Renee returned to the Carmine Pawnshop after destroying the tape thoroughly. She headed to bed with a heavy heart.She was especially restless for the entire night, with several dreams popping in her head during her slumber.In her dreams, Briar crawled out of the sea with messy hair, with her limbs dislocated and her bones penetrating through her flesh. She then cackled eerily, her face completely drenched in blood."Hahaha, Renee Everheart, your days are numbered… I may not have been able to compete against you when I was alive, but I can drag you down to hell with me as a ghost!" Briar screeched as her bloodied face inched closer to Renee, to the point she seemed to be hovering right above her.The suffocating pain consumed the woman's chest. She flung her arms around in panic, screaming, "No! Don't come near me!""Ms. Ren! Ms. Ren! Wake up! The sun is up!" Margaret worriedly held her hand, sitting by her bed. "Argh!" Renee felt like she was pulled out of an abyss as her eyes
Quinton was reading the newspapers at the time, and as he lowered his hands, a sharp glare was revealed."I… I'm just going to tend to some work in the company. There's going to be a lot of new projects coming in, so I figured I should head back to work after such a long vacation.""You're my sister. As long as I'm here to provide for you, you can have a lifelong vacation if you so, please. Besides, it's been quite dangerous lately, so I'd say you should rest a little longer before returning to your work."Quinton was considered the current head of the Everheart family, hence somehow taking up the father figure role. He couldn't help but wish he could place Renee under lockdown forever just to ensure her safety. After all, Beach City was currently in an ever-changing state. Moreover, he had made many enemies in the past and was very worried that his sister would be dragged into his mess."Oh, now you're just being dramatic. I'm not a weakling! If anyone dares to try something on
"Haha, why else? It's because Shirley is practically your clone!" The manager slapped the woman on the back excitedly. "You just look so alike! Everyone in our industry is saying how Shirley is your stand-in too." "Shirley's debut film was the one that starred the famous Mr. Hunt and was inspired by the trending short story 'Hunt my Everheart.' People absolutely loved it, and that was Shirley's big break…"Renee brushed her hair out of her face and continued replying awkwardly. "Yeah, I've kind of heard of it.""It's a shame that Mr. Hunt is currently going out with Ms. Murphy. Looks like everyone's ship sank…" The manager let out a long sigh, her eyes filled with regret and sympathy.Renee watched as Shirley worked from afar, unable to contain her curiosity. "Is Ms. White still single?""Oh her?" The manager turned to look at Shirley as well, smiling. "She has someone rich, but you can't tell anyone this, okay?""Who is it? Is it Xavier Stuart?" "No, no, think bigger.""Bigg
"Does that mean you like Xavier?""That's not the only relationship a man and a woman could have, you know…" Not intending to stall any longer, Renee told her everything."Basically, my friend likes him, and I think he's fallen for her too. But he's just acting so weird! He likes her, but he doesn't dare to make a move.""So I was wondering if he has some kind of unresolved issues and if it has anything to do with you.""Fell for your friend?" A glimpse of jealousy flashed within Shirley's gorgeous eyes for a split second. She then let out a cold chuckle. "I think your friend must have been assuming things. Xavier loves me very much, and he'd never move on so easily."I did reject him in the past, but something happened later on, and it helped me confirm my feelings towards him. That's why I've decided to be with him. So I'm guessing he rejected your friend because of this.""R… Really?" Renee was dejected after hearing this. After all, everyone knew just how head over heels Xa
As Renee headed towards the parking lot, she found her head heavy, and she was feeling more disoriented the more she walked."Alright, everyone, get in position! And… action!" Behind her was the director giving orders, followed by the sound of the clapperboard.Shirley had already left the waiting area by then, and she now stood by the cliff for yet another shoot.Amongst her dizziness, she noticed Shirley's long hair and white dress. It was rather odd, but she found her looking quite similar to Briar, who she accidentally pushed down this cliff three months ago.Shirley and Briar's faces started merging into one, passing through the group of staff with an eerie smile. She was staring straight at her as blood started dripping out of the corners of her eyes and mouth…"Ah! No! Don't come near me!" Renee screamed as she blacked out, falling straight to the ground.After some time, as she regained consciousness slightly, she felt a bucket of ice-cold water poured onto her face.S
Francine stayed silent, not denying these allegations. Renee had always been a smart woman, which was why she admired her to begin with."Hah, well, I can't blame anyone but myself for this. I was fooled by Star Actress Shirley's innocent demeanor. As expected from her, I suppose, her acting skills are immaculate." Renee gave a thumbs up as she shook her head, smiling sadly."Does that mean you're admitting to all the crimes you have committed?" Francine asked as she tightened her grasp on the railing, her entire body trembling."What crimes?" Renee lifted her head and stared straight at Francine with her usual thorny attitude."What do you think? Do you feel no regret for what your demented brother has done to Stef and Seraphina? He ruined their lives!""You can insult me, but don't you dare insult my brother. I was the one who made the decision to lure Stefan Hunt into the trap. So I'll take full responsibility for what happened."Renee could guess that her brother had definite
There wasn't even the slightest hint of fear shown on Renee's face. She even burst out laughing, as though she wasn't being held captive."You bitch. How could you laugh in the face of death?!" Seraphina fumed, slapping Renee across the face as hard as she could. "What's so funny, huh? Are you not scared?!"A red slap mark slowly appeared on Renee's fair skin, with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. It seemed quite painful, yet she didn't even furrow her brows. Instead, the woman continued laughing loudly. "Hahaha, I'm laughing because of your stupidity. You're the one staring in the face of death, yet you still act like you have the upper hand! Isn't that hilarious?""You… What do you mean by that?! I'm doing just fine! How dare you curse me?!" Seraphina was actually feeling quite guilty from the start, and hearing Renee's words took her aback. Despite this, she still intended to slap Renee once more, but it was no match for the woman's great reflexes. She kicked her
"Like I said, there's no use putting up an act at this point! I will never forgive you, no matter how much you pretend to be innocent! You can never undo the damage you've done to me. I will only find peace by making you suffer a hundred times worse than I have!" Seraphina yelled. She then clapped her hands and turned her head to the door. "You may come in." After that, several rows of burly men, an estimated hundred in total, walked through the entrance. They were all wearing the same clothing and were mostly tanned. Their expressions were rather fierce, and they looked like foreigners. "What are you doing?" Renee asked Seraphina frostily."You're a smart woman. How could you possibly not know what I'm trying to do here?" Seraphina patted the tall man next to her, her smile twisted. "I specifically found these guys from a countryside far, far away, just for you.""They're very rugged, you know? They have more than enough stamina to satisfy you. I'm sure you'd die happy even if
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
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.