Xavier's eyes widened in despair. "I care so much about you, but you're trying to kill me?" Phones were even more private than one's body, and they couldn't simply be exposed to people."You took a risk and lost. You should be punished since you lost the game..." Impatient, Leia urged, "Stop wasting time and just give it to me. Is there anything bad in there?" "You're too violent. No one can tolerate you in this world except me." Although Xavier was complaining, he still obediently handed his phone to Leia. He had a clear conscience when it came to intimacy, but there were other secrets on his phone such as... Stefan's secret. Leia sat under a tree and started going through Xavier's phone.Georgiana: Master Xavier, I miss you. Let's go to the bar tonight. See you there...Xavier immediately explained, "She's a new celebrity my company hired lately. She's rather enthusiastic." Leia ignored him and kept on reading.Mr. Clarke: Master Xavier, what do you think about Willie from
At night, Renee finally breathed a sigh of relief after putting the children to bed. Renee stood at the large balcony in her room, enjoying the cool night breeze under the dim moonlight. "Do you want a drink?" Leia walked into Renee's room, her eyes bright as she carried two cans of fruit beer with a high alcohol percentage.When Renee heard Leia, she turned around eagerly. "Sure!" She hadn't had alcohol since she turned blind and got poisoned. It had also been a long time since she had been this relaxed. "Wait!" Leia dragged a chair over to Renee, then ran downstairs and brought up a large bag of takeouts. "I bought some fried prawns and French fries. Let's have a feast tonight!""Sure! It's been a long time since I had fried prawns!" Renee sniffed the tasty prawns eagerly. Previously, she couldn't eat spicy food, but over the past few years, she was learning to try food with strong flavours.They unscrewed the cans and clinked them before gulping the beer down. Then, they put
Leia almost choked on her beer. Her eyes widened as she stared at Renee in disbelief. "Ren, what did you say?! Stefan had an affair?""Maybe." Renee shrugged and laughed bitterly. "Isn't it dramatic?" She had suffered so much pain lately. She had lost her sight and her baby, then had nearly died from the pain of heavy metal poisoning. She had yearned for Stefan to come home quickly when she was in so much pain that she wished to die because he had been her strength and support. She had never been so depressed back then, but she had almost had a mental breakdown when she found out about Stefan and Briar. It had disgusted her so much that she had finally given up hope; All that was left in her was disappointment. "It can't be!" Leia put the can down and sat up straight. She looked at Renee and said firmly, "I know Stefan—he's not the type to cheat on his lover. If he wanted to, he would have done it ages ago. You both were entangled for many years, and I know that he's always been hon
"Briar?" Leia gaped at Renee in bewilderment. "Why is that wicked woman suddenly back in the picture? She just doesn't go away!" However, considering how obsessed Briar was with Stefan, Leia could picture it happening. After all, Briar had gone to extremes to meddle in Stefan and Renee's relationship, and it had made Renee and Stefan miss the chance to be with each other for many years. If Briar hadn't meddled in it, Renee and Stefan might not have gotten a divorce, and they would have been a happy family of four. "Briar said Stefan was a normal man with desires, and since I was sick and bedridden back then, I couldn't satisfy him… which was why he went to her." Renee explained calmly, reiterating to Leia what Briar had told her. Surprisingly, she no longer felt pain when she spoke about it; It just sounded ridiculous, like one of those melodramatic dramas she had watched. "Don't listen to her crap!" Leia snorted. "That scumbag wasn't the kind of man who indulged in such things—he'
Both women had things on their mind, and once they were both drunk, Leia left the room. Once Leia was gone, Renee lay in bed alone. Her head hurt and she couldn't fall asleep, so she got out of bed and made her way downstairs. At last, a voice in her heart led her to the manor next to hers. It was the manor she had looked at when they played the game today. In the past, a foreign businessman stayed there, but when the neighborhood was rumored to be haunted because of the affairs concerning Everheart Manor, a lot of people left, including the businessman. Renee remembered that the neighboring manor had been vacant when Everheart Manor was being rebuilt, however, though the manor still looked abandoned, it felt like someone was still living there. The lights in the bedroom facing hers were on, so… was Stefan upstairs right now? Renee was quite sure that Stefan was living in that manor. She could always feel an invisible gaze on her back, and Stefan's IP address that Justin had found
"You..." Renee tightened her grip on the tree, squinting at the man below. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember his name."It looks like you've forgotten about me, little girl!" The man sighed dramatically, but his eyes shone with mirth. He had sharp features, brown curly hair, and light blue eyes like Renee—he looked like a typical guy from Varangia."You're..." Renee frowned as she tried to recall who this stranger was. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Are you Jamie? Is that really you, big guy?" "Thank God you remembered—I wouldn't be able to call myself your childhood friend if you didn't!" Jamie Thatcher's smile deepened, dimpling his cheeks. He was the son of the Varangia couple who lived next door to the Everhearts, and he had grown up with Renee. Since they were of different ethnicities, he had always been taller and sturdier than Renee, leading to Renee calling him 'big guy' and him calling her 'little girl'.When they were young, Jamie doted on Renee very much. He al
The atmosphere immediately became heavy. Renee cleared her throat awkwardly and immediately leaped out of Jamie's arms. "Big guy, we're not kids anymore, so don't say things like that. It's late, and I'll get scared." She hated when men tried to blur the lines with her, especially when it was someone close to her like a childhood friend. It was more horrible than bumping into ghosts. Jamie laughed, offering her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. I was just joking." Even if he was a bit flirtatious sometimes, he was always respectful. Renee tilted her body and looked at the manor behind Jamie, then smiled at him politely. "Hey, shouldn't you be inviting me into your house? I haven't been there since we were kids." She was suspicious of Jamie's sudden appearance, and didn't believe that he was the one who had been staying in the manor. She still felt that her instincts were right—Stefan had to be inside that manor. She wanted to go inside and look around, so if Stefan wasn't there, i
Renee's words made Jamie feel even more guilty, and he subtly wiped off the sweat on his forehead. "Umm..." A sigh escaped Jamie as he decided to come clean, unable to see his childhood friend heartbroken like this. "Well, it's not what you think. My manor...""Do you have wine? I want to have some wine!" Renee suddenly interrupted him, no longer interested in Jamie's answer. She wasn't an alcoholic, but she couldn't stop drinking once she started. She would lose control of her emotions and do crazy things once she had some wine. When she was drunk, she would let her thoughts and actions run wild, and she knew she would feel more at ease in that state. Since she had let herself go, she might as well have more wine and get crazier so she could forget about everything once she woke up. At least, she didn't have to worry too much about things then."Wine?" Jamie's body relaxed when Renee stopped asking about the owner of the manor. He knew himself well—if Renee kept on asking, he might