Previously, Liam felt that Benjamin was very kind to his daughter Amber despite his aloofness. Amber should be his weakness. Gradually, Liam learned that Benjamin was a naturally aloof man who always weighed the pros and cons. No one would ever be his weakness unless it affected his interests. If Amber were truly his weakness, he would first consider her lifetime happiness. Instead, he cared about his interests and reputation. He had quickly agreed to let Amber marry an unsuitable match. "He has no weakness…" Justin touched his chin and frowned contemplatively, then sighed. "It'll be very hard to handle him if he has no weakness. He's crazy and desperate. If we fight him, I'm afraid things will be out of control.""No, we won't fight him," Renee said calmly. "Plus, he has a weakness. It isn't a human, but his interest and power."Liam spent a long time to find that out, but Renee saw through Benjamin the first time she confronted him. At that time, Amber challenged Benjamin to
Liam hit the nail on the head. "If you informed Xavier to join the rescue, you must be lying. It's illogical! But it's weirder if it's the other way around. He should have informed his buddy to come to the rescue instead of the guy's rival in love. Am I right?"Justin leaned against the seat and said calmly, "How strange. Why is it illogical if I informed Xavier to come here?""If you learn that your beloved woman is in danger, you'll come to her rescue immediately instead of wasting time with your rival's buddy. Telling your rival is risky, too. He might even snatch the chance to save the damsel in distress. Am I right?" Liam analyzed logically, his logic irrefutable. Justin spread his hands helplessly. "No wonder you've been Phoenix's lackey for so many years. You're meticulous. Yes, I found out from Xavier. He hoped I could come with my men to fight the fort. He knows that among many families, only mine could acquire such a powerful rescue team."In the past, among the thre
"He's not afraid of getting killed," Renee said calmly, facing Liam and Justin's mockery with a poker face.Stefan was disloyal or heartless, but she knew that he was never afraid of getting killed. If he were, he would not have risked his life to save her repeatedly. Liam hated how Renee defended Stefan without any boundaries. He frowned and refuted, "If he wasn't, why didn't he come himself?" After some contemplation, Renee laughed in self-mockery. "Maybe… He might want to avoid suspicion." After all, he was dating someone new. If he risked his life to save his ex-lover, it would be very impudent of him."Uh…" Liam opened his mouth, wanting to say something nasty, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Renee's words seemed more hurtful… In a while, the car reached the fort. Naturally, Benjamin was alerted since there was such a big scene. All the armed forces of the fort were dispatched. The whole fort was brightly lit though it was late at night. Everyone was fully ar
It was sarcastic. Amber admired her father, but he never took her seriously. At most, he regarded her as an inferior woman who could only support her husband and brought no value.Amber suddenly realized that her pathetic life wasn't the outcome of her character or someone else's fault. Her fate was long decided since she grew up in such a family with such a male chauvinist as her father."Mr. Jenkins, you can't say that!" Liam snapped.He understood Amber. She looked delicate but had unique thoughts and ambitions. However, she did not have the chance to show herself.Finally, Liam raised her self-awareness. She could boldly express herself and realize her true self. She had yet to do anything, so it was infuriating to see Benjamin put her down."Stop being so old-fashioned! Men and women are the same. You kept praising me, saying I was smart and good at doing business. But Renee is more awesome than me. We established Azure Group together, and she spent a lot of effort on it. I
Two men grabbed Amber and tied her up. They hung her on the pillar at the entrance of the fort."Stop!" Liam yelled, anxious. He rushed to Benjamin and roared, "Are you out of your mind? She's your daughter! Why do you have to torture her like this?!""I can't see her be this ungrateful because she's my daughter." Benjamin was frosty, his disappointment in Amber apparent.Then he instructed the two men who were responsible for hanging Amber. "Pull her higher! Tighten the rope!""Ah!" Amber was lifted in the air. The pull almost tore her apart, making her cry out in pain."Put her down now! We can talk it out!" Liam yelled, nervous. He kept rebuking Benjamin as he ran to the entrance, and tried to carry Amber to reduce her pain.However, she was raised too high. Though he was standing on tiptoe, he could only hold her ankles. He couldn't relieve her pain at all. Both Renee and Justin were shocked by what they had seen."You guys said he had no weakness, but I didn't believe you
"What?! Master, how could you?" Mateo looked at Benjamin in disbelief. He didn't expect Benjamin to say that."What? Are you going to say no?" Benjamin looked at Mateo condescendingly with a hollow smile. "I know you want my position. At first, I tried to choose between you and Liam. I wanted to see which of you could win my daughter's heart."Then, I figured something out. Women are always too passionate. They'd cause delays and might fall for the wrong guy. The business I worked so hard for my whole life would end up in the traitor's hand. I might as well get rid of her to stop wasting my time and effort."It sounded like Amber had broken Benjamin's heart, so he decided to get rid of that annoying daughter of his.That kind of idea might sound illogical to other fathers, but it was reasonable for Benjamin since he was already a crazy demon who had killed many people.Mateo swallowed and said shakily, "Master, Gem's your most beloved daughter. It's okay if you punish her if you'r
"Is it…not serious?" Justin looked at Benjamin, who had gone berserk. He said helplessly, "Don't you think he's as crazy as Macsen? These people can do anything if they're crazy! He doesn't even want his daughter. I think he might kill all of us!""I don't think so." Renee was quite calm. "He isn't a fool even though he's crazy. It won't do him any good if he kills us.""Fine. You're calm."Justin sighed and said carefully, "You turned down my suggestion to ask for assistance. It's not because you're confident that we can escape. You just don't want to meet Stefan, do you?" He felt that he knew Renee—she acted tough and indifferent, but she cared about that very much. She would rather fight Benjamin with a slim chance to win instead of owning Stefan a favor. It meant that she had yet to forget about him. "Yes, I don't want to meet him, especially in such a way," Renee confessed, flexing her fingers. She smiled helplessly and added, "I owe him a great deal. It's best if we don'
"None of you did anything wrong," Benjamin said icily, "but I want to know your stand. If you kill her, you don't have any worry. I'll know you're someone who can do something big."If you can't do it, it means that you aren't suited to take over my position because your sentiments will get in the way sooner or later. They'll make you an indecisive coward!""But I…" Mateo held the shiny knife and bent forward. He looked at Benjamin and Amber, then hung his head in defeat. "I can't do that.""What can't you do?" Benjamin narrowed his eyes and looked at the collapsed Mateo coldly."I can't kill Gem…" Mateo staggered and sobbed. "I grew up with her. She's kind and delicate. I'd long sworn to protect her my whole life. I can't watch her get hurt! But now, you're asking me to kill her. I can't do it… I'd rather kill myself!""Hmph! You can't even do that. If someone catches her and threatens you to betray me one day, you'll do that without hesitation. So, my worry is logical," Benjamin
"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