child, and they had to shower the child with se
Stefan's reply was blunt: "If I was Justin, I would try my best to take the children, but I wouldn't force their mother.""Really?" Renee was filled with disappointment. Stefan was different from Justin—even if Justin didn't have children with her, he would still prioritize her. However, Stefan wouldn't think about her at all even if he had two children with her. Maybe it was a good thing that he had lost his memory, or else it would be a fierce battle with the Hunts competing for the children's custody."It's late. Can you go now since you've enjoyed witnessing my misery, Mr. Hunt?" Suddenly, Renee's mood turned foul, and she wanted to be left alone.Stefan got up and said indifferently, "Yeah, I should go now..." He took two steps, but stopped and said softly, "I would definitely try to force her to be with me… if it was you." "What?" Confused, Renee wanted to ask him what he meant, but Stefan had already left. Stefan clenched his fists in frustration as he walked away. His me
The phone rang for a long while but nobody picked up her call."Damn it! What's he doing? Why isn't he picking up my calls?" Seraphina snarled furiously. Before Ethan entered her room, she had tried to call him, but there had been no answer either. Had he blocked her number? Was he using another number?"Don't tell me he's dead!" Frustrated, Seraphina continued breaking things. Finally, right when she had lost all hope, that person called back. "What's the matter?" He sounded exasperated and annoyed, as if he wanted to end the call right away."Where the heck did you go, Jovan? I called you so many times!" Seraphina snapped. If this hadn't been an emergency, she wouldn't have wanted anything to do with him. "I asked you what's wrong." Jovan's voice was icy. Seraphina stopped behaving arrogantly and whispered, "Stefan has gotten suspicious and has hired a very capable neurosurgeon to have another brain surgery. Won't it expose what we did?""It doesn't matter to me. After all
Seraphina took a deep breath and decided to take a risk for the sake of her happiness. Right before Jovan could hang up on her, she quickly asked, "Out of curiosity, where have you been hiding recently? Didn't you promise to take Renee away from Beach City? Why is she still strutting around here? I'm afraid she'll get involved with Stefan again if you don't step in; you would've given up your eyes and blood to Stefan for nothing then!"Seraphina couldn't understand Jovan's willingness to give up his eyes and blood to save the man Renee loved, which had ultimately turned him into a useless man. People would certainly call him a naive and lovestruck fool. Even Seraphina felt that she had to hand it to him because she would never make such sacrifices for Stefan. Unfortunately, Jovan's sacrifices had only gotten him half a year with Renee. After that, she did whatever she wanted, and his sacrifices became futile. It was really pitiful!"It's none of your business. Plus, I'm not you—I lov
"No, it's fine." Jovan sounded gloomy and pathetic. An existence like this made him wonder if he was still alive, and he had no courage to meet Renee again. He sighed and said lightly, "I decided to leave her to set her free, and I don't regret it."Knowing Renee's character, she would not say no if he wanted to use her guilt to make her take care of him for the rest of his life. She would've readily abandoned her brother she had just been reunited with, her children, and her career half a year ago to lead a secluded life with him in Varangia, if Jovan had asked. During those six months, she took care of him as if he was a baby and never complained. Jovan felt it was enough; in his opinion, it had been more than worth it giving up his eyes and body in exchange for having her by his side for that time. Those memories were something he looked back on fondly, and he couldn't ask for more. However, Eloise couldn't figure out why the smart, sensitive, and competitive Jovan had become s
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