A long sigh escaped Renee. Rather than contempt, she sympathized with Quinton deeply. "I'm his sister. I can't treat him like a stranger. All I can do is gradually help him lead a normal life and guide him to atone for his sins. I feel sad for his past."Silence filled the air. No one said anything, at a loss for words. They couldn't be callous and say as they liked. Now that Austin had learned of this, no one could be sure if his righteous and stubborn personality would make him stop Renee and Justin's marriage.After all, Austin was a very strict person. He had been honorable his whole life. He couldn't allow a wicked man's sister to be a part of his family. Justin, anxious, hurriedly echoed Renee's words. "Yes, her brother has changed a lot. Now, he's doing decent work. His pawnshop only deals with rare items instead of indecent ones. I've spent some time with him. He's a reasonable guy, not at all as wicked as the rumors make out. At most… He's just got a bad temper."Ju
Renee's words turned the air cold.Justin stopped walking and looked at her, his gaze ice. He demanded, "You want to end it here? What do you mean?" Renee was filled with guilt. She avoided Justin's fierce gaze and tried to make the topic less stressful. "I mean… Let's end everything here.""Hmph!" Justin snorted, unable to hide his disappointment. He found it unfair. "It's just a small thing, but you want to give up so easily. Is our relationship that fragile?""I just don't want to make things difficult for you." Renee heaved a long sigh, overwhelmed with emotions.She belonged to the dark and was fine with her gloomy side, but she didn't want to pull Justin into the darkness. She felt that ending things with him as soon as possible was the right choice.After all, she could never treat Quinton as a stranger for the sake of her happiness. If she had to choose between the two, she could only choose Quinton. She was all he had."No, I don't think so…" Justin frowned, despondent
Renee woke up early the next day. After she was done washing up, a servant arrived and asked her to head to Austin's study."Okay, I'll go now." For an unknown reason, Renee felt worried. Although the Baldwin family had let bygones be bygones and treated her as their own, she still felt inexplicably uneasy.She had witnessed Austin's wrath and knew how dangerous her current situation was. Her words or expressions might infuriate Austin. If so, she would be doomed forever. During the conversation the day before, she noticed that Austin was bothered by Quinton's background. He sounded like he wanted to eliminate that trouble. Renee understood why Austin wanted to meet her alone. He definitely wanted to criticize Quinton and make her express herself properly. While she was walking toward Austin's study, Renee wondered whether she should contact Justin. After all, she told him yesterday that they should face any issue together. However, though she was holding her phone, she c
"Nonsense!" Austin valued that fountain pen the most, so Quinton's words were humiliating for him. "My soulmate got this present for me. How could he lie to me?" The fountain pen was not a big deal, but if Austin found out that he was cheated, it would be very disheartening."If you don't trust me, I can ask my subordinate to airship the real fountain pen I keep. You'll know which is real by comparing both." Quinton sounded confident."Fine!" Austin was enthusiastic. He waved and added, "Get your subordinate to deliver the item here. If my fountain pen is fake, I'll demand an explanation from my soulmate!"Quinton didn't hesitate. He quickly fished his phone out and texted Chase. When he got the reply, he snapped his fingers and said, "Just wait. The thing will get here tomorrow morning at the earliest." "Well, I like the way you handle things. You're fast and decisive. You don't hesitate at all. You look just like Maurice. I admire you for that." Looking at Quinton, Austin coul
Austin hurriedly explained, "I did think that way at first. But after conversing with him, I changed my mind right away. I think he's an outstanding young man with a unique mind, but he was forced to take the wrong path at first by the difficulties in life. It isn't a big deal. We can remedy that.""Uh, is that true?" Renee didn't expect Austin's attitude to change that fast. She glanced at Quinton and wondered about his charms. She wondered how he could easily win the old man over with a few words in such a short time. "Okay, we've cleared things up. Since your family is here, we can discuss the arrangement of your engagement ceremony with Justin."Austin was delighted.He promised, "Quinton, you're Ren's family. Just tell us what you want. I'm sure my family is good enough to fulfill your request.""Grandpa Baldwin, that's unnecessary…" Renee hurriedly tried to turn him down. "Justin and I got together because of love. I don't want anything or formality. Plus, you gave me an
Austin was sincere. His wedding gift represented a great sum of wealth and a form of security for Renee's future."No, that's too valuable! I can't take it." Renee wanted to make a simple request, but had yet to come up with a suitable one. Unexpectedly, Austin offered such a valuable gift. She found herself unworthy of that. "I want to give you that, so you don't have to care about anything else. Everything belonging to my family will be yours and your husband's in the future. Of course, it isn't a big deal for you to manage a piece of land in advance," Austin said straightforwardly. He sincerely regarded her as his family. Since he regarded her as his family, he would favor anyone related to her and be tolerant toward Quinton. He would also want the best for her. Renee understood how the Baldwin family valued her, especially Austin. It warmed her, but she couldn't accept such a gift as she stammered, "Yes… You're right, but…" "Okay, Renee. Let me handle it for you."Quinton
Austin wanted to help when the Everheart family was down and out, but he could not bring himself to do so because he was trying to save face.He had thought that the Everhearts could soldier through since they were strong and had support from the Hunt family. Then, he learned about how serious the issue was when he read about the news of Renee's parents killing themselves. However, it was already too late when he wanted to help them at that time…"No, it's not too late," Quinton said coldly. "I've been investigating the families who attacked my family that year and got a shocking list. My family is still not strong at the moment and is too weak to take revenge on them. So, I want to…""No, that's not what you want." Renee could guess his request and immediately interrupted him. "We can't rush if we want to take revenge. Plus, this concerns our family. We can discuss it between us. And our family is still weak. We'll do it once we get stronger."She knew Quinton hoped to get the B
Renee wasn't expecting anything when she heard about the surprise. On the contrary, she was scared and wondered what kind of shock it would give her. She knew the Baldwin family's favor and tolerance toward her was more than she could accept. Things might get troublesome if she failed to give a fair response for such kindness… She walked out of the mansion with Quinton, who could tell that she was uneasy. "Renee, why do you look this anxious?""Do I?" Renee snapped back to reality and forced a smile. "I'm pretty happy. I'm not anxious at all." Quinton looked at Renee while shaking his head and sighing. "You might have fooled others but not me. You're unhappy."They were twins who shared a telepathic connection, and Renee looked displeased. Of course, Quinton could tell.Renee stopped pretending since they reached a rather quiet spot. She exposed her true feelings and said, "No, I'm not. I just feel ill at ease."She knew Quinton was the only one she could show her true feelin
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