Almost a week passed. Renee longed for Stefan day and night, but he still didn't come. Meanwhile, Jovan enjoyed her misfortune and teased her, "What should you do? Your hero hasn't come to your rescue... You'd better spend the rest of your life with me. I won't mistreat you!" He shamelessly tried to get close to Renee, but Renee kicked him away. "Do you have to be like this every day?""Wasn't I right though?" Jovan sneered. "It's fine if it's a day or two, but it's already been two weeks, and he's nowhere to be seen. He's either dead, or he doesn't care about you.""Shut up!" Renee tried to punch Jovan, but Jovan grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms instead. "I know you're sad. To be honest, I'm sad too—I didn't expect that Stefan would be such a worthless piece of trash. He's too timid, and I defeated him easily!" "Let go of me!" Renee struggled in his grip, a look of disgust on her face. Jovan's embrace was more fervent and suffocating than Stefan's. It was like h
Renee spoke calmly, perfectly aware that her words would hurt Jovan.Jovan's lips twitched slightly, and his fingernails dug into his skin in anger. It had only been two weeks, and Renee had spent every day of them hurting him. However, he wasn't tired of it… Maybe he was going crazy."I don't get it. I'm a useless person, and I treat you badly. Why do you keep pestering me?" Renee looked helpless as she tried to persuade him, "You're now the boss of Hunt Enterprise, which makes you very rich. You can have any woman you want, so why are you wasting your time with me and making everyone unhappy?""Yeah, I don't know why either." Jovan smiled bitterly and stared at Renee. "So, let me pester you for a little longer. Maybe I'll get bored one day and let you go, right?"Renee paused and sighed. "Good point. I can't argue with that." She knew that Jovan was a stubborn man, and she wouldn't be able to change his mind. Besides, he might only give up if he got bored or disgusted. Inspired b
"Mmph!" Renee tensed. She never thought Jovan would be this bold, and punched his shoulders, trying to push him away. However, instead of letting her go, he tried to deepen the kiss. Renee squeaked and bit his lip, making him pull away with a hiss of pain. Renee wiped her lips and cursed him fiercely. "Are you out of your mind, Jovan? You said you wouldn't touch me without my permission. How could you break your word?" It was humiliating kissing a man she repulsed, but more than that… she felt guilty. Stefan had risked his life to save her, and his whereabouts were still unknown, but Renee had just kissed his enemy. She felt like killing herself.Slowly, Jovan wiped away the blood on his lips, a satisfied smile on his face. "It doesn't count since I was just kissing you as a friend. Besides, weren't you the one who asked for it?" "When did I do that?" "You said I wouldn't be able to bear the sight of your eyes when I kiss you, so… I just proved it to you. I can take it, and I enjo
Briar sneered. "Oh, I forgot. You're blind now, and I'm wearing a mask. You don't know who I am."Renee clenched her fists, her lips tightly pursed. She knew she had guessed right, and she had no choice but to face her, no matter how afraid she was to do it."You remember?" Briar saw Renee's expression, and her gaze slowly turned fierce and hateful. "You pushed me down the cliff, and I was crushed. I was in so much pain that I wanted to die, but I managed to crawl out of that hell because I told myself that I shouldn't be defeated that easily. No matter what, I had to take you down with me. Well, it certainly looks like I made the right choice." Briar sized Renee up, smirking when she saw Renee's empty and scarred eye sockets. "If I didn't hold on back then, I wouldn't have been able to see you turn this ugly and miserable! Not so smug now, are we?" "Ms. Desrosiers, watch your tongue." Jovan shot Briar a cold glance and warned her. "I didn't bring you here to hurt her." "It's oka
Renee's rare praise of Jovan made him feel uneasy, and he shrugged. "Don't say that. Briar and I are the same kind of people—we'll do whatever it takes to get what we want. So... she and I are now allies, and I'm happy we are.""You're stubborn, Jovan. I was wrong about you." Renee was angry at Jovan for deciding to work with Briar. She didn't want to talk to Briar either, so she stood up and clumsily made her way out.Jovan didn't go after her or explain—he just let her sulk, thinking badly of him. Briar crossed her arms and watched as Renee staggered and nearly fell several times as she walked away. Then, she turned and said to Jovan, "I thought you were a passionate person, but I guess you aren't that nice either since you didn't go comfort her or help her when she almost fell. I finally understand why she refuses to let Stefan go even though you've tried your best to win her over; if it were me, I would have chosen Stefan too."Jovan glared at Briar. "Don't talk about things
Briar wanted to become a member of the board of directors of Hunt Enterprise so she could decide the fate of the company and have the right to suppress Stefan."I..." It was rare to see Jovan look so defeated, and he kept his head bowed as he muttered, "I can't do it… at least not right now.""So, we can't reach a deal?" Briar snorted. "Why did you ask me to come here if you can't do it? You're wasting my time." Briar turned to leave, but Jovan stopped her. "I only said that I couldn't do it now. You have to give me time, or else my smart grandpa won't agree. If he gets upset, I might even lose my position, and then I won't be able to help you at all."Briar paused and contemplated it briefly. She knew she couldn't push him too hard, so she relented. "Fine, I'll give you one week. Is that enough?""I'll give it a shot." Jovan knew that getting what he wanted would just remain wishful thinking if his offer to Briar wasn't good enough.-Jovan decided to go to Hunt Manor to visit
Jovan smiled helplessly and shrugged. "I know that I'm just a mean little man to you. I can't hide anything from you.""No, you're not—you're just a boy who hasn't grown up yet. You're always so competitive. But… you're not a boy with any bad ideas," Timothy said honestly. Although he had stopped meddling in the affairs of Hunt Enterprise, he knew the issues between Stefan and Jovan as they competed for power. Jovan was talented and smart, but grew up in Stefan's shadow. As time went by, he found it more and more unacceptable, and would always find fault with Stefan. Even if they both gained a hundred marks in a test, Jovan would complain if his score was not written as nicely as Stefan's. Timothy didn't mind their fighting as long as Hunt Enterprise was still owned by their family, so as long as the person managing the company was capable, he would let them be."You flatter me." Jovan was moved as he added, "Everyone thinks I'm crafty and wicked, but you're the only other person who
"Me?" Timothy frowned and hurriedly asked, "How is she now? How can I help? I'll try my best to help her." "Umm, she... There's a problem with her eyes, and she's in urgent need of an eye transplant from a suitable donor. Unfortunately, the condition is that you need to let a woman you hate join the board of directors of Hunt Enterprise," Jovan admitted, revealing the deal he had with Briar. Simply put, Briar had told Jovan that she had found a suitable pair of eyes for Renee, but the condition was that she be allowed to join the board of directors of Hunt Enterprise and be a part of the company's decision-making processes and dividends. It was a greedy, tricky offer, but it was because she wanted to make a grand comeback as Briar. Jovan was immediately moved when he heard that Briar could help cure Renee's eyes, and he was even willing to transfer more than half of the shares of the company to Briar. Unfortunately, he could not decide on the addition of a new member to the board of
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