Chapter 8

Stefan stood tall and proud, an indifferent look on his face as he pondered over his father’s words.

His eyes landed on Briar’s stomach, and he said dismissively, “As you can see, Briar is already three months pregnant. This child is part of the family bloodline, so she will need a proper title before the child is born. I’ve already proceeded with the divorce with Everheart. Once we’re legally separated, I will register my marriage with Briar.”

Francine and Briar let out a sigh of relief at the same time after hearing this.

However, this statement only made Alexander even more furious. He was on the verge of slapping his son. “You b*stard, so you’re being serious about this?! You… You’re so foolish that you kicked your wife out to make space for your mistress! Are you insane?!”

“If Ren’s grandfather found out about this, how should he rest in peace? You should know that he used to be quite the soldier and was even appointed as an esteemed general! Aren’t you worried that he’d haunt you in your dreams?”

“Just break off this nonsensical relationship!”

Francine crossed her arms, rolled her eyes, then said scornfully, “The Everheart family wouldn’t have fallen if he really was that great. If we didn’t take his only granddaughter in, their bloodline would’ve ended right then!”

“Don’t you remember how many enemies the Everhearts had back then? We endured the pressure and let her marry into the family regardless! We even made a few enemies ourselves just because of this!

Even if we were repaying his kindness, shouldn’t this be more than enough?”

“Besides, the old man himself said that their marriage would only need to last four years. If they still didn’t love each other after that, they could just go their separate ways! Stefan is not the bad guy in this!”

Seeing his parents fighting made Stefan rather annoyed, so he spoke up in a chilling tone. “I’ve said what I needed to say. If you’d like to argue, find another place to do that.”

“Ah, whatever!” Alexander sighed deeply. “You’ve always been pretty stubborn, son. Your brother was the only one who could talk you out of things… If he were still alive, he might have been able to try convincing you, at the very least…”

With that, the atmosphere instantly became quite heavy.

Three months ago, news of Tristan Hunt’s death brought devastation to the Hunt family. Stefan, who was already cold, became even more closed off after the accident.

“I can’t do anything if you really intend to marry this woman, but you have to promise me one thing, or else I’d rather we cut ties completely!”

“What is it?” Stefan stared at his own father, still expressionless as always.

“You have to keep this a secret from your grandfather. You know that his heart is unwell, and he has a transplant surgery coming soon. We can’t afford to agitate him. And you know how much he loves Renee. He’s always treated her like she was his own granddaughter! If he found out you divorced her over a mistress, he’d lose his marbles!”

Stefan nodded. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

Finally, the old couple left the manor. Francine also made sure to remind Briar over and over again to be careful with her health, clearly viewing her as her future daughter-in-law now.

Due to his guilt towards Renee, Alexander refused to act friendly with Briar the whole time, unlike his wife. Hence, Briar was very anxious during their interaction, as if she had just experienced a rollercoaster.

Despite what Stefan’s parents thought of her, Briar knew that the most important person was actually Stefan. He had the most say within the Hunt family and the entire Beach City, after all.

At this time, Stefan was standing by the window on the second floor, spacing off as he looked at the sunflower garden in the backyard. He didn’t stop by the manor much, so he never noticed the field of sunflowers in their garden. To his surprise, he found this sight rather beautiful.

‘Sunflowers, huh…’ He wondered.

He only found out earlier today that sunflowers were Renee’s favorite type of flowers.

‘Loyalty and new hope? Does that mean the divorce is giving her new hope? Was being my wife really that bad?’

“Stefan!” Briar then walked up to him, wiping her tears. “I’m sorry the baby and I are giving you trouble.

Why don’t we just… give up?”

Stefan turned around, his starry eyes filled with endless sadness. With a lump in his throat, he said, “No, we can’t. This was Tristan’s last and only wish.