Lydia did not expect Stefan to be so protective of Renee. But now, she naturally did not dare to say anything else. She quietly packed up her things and left.Before leaving, she took advantage of Stefan's momentary absence to threaten Renee. "Hmph, don't think you've won! You're just an ex-wife who got dumped. You're gonna show me no mercy today? Then don't blame me for casting stones at you tomorrow. You just wait. Your peaceful days are coming to an end!"Renee sneered. "I knew you would never change that easily. You'll never take orders from me willingly. Then isn't it perfect that you won't have to serve me anymore? If I hear another grumble from you, you won't even get your severance pay.""I'll remember this, Renee Everheart!" Lydia gave Renee a hateful look and left fuming.As soon as she left the villa, she called Francine."Madam, you must right this injustice! Renee Everheart is such a cruel woman! She's bewitched the young master and occupied the villa. Not only did sh
Of course, Renee herself was not looking that much better.This was no time to be willful. Renee tried her best to calm herself down."Okay, let's tidy up and go to the hospital together."The two went to different bathrooms and quickly washed themselves.But the awkward thing was, because neither of them lived there, they naturally did not have any spare clothes there. They had to come out of the bathrooms wrapped in towels.Renee walked out of the bathroom, wanting to find some casual clothes to wear.Stefan also had the same idea.So, the two ran into each other in this awkward manner.Stefan looked at Renee unabashedly, from her wet hair down to her toes.As for Renee... she was even more unabashed. Besides ogling Stefan, she even felt the urge to run her hands over him."Stefan, have you been going to the gym again recently? Look at those abs. They're like the abs of a fitness coach."She could not help but recall the days when she took care of the “quadriplegic” Stefan
Francine could never have imagined that her son, who was always cold and serious, would flirt with Renee, the harbinger of tragedy, in her presence. This was even more surprising to her than seeing aliens on Earth."Stef, what's the matter with you? You wouldn't even look at her twice in the past. Why are you being so intimate with her now? Don't tell me you're actually trying to seduce her?"Stefan shrugged, neither admitting nor denying it.This made Francine even more aware of how serious the matter was.If it was Renee who was making advances on her son, it would make sense to her, but now, it appeared that it was her son who was making advances on Renee. This made her, the mother, feel ashamed and lose her moral high ground."Son, did you get brain damage, or did she put a spell on you? Do you even know what you're doing? Why are you seducing this harbinger of tragedy?”Francine had a short fuse. Angered by Stefan, she started hitting him.While pounding at him, she yelled,
His unconditional protection of Briar was a merciless trample on her feelings. She was ashamed and felt bad for herself for having loved such a man!"You two take your time. I have something else to take care off, so I'll be leaving now."Renee did not want to stay any longer. More importantly, she had to go check on Xavier.After taking two steps, she turned back and told Stefan, "You better hide her well, Mr. Hunt. If I manage to find her, I might make the lie come true. After all, I wouldn't technically be breaking the law if I made a person who's already dead disappear.”Of course, Renee only said that so that Stefan would keep Briar Desrosiers under strict control and not let her come out to do dirty stuff again.As long as Briar behaved herself, Renee naturally would not make a move either.Unfortunately, her nonchalant warning actually brought disaster upon herself...After Renee left, Francine finally snapped out of it."From what she said, Briar is still alive?""Hmm.
"She's not ideal, but she's the best person available!" Francine could not help but sigh. "You're almost thirty, but you've never socialized with that many women. Briar is too much of a hypocrite, while Cecilia's relationship with your good friend is complicated. After thinking about it long and hard, there's no better candidate than Renee. There's no problem with her except for her family background."But more importantly, I heard she's quite capable. She quietly started a company, became the president of the Electronic Technology Association, manages a law firm well, and even stole the biggest customers of Hunt Enterprise... She's not the pretty but useless woman that I thought she was. I've always had an appreciation for capable women. This new her is perfectly qualified to be your wife!”Stefan had rarely heard his picky mother speak so highly of anyone, let alone Renee. He was glad to hear it.After all, the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was a problem that
Stefan was pretty unhappy. "Didn't you just say a good horse will never turn round to graze on an old pasture? Why are you suddenly doing a 180? Aren't you embarrassed?"Francine pursed her lips and said arrogantly, "I am, but I don't want to miss out on a good woman. Besides, the reason I was so opposed to you being together before was mainly because you didn't love her and I didn't want you to suffer in a marriage without love. But now, things are different...""How?""Because you're interested in her now!" Francine confidently said, "All these years, very few women could catch your attention. Since you've finally found one who could, of course you need to hang on to her!""I'm not interested in her!" Stefan denied it coldly."You know better than anyone if you're interested in her. You don't have to convince me..." Francine sighed and revealed a helpless expression, "Although I still don't like her very much, if you do, I'll try to. I promise I won't treat her badly or call her
"Cecilia didn't confess anything..." Christopher continued, "I just think, based on what I know about you, that you wouldn't be the kind of person to do that kind of thing. One, you have no motive, and two, it's not worth it for you."Renee snorted coldly. "Yeah. I have no motive, and it's not worth it for me. You can see such obvious things, but Stefan Hunt can't.”"Stef's a bit naive. He doesn't truly understand the complexity of the human heart.""Yes, just like an idiot."The two could not help but smile at that. A thousand words were exchanged in those smiles.Xavier was lying on the hospital bed with one leg hanging in plaster, unable to move. He was in a terrible state and was extremely agitated.When he saw Christopher and Renee walk into his ward, he called out at them like a drowning man clutching at a straw, "Thank god you two are here. Hurry up and get me out of here. This place is like a prison. I can't stay here for a minute longer."Christopher frowned and said se
"But I want to..." Xavier hesitated while looking at Renee, looking very pitiful."You want to play video games, right? You can't!"Renee's attitude was firm, like a disciplinary teacher."Hmph, whatever!"His hopes crushed, Xavier angrily covered his head with the blanket and went to sleep.The way he was fierce but scared at the same time was kinda cute.When he heard that they were leaving, he quickly pulled down the blanket and asked, "Renee, you said you're going to take care of me. Is that true?""Of course." Renee did not hesitate. “You saved my life. Isn't it natural for me to take care of you?"But let me make this clear. I'm not a very patient woman. If you keep being difficult and refuse to cooperate like you did earlier, I can't promise I won't beat you up!”"There's no need to worry. As long as you're the one taking care of me, I'll definitely cooperate."Xavier went back to sleep.Christopher watched all this with a somewhat complicated expression."Mr. Jacobs
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