'Wait, did he find out that I was in a fake relationship with Mr. Q?! We did really well in playing the role of a loving couple to fool the kids though… No one should know about our fake relationship apart from us! Unless… Mr. Q decided to come clean with Stefan Hunt about this for some reason. If that's the case, what is their relationship with each other? What secrets are they hiding?' Renee's mind was working overtime thinking about all this."What are you thinking about?" Stefan asked."N… Nothing.""Really?""Of course!" Renee clicked her tongue, feeling guilty. "I mean what I say. Why would I ever lie to you?""Okay then." Stefan looked at Renee with a knowing smirk as if he saw right through her. He knew exactly what she was thinking at that moment, but he knew he couldn't let her find out about the truth. If she did, she'd definitely beat him to death."What do you think about my suggestion, Stefan? If you agree, let's pay the old manor a visit, for Grandpa Timothy." Rene
The '81 Curve' was the most difficult route in the area, with several risky turns, and was a natural racing course. The road had 81 turns in all, thus the name.Many underground racers enjoyed racing there, and as a result, many died there too. Although racing was no longer permitted on the track, many people still went to race there at night. Renee was one of those courageous individuals.Stefan grinned as he looked out the window at the greenery that flashed past him. "You can go as fast as you want; I'm not as weak as you think. You don't have to hold back in front of me."Renee used to hide her real feelings in order to be the ideal wife in front of him. The more she strived to be flawless, the more he loathed it, and it had created a tremendous gap between them. He couldn't fall in love with someone who buried her emotions behind a mask, but he was so passionately in love with her now that she had ceased caring about his opinion and was genuinely herself."I read somewhere that th
In Hunt Manor, Timothy was overjoyed, and his eyes welled up with tears as he saw Francine bring Aiden and Abigail home."Kids, this is the grandpa I mentioned. He's the Hunt family member who likes your mother the most and who your father fears the most." Francine gladly introduced Timothy to the children. After interacting with them for a few days, she had come to understand their thought process—anyone friendly to Renee and hostile to Stefan was an ally.She had become their ally by criticizing Stefan on occasion, and she hoped that by introducing Timothy in such a way, the children would warm to him.To Francine's delight, her plan worked. Aiden, who was usually cautious, approached Timothy on his own.He raised his head and looked at Timothy's wrinkled face, then gently hooked his finger around the old man's wrinkled finger and murmured, "Great-grandpa, I can tell you're a good person. Thank you for looking after my mother."When Abigail saw this, she went up to her brother and ha
"Yes. That's exactly what I mean." As Timothy listened to them, tears welled up in his eyes, and he felt a surge of pride. "It's no surprise you're Ren's children. You're both very intelligent, and your thinking is very mature. Your emotions are also stronger than your father's. It's the Hunt family's good fortune to have gotten such good genes from the Everheart family."Alexander was astounded by his grandchildren's intelligence, but he wasn't about to give in as he protested feebly, "Dad, Stefan's genes aren't bad either. If the children supposedly inherited their mother's emotional intelligence, they must have inherited their father's intelligence as well.""Nonsense!" Timothy rolled his eyes at Alexander. "Did you know Ren is a top student? She skipped grades and pursued her master's and doctoral degrees in the most difficult subject, physics. Stefan cannot compete with her—he's only good at business."Renee had wheeled Stefan into the living room just as Timothy was criticizing h
"Quiet down." Stefan cleared his throat and declared, "I have good news."Everyone turned to glare at him.Timothy, in particular, seemed unsatisfied and irritated every time he saw Stefan. "Are you even capable of giving me good news? It's most likely horrible news!"Francine had the same annoyed expression on her face as she waved her hand dismissively. "Your grandfather and the grandchildren dislike you. Renee dislikes you as well. Why don't you go into your room and wait there so you don't spoil our mood?""What do you have to say?" Alexander urged him frustratedly. "Make it quick. I'm too busy peeling walnuts for my grandkids to squander my time." He fed a peeled walnut to Aiden and then to Abigail as he talked, then told them gently, "Adie, Abby, you should eat more walnuts to keep your brain healthy. Don't be like your stupid father, who does things without thinking."Stefan was stunned. Since Aiden and Abigail arrived, he'd lost all his status in the Hunt family. They only saw
"Then you two have agreed to lie to me!" Timothy saw straight through their plan, and sighed deeply. "You know I won't live for long, so you decided to put on an act with him to avoid having any regrets?""No, Grandpa. You've overthinking it!" Renee protested."I know your personality, Ren. You've always put others before yourself, so it's not surprising that you'd do something like this. As much as I hope you and Stefan will return to the way you both were before, you must forgive him, fall in love with him again, and be content with him first."After advising them, the old man said seriously, "Look into my eyes and tell me you've forgiven him and fallen in love with him again.""I…" Renee unconsciously looked away from his intense gaze as guilt consumed her and glanced at Stefan for assistance. "You should ask him, Grandpa. He is aware of everything.""I knew you wouldn't believe me. Fortunately, I came prepared." Stefan scoffed, then pulled out a document from his pocket and proudly
"Yes. Renee, it's your turn." Stefan's eyes were filled with passion and hope."I…" Renee swallowed her saliva, feeling as though she had been put on the spot. Because of Timothy's statements, she found it difficult to concur with Stefan. If she made a casual commitment and couldn't follow through with it, she'd be cursing Timothy."Ren, you said you got back together with Stefan because you love each other. Isn't it normal for a husband and wife to swear never to leave one other for the rest of their lives? Why are you finding it so difficult?"Timothy frowned. He just wanted them to be happy. "No!" Renee gulped hard, smiled gently, and clasped Stefan's hand, muttering, "I hope that as Stefan's wife, I can always be happy with him for the rest of my life."Stefan was so astonished he choked on his own spit. He stared at Renee, eyes wide in disbelief. He hadn't expected Renee to say those things to him—he expected her to tell a few falsehoods and lie to Timothy."Renee, have you given
When Stefan and Alexander heard this, they were both dumbfounded. Although the atmosphere was lively and humorous, it was also peaceful and heartwarming.Aiden, on the other hand, seemed solemn. He crossed his arms and pouted as if he was angry.Renee and Francine were pleasantly conversing when Renee saw his face and asked, "Adie, what's wrong? Why do you look so unhappy?""Mommy, I think you're being irresponsible.""Huh? What do you mean?" Renee was perplexed, and everyone turned to stare at the little boy.Aiden had kept his displeasure hidden for so long that he finally let everything out. "Weren't you supposed to marry Q? How did you end up marrying Bad Daddy? Did you forget how he used to bully you?"He was afraid Renee would be bullied again."Hahaha. Well, about that..." Renee felt uneasy and didn't want Timothy and the others to discover the act, so she stated, "I was just joking with Mr. Q. How am I going to marry him? He is not your biological father.""It doesn't matter wh
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
"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