Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 186

They returned to their villa in Diamond Ridge Estates, with Emma coming out to open the door.

Every time Lucinda saw Emma, she would remember the night when she and Stefan went to meet the parents.

Not only Stefan, but even the butler and driver were all part of the show, making her head spin with their convincing performances.

"Emma, you still up?" Lucinda asked with a laugh after getting out of the car.

"I've already had a nap." Emma replied with a smile, "Mrs. Coleman, fancy a midnight snack? I can whip something up now."

Emma usually hit the sack early, waking up once in the middle of the night, then staying awake until 2 a.m. before heading back to sleep.

Stefan would usually come home around this time.

If Stefan didn't show up by the witching hour, he was probably spending the night elsewhere with other housekeepers and colleagues, so Emma would not have to wait up for him. "No need, it's late and a midnight snack would keep me up." Lucinda replied.

Emma turned to look at Stefan.

"Emma, you can head off to bed."

Stefan handed the bouquet in his hands to Lucinda, "You almost forgot these flowers."

Lucinda chuckled a bit sheepishly.

She took the bouquet and went inside with Stefan.

Seeing the lovey-dovey couple, Emma was satisfied and muttered to herself, "This time next year, they'll probably have a little boy or girl."

The years of effort Stefan put in finally paid off.

Emma didn't know how many rivals Stefan had to beat to win Lucinda's heart.

They had a five-year age difference. When he became an adult, Lucinda was just starting middle school. He waited for her to grow up, to graduate, to mature.

He waited and waited, a whole eleven years, to finally win the girl he had been protecting.

It was not easy at all.

Ten minutes later, just as Stefan stepped into the shower, his phone rang.

Lucinda picked up his phone and saw the incoming call. There was no name attached to it, so she didn't know who it was.

She took his phone and walked to the bathroom door, calling through the door, "Stefan, you've got a call."

"Who is it?" Stefan asked.

A call at this late hour was a real nuisance, disrupting his private time with Lucinda.

This was simply unacceptable.

It messed up his plans, and he was going to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.

"I don't know, there's no name on it, could be a stranger." Lucinda replied.

Stefan in the bathroom was silent for a moment before saying, "A stranger wouldn't know my number. If there's no name, it's probably Ruby. Lucinda, your love rival is calling to harass your man at this late hour. I'll leave it to you to handle this. You gotta protect your man."

Lucinda was speechless.

Leave it to her to handle?

Alright then!

She would protect her own man!

Stefan said he didn't remember Ruby's number. He might have really forgotten, but he knew that a call without a name would definitely be from Ruby.

He said before, people he didn't know wouldn't have his number.

Just as Lucinda was about to answer, the person on the other end hung up.

However, the phone rang again soon after.

Lucinda quickly answered Ruby's call.

"Stefan."

Ruby seemed surprised and very pleased that her call was answered.

Ever since she confessed her feelings to Stefan, he had never picked up her calls.

He also didn't respond to her messages.

Tonight, he actually answered her call.

"Stefan, I realized my mistake now. I've already compensated for the loss at Lucinda's shop. I've also been detained for a few days. Are you still mad? Can you forgive me?"

"Stefan, the reason I did what I did was because I love you too much. I was so jealous of Lucinda, almost going mad with it. We've known each other for over twenty years, growing up together. Our bond is deep. Why should Lucinda be the one to marry you?"

"You're the heir of the Anderson family, how could someone like Lucinda be your partner? She's not worthy of you. Even if she tries hard, the gap between you is too big, she can never catch up to you. Stefan, we're the ones from the same world. We've grown up together, have common topics, same friends, we're the same type of people."

Ruby was afraid Stefan would hang up, so she kept on talking.

Lucinda just let her talk.

"Stefan, can we meet up and have a proper talk? Also, don't misunderstand Owen and me. I've always loved you, never Owen. I only see Owen as a good friend, there's nothing between us." "Stefan, we've known each other for so many years. I just started my business domestically, can you bear to suppress me? Are you really that cold-hearted towards me? What's so good about Lucinda? What about her attracted you? Tell me, I'm willing to change, to learn."

Lucinda thought to herself, so Stefan had started to suppress Ruby's business.

Ruby was a fashion designer, and her designs were pretty famous.

She was doing well in the international fashion scene. She chose to bring her business back to the country all for Stefan.

Yet Stefan was suppressing her business for Lucinda.

Lucinda also felt bad for Owen. Owen risked a lot for Ruby, but Ruby just dismissed him as a good friend.

Hump, good friend?

Didn't Ruby get jealous and make up excuses to hit Cecilia when Cecilia was pretending to be Owen's girlfriend?

Lucinda felt that Ruby actually loved Owen, but her obsession with Stefan made her ignore and overlook her feelings for Owen.

Lucinda wondered, if Cecilia could make Owen develop feelings for her, and Ruby realized her feelings for Owen too late and lost him, would Ruby regret it until her heart broke?

"Cecilia, you gotta pull yourself together! I'm rooting for you! You go ahead and snag Owen, and let Ruby eat her heart out." Lucinda thought.

"Ms. Scott, I'm tickled pink that you'd want to learn from me. After all, I'm just some country bumpkin and you're all high and mighty. I'm truly grateful you'd stoop to learn from me. What exactly do you plan on learning? Farming? Vegetable gardening? As a hick, I've got to know my way around the fields, don't I?"

On the other end of the line, Ruby was dumbstruck, like she'd been struck by lightning.

Why was Lucinda answering the phone?

She'd been blabbering on and on, bad-mouthing Lucinda, only to replace out Lucinda was the one on the other end.

Ruby quickly turned sour and barked, "Lucinda, who gave you permission to touch Stefan's phone? Hand it over to Stefan right now! You don't have any right to his things!"

Lucinda chuckled, "If I don't have the right, then who does? I'm Stefan's wife, we're married. If we're lucky, there might even be a mini Stefan in my belly. Why on earth wouldn't I have the right to touch Stefan's phone?"