It was already late at night when Stefan and Renee finished changing their clothes. She lay on the bed, losing all patience as she gazed at the handsome man sitting on the couch in blue pajamas. "I only have a slight injury on my arm. You don't have to stay here and look after me all the time. You should return to your house, and we should keep our distance like before." "You got hurt saving me, so I'm responsible for it," Stefan calmly replied as he folded the magazine he had been reading. He coldly gazed at her and asked with seriousness, "Do you need me to tuck you in bed?" "That's not necessary!" Renee said, immediately crossing her arms and turning to the other side of the bed. She reasoned that if he persisted in guarding her, she should leave him to his own devices since she was sleeping comfortably on the bed and not the one suffering on the sofa! The orange light from the table lamp illuminated the room. A calm silence filled the room as time passed, and the only s
The following day, the sun shone brightly. Elijah immediately sent Stefan all the pieces of information he had on Renee. After reading it, Stefan was shocked, and he had a new perception of her. They had been married for four years and were about to get a divorce, and only now did he find out that his wife was the infamous genius that graduated from BC University. She skipped two grades in high school and entered BC University without needing to take the exam. She studied Electronic Communications and Technology, majoring in Electromagnetic Field and Electromagnetic Wave Direction. She became the lecturer's assistant in her second year, and whenever she was in class, it would be full of students. During her second year of postgraduate, she went to Asken as an exchange student and continued to have exceptional grades. However, everything changed when she was in her final year. The Everheart family faced insolvency and declared bankruptcy. Her parents committed suicide because
Renee subconsciously pursed her lips but didn't answer him, thinking to herself, 'You're aware of what I misunderstood. Why are you pretending not to know?'Stefan's dark eyes focused on her, and he said, "I don't care what you misunderstood about me, but I don't want you overthinking things. I'm doing all this to thank you for saving me. Besides that, I have no other intentions." After hearing this, she laughed mockingly at herself. She knew she had read too much into his actions.He had never liked her in the past four years, so it was impossible that he had feelings for her now!"That's good." She relaxed instantly and joked, "After the divorce, we won't see each other anymore."Stefan merely pressed his lips together and didn't say a word. He was thinking of the same thing, but he didn't feel happy when he heard her say it.Renee rolled up her sleeves, pointed at her injury, and said, "See, my injury is healing. I can take care of myself. You can leave now."He looked at
"You?" Shocked was written all over Renee's face. He was an unwelcome guest! "Am I not welcomed here?" Haze asked with his hand shoved inside his pocket. His charming face, hidden under his cap, gave off a mysterious vibe to him. "I don't think we're that familiar with each other," Renee replied coldly. She didn't know why a hacker like him was here, and she was instantly wary and on guard at his presence. "Not familiar?" Haze repeated and laughed sarcastically. "We're a great team in the hacker world. Although we've never met each other, we've worked together online multiple times before. We should be old friends, right, Phoenix?" When Renee heard this, she smiled helplessly. As expected, he purposely let her win that day at Hunt Enterprise cause he had long known her identity. It didn't matter anyway since she wanted to meet him too, and he came on his own today, so it was perfect. "Hi, I'm Phoenix. You can call me Renee," she said, extending her hand to the man.
Renee didn't take Haze's threat seriously, and she threw the card away. She didn't care if he exposed her. After all, she saved Stefan's life. She hoped Stefan wouldn't be cruel to her just because of a little prank.However, she was curious about the problem Haze said about the Hunt family.'Is that why Stefan keeps getting targeted? Who would be bold enough to attack the Hunt family of Beach City publicly?' she thought to herself.At first, she wanted to ask Liam to check it out, but she felt it was unnecessary, seeing as she and Stefan were about to get a divorce soon.She put the thoughts back in her mind and decided to care for herself first. It was a pointless venture anyway, as she had never gotten any gratitude from the Hunt family in the past four years despite all the sacrifices she had made for them.Seeing as the weather was great today and she hadn't gone out to shop in a while, she called Leia. The two decided to meet at three in the afternoon in Paragon Plaza.Thin
Francine snorted and sized Renee from head to toe before mockingly saying, "Stefan won't even touch her, so how can she be pregnant? She's just a waste of our money." Francine's words were so cruel that Renee instantly clenched her fist when she heard them. Just as she was about to say something, Leia stepped forward and insulted Francine. "Hahaha! You're not that capable, either. One of your sons died, and the other had an affair. If I were you, I would reflect on why my sons are useless. Aren't you afraid your grandchildren will get karma because of your nasty remarks?" Before Renee had a divorce, Leia kept quiet and didn't interfere in their family matter. But now that Renee was getting a divorce, she wouldn't stay silent anymore. Francine was furious when she heard that, and she turned pale with anger as she pointed a finger at Leia. "You…" When Briar saw this, she felt that this was an opportunity for her to get on Francine's good side. She instantly stood between Franci
Thinking that an explanation was unnecessary, Renee returned the man's cold stare with a calm one and said, "She was slapped. There's more to say about it." It didn't matter if he considered her unreasonable or disgraceful. There was nothing to explain, and it wasn't necessary. Everything about the Hunt family was nothing important to her from the moment she decided to divorce Stefan. What's more, it was just a mistress and a shrew. Francine, with a shaking voice and an arrogant look, said, "Look, she admitted it. What are you still standing here for, son? Make her get down on her knees and beg for forgiveness!" Having stood by the side watching, Leia started to get irritated again and shouted, "Fuck your forgiveness! I wouldn't have slapped her if your mother and this bitch didn't call Ren a parasite and a barren!" Stefan furrowed his brows deeply when he heard her and turned to look at his mother and Briar. "Is that true?" Briar, feeling guilty, choked on her words
Renee's shopping mood was swept away after the misfortune of meeting Stefan and the two toxic women, so she went straight home after leaving the mall. The following day, she woke up early. After changing into a black dress and tying up her hair, she went to the florist to get a bouquet of daisies and then drove to the graveyard. It was the third of March, the death anniversary of her parents. It had been four whole years since they committed suicide, and she had never visited them. Everyone said she was a cold-blooded, ungrateful wretch who forsook her family to please the Hunts. But only she knew how much she loved her family. She was angry that they were not brave enough to live on, for their cowardice, their choice to leave in such a stupid and stubborn way, and for leaving her alone in the world! She hadn't visited their graves for so many years because she hadn't wanted to face or accept this reality. Yet, it was different now. She had gained the courage to face everyt
Stefan purposely spoke politely. Awkwardness filled everyone again. The children continued making comments and said a lot of rude things to Stefan."Keep quiet. Didn't you hear me? Are you asking for a beating?" Renee scolded.Renee was gripped with an unspeakable sadness, just like Stefan. She failed to hold herself back from getting mad at the children. "Mommy, we're taking your side. We want to seek revenge for you. Did we do anything wrong? Why are you mad at Abby and me?" Adie felt aggrieved. He would always unconditionally take his mother's side. If Stefan were his family, he would openly welcome Stefan. But since Stefan had abandoned their family and made Renee sad, Adie would only regard Stefan as his enemy. He would fight Stefan fiercely. "Your daddy and I aren't at war. You don't have to pick a side. I just want you kids to be good and not be affected by my relationship with him. Although we're separated, he's still your daddy. No one can replace him. Do you under
When Quinton saw how Renee looked at him, he held himself back and muttered, "You're so dumb. How could you side with him at this moment?""No, I'm not. I just think he's right. There's no right or wrong in a relationship. You can't criticize people just because they don't like me. It'll make us look very petty," Renee said. "Hmph! Do you have to act fine when others bully you? If that's the case, I'm petty," Quinton muttered, but did not expose his thoughts openly. He merely did not want to embarrass Renee, and angrily sipped some wine. Everyone held different thoughts as they ate. In the meantime, Renee and Stefan met each other's gaze several times before quickly looking away. They hid their feelings, but knew what the other felt. Eventually, Margaret returned to the private room with the two children. Both Adie and Abby instantly realized that Stefan was there. Surprise overcame them. Still, they tried their best to suppress their yearning for Stefan's love since he had
Then, Stefan calmly placed the crab leg on the plate in front of Leia. Leia was flabbergasted. She did not dare to move. She wondered what he was doing, and if he wanted to sacrifice her."Why aren't you eating it?" Stefan looked at Leia, sounding composed. Yet, he was full of the dominance that could burn anyone.Leia swallowed and gnashed her teeth, asking Stefan, "How could you peel the crab for me? Isn't it inappropriate?" She was the most cowardly person. Usually, she looked fierce and indignant as if she wanted to punish Stefan severely. But when he came to her and looked at her, she would be very frightened. She would not dare to do anything."Why not? Someone said women shouldn't peel the prawns or crabs themselves. I'm just being a gentleman. It's nothing serious. It's just peeling the crab!" Stefan said. It was rare to see him speak so much. It was incompatible with his contradictory identity. However, it was clear that he was mocking Justin and saying how ridiculo
Both Stefan and Justin mocked each other, which made the atmosphere more awkward. Although Liam and Leia were simply watching the fun, they felt awkward, too. It made them restless.Renee was having a hard time, too. She smacked the table and said to Stefan and Justin, "You'd better stop eating. Go out and fight. The food got cold because of your endless fight."When she spoke, she sounded like a class teacher with absolute authority. Although both Stefan and Justin were dissatisfied, they fell silent and did not dare to say more. Everyone started enjoying the great food, but said nothing. It seemed a little gloomy.Renee was about to get a prawn, but Justin had already peeled it nicely for her. He dipped it in some sauce and put it in Renee's bowl. "I know you love prawns the best. I've peeled it for you. Of course, women can't peel the prawns themselves.""Oh, Mr. Baldwin. You're considerate. You're a role model among the men. Anyone who marries you will be very happy!" Le
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