Stefan’s arrival left everybody stunned. Cecilia's mother was the first to react. Seeing that her son-in-law Christopher really was going to slip through their fingers, she quickly latched onto Stefan instead."So you've come, Stefan! Cecy here has been talking about you just now. There's been a misunderstanding between you two. I think it's high time you clear it all up!""The truth is," she continued, "Cecy was inexperienced and very naive emotionally through those years. That's why she…""Mom!" Cecilia interrupted her, feeling humiliated. "Didn't I tell you to stop talking about that?"Both of these men once loved her deeply, but right now, neither of them wanted her. This came as, without a doubt, a huge blow to a woman like her. If her mother kept on fawning over these men, trying to please them so they'd take her back, she would soon be left without a shred of dignity!Christopher, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed. He even casually patted Stefan's shoulder and half-jo
"Hahahaha!"Cecilia continued to laugh. She had to take a long time to catch her breath again, before she finally told Stefan in a mocking tone, "It's you, Stefan! I think you're really funny!""I had assumed," she added, "that the love between you and Renee was as strong and unbendable as steel! But surprisingly, you couldn't even stand this minor test! Compared to your feelings for me back then, your feelings for her are simply different… Are you sure that you love her more than you love me?"Stefan's cold and chiseled face displayed even more displeasure."I never said I loved her," he denied."I see!" Cecilia raised her brows and chirped, suddenly feeling a lot better. With a faint smile, she continued, "If you really did love her, you'd never even think about asking this question. But since you did ask, it proves that you don't really love her that much at all, or perhaps… you just don't understand her yet.""The truth is," she added, "it doesn't matter whether she pushed me
And so, Renee and Margaret came to the private maternity hospital where Renee often got her prenatal checkups. As they were waiting for Renee's turn, Margaret kept holding Renee's arm and carefully checked her pulse."Your pulse is normal, Ms. Ren. Your babies should be fine. You shouldn't allow a dream to scare you sick. Let's just knock on wood, and everything will be fine."Renee nodded but was still full of concern."I know my precious little ones are fine since I've been strong and fit all the while. But I just can't stop myself from worrying. I can't shake off the feeling that something might happen.""Shush! Don't speak of such inauspicious things, Ms. Ren! You might not believe anyone, but you must believe the traditional medical knowledge that I learned from my family. You know that I can treat any illness under the sun by prescribing a few herbs! I'm telling you, there's nothing to worry about.""You're right. With a medical genius like you by my side, I've simply got
Xavier was humiliated when he found out that Renee had discovered him. He started cursing irritably, "Shit! How the fuck did you find out?! I tried to be as covert as humanly possible—I even held my breath!"Renee crossed her arms and looked Xavier up and down, then gave him a look that suggested he was a complete moron before explaining, "It's broad daylight, and you're wearing all black. You've also been following me too closely, not to mention how you chose such a stupid and obvious hiding place, and you ask me how I found out?"Xavier realized that Renee's analysis was flawlessly logical, so he scratched his nose in embarrassment and grumbled, "Didn't they say pregnant women are absent-minded? Your mind seems pretty sharp to me! You reacted pretty quickly."It was then Renee's turn to panic."Who's pregnant?" she hastily asked, acting dumb. "Was it you? Ha! I didn't know you were that crazy!"Xavier rolled his eyes. In normal circumstances, he would have exploded in rage, but
"Umm..." Xavier briefly touched his nose in awkwardness. He was not so insolent now, and he acted rather uneasily and awkwardly. Humph! After all, he had a favor to ask, and he had to beg the woman he looked down the most. Of course, he felt like he had lost face. "Are you free now? I'll buy you coffee." Xavier hesitated for a long while before he asked her that. Renee smiled and said, "Mr. Stuart, since when were we close? Do you want to poison my coffee?" She was well aware of Xavier's attitude toward her. He never regarded her seriously, and he always found her an eyesore. However, he offered a symbol of peace by taking the initiative to invite her for coffee. That was indeed strange. Consequently, Xavier's handsome face soon fell, and he said angrily, "Am I such a mean and vulgar man to you?" Renee raised her brows and asked, "Aren't you?" "Why, you!" Xavier was greatly infuriated, and he flew into a rage. He exclaimed violently, "I'm a righteous man. I'm not desp
’Umm… What did Renee mean? Why did she hold my arm for no reason?’ Besides, her fingers were so slender, and her palm was so soft that it instantly softened his heart. Xavier's mind ran wild, and his thoughts went slightly out of control. He quickly shook his head and forcefully withdrew his arm. He said rather unfriendly, "What are you doing? Men and women are different. Although I'm very charming, you'd better behave yourself and don't touch me." Renee became quite helpless, but she saw that as a joke. So, she hurriedly agreed, "Okay, I'll behave myself. Mr. Stuart, please stop being so charming!" In the past, all she was aware of were his mean remarks. It was only now that she realized that he was actually rather amusing. It seemed pretty beneficial to befriend such a person. They went to Starfee and sat at a table by the window. Xavier ordered an iced Americano while Renee got herself a warm Cappuccino. Renee sipped her coffee and found it was still the taste she li
When Xavier found that there was hope after all, his eyes lit up. He immediately said, "What's your condition? Just tell me whatever you want as long as you can help me win this lawsuit!" Renee did not beat around the bush either, and she said directly, "I want to rent the piece of land belonging to your family in the southern suburbs for thirty years." Considered one of the Great Eight of Beach City, the Stuart family mainly dabbled in real estate. Although they focused on only one industry, their financial resources were particularly strong. The Stuart family gained a lot of land in the earlier years because of their great connections, which resulted in them constructing numerous famous luxury neighborhoods and commercial centers. However, although the piece of land situated in the southern suburbs of Beach City was as large as 1500 square feet, its development value was low because it was located in a very remote place, and it had been left vacant. Tall grass now overgrew the
"Pfft!" Renee spat out her coffee and immediately wiped her lips. She said in disbelief, "He's Mr. Iceberg, but he asked you for advice regarding these dishonest practices? Are you guys comedians? You must be kidding!""I'm not. I taught him my special skills of pursuing women. He's probably gained a lot of insights..." Xavier enthusiastically described his women-chasing techniques to her when he reached that point.After comparing them, she found that it was indeed similar to Stefan's recent odd behavior. For a moment, she was quite helpless."Ha! Ha! How hilarious! No wonder he applied for another account and chatted with me every day. He even promised to give me money. As for the other women, he... It turns out that there's a set of techniques behind it!"At first, she was angry at Stefan. But when she found that he was doing exactly what Xavier had taught him, she suddenly felt that this insensitive man was just too adorable. It couldn't help but abate her anger."No one knows. Alt
"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