Chapter 384

The voice that Renee had not heard for four years was still as cold and distant as she remembered it to be.

Renee listened quietly, with a calm expression and no inner turmoil.

“Umm, M-Mr. Hunt, sorry to bother you…”

Elon did not expect Stefan to pick up this fast, so he got nervous and stammered incoherently, “It’s like this… My niece, Renee, just got back to Beach City today. It’s a real surprise to see her again after she disappeared for so many years. You’ve taken good care of me in the last few years, so I want to invite you to my house for a meal together with Renee. You…”

‘There’s no need.”

Stefan, on the other end of the phone, refused without any hesitation or emotion.

After that, without saying anything else, he hung up the phone.

“But Mr. Hunt… Mr. Hunt?”

Elon called out to him a few more times but the only response he got was the sound of a disconnected call.

He tried calling again, but it seemed like Stefan had blocked him.

“Ren, don’t mind it… Mr. Hunt must be busy. He’s a CEO after all. I’ll try again with Mandy’s phone later.”

Elon glanced at Renee with a guilty and awkward expression, afraid that Renee might feel hurt.

He did not expect Stefan, who had always taken good care of the Barnes family, to suddenly become so unfriendly. It was obvious that he was avoiding Renee. Renee must feel really bad about it!

“It doesn’t matter!”

Renee shrugged and smiled. “If he comes, we’ll prepare a seat for him. If he doesn’t, I’ll eat more. It’s no big deal.”

Renee was not playing it cool. Stefan was just a stranger she used to know now. He could not stir any emotion in her.

Mandy’s brows furrowed as a disappointed expression crept onto her face. She shook her head repeatedly. “TskTsk Tsk, I was wrong about him. He should man up. He doesn’t even have the guts to have a simple meal with Ren, when Ren is okay with it.”

Elon said, “You brat, what do you know? I stand by my opinion. If you’ve gotten over it, you wouldn’t care. You’d only act awkwardly if you haven’t gotten over it. Mr. Hunt has always been a straightforward guy. For him to suddenly act like this, it must be because he hasn’t gotten over Ren, so he’s not ready to meet her yet. I’ll ask him again sometime!”

Renee chuckled and said, “You’re overthinking it. Isn’t it normal for a high- and-mighty CEO like him to refuse to eat with us ordinary folks? Besides… our relationship is so awkward. It’s understandable that he would want to avoid me to avoid any misunderstanding with his current partner.”

‘That’s true!”

Mandy rubbed her chin and nodded, “In recent years, he has been in a stable relationship with that Desrosiers woman. Reporters often catch them out on a date or on a vacation. I think he must have forgotten about you by now.”

“No, no, I don’t think it’s like that…”

Elon held a different opinion. “I’m a man so I know men. If a man has really gotten over a woman, he wouldn’t take care of the woman’s family. Mr. Hunt has taken good care of us all these years and he visits your parents’ graves every year. He doesn’t look like he’s gotten over you.”

‘Then why refuse to even share a meal with Ren? Why find a new girlfriend? Doesn’t that make him a scumbag?”

Mandy suddenly became enthusiastic. She grabbed Elon’s hand and said,” Dad, wanna bet? I bet Mr.

Hunt already got over Ren…”

“No, no, I already quit gambling!”

“It’s fine. If you win, I’ll do the dishes for a whole year!”

“Oh, that’s fine. In that case, I bet Mr. Hunt has NOT gotten over Ren. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see…”

The father and daughter argued heatedly and even made a bet.

Renee did not know whether to laugh or cry. She quietly withdrew from the battlefield and walked around the house.

Elon’s house was not luxurious. It was a simple house but very cozy. Being in the house somehow made her feel warm and relaxed.

On the piano rack in the study, there was a family portrait. Elon’s family of three, Renee’s family of three, and her dead grandparents were all in it.

Renee stopped in front of the portrait and stared at it for a long time. Her eyes gradually turned red.

She was in her teens in the photo. Her parents were young and beautiful. That was the happiest time in her life.