�I�m sure you didn�t know this, but there was a pair of twins in my family. It turns out that I used to have an older brother. Unfortunately, he didn�t survive. My parents and grandfather were worried I would be sad, and that�s why they never told me.� Renee found out about this by coincidence.

She often wondered how things would be if her brother were still around. She wouldn�t be this lonely and helpless. It would also be much easier to rebuild the Everheart family�

�You had a brother?� Stefan was a little surprised. This was the first time he�d heard that Renee actually had a twin brother who didn�t survive.

�Hmph! If my brother were still alive, he�d have beaten you up long ago. You�re only bullying me because you think I have nobody at home to depend on!� Renee couldn�t resist condemning Stefan again.

Oftentimes, the marriage quality of a woman greatly correlated with their family situation. If her family was powerful and could help her husband�s family in a particular way, her in-laws wouldn�t dare look down on her. Even if her husband didn�t spoil her rotten, they would at least treat each other with respect. She�d still have a healthy sense of ego.

That explained why Renee was treated so unkindly in the Hunt family back then. Even the maids walked all over her. It wasn�t because Stefan didn�t love her. Instead, it was because she had nobody to rely on, and her family wasn�t powerful enough to support her.

�I�m not that vain. Back then, I just didn�t have any feelings for you. Or rather� I purely hated you and didn�t want to see you. It had nothing to do with your family situation,� Stefan said frankly.

Renee felt a little hurt.

She knew Stefan hated her, but her ego still got bruised when he said it so frankly.

�To be honest, I�ve always been curious about this. If you disliked me that much, why did you agree with Grandpa Hunt�s request to marry me? Knowing your unbridled personality, I don�t think you�d have taken his threats seriously!� Renee couldn�t resist asking the question that had bugged her for many years.

Stefan looked into the distance. After a long moment of silence, he recalled the first time he met Renee. �That�s because� I felt sorry for you.�

At the time, the Everheart family was going through massive changes. Not long after the passing of Renee�s biological parents, her grandfather also met his demise. From a rich young lady who was adored by many, Renee became a helpless orphan with countless enemies overnight.

�Back then, Grandpa insisted that I returned from Newrest to see you. I remember you were dressed in plain clothing, and you even had a white flower on your ear. You kept your head down the entire time, and you didn�t even say a single word�

�You were too scrawny and pale. It felt as if I could lift you with a single finger. You looked no different from a beggar on the street. Marrying you or not didn�t make a difference. I only did it to save your life.�

Stefan thought he didn�t have any special feelings for Renee. Logically speaking, he should�ve forgotten about the first time he saw her. However, now that he recalled the scene, everything felt as vivid as ever. There was still an indescribably strong emotion somewhere inside him. Perhaps, he had fallen for her much earlier than he thought�

�Hehe. You actually married me out of pity. Is that it?� Renee never expected this to be the truth. She wasn�t sure if she ought to praise Stefan for being so kind or feel sorry for her own pitiful situation. Sometimes, being on the receiving end of pity was even more hurtful than anything else.

She�d rather he did it because he had an ulterior motive and not out of pity.

�Back then, I did find you pitiful. You seemed as fragile as the flower on your ear. A gentle breeze could easily make you wither. After getting divorced, your personality changed completely. One couldn�t even associate the word �weak� with you. I was definitely overthinking, though.� Although Stefan knew about how much Renee had changed after their divorce, he still couldn�t quite process it.

He couldn�t figure out how the same person could have two completely different states of being! However, it didn�t matter whether she was �weak� or �tough�; she was still able to easily influence his emotions.

Renee smiled and looked at Stefan with a complicated expression on her face. �I never knew you were so kind and generous. If that�s the case� Why don�t you go all the way and set us free? Let my children and I live our lives in peace.� JrNovels.com