"Silly child, I couldn't possibly get angry at you. If I were to get angry at anyone, it'd be my troublesome grandson…" Grandpa Hunt huffed in annoyance. "His wife went missing for so many years, and yet he couldn't even find her. What an embarrassment!"From the way Grandpa Hunt criticized Stefan, Renee figured that he probably hadn't found out about Stefan's death yet. "Grandpa, have you… heard about anything major recently?""Like what?" Timothy smiled sadly. "Are you referring to my useless, dead grandson or the fact that Hunt Enterprise will soon be transferred to someone else?""Uhh…" Renee looked down with an awkward expression on her face. It seemed that Grandpa Hunt knew about everything.If that was the case, why did he seem so calm?Timothy could tell that Renee was confused. He sighed softly and said, "I'm getting old, and many things are out of my control now. Everyone has their own fate that's been decided by God. Even if we find something hard to accept, we have no
"We aren't sure if it was an accident. The only witness was Stefan, who said it was, so it had to be the case… The dead shall remain dead, and I no longer want to dig up the past," Timothy said cryptically, making Renee even more curious about the whole thing."Well, did you know that apart from Stefan being the only witness, he was also the one who deleted the footage of the incident? Don't you find that strange?" Renee urged.Timothy smiled a little, not surprised by the information. "It's normal. They've both been close since they were children. Stefan looked up to his older brother, and followed Tristan wherever he went. Tristan died in such a painful way, so maybe Stefan destroyed the footage because it ruined his good memories of Tristan and hurt him too much. It's completely understandable."Although it sounded convincing, it wasn't enough to persuade Renee."I heard that Tristan was supposed to be the successor of Hunt Enterprise, but he met with an accident just as he was
"Hmph, you're the real idiot here!" Timothy scowled. "Her impression of you was already at an all-time low, and now you're faking your own death?! What the hell were you thinking? You were already growing apart, but this time, you've really dug your own grave! How are you going to mend things now?"Stefan replied, "I have my plans. She hated me when I was alive anyway, so I can just use another identity to stay by her side and win her heart again.""Have you lost your mind?!" Timothy was furious. "Who do you think you are? In everyone's eyes, you're already dead! Do you think she'd stay single forever just to mourn your death? I don't care what you're planning. I just need you to clean this mess up! The more you stall, the harder it gets to deal with! You'll regret it if she marries a random man just to fill the hole in her heart!"Stefan's gaze grew cold, his possessiveness showing as he growled, "I will never allow that!"The reason he chose to fake his own death was so that he c
"What the hell?" Renee dismissed it quickly and hung up.However, Leia called her soon after, hurriedly saying, "Ren, where are you? Come to The Blue Inn, quick! If you don't, your little escort is going to lose his purity card!""Lose his purity card?" Renee was confused."Yeah! One of the employees in the pub called and asked me for help, saying that your favorite escort's popularity has gotten him into trouble! Some lady boss took a liking to him and offered 150 thousand dollars to spend the night with him, but he told her that he was saving himself for you!""What on Earth… Saving himself for me?" Renee was in sheer disbelief. She had only made out with that handsome man briefly, and she hadn't even been completely sober at the time. She thought, 'We didn't even do anything, but he's saying he's saving himself for me? Are you sure this isn't a prank?!'"Ah, they've gotten into a fight! There might be a lot of escorts here, but none of them have the strength to defend themselve
The lady boss was incredibly angry after hearing that. "So that's how you're going to play it, huh? Fine then, I'll be the bad guy! Hold him down!"After that, two men in black grabbed hold of Isaac's arms, securing him in place. The boss lady then brought out the whip she carried around at all times, then slashed it towards Isaac's chest.In an instant, the man's white dress shirt was torn open, with streams of blood flowing down his skin. His gorgeous looks, along with his cold elegance, made it a hauntingly beautiful sight."I'm asking you once again! Are you coming with me or not?!""I won't go with anyone but her!" With that, the escort earned himself yet another few slashes. The pub's owner and employees were watching fearfully from the side, not daring to lend a hand at all. The place was filled with the lady boss's underlings, so it would cost their lives to even speak up against this ordeal.When the wicked lady lifted her arm again, she noticed that she was unable to m
"Huh?" Renee watched as the gang left the pub with a confused expression on her face.She wondered, 'What just happened?! Was that lady toying with me? How could she just leave like that?!'Everyone in the pub was instantly relieved, and they quickly surrounded Renee. They stared at her in adoration as if she was their idol, nearly falling to their knees to express their gratitude towards her."Ms. Everheart, you truly are a heroine! Your fighting skills are even better than that viral video from a while ago! You're our goddess!""Ms. Everheart, please take care of our pub from now on! You know how some women are wild and unreasonable when it comes to the service industry! The escorts in my pub have been harassed multiple times up till now!" The pub owner sobbed uncontrollably."Especially our Isaac, his charm brought a lot of business ever since his debut, but it also attracted a lot of unwanted attention! That woman from earlier was quite powerful too! If you hadn't come here to
"Fine, I'll just treat his wounds first!"Just as Renee was going to send him to the hospital, Isaac shook his head. "We don't need to go to the hospital. It's not that serious. Just send me back home so I can rest for a couple of days."Renee figured she'd be able to send this clingy man away this way, and at that point, would have done everything she could to help. She'd be able to leave him without feeling any guilt then. "Okay, I'll take you home."Isaac's place was just nearby, and it was a single-story house with only one bedroom inside. The furnishings were rather minimalistic, which didn't seem to match his seductive appearance."Alright, I got you home. Get some rest, okay? It's getting late, so I'll be leaving now." Renee was wary of heading in, as it was quite inappropriate for her to enter a man's home in the middle of the night. On the other hand, Isaac's tall figure felt immensely fragile without her support; it looked as if he was going to fall unconscious if she l
"It's inside that shelf over there, at the doorway. I'm so sorry for all this trouble," Stefan said while panting softly, as if he was so frail that he couldn't do anything himself. He had truly mastered the art of being a knight in distress.Renee found the first aid kit, which contained bandages, antiseptic cream, and some basic essentials.As she got to the sofa, she stared at the man's perfect facial structure, along with his beautifully sculpted body and frosty aura. The woman thought to herself, 'What eye candy! He's like a damn incubus!'"Take your shirt off," Renee ordered, looming over him like an experienced maneater.'Oh my god, she's so bold!'This time, Stefan was the one who felt quite bashful and covered his chest with both arms, asking, "Why? I can't do much in my current state… But if you insist, I'll still try and do my best to please you."Renee's cheeks turned red as she clenched her jaw. "What are you thinking? I was going to apply medicine for you! How am
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