Looking around, Renee finally found her phone nearby, only to realize that it was broken. She couldn't turn it on at all."Agh, that useless Stefan Hunt! I knew he was bad luck!" Renee cursed as she scanned her surroundings. It was pitch black, with no one remotely near. Renee immediately felt scared. "Is there anyone out there?! Somebody, please help!" She screamed, her voice echoing alongside the caws of crows. The pain in her head and leg was overwhelming, and she was finding it difficult to even scream for help at this point."I won't die here, right?! That'd be too unfair…"-In Hunt Manor, the family had gathered around the dining table to have a nice dinner together, but the atmosphere felt rather odd for some reason.Francine was trying to ask Stefan over and over again if he had contacted Renee. She had just found out that Renee, who'd disappeared for four whole years, had returned to Beach City all of a sudden. The woman felt conflicted when it came to Renee. She c
Stefan then got into his car and sped towards the forest as fast as he could. Francine's casual chit-chat during dinner had reminded him that the cemetery indeed had complex terrains, with smog all around it. He was worried that something might've happened to Renee. Although the possibility was extremely low, he still had to personally investigate the area to ease his anxiety.The car continued racing through the night, with its headlights being the only light source. Stefan was gripping the steering wheel tightly, scanning the area with his sharp gaze, all while loudly calling out to the woman."Renee!"Night time in the forest was exceedingly quiet. Any sudden sounds would echo through it loudly, startling the birds nearby.Soon, he had reached the area where he had kicked Renee out, and he got out of the car right away."Where are you, Renee?! Answer me!" Stefan yelled louder than before, his voice turning hoarse. However, all he received in response was either crows cawi
Stefan gripped his dislocated left leg, breaking out in a cold sweat. However, he still managed to plaster an arrogant expression onto his face."That's good." Renee felt more relaxed now.'That man sure is tough—he's fine even after falling a few miles down a cliff. That's impressive, not going to lie!'"How are you feeling?" Stefan endured the pain and shifted towards Renee in the dark."Terrible! I'm pretty sure I have a concussion, and my leg is fractured! I'm tired, cold, and starving! I feel like I'm going to die soon!"Renee tried to get up a few times, but her leg didn't allow her to move at all, so she could only lay there helplessly. She thought she was about to see the light when the hunger kicked in."How could you fall from just walking? How stupid are you? Couldn't you have called someone for help?" Stefan was so worried that he wanted to beat some sense into the woman.'It's been four years and she's still the same—she can't take care of herself!'"My phone is br
"Huh?" Renee stared at the man's wide shoulders under the dim moonlight. She looked rather hesitant and replied, "That's not appropriate, is it?""Stop dawdling. If you won't get on, I'll just leave you here," Stefan said frostily. In reality, he knew that he didn't have much time with his dislocated leg, and that he wouldn't be able to help if they kept stalling."Ah, fine, fine. If you insist," Renee said and put her arms around the man's neck, putting her entire weight on him."Hold on tight." Stefan reminded the woman and tried his best to stand up. Despite his tall build, having to endure this extra weight made him sway back and forth unsteadily.Renee held her breath, not daring to move a muscle, and asked softly, "Hey, are you okay? Why do I feel like you're having a hard time carrying me? It's like you're about to faint!""I'm… fine!" Stefan said with difficulty, gritting his teeth.It was as if his left shin bone had fractured, with the pain piercing his flesh like thous
"Okay!" Renee couldn't quite remember where she saw these numbers, and didn't have the time to think about it. She quickly typed in a number into the keypad and dialed it. The call immediately went through."Liam, it's me. Do you have time to pick me up from X cemetery?"Meanwhile, Liam had been panicking over Renee's sudden disappearance, and had nearly barged into Hunt Manor to look for her. Now that he had received a call from her, he was extremely agitated.As the two continued conversing, Stefan could no longer listen and snatched the phone, yelling. "Enough! She's hurt, so get over here!"At that moment, Renee finally noticed Stefan's hands were covered in blood. This immediately sparked her anxiety, which made her rush over to him. "Stefan, you… where is the blood coming from? Are you hurt too?""I'm fine." Stefan retracted his hand swiftly."Stop lying! You've lost so much blood already! Quick, tell me where you're hurt!" Renee shouted as she used the flashlight on the ph
"Ah, it's a long story. Just send us to the hospital now!" Renee said, as she knew that they didn't have time for idle chit-chat, especially not with Stefan's critical condition."Alright!" Liam nodded, suppressing the resentment he held for the man and carrying him into his car. He then drove as quickly as possible to the nearest hospital. Once he got there, he carried Renee in his arms, yelling at the emergency unit with a panicked expression. "Doctor, please help!"Renee, however, turned to look at Stefan, who was still lying in the car. She grabbed Liam by the arm and said, "Don't mind me for now. His condition is worse than mine. He should receive treatment first!"Liam had always listened to Renee's every order, but this time was different. He was still dashing through the halls as if he was participating in a marathon. He then lowered his gaze to speak to the woman in his arms. "Renee, I love and respect you a lot, but please don't forget that I am only a man. I am not as
"That's because he carried me all the way up to the road, despite knowing that he was injured badly too. If something happens to him, or his leg, I will never be able to repay him for his kindness. I was just worried that I'd have to deal with him for the rest of my life, which is why I kept asking you about his condition. Do you understand now?" Renee truthfully explained everything to Liam."What? He… He carried you up there?" Liam turned around, disbelief written all over his face. "I don't believe it. I saw how badly injured he was! He can't have been able to walk, let alone carry you up a cliff… I won't believe it!""I didn't believe it either. He's always been such a cold, heartless, utterly selfish man… but I can't deny the truth. If it weren't for him, I would still be stuck at the bottom of that cliff! Even if I didn't die from the pain, I would've died from starvation…"Renee recalled how the man carried her up the cliff. Every step he took felt unreal as if she had dreamt
Liam couldn't bear seeing Renee like this, and said, "Don't worry, just rest first. I'll go ask the doctor about his condition. I'm sure Stefan is fine—you know how tough he is.""That's true, that guy really is a tough cookie! Waves couldn't drown him, and fire didn't bother him either! A little fall is probably nothing to him!" Renee finally felt much more relaxed, urging Liam instead. "Well, don't waste any more time on me, go look for a doctor! If you won't, I'll just have to do it myself!""Don't move, I'll go right now!" Liam said as he stood up to leave. However, he was still rather uneasy, pointing at the food he brought. "I hope you finish this before I come back, Boss. You know your body best, and think of the kids… What would they do if you starve yourself till it affects your health?"After Liam left, Renee still had no appetite due to her anxiety. She couldn't imagine Stefan losing his life or his leg just because of this incident. She had no idea how she could possib
"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