Flabbergasted, Liam's face fell. He became quite angry. "Nonsense! I disagree!""Huh?" Dumbfounded, Amber did not expect to see Liam show such a strong reaction. She asked softly, "Why don't you agree? Isn't it a win-win solution?" "What? No, it isn't! It's nonsense!" Liam calmed his rapid breathing. He earnestly tried to advise Amber, acting like he was her senior. "You said marriage isn't a joke. We can't get married to people we don't love, or we'll be miserable. I agree with that. I know you're mature now. But then, you said you're going to marry Mateo. Isn't that nonsense? You don't like him. Why do you want to marry him?""I don't like Matt, but he likes me. I think I'll be very happy to marry a man who loves me. But if I marry the man I love, I'll be unhappy," Amber explained seriously, her tone calm."I agree!" Leia eagerly snapped her fingers and hurriedly supported Amber. "We women are simple. We'll gradually fall in love with the men who are sincere and kind to us. But
"Matt and I have discussed. We agreed to give it a try so we could help Liam leave safely, resolve this mess, and satisfy Dad and everyone. Maybe it'll work, and we'll be in love with each other. Isn't that a happy ending?" Amber said.She was bright and enthusiastic. Finally, she looked up and saw other people other than Liam.The moment she met Liam, she seemed to have been bewitched and could no longer see other men. She was full of love, regardless if Liam was good or bad. She felt that as long as she could be with him, she could tolerate everything. Though Benjamin had long planned to let her marry Mateo, she had been firmly against it. She even threatened to kill herself. "You don't know, but Dad raised Matt as my prospective husband. Then, Liam came out of nowhere. I could think of nothing but marrying him. I told Dad that I would kill myself if he didn't let me marry Liam. It scared him and made him adjust his plan. He regarded Liam as his son-in-law and kept Liam as the
Only Renee, Liam, and Leia were left in the room.Amber was like a breeze, gently touching their faces and raising some feelings in them before leaving calmly. Liam stood where he was, silent. His poker face made it hard for others to guess his feelings."Wow, Amber's great! I was wrong about her. It wouldn't be a bad thing if she's my sister-in-law, either," Leia said. She watched the direction Amber had gone while perched on the sofa, her mind full of thoughts.At first, she went to the fort full of hostility. She assumed that those rude people had used cunning means to trap Liam there. She even imagined many ways to successfully rescue Liam out of there.After Amber's reassurance, Leia felt a strange loss."Yes, Amber is great. When I came here alone and finally met Joanne, I wanted to take her away, but Benjamin wanted her dead. Amber threatened to kill herself, which gave me a chance to leave. Now that I'm talking about it, Joanne and I… We owe Amber a huge favor!" Renee
"No, I'm not!" Liam finally looked sober. He shook his head as if he had come to his senses. Standing, he said, "I'm not suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Benjamin did so many crazy things to me! If I fell in love with his daughter, I'd look down on myself. At most, I lost something to help me control Benjamin."Agitation filled Leia. She grabbed Liam and asked, "What do you mean? What did that old guy do to you? He must have done a lot of bad things! If not, you wouldn't have changed so much. You look desperate and dispirited. You weren't like this in the past!"In the past, Liam always bickered with Leia and drove her mad. But in short, he was a bright and optimistic man. He would make others happy the moment they met him. He was full of positivity unlike what he looked at that moment. He was like a man who had spent his time in darkness—his eyes were dull, and he seemed like one with a twisted mind."I don't want a gloomy brother. I want a bright brother. I want you to be as
Silence overcame everyone. After a long while, Renee lowered her gaze. "So, it was Stefan, right?" She either seemed to be asking Liam or muttering to herself.She should know. Stefan must have meddled in it since she could escape smoothly. If not, she wouldn't coincidentally run into him at such a remote place. However, a weird feeling gripped her upon learning that she had owed him a favor after such a long time."Stefan is no doubt useful even though he's unreliable. Plus, I think he cares about you. He must have sacrificed a big interest to help you escape," Liam said melancholically. In the past, Liam looked down on Stefan and felt that the latter was cruel and cared only about his interests. Renee would suffer by dating him. She should have avoided such a selfish man, or she would have been betrayed sooner or later. However, it was beyond Liam's expectation that such a selfish man would allow himself to fall under Benjamin's mercy. Liam knew Benjamin well—Benjamin woul
Stefan might be lacking in other aspects, but he was strong. It was acceptable to make him Renee's supporter who could ease her mind."Forget it. Stop bringing him up!" Leia said.She never anticipated Liam to take Stefan's side one day. Liam had always hated Stefan deeply, so this was preposterous and bizarre. Leia wondered if he had lost his soul after staying at the fort for such a long time."Ren has long fallen out with Stefan. They no longer mind each other's business and are unrelated. Stop putting them together. It disgusts me," she went on.She was one of the few who was aware of the relationship between Renee and Stefan. She also knew how deep their conflict was. Naturally, she looked down on Stefan and hated him deeply. Women could accept their men to be poor, ugly, or cruel—but they found it unacceptable when their men had a change of heart. Once the men changed their minds, all love was nothing but trash. "What happened? Weren't you guys doing fine the other day?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense and solemn."Forget it. I'll stop discussing this. After all, I've stopped getting in touch with him. We're like strangers now. His business doesn't concern me." Renee flexed her fingers, pretending to be casual."I hope you mean what you said. You regard him as a stranger now." Leia sighed helplessly. She knew Renee well. Renee didn't speak her mind—if she had truly let Stefan go, she wouldn't have been so concerned when Liam casually brought Stefan up. It was hard for Renee and Stefan to reconcile now, given the current situation. Hence, Leia decided to speak harshly about Stefan to help Renee to forget about him sooner. Liam, still shocked, found it a pity. He wasn't very sensible and kept asking questions. "Wait. So, Stefan cheated on Renee and got back together with Briar?" "Hey, stop saying that out loud. You're so insensitive!" Leia glared at Liam. She couldn't understand why he wasn't as attentive and sensible as he used to be."It
Leia crossed her arms, thinking that Liam and Renee had gotten crazy. They kept siding with a scumbag who cheated on Renee! "Don't kissing and hugging mean he's cheated on Renee? Plus, they got tangled up with each other before. He insisted on divorcing Renee because of Briar back then. Isn't it normal for them to get back together? Maybe he can control his desires but can't stop himself from going back to his ex-girlfriend."Yes, some men had a high morality. They wouldn't engage in ambiguous relationships with women so easily. Even then, they were always loyal. They couldn't forget about the women they once fell madly in love with. Stefan probably confirmed that he wanted Briar. Even if Briar's face was ruined, he could still be with her. "There's no love between him and Briar. Of course they can't get back together with each other." Liam hit the nail on the head, pointing out the mistake in Leia's logic. "Remember. Briar was the woman of Stefan's brother. Stefan divorced Rene
"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
"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