Thus, Renee and Leia parted ways.After more than ten minutes, Lucas was tired too. He said helplessly, "Hey, I think you should stop now. Do you want to keep torturing me until nightfall?" "I think so too, but can you let us go?" Renee asked.Her arm was so sore, it was about to break. Luckily, she had practiced martial arts for many years. If not, any three-year-old child could defeat her easily, let alone control Lucas."Whether I let you go or not isn't important. Once you enter this area, you'll either suffer by my or someone else's hand. I'm already considered good. Usually, women like you would be sent to a red-light district and forced to entertain all sorts of men. You'd get a taste of hell!"Lucas glanced at the gradually darkened sky expressionlessly. He never felt that he had done anything wrong. On the contrary, he saw himself as a very kind person."Plus, it's getting dark. My factory isn't the only one around here. There are many factories more outrageous than min
Flabbergasted, Renee had no idea what they were talking about. She also couldn't understand their dance. Terror gripped her hard. She found them more frightening than Lucas. At least she could converse with Lucas. These people, however, were no different than animals despite looking like human beings. As an injured person, Renee could foresee her ending after running into a group of fierce animals.Another man reminded the guy who was dancing happily, "Tie her up. She's such a plump prey. We can't let her run away. I'm sure the chief will be very happy!" The man grinned ferociously. "Yes, tie her up. I want to show off by walking along the entire village!" A few people rushed over and tied Renee up. Renee quickly fished her gun out and aimed it at that man. "What do you want? Leave me alone, or I'll start shooting!""Hey, this prey comes with a gun! That's a good thing!" However, the man wasn't afraid of Renee's gun. On the contrary, he acted like he had seen a treasure and
They carried Renee to their tribe in the dark while singing a war song.There were thatched cottages with many human or animal skulls hanging at the front. The women had thick and heavy ivory bone locks on their mouths. It seemed they were prohibited from speaking casually. It was clear that they were inferior compared to the men. A campfire had been lit at the center, while a group of people danced merrily around the fire. Nearby, someone was bowing while sharpening a knife using a sharpening stone. Renee was carried there. By this point, she had come up with her last words. 'Damn it!' she thought 'I've thought of the many ways I might die, but I never expected barbarians catching me like prey and sharing me among them!'"Hey, why don't you reconsider this? Human flesh isn't tasty at all! Plus, it comes with prions. If you eat me, your whole tribe will be infected and killed! I'll give you money and let you have roast lamb instead. That'll taste much better!"As they were a
"Mr. Osborne, what should I do about these people?" a dignified-looking man asked Liam softly as the latter walked away quickly. He should be the leader of the team."Catch them and get rid of them. And…burn down this tribe!" Liam instructed solemnly.Renee found it unacceptable. "Get rid of them? How are you going to do that? Is it what I'm thinking of? And this tribe isn't small. There are old people and kids. What should they do if you burn this tribe down?""They nearly roasted and ate you. I've already gone easy on them since I didn't roast them." Liam looked solemn and serious. He didn't find his actions outrageous at all. "They roasted me because it was the norm for them. They weren't taught by the society, but you want to exterminate them. It's too cruel!" she argued."No, it's not. It's a crime. It was you today, and it might be someone else tomorrow. The superiors wanted to handle this, but failed. I'll take it upon myself to eliminate their worries forever!" Liam said
Helpless, Liam got into another car.Amber sat close to Renee and bowed to check Renee's foot, which had been injured by a beast trap. Feeling sorry for Renee, she tried to blow at the injury. "This tribe is used to hurting and roasting people. I'm sure you're in a lot of pain.""I'm fine." Renee looked calm, feeling as though her previous experience was a dream. "I'm tough. Plus, I've run into more ridiculous things and suffered more serious injuries. This isn't a big deal."Leia listened nearby, and muttered, "You can't compare it that way Those were old injuries. And you're injured now, regardless of how big or small it is. It'll bring you pain no matter what. You can't quantify them like that."She felt very sorry for Renee, so she didn't try to stop Liam when the latter declared that he wanted to burn the tribe down. She herself wanted to massacre the entire tribe. They were siblings as well as Renee's loyal friends. They would make anyone who mistreated Renee pay a heavy
"Does Liam act like a child?" Amber bandaged Renee's wound with a beautiful ribbon, indicating her girlish nature. She yearned to see the kind of man Renee had described."He's a mature older guy, and he's been with me for such a long time. I've never seen him act immature. Though, I'd like to see that!" She shook her head self-deprecatingly. "But I don't think I'll get the chance to see that. I heard that men would only show their childish side in front of the women they truly loved. He probably likes you so much, he behaved like a child around you.""No, you've misunderstood again," Renee said quickly.She intended to get rid of Amber's misunderstanding, but only succeeded in complicating her relationship with Liam even further. She hurriedly explained, "He just sees me as his friend! I don't feel anything for him. There's nothing indecent about us. Really, we're just close friends.""Nah, that's not true," Leia intervened. She ignored her future sister-in-law's feelings
The car ride was bumpy. At last, they arrived at Benjamin's fort. Liam quickly got out of the car and eagerly opened the door where Renee was. "Don't move. I'll carry you inside."Without hesitation, he carried Renee in his arms and instructed his subordinate, "Get Dr. Holmes. Hurry!""Liam, put me down! I can walk," Renee protested.She patted Liam's shoulders, awkward. She didn't care if she could walk or not, for she found it very inappropriate for him to carry her that way. She felt she should keep some distance from him, regardless if it was for her or Amber's sake."No, I'm sure you can't walk unless you want to give your legs up," Liam said, ignoring Renee's words. He carried her and walked straight ahead, leaving Amber and Leia behind.Speechlessness overcame Renee. Amber watched Liam's hurried figure from afar and quietly clenched her fists. She looked downcast. Although she was generous, seeing it still saddened her.Leia didn't care about Amber, and even hated the
Liam was unstable and couldn't be considered a good man. He was unsuited to be one's husband. "I know he dislikes being bound. That's what I like about him, so I never intended to control him," Amber said. She kept looking at Liam ahead of her. However, her smile grew fainter. "Liam and I have different lives. I grew up in this fort. I spent all my life here, and I rarely went out. Sometimes I found myself a pet kept by my dad. I don't have my own life."After I got to know Liam, I learned for the first time that people could lead their lives freely. At that time, Dad occasionally saved him. He was recuperating here. I sometimes helped take care of him and he would tell me stories about himself. He told me about the things he learned while traveling the world. He even told me that he liked a beautiful woman very much."I wondered what kind of woman she was to make such a carefree man like him fall for her. Then, I got to meet her. She was brave and smart. She stood against ever
Justin smiled and described the children's experiences, acting like a stepfather. When he talked about the children, he made it sound like they were his biological children. Stefan didn't look so good. He felt that the glass of wine was getting bitter."Well, I'm sure kids will find everything new and exciting when they go to a new place. But they'll get bored with it when time passes. They'll love their real home better." Stefan had wanted to act relaxed and casual, but he could not stop himself from refuting when he heard Justin's provocative words. "Mm?" Leia sat beside Liam and leaned against his arm, and whispered, "What are they doing? This is weird. Are they going to fight?""It's just a competition between men. They won't get into a fight." Liam kept eating and watching the fun. He merely found it amusing. As expected, Renee was greatly admired. Although she remained silent, she would always be in the limelight. Liam was amused to see people like Stefan or Justin
"How dare you!"Stefan's words instantly made Leia speechless. She had wanted to rebuke him, but he snatched the chance from her and struck her dumb.In short, he was an utter scumbag.After a moment, Leia finally managed to comment, "How shameless!" Justin had kept silent all the while. He looked at Stefan with a scrutinizing and mocking gaze. "Mr. Hunt, I admire your honesty and self-awareness. If that's the case, let's stop being reserved and have fun together!""Yes, let's have fun together. I'm shameless, too!" Liam joined in the effort to mock Stefan. He swayed his glass of wine and faked a smile. "I've known her a long time, so of course I know what shameless things Mr. Hunt has done. I think I'd better grab this chance to tell you all of them since everyone is here today."Standing at the door, Renee was worried that Liam might say more indecent things. She hurriedly stopped him. "Pipe down, Liam!" "Got it." Liam shrugged helplessly but obeyed her.Although he yea
"Do you want to leave?" Stefan saw Renee. He was calm, indifferent, and distant. His behavior stung Renee. Renee could easily recall their lovey-dovey memories. They had both risked their lives for each other and vowed to be together forever. They had two children, too. Yet, they ended up as strangers.Although Renee was heartbroken, she became competitive. She smoothed her hair and said in a similarly cold manner, "I'm going to the washroom." "Okay." Stefan did not have anything to say. He nodded and walked past Renee before heading to the dining table. "Hmph! I didn't expect you to come so boldly," Quinton sneered.At the sight of Stefan, Quinton subconsciously clenched his fists, acting like he was about to fight Stefan. On the surface, he wouldn't act aggressively because he knew Renee would stop him. "It's not easy for the few great families to get together. It's good and meaningful for us. If I refused to come, it would make me seem heartless."Stefan kept his co
Having said that, Renee lowered her head, about to leave. She didn't even have the time to bother about Adie and Abby, and told Quinton to take them home later. Her strange behavior filled Quinton with displeasure. He blocked Renee and said solemnly, "Are you afraid? Do you want to run away? People might think that you're guilty and have cheated on your husband!""No, I'm not!" Renee refuted him loudly, then explained seriously, "I'm busy. I need to handle something right away. Plus, I'm not guilty. I did nothing wrong. There's no reason for me to feel guilty." Quinton went straight to the point. "What are you afraid of since you know you're not guilty? Why do you want to run away? He should be afraid instead!""I told you. I'm not afraid of him. I'm just…" "What?" Quinton crossed his arms and looked at Renee coldly. He wanted to get to the bottom of it.Renee came up with a ridiculous yet normal excuse. "I… I recalled that the dessert shop that I want to head to is about to
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