"Ren, you're awake? Did you have a good rest?" Ava awkwardly waved at Renee, feeling embarrassed. She hated gossiping about others behind their backs, but the one time she had done it, the person involved had heard her!"Renee!" Jeffrey turned around, his face pale and expression guilty."Ren, don't be mad. My son says stupid things sometimes, so don't take it to heart." Ava assumed that Renee had heard everything, so she tried to defend Jeffrey.Renee descended the stairs calmly and said bitterly, "It's okay. I wish I was possessed so I could get an expert to help me get rid of the demon, but unfortunately... that won't help me this time." "Don't say such things. I know you're upset. You can tell me anything. I'll give you some advice." Ava treated Renee like a daughter and led her to sit in the living room on the first floor."It's nothing much. I'm just being a fool in love. It isn't a big deal," Renee admitted openly. She was afraid that they'd assume a demon had possessed he
"Mom, don't say that..." Jeffrey frowned and looked embarrassed. "You make it sound like I'm an idiot. I'm not that weak. I choose to stay here to take care of you both and help you. If I go out to make a living, I'm sure I can adapt to it." Jeffrey didn't want Renee to regard him as a useless idiot, so he quickly tried to defend himself."Well, have you been away from the village or to the city? Do you know how to fly on a plane, ride a train, or use the subway? What can you do other than fishing?" Ava didn't realize Jeffrey was trying to impress Renee, and was upset that her obedient son was opposing her."I… I don't, but I can learn. You both didn't allow me to go out of the village because you didn't want me to meet bad people. You both are the ones who didn't give me a chance to see the world!" Jeffrey protested stubbornly, rebelling against his parents for the first time. Renee hurriedly tried to mediate the situation when she noticed that they were about to get into a fight.
Renee spent a few more days at Joyner Village, and it was the most relaxing time she'd had lately. She woke up early to watch the sunrise and enjoyed the sunset too. She even went out to the sea with Ava and her family sometimes, and if she was lucky, she could see dolphins and swim with them. After a while, her injured heart started to heal, and eventually, the pain had almost faded completely.One day, she was chatting with the villagers, and heard the legend of the sea witch again. They would always mention the horrible story of an adopted son killing his entire foster family whenever they mentioned the sea witch, and Renee always wondered if the boy in the story was Quinton, her brother. Curious, she decided to go to the village her brother had stayed at because she wanted to know more about her brother's past. However, she wasn't familiar with the area, so Jeffrey readily agreed to go with her when he found out her plan. When Cole and Ava heard that, they chose to support her eve
Renee wondered if the fisherman's family had adopted Quinton willingly or been forced to. Maybe they knew something about Quinton's family background. There was no point in listening to rumours—she had to go there and find out herself."Your brother?" Ava tilted her head, looking puzzled. "Shouldn't your brother be living with you? Why would he live in Garcia Village? Did you live there when you were young? I'm sure you would have mentioned it if you did.""It's a long story. I'll tell you in detail when we're free." Renee didn't say much because she herself didn't know why Quinton had ended up in Garcia Village. She had to find out the truth on her own.After a while, Jeffrey finally finished cooking the seafood and kept everything in a cooler box. "Let's go, Renee. I've made enough food for several meals for the both of us." Jeffrey smiled brightly, looking like an eager child going out to play. However, Ava looked worried and could not stop sighing. "Son, you must be careful wh
"It's… you?" Renee's eyes widened in surprise when she turned around and came face-to-face with Daisy."Ah, I'm sorry, Miss..." Daisy ducked her head awkwardly. "I overheard that you both were going to Garcia Village, so I hid on the boat early so I could follow. I didn't scare you, did I?" Renee was speechless. "Why did you follow us?""Garcia Village is infamous for being dangerous, but you both decided to come here for an adventure. I also wanted to come here, but the most important thing is..." Daisy shoved Renee's hands away and said righteously, "I have to keep an eye on you so you don't harm Jeff!" She firmly believed that the sea witch had possessed Renee and that Renee would harm Jeffrey, so she felt that she had to watch Renee at all times. "How could you...".Renee smacked her forehead and complained, "Your imagination certainly runs wild. Don't you have to go to school?" "I stopped going to school ages ago. My mom said I'll marry Jeff when I'm eighteen years old, so
Delighted, Renee hurried toward the house, but abruptly stopped as she got closer. A chill ran down her spine. "Renee, the lights are on in this house, so someone should be living here, right?" Jeffrey had been walking beside Daisy during the journey, but hurried to catch up with Renee. When he and Daisy arrived at the door of that house, they gasped, the blood draining from their faces."Umm... Isn't that a coffin? There are candles around it too… Did… someone die here?" Daisy grabbed Jeffrey's arm and stammered."What bad luck! We should leave." Renee had been through a lot already, and knew she couldn't afford any more bad luck if she offended any spirits in the house."Yeah, let's... look for another house." Jeffrey swallowed in fear. The three of them turned around to leave, but Renee bumped into something the moment she turned around. Renee was shocked to see an old woman with gray hair and dark clothes standing behind her. They hadn't even seen her or heard her approach!
When the old woman noticed Renee's sympathetic gaze, a kind smile dawned on her wrinkled face. "Miss, you don't have to pity me. I feel quite blessed to have been able to live until this age. The truly pitiful people are the ones who died young..." A long sigh escaped the old woman. "My Garcia Village has always had bad luck. Many unfortunate things happened, and those kids are the pitiful ones!""What happened?" Renee asked curiously."It's a long story. Come in, it's dark outside and you all should get some rest." The old woman enthusiastically invited them into her house."Thank you." Renee thanked the old woman and followed her into the house.Jeffrey wanted to follow suit, but Daisy grabbed his arm, her face pale. "Don't go, Jeff! The house is so dark and scary, and that old woman... We don't know who or what she is. We'd better not go in." There were many horrible legends about Garcia Village, and the worst was the one about the sea witch who took revenge on the whole villa
When the old woman went to get them water, Jeffrey turned to Renee worriedly. He had seen all kinds of dangerous animals in the sea like sharks and sea snakes, but he had never been as frightened as he was now. "Relax, I think she's a nice person. She's just poor, so this place looks a little primitive, but it's safer here." Renee tried to console the two teenagers, but wasn't so sure herself. She believed that the old woman meant no harm, but the house was very strange. She kept feeling like a ghost might emerge from one of the rooms at any moment.The old woman carried a pot of water and a few cups into the hall. "I'm sorry, nobody's visited me in years, so it took me a while to find some cups. I'm sure you all are thirsty—have some water." The old woman poured water for them, looking happy to have guests.Renee took the cup of water and hesitated briefly before boldly downing the whole cup. However, Jeffrey and Daisy were more cautious, and didn't drink it because they were worr
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