The sorry state she was in was the result of his tolerance and compassion toward Briar. That was also the reason her children were deprived of paternal love from the moment they were born, unlike the ones in other ordinary families. "You mustn't do anything to her," Stefan spoke in a low voice filled with cockiness. He said gradually, "She's been punished, so you should stop." "Should I stop just because you said so? What about the pain my kids and I had to suffer? Why should I be generous and tolerant?" She was never a tolerant person, to begin with. If they bullied her, she would only teach them a harder lesson. If she were not pregnant and eager to leave Beach City for Sun Island, she would've never let that pretentious b*tch off the hook. "I can't change the past, but from now… I'll make it up to you and the kids." He glued a firm gaze on her face. "We can make a fresh start. I believe that we'll have a happy future." "Who wants a future with you? There's no future be
"No way!"Little Aiden wanted to provoke Stefan, so he went in for the kill. "Mommy already hates you so much. She doesn't even bother to talk about you. You've done so many horrible things. We'll find out. All we need to do is look into it."Renee was embarrassed. She was a little worried about Stefan's impression of Aiden, so she scolded Aiden softly, "Adie, you can't be so rude."The words she could not say were, 'That's your father!'How could a son lecture his father? It was simply embarrassing."Mommy, how am I rude? I'm just telling the truth. This bad guy has done a lot of horrible things. You've suffered so much because of him!"If you do something bad, you have to suffer the consequences! Everyone hates him because of his actions. It makes sense for us to hate him!""Look at Q. He's the best. He's nice to you and treats us well. He accompanies us every day and cooks us good food. A man like him deserves our favor and respect."It was hard to refute Aiden's clear and l
As the saying goes, never push your enemy into a corner. Moreover, Stefan was like a fearsome and ruthless beast. Renee knew when to stop, and so did Aiden and Abigail. Aiden and Abigail sensed that Stefan had reached the limit of his patience, so they hurriedly took out his clothes and pants and stuffed them into his hands.Aiden held his chin up and stated seriously, "We'll let you off this time. Don't you fall into our hands again. It won't be this easy next time.""Same to you. Next time, I'll show you!" Stefan responded with the same cool look and warned them arrogantly. Then, he grabbed his clothes, turned his high heels, and strode into the bathroom quickly."Hahaha!"Renee could not hold back her laughter anymore. It started from a soft peal but quickly escalated into a massive burst. Her wild and unrestrained laughter almost echoed throughout the building!Stefan had always been stoic and arrogant, maintaining a dignified composure throughout the years they were toget
"Mommy taught us to be a good person. If Bad Daddy has changed, why don't we give him a chance to be a good person?""If we treat him well, he'll treat us well. If we treat him badly, he'll do the same to us. Why don't we be kinder to him and have one more person that treats us well?"Abigail spoke her mind with reason.She had always been Aiden's number-one fan and most loyal supporter.Renee laughed and joked that Abigail would always be undoubtedly supportive of Aiden. She did not expect them to quarrel over Stefan."Uh, hey… You two…"Renee listened as the little ones quarreled. She turned to Aiden and then to Abigail, feeling a little at a loss. It was the first time she had encountered such a scene."Abby, your thoughts are problematic. A bad guy will always be a bad guy. He'll never become a good person. We'll hurt ourselves by being kind to the bad guys!""That's not true. People may make mistakes. If not, why would we need teachers and police officers?"It was Aiden's
Renee gulped nervously. She went forward to ask the doctor softly, "Doctor… W-what happened to him?""He fainted from his allergies. It's nothing too bad," the doctor explained. After that, he lectured Renee with a frown, "By the way, what are you guys doing? As his family, don't you know he has hemophobia? His condition is severe. You have to be careful with his diet. He may get an allergy from indiscriminate eating, and it may even kill him!""Huh? He ate something wrong?""Yeah. He can't take sleeping pills. His prescription drugs for hemophobia can cause adverse reactions. If it's serious, it may kill him!"Renee came to a sudden realization after listening to the doctor's explanation. She remembered Aiden saying that he had given Stefan some sleeping pills. She thought he would nap a little because of the pill but never thought it would have such a big impact."It was my negligence. It's our fault, and it won't happen again.""Well, his condition is quite serious. He can be
There was nothing but silence in the room. The man lying on the bed had his eyes tightly closed, accentuated by his long eyelashes that were as dense as feathers. The gentle light from the orange desk lamp cast a shadow on his tall, defined nose. Renee saw no response from Stefan, so she leaned down and got closer to him. As she observed him carefully, ripples of inexplicable feelings rose in her heart."Dude! Leaving all else aside, you do have such a pretty face! Why did God bless you with such beauty?"Renee was once again mesmerized by Stefan's flawless complexion. Stefan had perfectly defined features and great skin. She wondered if he had been using some high-class skin care products for his flawlessly smooth skin.Renee had been fooled many times before and became much more vigilant. She pushed Stefan and warned again, "I'll say it again. Don't use the same trick again!"Stefan did not move or respond."Are you still pretending? I have plenty of ways to deal with you!" R
Renee interrupted Stefan with a stubborn expression.'Damn! That's so embarrassing!' Renee thought. She wondered when Stefan had actually woken up. He must be laughing at the way she was sleeping so soundly beside him!Renee wanted to lash out at Stefan. However, she remembered the doctor's advice and tried to control her temper."How do you feel? Are you still dizzy?"Stefan looked deep into Renee's eyes and let the emotions flow between them. He asked with a half-smile, "Do you care about me that much?""Don't make a fool of yourself. I'm not concerned about you." Renee tensed her pretty little face and said emphatically, "I'm just afraid about the responsibilities. The kids went overboard this time. I don't want you to blackmail us in case something happens to you."Renee thought she was being very sober and sensible. However, Stefan simply arched his brow with a meaningful look that flashed across his eyes. She could not tell whether it was disappointment or interest."What
While the two kids were still at school, Renee called Mr. Q on the way home."What's the matter?"Mr. Q was surprised by Renee's sudden call. "I have a situation. Where are you now?""Me?" Mr. Q paused briefly before answering, "I'm dealing with something at Carmine Pawnshop.""Is that so? When are you free? Can you come over to my place?" Renee sounded a little anxious. It seemed she had something important to discuss with him.Mr. Q could hear Renee's anxiousness and answered calmly, "Give me a moment. I'll come over now.""Sure. I'll be waiting."Renee started packing the daily necessities for her and the children as soon as she went home. About an hour or so later, Mr. Q arrived as promised."You're finally here."Renee felt an indescribable calmness as soon as she saw him. Mr. Q had not accompanied her and the children for long, but his presence gave them the warmth of home. Before she realized it, she had considered this notorious man as one of her own.Even if a wo
"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