She balled her fists up, intending to teach these people a lesson.

�Try hitting her. I dare you!� Stefan dragged Renee backward and shielded her with his own body. He then glared coldly at those who jumped in for a fight, his chilling aura clearly frightening them.

Cecilia�s mother was on the verge of a breakdown, wailing. �Step aside, Stef! You�ve once dated our beloved Cecy. You mustn�t protect her murderer!�

Stefan�s perfectly sculpted face was painted with a layer of frost. �You have no proof, so don�t falsely accuse someone of such a serious crime. She�s mine, so don�t you even think about harming a single hair on her head."?

Xavier, also convinced that Renee was Cecilia�s murderer, glared at Stefan with a furious gaze. �The truth is as clear as day! What more proof do we need?! Besides, you�re divorced! What does she have anything to do with you? Why are you defending her so much?!�

"We were married for four whole years! How could she possibly have nothing to do with me?" Stefan sounded determined, making it seem like his absurd statement was reasonable.

Renee stood behind him with mixed feelings stirring up in her chest.

She had never expected Stefan to defend her in front of this many people, nor had she expected him to say all those things.

�Isn�t he supposed to be the coldest and harshest person regarding our past marriage? Shouldn�t he be expressing his disdain more than anything? What is he doing acting as if he cared?�

Christopher spoke up too. �Stef is right. We have no proof pointing to Miss Everheart pushing Cecilia off the cliff, so please do not make any hasty assumptions or use violence against her.�

"Instead, we should split up into groups and look around the area� find Cecilia as soon as we can!�

Everyone found his words quite understandable, and they started calling out to Cecilia, covering more ground as they tried to look for her.

Stefan also joined the search party, with Renee sheepishly following behind the man.

His heroic actions a while ago touched her, and she wanted to take this opportunity to thank him properly. However, it seemed that he was in a state of panic as well, rushing around as he scanned his surroundings anxiously.

�I knew it. Smith does have a very special place in his heart. Even though he didn�t try to elope with her, he clearly hasn�t moved on from her yet.�

�Uhm, Hunt�� Renee increased her pace and caught up to the man.

Stefan didn�t care about anything else at the time, as he only wished to find Cecilia as quickly as possible. Thus, he didn�t quite have much patience to spare Renee.

�What is it?�

His dismissive attitude made Renee feel extremely ashamed. She mumbled softly, �I� just� wanted to thank you for standing up for me, even when the situation was so pressuring.�

"No need to thank me." Stefan�s eyes continued scanning the ocean surface, not sparing her a single glance. �But if I found out that you were really the one who tried to kill her, I�ll be sure to take matters into my own hands!� JrNovels.com