Francine ignored the bodyguard and carried Adie as she walked toward Stefan's ward, but she stopped when she reached the door, looking hesitant."What's wrong, Grandma?" Adie stared at Francine in confusion."Well… your daddy's just gone through surgery, and it's been only a few days since he's woken up. I'm worried that your sudden appearance might trigger him..." Francine's worry wasn't groundless—although Stefan's brain recovery surgery was successful, he was different after waking up. He just stared into the distance blankly, refusing to have contact with others. Francine didn't know if Stefan had regained his memories or not, and she was worried that seeing Adie might trigger him."Your son isn't weak, Grandma, and I'm not a monster. Why would I trigger him? If he was really that useless, I wouldn't have come to him for help," Adie said seriously. Although he felt that Stefan was a scumbag, he had to admit that his father was strong. If he wasn't, Renee wouldn't have loved him
Francine hesitated briefly, then finally agreed to Elijah's suggestion. Adie entered the ward alone, and walked through the long vestibule. After a while, he saw Stefan, who was sitting on a hospital bed. Since Stefan had just had surgery, his head was wrapped in bandages, and he looked rather weak. His lips were pale, and it looked like he might faint at any second. The strangest thing about him though, were his eyes. They used to be sharp and bright, but now, they were void and blank. The great Stefan Hunt looked like a zombie.Initially, Adie has been very dissatisfied with Stefan, but after he saw how pitiful he looked, he felt sorry for him. He couldn't even find the words to insult Stefan, and after staring at him for a while, the little boy carefully whispered, "Stefan?"Stefan had been staring outside the window, but when he heard Adie, he turned to him with bright eyes. "You're... Adie?" Images flooded Stefan's mind, and the last one was a lovely memory of him and his
They loved each other deeply, but the pain of being together seemed greater than when they were apart. If that was the case, Stefan felt that it was more logical to distance himself from Renee. "What do you mean? Are you going to give my mommy up?" Stefan's words filled Adie with displeasure. It was one thing prohibiting Stefan from getting close to Renee, but it was another thing if Stefan tried to stay away from Renee."No, it's not that I want to give her up, but I... I just want her to be happy," Stefan said quietly, feeling like he could never make Renee happy. "It's useless if all you do is talk; you have to do something if you want to make my mommy happy. Yes, I said I don't want to see you with my mommy, but why didn't you try to change my mind?" Adie huffed disapprovingly, then demanded, "Do you still love my mommy?" "Yes, I do." Stefan nodded firmly without any hesitation."Then, have you ever tried to win a woman over?" Adie asked, raising a brow."No..." After thin
Adie looked at Stefan solemnly. "My mommy might be in trouble because even though she couldn't do video calls, she could still make voice calls. I don't think she's being controlled by someone, and I've already found her location… but I can't save her. I need your help.""What?" Anxiety seized Stefan when he recalled that Renee's last location had been in Jovan's manor. He clenched his fists, ashamed at himself for thinking that she had been on a date with Jovan when there was clearly something more sinister at hand. If she wasn't in trouble, she would have surely had a video call with her children. "Stop daydreaming. Are you going to help or not? If you can't, I'm going to call the cops and ask them for help." Adie had regarded Stefan as his last resort, and he could only call the cops if Stefan refused to help. However, he knew that the cops would be very slow, and they would definitely ask for evidence. In fact, the cops might not even take him seriously since he was just a child
Stefan had considered the possibility that Renee might be dating Jovan, which was why it might have been inconvenient for her to video call her children. However, since Adie had come to Stefan for help, he now had the excuse to meddle in it, and there was no way he was letting go of this opportunity. Elijah quickly called some people over to go to Jovan's manor."Well... Although you're disloyal, you're efficient. That's good." Adie gave Stefan a thumbs-up and declared, "Initially, you had a negative hundred points, but now you've earned yourself one point, so your current total is negative ninety-nine points. Work harder, and you can get back with my mommy once you get a hundred points." Both Stefan and Elijah were amused by Adie's words.Elijah teased, "It's going to take a long time for them to get back together, Adie. Aren't you afraid that they might find someone new by then?""If that happens, it means they aren't a perfect match. In that case, it's okay even if they find
Adie immediately felt relieved, and warned Stefan, "You have to keep your word and come see my mommy, or... I'll deduct 100 points!""Don't worry, I'll keep my word. We can pinky swear on it." Stefan smiled affectionately at Adie and held his hand out."How childish! Only kids do pinky swears," Adie scoffed, but still walked over and hooked his pinky with Stefan's. He glared at Stefan and said, "It's a deal. Don't break it."Margaret took Adie's hand and they left the room, but Francine quickly caught up to them. She couldn't bear to see Adie leave. "Are you going home so soon? How was your chat with your daddy, Adie? Did he remember who you were?" Francine rarely met Adie, so she always cherished every second she had with him."It wasn't too bad. I gave him one point," Adie said coolly. Honestly, he didn't feel much for his grandmother because he didn't spend much time with her. He was on Renee's side, so naturally, he regarded Stefan and those around Stefan as his enemies. He kne
"Yes, I remember everything." Stefan said indifferently, "To be more specific, I've only remembered the happy memories. The unhappy memories are quite blurry now." It was because he had been deliberately trying to forget about the unhappy times. He and Renee had been through a lot, and all those memories exhausted him, which was why he'd decided to keep only the good memories."What's your plan now?" Francine asked directly. She hadn't planned to ask him initially, but seeing Adie had filled her with joy. She wanted to be with her grandkids every day, so she secretly hoped that Stefan would try to get back with Renee. "I don't have any," Stefan replied bluntly."What do you mean? Don't you want to win Renee back? Do you want your children to call another man 'father'? You might be able to accept that, but I can't!" Francine huffed and looked away in frustration. Her son was just as timid as her husband—he was a coward when it came to love affairs, and even when he tried, he was hes
"It's okay, I won't force you to answer since you've just recovered!" Francine interrupted Stefan quickly. She didn't want him to say no, and besides, everything depended on whether Renee would accept him. She thought about it for a while, then suggested, "If you're worried about your incompatibility, I'll go to The Soul Rocks to ask the expert there to help you. I'll make sure to get rid of all obstacles for you." Elijah gave Francine a thumbs-up. "That's a great idea, Madam Francine." After that, he looked at Stefan. "Please rest well, Mr. Hunt. We'll try and help you settle Ms. Everheart's issue and the company affairs. For now, the most important thing is for you to rest well and get better." The harmonious atmosphere was interrupted by a bodyguard running into the room, looking distraught. "Madam, please come out for a while. We need your help to handle something."Francine glared at the bodyguard and said to Stefan, "Rest well, Stef. I'll go and see what the uproar is about.
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