Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 164

Patrick had a thing for fresh sea fish.

"Alright then."

Stefan agreed without missing a beat.

"Round up your brothers; see who's free to come along."

The more, the merrier.

Patrick suggested it with an ulterior motive in mind.

He wanted his other grandsons to see the lovey-dovey couple and ignite their desire to tie the knot, so they could end their bachelorhood sooner.

Stefan looked up at his grandpa. After a shared glance, Stefan got the hint and nodded.

After breakfast, Stefan personally drove Lucinda to the hospital.

Janice, surprisingly, had a sound sleep at the hospital last night. When she woke up in the morning, she was in a good mental state.

She even asked Ethan for a comb to tidy up her messy, long hair.

Ethan was over the moon, thinking she was back to her senses.

But his joy faded instantly when she called him "darling".

Janice had been mentally disoriented for over two decades. Even with her biological daughter back, she couldn't possibly snap back to normal right away. Worse still, she might never recover.

"That girl from yesterday,"

Janice, frustrated with her long hair being difficult to comb, tossed the comb onto the bed and started talking about Lucinda.

"Mom, do you remember her?"

Ethan picked up the comb from the bed, sat behind her, and whispered, "Mom, let me help you comb your hair and pin it up, okay?"

Actually, it would be more convenient to put her long hair into a bun. But Ethan didn't know how to do that.

He thought pinning it up would be easier.

"Why do you keep calling me mom? Even if you're being naughty, don't keep calling me mom. Imagine our child growing up hearing you call me that, how embarrassing!" Janice complained about her son calling her "mom" while he was combing her hair.

"If your mom heard that, she'd be upset."

Ethan sighed. "Mom, I'm your son, Ethan."

"Ethan is just a few months old. Where's the girl from last night? I really like her and want to be close to her. Can you help me replace her? I want to be with her and be friends with her. Ever since I married you, I haven't had many friends. They're all jealous of me and refuse to be friends with me."

Even though she still couldn't recognize him and mistook him for his father, Ethan was happy that she talked so much.

"I'll have someone pick her up in a bit; is that okay?"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That's great."

Janice seemed really happy.

"Where's the baby?"

She started looking for her doll again.

Ethan quickly handed the doll to her. She took it gently and said to Ethan while looking at the doll, "Nathan, our baby is very well-behaved, always looking at me without making a fuss." "Baby, someone's coming soon. You have to behave, okay?"

Janice was talking to herself.

Then there was a knock on the door.

"It must be that girl. Nathan, quick, open the door."

Janice immediately urged Ethan to open the door.

Ethan had just finished combing her hair and was struggling to pin it up. He put down the comb and went to open the door, as she asked.

The one knocking was his personal bodyguard.

"Mr. and Mrs. Coleman are here."

"Let them in."

Besides the medical staff, Ethan didn't allow anyone else in the room.

Even with the medical staff, he kept a close eye on them at all times.

The doctors didn't know their identities, but they guessed they must be rich aristocrats from Ethan's poker face and stern demeanor, not to mention the squad of big, serious-looking bodyguards. Apart from regular rounds, the medical staff tried to avoid coming here to avoid being intimidated by Ethan's stern gaze.

Stefan and his wife came in, each carrying a thermos lunch box. Stefan also brought a basket of fruit, while Lucinda held a bouquet of flowers.

The flowers were freshly cut from the flower field at the foot of Ascend Estate.

"Ethan."

Stefan greeted.

Ethan was cold and ruthless to others, but he was much gentler when facing Stefan and Lucinda.

"Janice."

Lucinda walked to the bedside and called softly.

She felt uneasy in her heart.

If this was her biological mother, she could only call her by her first name.

"You're here. I was just talking about you with my husband."

Janice carefully placed the doll beside her and gently stroked its face, saying, "Baby, be good; I'm going to chat with my friend."

Lucinda almost burst into tears.

If they were mother and daughter, her mother didn't recognize her and treated her as a peer, telling the doll she was her friend. Her biological son was mistaken for her husband.

The siblings felt utterly heartbroken.

Lucinda turned around, held back her tears, and handed the flowers to Janice.

Janice was very happy to receive the bouquet from Lucinda.

She sniffed the flowers and said, "These flowers are so beautiful and so fresh; just cut, right?"

"Yes, I just cut them before I left. Do you like them?"

Janice smiled and said, "I love them very much. Do you have a garden at home? We have lots of flowers at our place. I especially love roses and daisies. My husband planted a lot of these two types for me. When they bloom, I'll invite you over to see them, okay?"

Lucinda also smiled and said, "Okay."

She looked at Ethan.

Seeing Ethan's lost expression, she felt a sense of heaviness.

Were the flowers that Janice loved destroyed now?

Indeed.

After Janice became mentally ill, her favorite flowers were uprooted and replaced with those liked by Kayla and Ashley. Nathan was too busy with work to notice these changes. By the time he did, the flowers his wife loved had been uprooted. And Ethan was too young to know that those flowers were his mother's favorites; even if he did, he couldn't protect them. When he grew up, he learned about this from his father.

But what Janice didn't know was that she'd become a hermit, holing up in her room ever since her mind started playing tricks on her. She didn't even recognize her once-cherished belongings, many of which were broken or replaced.

Madeleine, who had started dating Nathan, was hell-bent on wiping away every trace of Janice.

Her ultimate wish was to ship Janice off to some remote villa in the sticks.

But unfortunately for her, Ethan had grown up. He was now the new heir to the Blue family's throne, and he wasn't about to let his mom be kicked to the curb. This was why Janice never ended up in that villa in the countryside.

"What's your name? I'm Janice Bright."

Lucinda finally learned Janice's full name.

She said, "Now, I go by Lucinda."

"Lucinda, you share a name with my daughter. Her name is Lucinda, but we call her Lucy or babe."