Hunt Villa was empty. The garden was deserted. The living room was not lit. The inside of the villa was pitch black. The air had a stale odor.The only light that was turned on was the one in Stefan's room on the second floor. A tall figure could be seen at the window.Renee walked into the living room and climbed the rotating staircase to the second floor.Stefan's door was slightly ajar, and through the crack in the door, she could see a man standing by the window.However, she could only see his back.The back figure was tall, straight, and cold. It must be Stefan!At that moment, Renee felt a passion that she had not felt for a long time.She rushed forward and pushed the door open. "Stefan! I knew you were still alive!”The man by the window slowly turned around. His thin lips curled into a smile as he stared at Renee with mischievous eyes. He shrugged and said, "My dear cousin-in-law, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not that man you're thinking about day and night.”
She did not want to cripple him and be pestered by him her whole life!“I knew it. You still care for me and can't bear to hurt me...”While swinging around his arm that almost got dislocated, Jovan continued to make fun of Renee, challenging the limit of Renee's patience without any fear of the consequences.Renee tried her best to calm herself down. "You're not actually trying to replace Stefan and take away everything that belonged to him, are you?”“Stefan is history now. Hunt Enterprise cannot remain leaderless forever. I'm doing Hunt Enterprise a huge favor by taking over the company right now. How can you call that taking away?”“Hmph, your plan won't go that smoothly. Even if Stefan is no longer here, Grandpa Timothy and Uncle Alexander are. They won't let you do whatever you want. You should just give up if you know what's good for you, or you might lead yourself into a desperate situation!”Renee had always felt that Hunt Enterprise would not easily have a change in dyn
Renee raised her eyebrows and feigned ignorance, "What exactly do you mean? I don't understand.”“Did I not make myself clear enough?”Jovan greedily took in the sensation of being so close to the goddess of his desire. His hand boldly slithered towards Renee's slender waist. His deep voice was cheeky, but carried a hint of seriousness too. "In ancient times, there was Helen of Troy, the face that launched a thousand ships. If I can have you, I would launch a thousand ships for you too.”Renee couldn't help but roll her eyes. “Get to the point!”“Simply put, if you become my woman, Hunt Enterprise is yours to do with as you please. If you want it to shut down, it'll shut down, and if you want it to keep operating, it'll keep operating.”There was a cold determination in Jovan's eyes.The whole world knew that he, Jovan Hunt, was just a carefree playboy. He had no interest at all in competing for power or building a business empire.The reason why he had been working so hard to r
Both of them were shocked to see each other.Renee had conflicting emotions regarding her former mother-in-law. On the one hand, Renee hated her, and on the other hand, Renee sympathized with her for having lost two sons in a row.But Francine also had conflicting emotions regarding her former daughter-in-law.From her initial dislike and disgust of Renee, to appreciation, and later on, to hatred—it was enough to write a novel that was millions of words in length!“Good evening, Madam Francine.”Renee swallowed awkwardly and greeted Francine, "Fancy... running into you here.”“Someone told me the light in my son's room was turned on so I rushed over to check, but turns out it's just you...”Francine's eyes were filled with both hatred and sadness, which gradually turned into gloom. She lowered her head and said, "Sure enough, there are no miracles in this world.”Renee was a mother too, so her chest tightened hearing that. She comforted Francine softly, "My condolences. Don't b
Upon seeing Renee's reaction, Francine's eyes brightened. She excitedly pulled Renee's hand and asked, "Did you think of something? Tell me, quick!”“I knew my son wouldn't die so easily. I knew he left clues for you!”Renee shook her head. Her helpless expression seemed sincere. "He didn't leave me any clues, but if even you, his mother, can't be sure if he's dead, then I'm even more uncertain... At least, so far, I've only learned about his death from other people.”“Since you've already chosen a grave for him, surely you must know where his corpse is?”Francine's bloodshot eyes were sad as she said, "Stefan's father said he had an accident and died in the hospital. Apparently, the way he died was horrible. His father was worried that I might not be able to take it if I saw him, so he was cremated overnight. We chose the grave together, but I still don't believe that he's dead. I think they must be planning something in secret, so I turned a blind eye and went along with their ac
But her mouth was still as vile as ever. She kept spouting various unpleasant words, challenging Jovan's patience.Fearing that something more serious was going to happen, Renee immediately stepped forward to stop them. "Jovan, let go of her. She's your aunt. This is disrespectful.”“Hmph, have you ever seen such a cruel aunt? If she doesn't respect me, why should I respect her?...”Jovan had no intention of letting Francine go. His eyes became increasingly cruel, as if they contained decades of accumulated anger. He looked like he was going to break Francine's hand!“This woman is the most arrogant and snobbish woman I've ever seen. In her eyes, everyone else except for her two precious sons is trash. Even though she humiliated me for years, I never thought of getting back at her, but she just had to insult my mother... I'm not venting my anger, I'm teaching her a lesson on my mother's behalf!”“Aah! My hand! You little bastard! You immediately start to retaliate the moment you g
Renee quickly left the villa, giving Jovan and Francine no chance to catch up to her.In her opinion, those two were just as bad as each other. When they get crazy, they were both pretty terrifying. She would leave them alone and keep her distance so that she wouldn't get hurt in the crossfire!Renee returned to the apartment. Her children were already sound asleep.Margaret was not asleep yet. She was organizing the items and materials needed for the two children's first day at school tomorrow.Renee was deeply touched when she saw Margaret still working this late at night.“Margaret, it's already so late. Don't overwork yourself. Go get some rest. I'll take care of it.”Margaret turned around and smiled kindly at Renee. "Ms. Ren, what are you saying? This is just simple work. You, on the other hand, have been working until now. You need to pay attention to your health and not overwork yourself. If you collapse, what will happen to the two children?”“Don't worry, Margaret. I k
“That may be true, but when you need a man, you need a man. For example, when I filled out the enrollment information just now, there was a column that asked for the name and occupation of the children's father. What are we supposed to write there?”The reason why Margaret started nagging Renee again was that she faced a dilemma when she filled out the enrollment information earlier.It made her realize that, be it Renee or the two children, they all needed a man in the house.“Just write “none”. There are plenty of people who lost their spouse or their father in this world, so why can't we be in that situation too?”Renee continued to paint, her mood not affected in the slightest.The moment she decided to divorce Stefan and leave Beach City for Sun Island, she had already anticipated these situations and had accepted them. She did not think it was a big deal.“We can't do that!” Margaret was a bit agitated. "Ms. Ren, you're too carefree. Nowadays, kindergarten teachers treat ch
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
"I'm sorry." When Renee heard that from Quinton, she realized the conflict between him and Stefan had yet to be resolved. It was temporarily put aside because of her. She occasionally saw him and Stefan talk to each other and drink together, but they merely put on a show to ease her mind. Their hatred for each other hadn't been eliminated. Instead, it was growing secretly. If Renee were Quinton, she might never forgive the person who had snatched away her beloved and seized her identity. That person even ruined her face."Why did you say sorry to me? It's the resentment between him and me. It has nothing to do with you. Plus, I didn't know he was my brother-in-law then. If I knew, I wouldn't have fought him." When Quinton recalled those affairs, he realized that people were nothing but the sport of fate. If there had been no resentment between him and Stefan, Renee might not have broken up with Stefan. Their families might even get closer. "Stop bringing up the past. It's
During these days, Renee was under pressure because of her affairs. She had no chance to ask Quinton about it. Now, the long flight gave them a chance to have a deep conversation. They could talk about their woes and seek consolation."Me?" Quinton lowered his head and shook his head helplessly. "I'm still the same old me. Nothing is troubling me. I've been busy with Carmine Pawnshop. I have no time to think about other stuff.""You have no time?" Renee touched her chin and smiled naughtily. "Then, you must have been dwelling on other stuff. Let me guess… Is it the thing between you and Joanne?" "Stop asking so much." Quinton did not deny it but refused to talk much about that. "It looks like I made the right guess. You fell out with Joanne, didn't you?" Renee knew Quinton well. Generally, his work would not affect his mood. The only person who could affect his mood was Joanne, who shared a complicated relationship with him. Before Renee left Beach City, she had created a l
After a long while, Quinton turned around. He looked at Renee, who was across from him, and heaved a long sigh."We're about to go home soon. Why do you look this gloomy? What's wrong…? Are you reluctant to part with this place?" Quinton said. "No, I'm not." Renee poured herself a glass of orange juice and sipped it. She frowned and dwelled on it before she said, "I feel empty inside. I don't know if I made the right choice.""Empty?" Quinton asked curiously."I think I've said goodbye to a steady life since I decided to leave. Maybe I'll keep on wandering from now on," Renee said melancholically. The reason why she chose to give it a try with Justin because she was tired. She was exhausted from leading a wandering life and wanted to settle down with someone. Others could not give her the sense of security like Justin. When she saw him, she inexplicably wanted a home. At that time, she thought she could forget about everything and start a new life with him. Unexpectedly, she
Adie was still a child, but he acted like a smart person and could see through a lot of things. He could guess why Austin took them to the Baldwin residence. He had also heard the servants of the Baldwin family rebuking Renee in secret. After combining various situations, he learned about what had happened between Renee and Justin. Despite everything, Justin could forgive Renee under such circumstances. He also treated Adie and Abby nicely. It proved that he was a very compassionate man. A small regret gripped Adie. He wondered why Renee didn't date Justin right from the start. If Renee were with such a kind man, she might be very happy. She wouldn't have to suffer through so many hardships either. "No, you don't know me. I always sweat the small stuff."Justin was displeased since Adie had claimed that he was a good guy, like Renee had. He heaved a long sigh and said, "But it's useless even if I sweat the small stuff, so I stop trying. It all comes down to fate. We can't forc