Renee's gaze became unreadable as mixed feelings overwhelmed her. Her guess was right—the person who had saved her was Stefan. His body, embrace, and scent were so familiar to her that she wouldn't have got it wrong. "What happened after that?" Renee took a deep breath and asked slowly.

"Then, he told us he was a very bad guy, and all he did was make you sad. So, he asked us to lie and tell you that I'd saved you and that we'd never met him," Jeffrey said honestly. "I didn't want to lie to you, Renee, but that man sounded very sincere. He said he'd hurt you so much, and didn't want to keep hurting you. He wants to stay away from you, and I... I also didn't want to see you get hurt, so I chose to lie to you. I'm sorry!" Jeffrey kept his head bowed like a child who had done something wrong, his eyes watery.

Justin stared at him, then tugged at Renee's arm, urging, "Hurry up and forgive him. He's heartbroken."

"I never blamed him, so there's nothing to forgive." Renee scowled. "All I