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.

‘…What’s his deal?!’ Renee thought to herself as she stared up at the tall figure. ‘Aren’t you the one who’s excited? You’re practically running to the counter!’

The procedure went very smoothly. All they had to do was sign a few papers, which took less than ten minutes.

“According to the new law, there is a one-month grace period for all divorces. Should any of you wish to call off the divorce, you can bring along the required documents before the thirty days are up,” explained the staff as he handed them their application forms.

Having worked at the courthouse for years, he had witnessed countless tears and fights during divorce proceedings. This was the first time he had come across such calm individuals at the courthouse.

He simply couldn’t fathom why this couple was divorcing each other. They appeared to be made for each other, especially given their good looks.

Renee immediately took the papers and read through the clauses. She mumbled to herself sarcastically, “There’s a grace period for divorce, but not marriage? If this law applied to marriages as well, I-”

Stefan’s expression darkened. With a cold smirk, he snapped, “Oh? Are you saying you wouldn’t have married me if there was a grace period for marriage?”

“Nope!” Renee lifted an eyebrow. “I got 40 million out of you. 40 million! The average woman wouldn’t even dream of making this much money in their lifetime. I guess you could say I struck gold!”

Stefan was visibly upset by her reaction. He tugged on his tie out of frustration.

The Renee from before was always very lenient as if she didn’t even have her own opinions. The closer they got to the divorce, the more sharp and spiteful her words became.

Just as they were about to part ways, a soft voice came from behind. “Stef, are you done yet?”

Renee turned around, only to realize it was Briar!

Briar was wearing a white sundress, her gaze filled with a tinge of sadness. She looked like a dandelion that would crumple apart at the slightest breeze. There wasn’t a single shred of arrogance left on her face, unlike the other night when they initially met.

Besides that, Renee had also noticed a slight bump on her belly.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait for me in the car? What are you doing out here?”

“It’s cold out here. This child is important to our family, we can’t afford to have you fall ill while pregnant.”

Stefan’s voice sounded cold and distant as usual.

Seeing the two, Renee couldn’t help but feel betrayed. Deep down in her heart, she felt extremely aggrieved.

“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation, Master Hunt?”

Stefan stared back at Renee expressionlessly.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

‘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…

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 are you doing… Let go of me!" Visibly upset, Renee wriggled in his arms with all her might. "Do you not remember that we've separated…"

"You're still considered my wife during the waiting period." The man insisted firmly.

Seeing them leaving together, Briar went into a state of panic. This was not what she wanted to happen.

She immediately planted one of her hands on her hips feigning sickness. "Fan, wait up! I can't walk that fast when I'm pregnant…"

"Stay here, I'll have Elijah pick you up later," Stefan said in a deep voice before turning back towards Renee. "I can't stand back and watch when she's clearly ill."

Hearing this, Renee nearly rolled her eyes to the back of her head.

'What the hell is he doing?! First, he knocks up his mistress and forces his wife into a divorce. Now he's acting as if he still cares for me?!'

'Who does he think he is? Is he trying to string me along? This jerk… Turns out he really is a perfect match for Briar Desrosiers!'

'If that's how you want to play it, don't mind if I do too!'

Renee decided to switch up her strategy and she wrapped her arms around Stefan’s neck. While batting her eyelashes flirtatiously, she said "Thank you, my dear ex-husband."

Stefan's eyes darkened as he was left speechless. No one could tell what was running through his mind at the moment.

On the other hand, the color drained from Briar's face as she was consumed by sheer anger.

At the hospital, Stefan stayed by Renee’s side throughout the entire process. He even went as far as waiting for the blood test results with her.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the hospital to get back to them.

"Her temperature is currently 39.3 °C. You do realize that she has a viral infection, on top of a bacterial infection, right? If she got here any later, you'd find her a cold corpse rather than diagnosed with a fever."

After going through the report, the doctor adjusted his glasses and lectured Stefan sternly. "What kind of husband are you? How could you let your wife wear such thin clothing in this cold weather, with a fever no less? How heartless can you be?"

Just as Stefan was about to explain, Renee started speaking in a sickeningly sweet tone, choking on fake tears. "Doctor, please don't blame him for this. He may have starved me and left me out in the cold… He may be very temperamental and takes out his anger on me… He may have cheated on me and forced me into a divorce, but… I'm willing to endure this much for him. He's just way too handsome, I couldn't possibly hold a grudge against him!"

Stefan was absolutely confused. 'What is she saying? Why is she so different from what I remember?'

The doctor seemed very taken aback as well, looking at the both of them in disbelief. 'Ah, the younger generation… Always full of… surprises.'

"Your condition should stabilize once you've taken the pills I've prescribed. You may rest here till the IV bag is emptied," said the doctor before leaving the ward.

With that, Stefan and Renee were the only ones left in the ward, which created an odd tension.

Despite being married for four years, the two rarely spent time alone together.

Stefan shoved his hands into his pockets and loomed over Renee, asking. "Are you done with the games?"

Renee cleared her throat awkwardly and replied, "Yeah."

She was now aware that she could’ve lost her life if she had fooled around any longer.

"Why didn't you reschedule today’s meeting when you realized you had a high fever?"

Renee's cheeks were flushed red due to the fever. She lay still on the bed and was back to being the defenseless little bunny that he was familiar with. Oddly enough, this made his heart ache for her.

"What's the point of rescheduling? It's inevitable anyway, isn't it, Master Hunt?" Renee replied softly.

Though she wished for Stefan's love, she knew she shouldn't let herself drown in that fantasy.

"Thank you for today. I'm fine now, you can leave now. Your pregnant lover is waiting for you, you know!"

Her statement seemed to have snapped Stefan back to reality as he responded. "Alright, I'll be off then."

Just then, a tall, slender figure entered the ward.

"Boss, how did you end up in the hospital over a divorce…"