Renee picked up the bouquet from the table and hugged it, smiling happily. "Are these roses? They smell so good. I'm sure they're very pretty." "I saw them on the way here. Roses suit you well because you're as pretty and passionate as them," Stefan said charmingly to Renee."You're so different now—everything you say is romantic! You never said anything like this in the past," Renee complained shyly. In the past, Stefan was serious and reserved, and never even spoke much to her. Things had not been easy for them all these years, so Renee cherished these moments greatly. Stefan helped Renee cut the steak up, knowing she might have a bit of difficulty with it.Renee lowered her head to eat, and pretended to ask nonchalantly, "Was it difficult for you during today's meeting?"Stefan paused and replied calmly, "Being president has never been easy. I'm used to it.""They must have made things difficult for you. After all, the internal conflicts in your company are now on the news."
Stefan's reaction frightened Renee, and she realized she had gone too far. "I'm sorry. I just... didn't want you to regret it in the future," Renee mumbled. She knew he was a privileged man who was used to power and respect. If he one day became an outcast because of family and love, she would be heartbroken. She didn't want to see him sad."It's up to me if I'll regret it or not. I'm an adult, and I can tell what's important to me." Stefan held Renee's hand and said tenderly, "Our love is like a crystal—it's beautiful and pure but very fragile. We need to take care of it together; I don't want to see the love we finally found disappear. Can you have a little confidence in me?" "Okay, I'll stop trying to persuade you. We'll face the storm together." Renee took a deep breath, wondering if she was convincing him or herself. Honestly, she was the one with the most doubts and fears. Back then, she was brave because she still had her sight, and she knew she could help Stefan face any cha
As a man, he hated saying sentimental things and crying, but he had done both countless times because of Renee. Stefan felt that he would be at her mercy for the rest of his life..."Hmph! It's good that you know it. Listen—I'm the best wife in the world, so you have to love me forever." After that, Renee held his neck and kissed him. The alcohol made her feel relaxed, and exposed her true desires. She had been wanting to kiss Stefan for ages, but was always too shy to. However, thanks to the wine, she could freely kiss him to make up for their long separation."Mm, you... you're drunk, right?" Stefan knew that this enthusiasm only appeared when she was dreaming or drunk. Stefan was flattered, but didn't dare to respond to her kisses for fear of scaring her."That's not important. I just want to kiss you today." Renee held Stefan's face and kissed him so intensely that they both tumbled off the chair."Should we... go upstairs?" Stefan asked hoarsely, breathing hard. "Sure." Grip
"Tess?" Renee asked hesitantly. It could only be Tess, but Renee became cautious when there was no answer. She asked coldly, "You're not Tess?""It's me, Ms. Everheart." Finally, Tess spoke, but she didn't sound like her usual lively self.Frowning, Renee asked, "Is something wrong?""Nothing. I... Something happened with my family." Tess tried to sound more cheerful as she asked, "What can I do for you, Ms. Everheart?""Oh, get the loose-knit sweater on the left side of the wardrobe for me.""Okay." Tess nodded and walked over to the wardrobe and got the sweater, then handed it to Renee. Renee took the sweater and put it on skillfully. Although she was blind, she could take care of herself just fine. In Tess' opinion, it was easier to work for Renee than other healthy employers. She also genuinely liked Renee, but… Tess sighed as she stared at her beautiful and kind employer. It was time to go downstairs for breakfast. She usually prepared a glass of milk, whole-wheat toast, an
However, Renee knew that something must be troubling Tess, so she didn't want to ask her anything further.In the afternoon, Margaret came home with the two children, and Tess clocked out of work. Tess carried her bag and walked on the empty street with a troubled mind. Every step she took felt heavy. When she reached the door of her house, someone blocked her way."Did you do what I asked you to?" The woman wore black clothes and a large hat that hid more than half of her scarred face."I did what you asked. When are you going to let my mother go?" Tess sobbed as she begged the woman."Keep doing it. I'll let your mother go in ten days." The woman grabbed Tess' collar and threatened her, "Don't you dare play any tricks, you hear? Your mother is doomed if you miss a day or add a lower dosage. Do you understand?" "Y-Yes." Tess swallowed and dared not disobey her. Only then did the woman let her go, and turned to leave."Wait!" Tess stopped her."What do you want?" "I want to a
After falling into the pond and being bitten by a sea snake, Leia suffered from temporary shock and was hospitalized. She was lucky that she survived, but the show had to be paused. The netizens had many discussions about her love triangle with Xavier and Santiago—some liked her, some hated her, and some kept a neutral stand. Some liked Xavier, some liked Santiago, and some liked Leia, and those three groups had endless fights on the Internet, making the three people very famous. Leia was practically a superstar. After being rescued, Leia suffered from a temporary sequela—she lost her voice and couldn't speak. During her hospitalization, both Xavier and Santiago took turns taking care of her, creating a strange battlefield in her ward. That day, Xavier went to Leia's ward early after settling his company's affairs, but Santiago was earlier than him. The generally quiet and handsome superstar behaved like a comedian, telling jokes while peeling fruits for Leia and making her laugh. "L
Xavier happened to hear their conversation outside the ward, and he rolled his eyes as he walked in with a golden velvet cake he had just bought. "What's the good of eating apples? They're cold and bad for your teeth... This, on the other hand, is a golden velvet cake I bought for you after much effort and lining up." Xavier stood between Santiago and Leia before handing the cake to Leia. Although Leia scowled at Xavier, she had actually been craving that famous golden velvet cake, so she didn't reject it. Besides, the chef that made the golden velvet cake only made three of them a day, and they could only be bought if the person was sincere enough. Leia had tried lining up several times and begged the chef for ages, but hadn't managed to get it. Somehow, Xavier had managed to get it, which meant he had probably put a lot of effort into it."Apples are nutritious, and that cake is too sweet. Lei is recovering now, so she can't have too much sugar." With a cold expression, Santiago s
Xavier's words made the atmosphere tense, and Leia felt like she was going to go crazy with the two men constantly fighting over her. Furious, she typed a message on her phone and showed it to Xavier and Santiago. "You two don't have to come and take care of me from tomorrow onwards. I don't want to see either of you.""I'm sorry, Lei, it's my fault. I shouldn't have forced you." Santiago immediately apologized to Leia. His innocent gaze made him look like a college student, and it could soften any woman's heart. The brash Xavier knew he couldn't win against that boyish face. He gritted his teeth and glared at Santiago, muttering, "Sissy boy!" However, Santiago didn't get mad, and just hung his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stuart. I know I should be friendly towards people who love Lei sincerely, but I'm very much into her. My possessiveness got the better of me and I said something rude. I'll go now; I don't want to make Lei unhappy.""Stop pretending! You're just faking it for b
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
"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