Suddenly, Renee found something amiss. She couldn't feel the wind, but it didn't feel like the wind had stopped. Rather, it felt like something was blocking the wind. Frowning, she asked hesitantly, "Margaret?" Only silence greeted her.Renee could hear someone's rapid breathing, and felt their gaze on her skin. "You aren't Margaret, are you?" Margaret wasn't tall enough to be able to block out the breeze entirely, and she would have answered Renee by now. Also, this person smelled like grass, ambergris, and medical disinfectant. Finally, she realized who it was. Renee clenched her fists and asked coolly, "What are you doing here, Stefan?" Stefan's heartbeat quickened, and he stared at Renee's eyes in disbelief. "Your... eyes?""You came at last." Renee wasn't surprised because Adie had warned her about Stefan's desire to meet her. People usually needed around two weeks to recover after brain surgery, but he had come here in less than a week. His wound had probably just healed; t
"We're even..." Stefan stared at Renee, and his voice shook as he said, "Does that mean we can start over?"Renee's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, she was thrown off guard. "Stop messing around. It's not funny." She never felt that they could start over. After all, many things had happened, and they were already heartbroken. If they started over, they would go down the same path and get hurt again."Yeah, I was just joking. If you don't think it's funny, I'll stop." Taking a deep breath, Stefan moved closer to Renee and suggested calmly, "It doesn't mean that we have to be lovers or married if we start over… but I think we can restart our relationship. As for our future, we can wait and see what destiny holds for us. Maybe we'll be good competitors or friends, but if nothing else... you're the mother of my children. We can be good partners. What do you think?" Stefan's words calmed Renee's tension for some reason. She swallowed and asked, "Do you really think so? Or… do yo
It seemed rather cost-effective to hire a capable live-in helper like Stefan, but Renee found it weird. He was always cold and distant, so why had he become so shameless after his brain recovery surgery?"Just say yes. You can always kick me out if it doesn't work out, right?" Stefan urged Renee. Since Renee couldn't find a reason to reject him, she said grumpily, "Whatever. I can't see, so it doesn't matter to me.""So, you said yes..." Stefan's deep-set eyes brightened immediately. The first step had gone much more smoothly than he thought. Being persistent was quite effective when dealing with Renee. Margaret's voice came from the manor at that moment. "Ms. Ren, whose luggage is at the door..." Margaret entered the front yard, looking confused when she saw Stefan. "What are you doing here, Master Hunt? What are you trying to do to Ms. Ren?" Margaret immediately ran over to stand in front of Renee and glared at Stefan, saying firmly, "You're not welcome here. Please leave!" R
Margaret was baffled to see Stefan run happily to the backyard in search of his room. "Why is Mr. Hunt so happy to stay in the doghouse? Did they remove a part of his brain during the surgery?" Margaret asked seriously. Speechless, Renee shook her head in confusion. "I don't know why he's suddenly become so shameless. I couldn't get rid of him.""Do you want me to be the bad guy and drive him out?" Margaret asked, raising a brow. Her opinion of Stefan was based on Renee's—if Renee liked him, she would welcome him; if she didn't, Margaret would dislike him too."Just let him be. I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve..." Renee had done this out of consideration for her two children. "The kids are still so young, but I'm blind now, and you're getting old. Plus, Quinton isn't back yet. If our enemies come, we're powerless against them. I think we might as well keep Stefan around.""Yes, you're right, Ms. Ren." Margaret nodded approvingly, but still asked, "Do you want him to
Besides, Margaret found it a little pitiful if Stefan was forced to stay in the doghouse right before his big battle. "Haha! I certainly won't ask him to stay in the doghouse. Go and clean up the storeroom in the backyard, the room that used to be my father's workroom. My father loved to make things there for my mother and I there whenever he was free. When the fire burned down this manor, that storeroom was the only room left. Stefan might get lucky if he stays there." In the past, Renee loved to play in that storeroom because it was a comfortable room with nice weather all year round. Unfortunately, she couldn't see it anymore. "Okay, I'll go and clean it up for him now," Margaret agreed. She could tell that Renee still cared about Stefan very much. Both Renee and Stefan still valued each other whether they were a couple or not, and their concern for each other was already more than enough. Margaret went to the backyard and found Stefan standing in front of the doghouse, which
Stefan stared at the drawing in shock, instantly recognizing the woman in the sketch. It was none other than Francine, his mother. It was a younger version of Francine, just like how he remembered her when he was three or four years old. But why was his mother's sketch in Renee's father's workroom?"I'm done making the bed for you, Mr. Hunt." After cleaning up the room, Margaret went to Stefan. She saw the sketch just as Stefan wanted to put it away, and asked curiously, "Do you know the woman in the drawing, Mr. Hunt?""I..." Stefan swallowed, then asked carefully, "Was there any kind of relationship between this woman and Renee's father?""I'm not sure about that, but I know that the late Mr. Everheart cherished this sketch very much. It might be a person he had imagined. Whenever I came to clean this room, I often saw him staring at the sketch in a trance..." Margaret said softly, "The late Mr. and Mrs. Everheart had a very deep relationship and were a match made in heaven. T
After a brief silence, Renee said coldly, "Okay." She wasn't an unreasonable person, and she knew Stefan. He might keep quiet, but he would never lie.Seeing how good the weather was, Stefan suggested to Renee, "What would you like to eat today? We can go to the nearby market to get some fresh ingredients, and I'll cook for you.""You want to cook for me?" Renee asked doubtfully, "Are you sure you won't burn down my kitchen?""Trust me, I've been studying recipes lately, so I'm good at cooking now," Stefan said confidently. While recuperating at the hospital, he had put his work aside to figure out what he could do for Renee after meeting her. He wanted to sit with her in the sun and enjoy the breeze. He also wanted to cook a lot of nice food for her, which was why he had ordered Elijah to buy him a lot of cookbooks. He had studied many delicious dishes to cook for Renee after getting back together with her because he didn't want to see her so slim. "You're too thin; it might be rel
Both Renee and Stefan arrived at the nearby mall. After Stefan had parked the car, he opened the door for Renee and helped her out of the car. They had changed into casual clothes with caps, making them look like a normal couple who went there to buy ingredients after work. They gave off the same elegant aura, making them look like a perfect match. Renee unconsciously depended on Stefan to get around because the place was unfamiliar to her, and held his arm tightly, not daring to let go."What would you like to eat?" Stefan kept his head low and whispered in Renee's ear tenderly."Adie loves eating fish, and Abby loves eating beef. And I'm not a picky eater," Renee said after a while. She was willing to go out with him because she wanted to tell him about the children's preferences. If anything happened to her one day, at least she knew he would take good care of the children. "But we're going to buy the kids' favorites as well as yours," Stefan insisted, again asking Renee what sh
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