The more she thought about it, the more Renee realized that she had to accept reality—in the eyes of society, a divorced family could never be a good thing. There would always be prejudice and discrimination towards the children. Luckily, Adie was a strong child, and could stand his ground when others bullied him. If it were a gentle child like Abby, facing that kind of hostility would create lifelong trauma. After much thought, Renee felt the children had to have a father, even if he were just there in name.Stefan held Adie with one hand and Abby with the other, and they soon arrived at the cave. Renee took a deep breath as she watched them, and decided to talk it out with Stefan for the sake of the two children. Besides, many pupils and parents were standing outside the cave, too timid to go in.The cave came with a karst landscape with long and narrow spaces full of stalactites in various strange shapes. It was a good place for adventure and looking for treasure."Mommy, come he
Stefan and Renee walked into the cave silently. The atmosphere was tense and almost suffocating, like there was something threatening to surface. Maybe the oxygen level in the cave was low, or maybe it was the tension between them.Renee held the torchlight and shone it ahead of her. However, she wasn't really checking the cave out or searching for treasures—she was trying to figure out how to talk to Stefan about the children. "You..." Renee started, but gasped as she accidentally stepped into a dark pit. However, before she could fall, Stefan grabbed her and held her, and they both tumbled to the ground together. Renee had fallen on Stefan, and immediately panicked when she realized it. "Are you alright? Did you hurt your head? Can you move?" At first, Stefan was fine, but when Renee pressed down on his body, he winced in discomfort. "Maybe I'd feel better if you weren't crushing me.""Oh, I'm sorry!" Renee immediately tried to stand up, feeling embarrassed when she realized she
Stefan did not answer Renee's question immediately, and the silence in the cave made everything more awkward.Renee wasn't used to being so close to him. She could feel his breathing and the warmth of his body, but it felt like their hearts were far apart. She didn't know what he was thinking. Humiliated and disappointed, she tried to stand up, keeping her distance from Stefan. "Is it that difficult to answer?" Renee huffed angrily. She could accept Stefan's fickleness and insincerity, but she couldn't accept his silence and avoidance when it came to their children."What do you want me to do?" After a long silence, Stefan quietly stood up, upset that their romantic moment was cut short. However, he didn't regret his decision to stay away from her—he knew she would suffer less in the future. "What do you mean? You're their father, but you never thought of how you'd take care of them in the future?" Stefan's casualness infuriated Renee, and she had to stop herself from slapping him.
“Let’s get a divorce, Renee.”The man’s cold voice sounded from behind while Renee Everheart was in the middle of searing steaks. After hearing those words, she became seemingly numb to the hot oil splattering on her cheeks from the lightly sizzling pan.“We’re only husband and wife on paper. Now that four years have passed, it’s time to end this,” Stefan Hunt said with a cold, distant tone. Renee bit her lip anxiously. ‘Looks like this day was inevitable after all…’Her family was declared bankrupt four years ago. Her parents, unable to endure the stress of financial hardship, took their lives together, leaving young Renee to handle the mess alone. In the past, Renee’s grandfather fought alongside Stefan’s grandfather on the battlefield, and he even saved the latter’s life once. In his dying moments, he voiced out to his old pal his concern for his granddaughter and left Renee under his care. And so, a marriage of convenience was arranged between Stefan and Renee to put the
‘No wonder Stefan wanted me out by tonight. He had another woman he wanted to play house with! Hah, to think that I let that man affect my emotions! How I wish I could slap my past self!’Briar approached Renee with a cocky smirk. “So you’re Renee Everheart, huh? What are you still doing here? Didn’t Stefan kick you out? Get a move on! Have you no shame?!”Despite the provocation, Renee continued packing her belongings at her own pace.“Hey, are you deaf? I’m talking to you here!”“Sorry, I didn’t quite hear you.” Renee met her gaze calmly. “All I heard was some crazy bitch barking!”“How dare you call me a bitch?!”“I didn’t. Looks like you went ahead and got offended in the first place.” Renee replied as she got up with her luggage. She tilted her head at Briar, who was blocking her path. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. Nice little doggies should know how to stay out of the way.” “How dare you!” Briar’s face went bright red as she stomped her feet.‘Wasn’t she known to be a
The next day, Renee showed up at the courthouse at 8:30 am, even though they agreed to meet at nine.Not only did she arrive early, but she also made sure to put on heavy makeup and her favorite outfit, a rose-red halter dress. With her long hair tied up into a ponytail, the skin on her neck and back glowed under the bright sunlight.When paired with her elegant, yet cold demeanor, she looked angelic from afar.Unfortunately, she had caught a cold the night before. Her body was burning up, which made her feel quite weak.At 9 am sharp, a silver Bugatti Veyron cruised into the parking lot in front of the courthouse. Soon after, she was greeted by Stefan’s ice-cold expression as he exited the vehicle.His eyes sparkled for a split second when he saw Renee standing there, but this was quickly replaced with a contemptuous expression for some reason.“Well, aren’t you excited?” Stefan scoffed as he walked past Renee, heading straight towards the department that handled divorce cases.
‘Just look at how unabashed this man is acting! This is ridiculous!’ Renee thought. She had always viewed Stefan as someone who was morally sound and would never commit adultery.In the end… the very same man she thought so highly of, dropped a nuclear bomb on her. Not only did he intend on marrying his mistress, but they were expecting as well.This was the last push that Renee needed to move on completely. The tinge of sadness in her heart had completely vanished.“So this means you were cheating on me, right?”Before Stefan could respond, Briar hurriedly placed herself between them. Teary-eyed, she said, “Ms. Everheart, it’s all my fault! If it makes you feel better, you can punish me however you want…”‘Does this woman think this is some soap opera? She’d make a great actress, honestly.’“Really now?” Renee raised her hand up high as if she was about to deliver a slap.As soon as she realized what was going to happen, Briar squealed and darted behind Stefan.“Didn’t you say
Renee thought she was about to fall flat on her face.Just then, a man wrapped his strong arm around her waist, catching her fall. The fresh scent of peppermint filled her senses, entrancing the woman entirely. "You're burning hot… Do you have a fever?" Stefan asked her with a hint of concern in his voice.The urge to protect her sprang up in his mind, accompanied by the following thought.'She's so thin and frail, like a feather.'"This doesn't concern you!" Renee hissed through her teeth as she regained her balance. She stubbornly tried to free herself from his arms.After the procedure was done, she intended to walk away elegantly, leaving Stefan in the dust. She wanted to avoid casting the impression that she was using her illness to gain sympathy.However, no matter how tough she tried to act, her body was simply exhausted. Even after gaining her footing, she staggered backward.Seeing this, Stefan lifted her bridal style and said, "I'll take you to the hospital.""What