"Of course I know who you are." Stefan's gaze was cold, his tone vague. "I thought you were dead." Previously, Seraphina had threatened Renee with a video of Renee accidentally pushing Briar off a cliff. Thanks to that, Renee and Stefan had lost so much time with each other. Stefan had thought that Briar was dead given the surging waves below the cliff, but he was ultimately relieved to see her.Briar cried under the mask. She looked at Stefan and asked, "How did you feel when you saw that I'm alive?""I was thankful." Stefan didn't hesitate. "I'm thankful that you're alive and that I can still talk to you." "Do you mean it?" Briar was surprised. "I thought you hated me and wanted me dead." "Yes, I do hate you. Ren and I wouldn't have wasted so many years if not for you, but... I'm thankful that you're still alive. It means that Ren doesn't have to carry all that guilt. She doesn't have to turn herself in," Stefan said honestly.Briar staggered back, feeling like she had just be
"So, you're not that stupid after all—you know that my brother was the best man you've ever met. Unfortunately, you were never sincere towards him. You're unworthy of his love!" Stefan snarled, his fingers digging into Briar's neck. He took a deep breath, trying his best to hold himself back. If his deceased brother knew that his beloved woman turned out to be such a wicked and hypocritical witch, he might not rest in peace. "I admit that I've wronged your brother, but who do we blame? You, of course!" Briar didn't flinch even though Stefan almost broke her neck. She held his arms, tears in her eyes from the pain as she stared at him. "If it weren't for you, your brother wouldn't have died. I would still be with him, and I might have even fallen in love with him as time went by. What right do you have to criticize me?"Stefan's heart skipped a beat. That was Stefan's sore point, and something he had hidden from others. Yes, Briar was not a nice person—she had never loved Tristan and
Stefan's grip on Briar's neck tightened. Time was life; the more they delayed the more at risk Renee was. Stefan had to get the answer now."Yes, I did," Briar said instantly."Do you have a death wish? How can you be so wicked?" Stefan growled, unable to control his anger. He didn't expect Briar to be so cruel; she clearly felt no guilt or remorse even though she had harmed another person. Stefan was in disbelief. "Am I wicked?" Briar sneered. "I just let her have a taste of her own medicine. She put me in a living hell, so I did the same to her. What have I done wrong?""I watched that video. She didn't push you down the cliff on purpose, she was just trying to protect herself. It was you who tried to kill her!" "I'm not talking about her pushing me down the cliff..." Briar watched Stefan calmly, then said nonchalantly, "She put me in a living hell by snatching you away. You and I were a couple, and everything was going smoothly. Even though it was fake, I believed that we wo
Stefan sneered, feeling like Briar was crazy and without any self-awareness. "The most pathetic thing someone can do is overestimate themselves. I know what kind of woman I want, and she's already mine. Even if Renee never existed, I would never be with you. Not in this life, my next life, or any other life!" Since young, Stefan had always attracted women because of his good looks and personality, so he was good at turning women down, but this was the first time he had done it so cruelly. Briar had no morals, so he felt he didn't need to be polite to her."Stefan, aren't you afraid your claim will get shot down in flames?" Briar grinned at him as if she expected such an answer from him. She had always known that Stefan felt nothing for her, that his heart was locked without a key. She could never make him open up to her no matter how hard she tried, and it had nothing to do with Renee. Stefan was right—it was impossible between Stefan and Briar even if Renee was not around.But love
"Cut the crap, Briar!" Stefan clenched his fists tightly, his eyes bloodshot. "Do you think I can't do anything about you? The medical field is very advanced now, and I have ways to cure her even if I don't know what you poisoned her with. And you... have lost your only chance to run away."Briar didn't even blink as he threatened her, and became even more arrogant. "Really? Do it then! You can do what Renee did and push me down the cliff. After all, my life doesn't matter, so it's worth it if I die in your hands. But… I just feel bad for Renee. She has to suffer so much, and she'll lose her only chance of survival because of your ridiculous chauvinism.""How dare you!" Infuriated, Stefan raised his fist, but he didn't punch her. He hissed out a breath and snapped, "So, what is it you want?" At the moment, he couldn't be irrational—Briar could determine Renee's life or death. Briar had probably planned all this, so there was no way she would let Stefan get what he wanted without some
"Let's not hurry. It's a long night, and there's so much we can do..." Despite Stefan's anger, Briar was calm."Forget it if you don't want to say it. I don't have time to waste on you." Stefan glared at Briar coldly and turned to leave. He wasn't intending to leave, he just wanted to make Briar think he was."Wait!" Briar became anxious as expected, and stopped him immediately. "Shouldn't you give me something in exchange for the information?"Speechless, Stefan turned back to Briar."I know that we can't be a couple. I don't care about forever as long as I have it once... You have to stay with me from now until tomorrow morning. If you make me happy, I'll give you the components of the poison," Briar said finally. She hadn't been teasing Stefan earlier—she really did want his body. "Enough is enough, Briar!" Stefan's disgust for her grew. He thought that Briar was merely joking, and didn't know a woman could be this shameless. "That's the only thing I want. Stay if you're wi
After that, Briar boldly stood on tiptoe and hooked her arms around Stefan's neck. Stefan remained silent and didn't push Briar away. His thoughts were unknown.-Renee woke up from heart-wrenching pain the next day."Stefan, Stefan..." She subconsciously shouted Stefan's name. Her pain had subsided a little ever since Stefan had found out about it, and she even considered him her painkiller, but something felt off today. Stefan always appeared whenever she called for him, but she had heard nothing from him since yesterday. She had no idea where he was. "What do you need help with, Ms. Ren?" Margaret rushed into the room when she heard Renee crying out pitifully. She felt very sorry for Renee. "Margaret, it hurts. It hurts so much..." Renee stopped acting strong when she heard Margaret's voice, and burst into tears. Margaret was the nanny who had raised Renee, and often acted like Renee's mother. People needed their mothers the most when they were in pain. "I'm here, Ms. Ren
"What should we do?" Margaret anxiously watched Renee writhe and moan in pain. At her wits' end, she put her palms together and looked up, sobbing. "Sir, Madam, please bless Ms. Ren if you feel sorry for her. Please let Mr. Hunt come back right away!"And suddenly, just like a miracle, the door to Renee's bedroom swung open, and in walked Stefan."Thank God you're home, Mr. Hunt! Ms. Ren really needs you right now!" Margaret said in relief, wiping her tears away. Renee's parents probably couldn't stand to see their daughter suffer such pain, so they sent Stefan home."I'm sorry I'm late. I'm sorry!" Stefan looked exhausted. His perfect appearance was gone—his chin was full of stubble and his puffy eyes had dark circles underneath them. He looked like he had lost his soul. "I'm here. It'll stop hurting soon..." Stefan rushed to Renee's bed and held her hand tightly like he never wanted to let it go."You're annoying. Where did you go?" When Stefan's hand touched hers, her anger surp
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