Chapter 287: Chapter 287: Renee Became Very Annoying After Growing Up

That night, after returning home, Renee Jennings waited with Diana Jennings for Zane and Jasmine to fall asleep.

Renee watched her gently close the door and said in a low voice, "Sis, I have something to tell you."

"Okay." Diana nodded. "Where should we talk?"

"Let’s go to the study," Renee said.

A warm, orange chandelier lit up the entire study, casting an amber glow.

Renee looked at Diana across from her, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. She unconsciously clenched her pajama pants, wrinkling the soft fabric.

Her lips trembled. She took a deep breath and finally summoned the courage to speak. "Sis, I’ve done something terrible to you, and I don’t dare hope you’ll forgive me."

"What is it?" Diana blinked, a hint of confusion on her face.

Renee lowered her gaze, looking uneasily at her own fingers as she spoke without much confidence, "Actually, I wanted to tell you the day we moved in here, but I was too much of a coward. I didn’t have the courage..."

Hearing this, Diana didn’t say a word, simply gazing at her with a calm and gentle expression.

Renee looked up, her gaze meeting Diana’s and wavering. "Sis, I’m so sorry. I know who Zane and Jasmine’s father is, but I’ve been hiding it from you all this time."

After saying this, she didn’t dare to look at Diana.

But she didn’t want to miss a single one of her sister’s glances or expressions.

Renee saw a flash of astonishment in Diana’s calm eyes. After a few seconds of shock, Diana squeezed her eyes shut.

"Sis," Renee hadn’t finished speaking, her heart pounding with anxiety. "What I did wrong wasn’t just hiding this from you. I also did something insane—I impersonated you to get close to..."

Diana looked up at her again, shock and disbelief rippling through her eyes. Her lips parted in astonishment.

"I’m sorry." Renee stood up, walked around the desk to Diana, and knelt at her feet, bowing her head. "Sis, just hit me."

Diana stared at her blankly, as if all her thoughts had been drained away. She didn’t respond for a long time.

Renee kept her lips pressed together and her back straight. Her palms were slick with sweat, and her heart hammered so hard it made her ears ring.

Although she said she didn’t dare hope for Diana’s forgiveness, deep down, she still held onto a tiny flicker of expectation.

"You..." Diana finally found her voice, speaking in a low, hoarse tone. "Get up first."

"Okay." Renee’s kneeling apology wasn’t meant to force her sister’s forgiveness but was a silent act of repentance and regret.

She stood up and added in a low voice, "Sis, I’ve already returned the money I got from Jaden Forrest, and I never had any physical contact with him the entire time."

"When I broke up with him, I also told him the truth that I wasn’t the person from back then." Renee thought for a moment, then added, "Later, Jaden Forrest asked me if I knew where you were. I didn’t tell him. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see him."

"But after hearing what Zane and Jasmine said today, I knew I couldn’t hide it anymore."

Diana fell silent again.

The air seemed to freeze. The only sound in the large study was the heavy breathing of the two sisters.

Renee stood to the side, her hands by her sides clenched into tight fists. Her eyes were filled with worry as she watched Diana, who sat rigidly at the desk.

An unknown amount of time passed before Diana stirred and rose from her chair.

She stood opposite Renee, looking at her with a complicated expression. Her throat felt tight as she struggled to get the words out. "Back then, when I was drugged and passed out... were you... involved in that?"

"No," Renee replied decisively. "I accidentally overheard Jaden Forrest having someone investigate what happened at the Aetheria Hotel back then..."

To be honest, when she was impersonating Diana, she wasn’t entirely sure if Diana was the person Jaden Forrest was looking for. It was only after a dream she had after her ’awakening’ that she became completely certain.

"Okay." Diana nodded and said softly, "I’ll pretend this never happened. As for whether or not to let Zane and Jasmine meet that man, I need time to think."

She could understand Renee’s youthful rebellion. This incident hadn’t completely crossed her bottom line, and besides, Renee had truly changed a lot. She didn’t want a man to affect the relationship between them as sisters.

"Sis, I must have been out of my mind to have disliked you back then." Renee had been holding it in for a long time, but her eyes reddened and her voice cracked with tears. "I used to do so many awful things. I was nice to you to your face, but behind your back, I’d secretly bully Zane and Jasmine..."

"I know you didn’t like me." Diana looked down and smiled slightly. "And as for you secretly bullying Zane and Jasmine, they actually told me about that, too."

Sometimes, when she was busy, Renee would volunteer to help watch the kids. But it would end with her buying a bunch of snacks for herself and making Zane and Jasmine drool while they watched.

A few times, Zane and Jasmine got so hungry they couldn’t stand it and reached for a snack, only for Renee to spank them.

She knew all of this.

But when other kids bullied Zane and Jasmine, Renee would get even angrier than their own mother, always the first to put her hands on her hips and curse them out.

She was a total hypocrite, saying she was allowed to bully her own family’s kids, but no one else could say a word against them or lay a finger on them.

Diana had actually struggled for a long time over whether to keep in touch with this half-sister. She had even steeled her heart and ignored her once, but Renee would always eagerly come back to her.

And she, in turn, could never resist her sister’s attempts to be close.

Eventually, Diana made peace with it. As long as Renee didn’t go too far, she would just pretend not to know.

"Sis..." Renee’s gaze wavered, tears welling in her eyes. Shocked and remorseful, she said, "You knew... Then why didn’t you ever say anything to me?"

Diana sighed softly. "Because to me, it’s like the palm and the back of the hand—both are my own flesh."

Even though Renee had become very unpleasant as she grew up, and even hated her, she had also once been her little Sunshine, warming her and healing her.

"Sis, I’m sorry." Renee’s eyelashes were beaded with tears, and her eyes were swimming. She threw herself into Diana’s arms and choked out, "I’ve changed for the better. From now on, you, Zane, and Jasmine will be the most precious people to me, too."

"Okay." Diana raised a hand and gently patted her back, the corners of her lips lifting in a slight smile.

In fact, when she had received those strange text messages before, she’d also had a terrible nightmare—that her sister, Renee, had turned into a truly vicious girl.

Fortunately, reality was the opposite of the dream, and their family was only getting better and better.

**

The inky black of night was about to fade, and a faint, fish-belly white light was dawning on the horizon.

The two little ones in the children’s room were already awake, their small hands gripping the windowsill as they watched the morning light begin to pierce the sky.

Jasmine tilted her head, staring at her brother’s injured face and asked with concern, "Brother, does your face still hurt?"

"It’s okay." Zane shook his head, his small, childish face full of dejection. "Jasmine, I did something wrong yesterday."

"What was it?" the little girl asked, her face full of confusion.

Zane pressed his lips together and said guiltily, "I hurt Mommy’s feelings."

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