"Of course I know who you are." Stefan's gaze was cold, his tone vague. "I thought you were dead."
Previously, Seraphina had threatened Renee with a video of Renee accidentally pushing Briar off a cliff.
Thanks to that, Renee and Stefan had lost so much time with each other. Stefan had thought that Briar
was dead given the surging waves below the cliff, but he was ultimately relieved to see her.
Briar cried under the mask. She looked at Stefan and asked, "How did you feel when you saw that I'm
alive?"
"I was thankful." Stefan didn't hesitate. "I'm thankful that you’re alive and that I can still talk to you."
"Do you mean it?" Briar was surprised. "I thought you hated me and wanted me dead."
"Yes, I do hate you. Ren and I wouldn't have wasted so many years if not for you, but... I'm thankful that
you're still alive. It means that Ren doesn't have to carry all that guilt. She doesn't have to turn herself
in," Stefan said honestly.
Briar staggered back, feeling like she had just been stabbed in the heart. She glared at Stefan,
disappointment and hatred in her eyes. "Is that the only reason?"
"What other reasons could there be?"
"Don't you feel anything for me? I was your brother's beloved woman when he was still alive. Don't you
feel guilty that I ended up like this?" Briar quickly mentioned Tristan knowing Stefan would react to it.
"How could you bring my brother up? You have no right to talk about him!" Stefan's anger surged when
Briar mentioned his brother, and his patience snapped. He strode towards Briar and strangled her. "You
wicked woman!
Didn't you feel anything for him?"
"Do you want the truth?" Briar didn't even struggle, and just offered Stefan a strange smile.
"Yes, tell me!"
"No," Briar said immediately. She shook her head. "Yes, he was a nice man who saved me from danger
and gave me a stable life, and I should feel something for him but... I don't want to lie to you. I never
had feelings for him."
"Excuse me?" Stefan's eyes blazed in anger thinking about how Tristan was worrying about Briar even
in his final moments. What a cruel woman!
"Your brother was a nice man with good education, intelligence, and power. His family background was
superb, and he was an elite. The High Street was full of stories about him, and countless women liked
him, but what a pity... He had bad insight. He picked a lousy woman like me and ruined his lifelong
reputation." Briar smiled as if she was talking about someone else's affairs. But the most ironic thing is
that the man I didn't love turned out to be the man who loved me the most. No man ever loved me
again after he died."