Chapter 2

‘No wonder Stefan wanted me out by tonight. He had another woman he wanted to play house with! Hah, to think that I let that man affect my emotions! How I wish I could slap my past self!’

Briar approached Renee with a cocky smirk.

“So you’re Renee Everheart, huh? What are you still doing here? Didn’t Stefan kick you out? Get a move on! Have you no shame?!”

Despite the provocation, Renee continued packing her belongings at her own pace.

“Hey, are you deaf? I’m talking to you here!”

“Sorry, I didn’t quite hear you.” Renee met her gaze calmly.

“All I heard was some crazy bitch barking!”

“How dare you call me a bitch?!”

“I didn’t. Looks like you went ahead and got offended in the first place.” Renee replied as she got up with her luggage. She tilted her head at Briar, who was blocking her path.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me. Nice little doggies should know how to stay out of the way.”

“How dare you!” Briar’s face went bright red as she stomped her feet.

‘Wasn’t she known to be a living punchbag? When did she learn to talk back like that?’

The housekeeper quickly tried to calm Briar with flattery.

“Please calm down, Ms. Desrosiers. You shouldn’t upset yourself over a woman like that!”

“You’ll be the lady of the house soon. That insolent witch is insignificant compared to you…”

“We’ve also arranged a room for you per Master Hunt’s orders. Let me lead the way!”

Briar looked visibly pleased by the flattery. She quickly lost the mood to argue with Renee and proceeded to follow the housekeeper into the villa.

Renee was once again left alone outside. Mixed emotions welled up in her chest as she gazed upon the tall building. It felt ironic that she would return to the streets after four years of living here.

“Goodbye, Stefan.” Renee took a deep breath and left.

Later on, she moved into a small one-bedroom apartment downtown.

She felt liberated as soon as she lost her title as the missus of the Hunt family. She was free to do anything she wanted, and she was no longer the caged bird she used to be.

Renee took her phone out and dialed a number she blocked for four years.

“Boss, you’ve finally remembered that I exist! It’s been four years, you know!” A delighted voice exclaimed on the other end of the line.

This person was none other than Liam Osborne, also known as one of the Four Princes of Beach City. Despite his rebellious and unpredictable nature, he made himself sound like an underling when speaking to Renee.

“I heard about your divorce, by the way. Congratulations! You should've ditched that asshole a long time ago! I’m not sure if you know this, but while you were being Mrs. Punchbag, rumors about you started spreading everywhere! If those old geezers knew that you’re actually the ultimate boss they were looking for all this while, they’d flip their shit! So? Are we doing something big this time? I can…”

“Hold that thought!” Renee was so annoyed by his constant blabbering that she considered blocking him again.

“I promised Grandpa that I won’t go back to that life anymore. If you really do see me as your boss, you better keep this a secret.”

It appears that her past was rather ‘interesting’. However, she wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.

“I called because I want you to help investigate something…”

After talking some more with Liam, Renee hung up the phone, only to receive a text message from Stefan.

Her heart started racing as she tapped her phone screen ever so lightly.

[Beach City Courthouse, 9 am tomorrow.]

Short and simple, as if she didn’t deserve any more than that. The butterflies in her stomach dropped dead in an instant. She realized how foolish she had been for expecting more from this man.

[Ok.] Renee replied, matching his energy.