Chapter 4

‘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 I can punish you however I want? Why are you hiding?” Renee put up a fake smile as she ran her fingers through her hair, brushing them over her ear. “Don’t be so dramatic, I’m no brute. I’m not going to beat you up like they normally do in the movies.” “If you are truly in love with each other, I’d be more than happy to walk away from this relationship!” “W-what?” Briar was left dumbfounded by her words. She initially prepared to play the victim, but it turned out she didn’t have to play that card at all. ‘Looks like the rumors were true, Stefan and Renee really were just in a contractual marriage. Why else would she be so kind to her husband’s mistress?’ Renee continued speaking. “Since you cheated on me, it’s only fair that we make a few adjustments to our settlement.” Hearing that Renee wanted a change in her compensation, Briar was so agitated that she dropped her facade. “Stefan already said he’d give you 40 million dollars, along with a whole penthouse! He’s being generous enough as is! Besides, the Hunt family put in a lot of effort to clean up the mess your family made. How shameless of you…” Renee nearly burst out laughing when she saw Briar break character. “Aww, we’re not even legally divorced yet, and little Miss Mistress already has a say in his finances already? Are you scared that your man would lose all his money to this divorce? Who’s actually the greedy one here, hmm?” Upon hearing the response, all color drained from Briar's face. "T-that's not what I meant…" Stefan remained calm and collected throughout the interaction. Staring at Renee with an intimidating aura, he uttered "Continue." Renee took on his pressuring gaze head-on and listed out her new terms. "I don't want your money, nor the penthouse. Just hand over your law firm to me." "By law firm, you’re referring to Hunts & Co.?" Stefan narrowed his eyes as he juggled his memory. Being the top of the eight most powerful families in Beach City, the Hunt family were involved in all sorts of businesses. A single law firm was not significant enough to occupy Stefan's memory. However, he did somewhat remember its existence, as it was in charge of handling all of the Hunt family's legal affairs. He merely viewed it as a charity organization, since the employees were earning high salaries without much work to handle. The firm simply had no economic value to the Hunt family. 'This woman decides to turn down the 40 million dollars and instead asks for such a worthless asset? What is she thinking?' Suddenly, he started seeing Renee in a new light. Although it had only been a few days, she seemed… like a completely different person. "Well, that's my only condition. I'll send you an amended copy of the documents soon… It's getting late, so if you’ll excuse me!" "Oh, and I wish you a fruitful life with your little lover." Renee lifted her chin and revealed a satisfied grin as if she had just scored herself a phenomenal business deal. Sadly, her cool demeanor only lasted for a second. Her head began to spin, and her vision turned black seconds later…