Stefan was as handsome and elegant as ever, even though she had not met him for a few days. This was especially true for his long, perfect pair of legs—it appeared that he had recovered very well, with no residual effects to be seen. Renee breathed a sigh of relief. At last, she could relax a little. If it turned out that he was suffering from some hidden illness, she might just be held responsible for it. Consequently, she would not be able to get a divorce. Renee pinned the strands of her hair and cleared her throat. She felt that she should greet him, given that they were a couple. It was better to part on good terms. She waved her hand at him and revealed a fake smile that she thought looked very natural. "Hi…" However, he pursed his thin lips tightly and wore a cold face. He ignored her and strode away with his stork-like legs. He left… just like that. This left her at a loss for words. Her smile stiffened, and she felt both awkward and angry. ‘Damn! Why is he so a
However, she regretted it the moment she raised that question. The answer was clear. She was just embarrassing herself. "I want to give you a friendly reminder, too," she insisted stubbornly in an attempt to retrieve some of her dignity. "Briar isn’t the right woman for you. Let’s not talk about her character; the moment she heard that you’d be paralyzed forever, the disdain on her face was obvious. It’s destined that you guys can share happiness but not sorrow. She only loves the bright and perfect you, not for who you truly are." Stefan said calmly and lightly, "It’s not important whether she loves me or not. I just want the child to be safe and happy." "Mr. Hunt. You’re awesome. Now that’s true love!" Renee was deeply hurt. She felt so ashamed and awkward that she could not show herself. Hmph! Did he love Briar so much that he didn’t care if she loved him, as long as their child was happy? Suddenly, Renee felt lucky that she wasn’t impetuous and told him that she was p
Timothy put down the brush pen and opened the desk drawer while saying these to Renee. Then, he solemnly took out a rosewood box and handed it to Renee.“Ren, open it up.”Renee took the box and opened it with care. Inside the box was a medal engraved with a dove of peace and a sword. Renee turned to Timothy with confusion. “Grandpa, is this…”“Child, your grandfather gave me this before he died. This medal was dear to him and symbolized his heroic life. Now, I’m passing it on to you.”Timothy sighed as he recalled the legendary life of his dearest friend Maurice. “Your grandfather was most worried about you before his death. He repeatedly told me to pass the medal to you four years after your marriage with Stefan…”“It’s now the fourth year of your marriage. The medal carries your grandfather’s blessing to you both. It’ll bless you both with a happy ever after marriage!”Renee looked at the gold medal in her hand with teary eyes. It was as if she had traveled beyond life and dea
When Stefan and Renee left the Beach City Courthouse, they went their separate ways as if they would never see each other again. Who knew they would meet again in just a few hours?Without the marriage license restraining them, the way they looked at each other seemed to have changed slightly.Timothy’s old eyes were filled with complicated emotions as his gaze traveled back and forth between the two.“You two. You just came back from a vacation together. Shouldn’t you be all lovey-dovey? Why did you come to visit me separately? Did you have a fight?”“We’re…” Renee bit her lips, feeling torn. She was unsure if she should be honest or keep lying.Things were different before they were officially divorced. Renee could forge a lie without feeling the slightest guilt. Besides, she was not trying to deceive him. However, her relationship with Stefan had changed so much that she found herself unable to pretend.“We’re so in love. How could we ever fight?” Stefan said calmly and wrap
“Hint?” Renee listened in confusion. She gave Timothy the black pearl in the hopes that it might bring him health and peace. What did she hint at him? How could she not know?“As soon as I saw the pearl, I thought of how it symbolized fertility and childbirth…”Timothy’s face turned grim. He sternly questioned Stefan, who was kneeling on the ground. “You bastard. Tell me honestly. Are the rumors true? Did you really knock up another woman behind Ren’s back?”Since the matter had digressed to this point, Stefan found no reason to hide anymore. Although he was still on his knees, he kept his back straight and said with a cold and firm voice, “Now that you know, I have nothing to say. The child does indeed have the bloodline of the Hunts. It needs a legitimate identity and a competent father.”“You!” Timothy held his chest and almost skipped a breath. Then, he slammed his cane on Stefan’s back with no mercy. “You fool!“That child needs a legitimate status and respect. What about Ren
The chaos in the room instantly came to a halt. Everyone was staring straight at the little red book.“Shit!”Renee quickly crouched down and tried to hide the book. However, it was too late. The divorce certificate was clearly printed on the cover.The message was blaring loudly despite the silence in the room. Stefan and Renee were divorced!“You… You two…” Timothy held his chest, looking in pain.“Grandpa!”Stefan and Renee both ran to help Timothy at the same time.Timothy, however, shook Stefan’s hand away and chided coldly, “Don’t call me that. I can’t accept it. You’re all grown up, and you’ve stopped listening to me. How dare you sneakily divorce Ren! Are you trying to kill me?!”“In that case, I’ll do as you wish…” Timothy suddenly pulled open the drawer and took out a loaded pistol. He said with a sad look, “This gun saved my life many years ago. Ren’s grandfather gave it to me. I’m too ashamed to live anymore. I better go to meet Ren’s grandfather and confess!”Afte
The Hunt family memorial chamber housed the altars of the Hunt family’s ancestors. Kneeling in the memorial chamber was considered the most severe punishment in the family.Stefan remained silent the entire time. He knelt in front of all the ancestral tablets on the cold hard ground with his back covered with whip marks. “Send someone here to watch him. I’ll see how long he’s going to stay without food and water for three days!” Timothy told Lurch sternly.Lurch was worried about Stefan’s bloody back. “Master Timothy, he is seriously injured from the whipping,” he boldly pleaded. “He won’t get through three days kneeling without food and water!”Timothy was relentless in his pursuit. “He agreed that he should receive punishment for this mistake,” he ruthlessly spat without looking at Stefan.“B-but Mrs. Hunt said she was the one who initiated the divorce. She’s in love with someone else now. How is this considered his fault?”“I don’t care!” Timothy’s stony demeanor remained, th
“How can I help?”Renee looked helpless. She confessed, “I tried to plead for him earlier, but Grandpa stopped me from saying anything. He even warned me. If I nag again, Grandpa will punish me with him. There’s really nothing I can do to help.”Renee thought she had done enough as Stefan’s ex-wife. How could she get herself into trouble for Stefan’s sake? She realized that her feelings for him were not that deep after all. Lurch was glad to see Renee softening up and hurriedly said, “You don’t have to ask Master Timothy for mercy. You just have to help Master Stefan cheat.”“Cheat?”“Simply put, you just have to secretly take care of Master Stefan. Only you can help with this. Master Timothy dotes on you so much that even if he catches you, he won’t punish you. If we try to help, that’ll be a different story.”After saying that, Lurch quickly placed the medicine and dinner in a box and handed it to Renee.“Mrs. Hunt. Whether Master Stefan can get through this will depends on y
After that, Amber looked at Liam, who kept silent the whole time. She tried to make Liam say something nice. "See, Liam? I told you, Matt's a great guy. He was just joking with us in the orchard to scare us. I'm sure he'll take our sides and protect us. Don't worry.""Is that so?" Liam glanced at Mateo and faked a smile. "Well, I should thank him properly."The air between them grew awkward, but Liam didn't care. He wanted to make Mateo uneasy and force the latter to expose his true self.Amber was simple, but Liam was no fool. Mateo's acting was smooth, but he couldn't trick Liam.Moreover, Mateo was the one who came up with that scheme. He wouldn't let anyone expose it—he wanted to be the one to do it."Okay, aren't we going to get a drink? Let's go. I'll make the chef cook us something nice." Mateo enthusiastically held Liam's shoulders and dragged him forward. At that moment, he turned icy. "If you're a man, stop involving Gem if you want to fight against me. Stop showing of
Liam was no fool. He immediately understood the profound meaning behind Renee's words and stopped saying too much. "Fine, be good. You guys are just taking a rest. I'll handle this well. Wait for my news."He knew very well that the conclusion would be the same regardless if Renee and Leia had offended Luneth's son or the child of an ordinary villager. Mateo simply wanted to use that method to control him. The only way to solve this was to defeat Mateo. However, based on the current situation, Mateo had a lot of followers in the fort. It would be difficult for Liam to defeat him.Luckily, Liam wasn't an easy target either. He had been winning people over these days. That, and he was close with Benjamin's other foster sons. If both parties were to get into a fight, he still had a chance to win.After confirming that Renee and Leia were fine, Liam left the cell. Mateo was waiting outside, grinning triumphantly. He sneered sarcastically, "What do you think? I was telling the trut
"No, I'm not!" Liam raised his hand to swear. "Trust me. They're just best friends. They're not in that kind of messy relationship. Both of them have a guy they're madly in love with.""I see." Amber watched how Renee and Leia fooled around intimately with each other in the cell. They looked like they were about to kiss! She shook her head and said, "What a pity! They look so lovey-dovey, better than many novels I read about where the women love each other.""You're hopeless!" It was rare for Liam to see such a straightforward and cute side of Amber. Amused, he poked her forehead and sighed. "Stop reading those messy novels! It's harmful."Their actions were loud and finally attracted Renee's attention in the cell."Liam!" Renee, pressed to the chair by Leia, couldn't escape. Finally, she grabbed a chance to leap up and walk to the door.Well… It wasn't a door. Rather, they were iron bars preventing them from escaping.The decoration and facilities in the room weren't bad. Be
Liam tensed up when he heard that voice. He quickened his pace and rushed through the corridor, toward the cell where Renee and Leia were locked up. Suddenly, he became flabbergasted and his face stiffened. For a long time, he couldn't regain his wits."Hey… What are you guys doing?"On a table lay barbecue, jerky, beer, and fruit platters. Meanwhile, both Renee and Leia were playing cards. Leia ran after Renee, then pressed her on the chair and said seriously, "Hey, gorgeous. You can't run away! You got the card for kissing me, so you have to let me kiss you. If not, you're trying to disobey the rules of the game!""Help! Help me…!" Renee kept resisting, amused and befuddled. "Get away from me! I'm a desperate woman who likes men! I can't kiss you! If I kiss you, I'm going to have nightmares… Oh, just kill me! Is there anyone who can save me?" Liam wasn't the only one standing at the door. Amber was also with him since she was following him. Watching Renee and Leia's antics,
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose