Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 122

Stefan turned on his heel and walked away.

After a few steps, he turned back to his younger brothers and said, "What are you guys still doing here? Come on in!"

The kids looked at each other, none of them eager to be the first one to follow Stefan.

"If you keep dilly-dallying here, I'll make you run up the mountain for three hours," Stefan warned.

At that, they quickly followed, not wanting to be punished by running up the mountain.

The mountain path was full of loose pebbles. Running for three hours would surely leave their feet bleeding.

"Good morning, Stefan."

"It's not morning anymore."

"But it's still morning now."

Stefan huffed and gave his brother a side glance. The man who said so could only touch his nose, chuckle awkwardly, and keep his mouth shut.

Stefan gathered all his brothers inside, then called Campbell and Judson out and pointed them out, "Line up by age!"

They sprang into action and quickly formed a line.

After they were all lined up, Stefan went to Lucinda and gently told her, "Lucy, these are my brothers, all nine of them are here."

All nine of them thought, "He's so harsh on us but so gentle with Lucinda. Stefan is indeed two-faced."

Lucinda looked at the nine handsome faces in front of her, some of them looked a lot like Stefan. She guessed they all took after their father since they were full brothers.

"Did you all lose your tongue? Say hello to Lucinda and introduce yourselves, so she can recognize you in the future."

Stefan ordered his brothers to greet Lucinda.

"Hello, Lucinda!"

Nine voices chorused a greeting.

Lucinda quickly responded, "Hello, everyone." Then she whispered to Stefan, "I didn't prepare any gifts for them. What should I do?"

Stefan asked his brothers loudly, "Who asked Lucinda for a gift?"

"Stefan, I didn't. We're family, we don't need to be so formal. Lucinda, you don't need to prepare any gifts for me."

Eric Anderson was the quickest to respond.

He had met Lucinda a few times and knew that Stefan treated Lucinda as the most important person.

Unless Lucinda prepared gifts for them on her own accord, they wouldn't dare to ask for any.

The others quickly echoed Eric's words.

No gifts needed.

Stefan turned to Lucinda and said, "Lucy, you see, they said you don't need to worry about gifts." Lucinda was speechless.

She wondered if her husband bullied his brothers at home, because they all seemed so afraid of him.

After the introductions, Stefan told his brothers coldly, "You should go now, I'm taking Lucinda out."

He was rushing them away.

"But Stefan, I want to go too."

Judson, the youngest and most lively among them, wanted to join when he heard Stefan and Lucinda were going out.

Then, all the other brothers turned to look at him.

Judson felt confused under their gaze, had he said something wrong?

All he wanted was to go out and get some fresh air with Stefan, was that wrong?

Before Stefan could respond, Lucinda laughed and said, "If Judson wants to join us, he can. Anyone else wants to come? The more the merrier."

Stefan's face darkened.

Judson's older brother quickly pulled him back and said to Lucinda with a smile, "Lucinda, Judson forgot he has some things to deal with. So he can't come with you and Stefan. You two go ahead."

"What do I have to deal with?"

Judson looked puzzled.

His brother pinched his thigh and Judson almost jumped in pain. He kept quiet after that. His brother wouldn't harm him. If he said he had things to deal with, then he would deal with them. Stefan was pleased, no one else was tagging along.

He brought a set of car keys and handed them to Lucinda.

"Stefan, I'll get going."

"Stefan, I'm leaving too."

The nine young men quickly left.

"They're really smart!" Stefan chuckled quietly.

Lucinda laughed and said, "Stefan, do you always bully your brothers at home? They all seem so scared of you."

"Do I look like someone who would bully my brothers? They're just pretending to be bullied by me to win your sympathy, so you'd defend them and scold me."

Stefan knew he was lying.

If the nine young men heard what Stefan said, they would be furious.

But Stefan was good to them, they respected him.

The two of them chatted as they walked out of the grand main hall.

During the day, the beauty of the mansion was fully displayed.

Lucinda was so captivated by the scenery, she didn't want to leave.

"This is our home, we're going to live here for the rest of our lives. There will be plenty of time to enjoy this view."

Stefan carried his wife to the car.

Lucinda's face turned red.

When Stefan was carrying her to the car, a few maids saw them. They giggled and Lucinda turned bright red with embarrassment.

"I'll drive down the mountain, and you can take over when we reach the foot."

Stefan put his wife in the passenger seat, carefully buckling her seat belt, and even stole a kiss.

Lucinda was left dizzy by his kiss. By the time she came to, he was already driving her away from the mansion.

Apart from the main road down the mountain, there were many small paths for leisurely hikes and sightseeing. Lucinda noticed a few pavilions halfway up the mountain.

There were many scenic trees and flowers planted on the mountain. From a distance, the red and green were very beautiful.

Crape myrtle flowers were planted on both sides of the mountain road. It was the blooming season for crape myrtle, the clusters of flowers on the branches were beautiful whether seen from afar or up close. Soon, they reached the foot of the mountain and Stefan slowly parked the car.

"Lucy, do you know how to drive?"

"Sure do, we had this chat already, remember? I'll be your chauffeur, show you around."

Lucinda instantly unbuckled her seatbelt, threw open the car door and hop out, swapping places with Stefan.

As Lucinda was gearing up to drive, her phone started buzzing. It was her brother.

"Ike." Lucinda cooed sweetly into the phone.

"You're at Ascend Estate, aren't you?" Ike straightly asked.

"Yep."

"You could've given me a heads up, you know. I could've tagged along, make sure no one messes with you. Are they nice to you?? Lucy, if their elders treat you badly and look down on you, leave immediately without any hesitation"""

Ike's voice was loud enough that Stefan could hear every word.