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.
Currently, the Hunt family was still the leading family of The Great Eight of Beach City, so the Murphys didn't dare to offend them."You ran out of options?" Francine sneered. "Aren't you just here to show off? Why pretend to be sorry? Just tell me why you're here.""It's about my dear daughter. She had her heart set on your son, and the wedding date was already decided and people were informed, but now… she can't even meet her future husband. What kind of crap is that?" Ethan gritted his teeth to keep his hatred at bay."Well, it's a delicate situation. I'm sure your daughter didn't tell you that she wanted to kill my son's surgeon to prevent the surgery. How else could I guarantee that she wouldn't do anything to my son?" Francine bluntly exposed what Seraphina did. She knew Seraphina had taken good care of Stefan for the last six months, and she couldn't really find fault with her. If nothing had happened, she would have been happy to see Seraphina marry Stefan since they were c
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
"I'm sorry." When Renee heard that from Quinton, she realized the conflict between him and Stefan had yet to be resolved. It was temporarily put aside because of her. She occasionally saw him and Stefan talk to each other and drink together, but they merely put on a show to ease her mind. Their hatred for each other hadn't been eliminated. Instead, it was growing secretly. If Renee were Quinton, she might never forgive the person who had snatched away her beloved and seized her identity. That person even ruined her face."Why did you say sorry to me? It's the resentment between him and me. It has nothing to do with you. Plus, I didn't know he was my brother-in-law then. If I knew, I wouldn't have fought him." When Quinton recalled those affairs, he realized that people were nothing but the sport of fate. If there had been no resentment between him and Stefan, Renee might not have broken up with Stefan. Their families might even get closer. "Stop bringing up the past. It's
During these days, Renee was under pressure because of her affairs. She had no chance to ask Quinton about it. Now, the long flight gave them a chance to have a deep conversation. They could talk about their woes and seek consolation."Me?" Quinton lowered his head and shook his head helplessly. "I'm still the same old me. Nothing is troubling me. I've been busy with Carmine Pawnshop. I have no time to think about other stuff.""You have no time?" Renee touched her chin and smiled naughtily. "Then, you must have been dwelling on other stuff. Let me guess… Is it the thing between you and Joanne?" "Stop asking so much." Quinton did not deny it but refused to talk much about that. "It looks like I made the right guess. You fell out with Joanne, didn't you?" Renee knew Quinton well. Generally, his work would not affect his mood. The only person who could affect his mood was Joanne, who shared a complicated relationship with him. Before Renee left Beach City, she had created a l
After a long while, Quinton turned around. He looked at Renee, who was across from him, and heaved a long sigh."We're about to go home soon. Why do you look this gloomy? What's wrong…? Are you reluctant to part with this place?" Quinton said. "No, I'm not." Renee poured herself a glass of orange juice and sipped it. She frowned and dwelled on it before she said, "I feel empty inside. I don't know if I made the right choice.""Empty?" Quinton asked curiously."I think I've said goodbye to a steady life since I decided to leave. Maybe I'll keep on wandering from now on," Renee said melancholically. The reason why she chose to give it a try with Justin because she was tired. She was exhausted from leading a wandering life and wanted to settle down with someone. Others could not give her the sense of security like Justin. When she saw him, she inexplicably wanted a home. At that time, she thought she could forget about everything and start a new life with him. Unexpectedly, she
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc