Stefan's words brought silence to the two of them.Stunned, Renee moved her lips. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she decided against it. "Mrs. Hunt was right. I should leave. If not, things will get more troublesome when Grandpa wakes up," she finally said. From Stefan's words, there was a possibility they would get tangled up again. If he was afraid of recalling their past and feelings, he must still harbor affection for her. However, Renee was exhausted by it all. She wanted to stop feeling conflicted about such things. It was fine whether he still had feelings for her or not. All she wanted was a safe and peaceful life. If she kept getting mixed up with him, it wouldn't do any good. They would just get hurt. Hence, it was unnecessary. Renee stood up straight, acting like an emotionless robot. She brushed past him and went downstairs.Stefan stood rooted to the spot, silent and poker-faced. One step, two steps, three steps… Their backs were faced against
Had Renee been the one who learned the truth that day, Stefan was sure that the situation would be even more painful. "I don't know what you're trying to hint at. If it were in the past, I would have gotten to the bottom of it. But now, I'm exhausted. I don't want to get tangled up with you again. You know what? I'm exhausted!" Renee said.She looked torn and agitated, and was trembling slightly. She was trying hard to not break down on the spot. "It's like you're fishing. When you got me by the hook, you let me go. But when I swim away, you put out some fish feed. Do you think that's fun? Does making me a fool out of me satisfy you that much?" Renee couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes turned red as she vented her true feelings in front of Stefan, as if she had been suppressing them for quite a while. She had appeared casual and straightforward the entire time. She parted with him on good terms, and was even willing to begin a new relationship. She also wished he could choose a
They spoke as if they were going to stay apart forever. It sounded melancholic. Renee, however, found it amusing. She turned around and kept going downstairs without pausing. As she almost walked out of the entrance of Hunt Manor, she happened to bump into Timothy. "Ren?" Timothy was exercising, clad in sports attire. He stretched his neck and rubbed his eyes, repeatedly trying to ensure he wasn't mistaken. "It's morning. I'm sure this isn't an illusion. What are you doing back home?" "Grandpa…" Renee had tried all means to avoid Timothy, but she still failed to do so. She simply walked over and greeted him generously. "I got drunk last night. It was Stefan who took care of me and brought me home. I was about to say hello to you when you woke up.""So you were the woman last night. I knew it! Stef wouldn't be so stupid and bring another woman home." When Timothy learned that Renee was the woman Stefan brought home last night, he wasn't very surprised. Besides, he had gue
"Stop lying to me! I know you've drawn a line and regarded my family as outsiders, haven't you?" Timothy said.Being a smart person, he could see the change in Renee's emotions. Although he was sad, he had to accept it."I don't blame you. Everyone is entitled to their choices. You chose to keep some distance between us because it might set you at ease. That's very normal," he said. "Thank you, Grandpa. I'm glad that you can understand me." Renee stopped pretending. She admitted that her feelings toward the Hunts had changed. There was now a rift between them."You don't have to worry about the kids' upbringing. I won't give them the wrong idea. I'll tell them their father, grandparents, and great-grandfather are very good people. I'll encourage them to come and visit you, too," Renee promised sincerely. She wasn't a petty woman, and would never manipulate the children to vent her dissatisfaction toward Stefan. On the contrary, she always regarded the children as individuals i
Stefan followed closely, and went downstairs. He happened to overhear Renee's reply. It made him frown. He cared about that very much, but tried his best to suppress it and not show his feelings. "Justin is pretty good…" Stefan slowly walked to Renee, looking nonchalant. "At the very least, his background matches yours. I think he suits you well as your lover." Both Timothy and Renee looked at Stefan in unison, as if they were looking at a fool.Timothy frowned and asked, "Do you know Justin well? What's your relationship with him?"Stefan pocketed his hands and replied bluntly, "No, I don't know him. I'm not close to him, either.""If that's the case, stop giving your opinions. Ren's looking for a boyfriend. It has nothing to do with you," Timothy snapped.He was full of disdain, finding Stefan an eyesore. In the past, he found Stefan reserved, aloof, and noble. Now, his opinion had changed. It was all but an illusion. After spending a few days with Stefan, people would find
"Not bad. I think we're very slow compared to you and Justin," Stefan said expressionlessly. He wanted to compete against Renee.At first, he didn't want to use such insincere words and anger Renee. However, she just had to suggest doing a double wedding. It was heartbreaking. It meant that Renee and Justin were serious. They were dating each other under the premise of getting married.When he imagined them getting married and having children in the future, Stefan grew livid. They would spend the rest of their lives together! He had no choice but to vent his feelings using such a childish method."No, you and Ms. Desrosiers are faster. Justin and I were in an ambiguous relationship for many years. We just started dating each other lately. But you and Ms. Desrosiers fell out and lost touch with each other. When you got back together, you guys were full of passion. You abandoned your wife and kids for her, and now, you're going to marry her soon. I'm sure you two are far more lo
Renee wanted to turn Timothy down because she had separated from Stefan. It was inappropriate for her to be too close to the Hunts.However, Timothy's eager face made it hard for her to turn him down. Besides, she always had breakfast with him in the past."Okay." At last, Renee agreed. She obediently helped him walk toward the dining room. Timothy cared about his health. His habit of having breakfast was because of his upbringing.There was a classic and common breakfast on the table, including pasta, buns, prawns, oatmeal, and so on. It was coupled with nice tea. Everything smelled delicious. "Come. I got a professional new cook today. I'm sure the taste is authentic." Timothy took the main seat, and had Stefan and Renee sit at either side of him. He smiled amiably; he cherished the rare chance to dine with them.Both Stefan and Renee were obedient. They kept their heads low and ate quietly. They were amazed at the authentic breakfast. "Ren, what do you think of the pasta
Stefan found himself bewitched by her charms, and couldn't control his heart. He wasn't laughing at her. Rather, he was sincerely happy because he admired and liked her."Of course!" Renee raised her chin. "I feel that I'll get good feedback if I make others happy. It's a good way to recharge myself. I don't think it's bad. But you don't know how to be nice to your grandpa, even when he's at such an old age. All you do is drive him up the wall. If I were him, I would've long beaten you up." Renee purposely criticized him as she wanted to tease him."I…" Stefan was at a loss for words. These days, he did nothing else except drive Timothy up the wall. "You're right, Ren. You spoke my mind." Timothy felt quite happy, as if he had found someone who understood him. He glared disdainfully at Stefan. "Honestly, he's spoiled and annoying. He drives me mad! You're right. He'll only come to his senses with some beating."Stefan frowned, but he couldn't retaliate them as they ganged up
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