Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 26

"Lucinda."

Stefan pedaled his bicycle out from inside.

On seeing Lucinda and Ruby chitchatting, Stefan felt uneasy, so he pedaled faster.

Ruby was flabbergasted when she saw him riding a bicycle out.

Where was Stefan's fancy car?

She remembered Stefan loved luxury cars, and the garage was packed enough for a car show.

"Stefan, you're out."

Lucinda greeted him with a smile and whispered to Stefan, "Stefan, when did Ruby come back? She seems upset. Did you guys have a fight? I invited you to dinner and invited her too, but she said you wouldn't eat with me."

She subtly nudged Stefan's arm, lowering her voice even more, "Don't mind her. She just returned from abroad. All her family is overseas. You're the only one she can rely on here."

Upon hearing that Lucinda invited Ruby for dinner, Stefan felt heavy-hearted.

However, he could not confess to Lucinda, for fear that he would scare her if she knew his real identity. Now Lucinda always thought that he was just a staff member working at Ascend Global, and did not know that he was the head of Ascend Global.

"Lucinda, get in, let's go. We'll talk during dinner."

Stefan gestured for Lucinda to get on his bike, sending Ruby a glare.

Lucinda looked at Ruby, then at Stefan. Something felt off between the two, but as an outsider, she had no idea about their history, so she remained silent.

"Oh."

Just as Lucinda was about to sit on Stefan's bike, she remembered she came here on a bike. So she told Stefan, "Stefan, leave your bike in the company and ride my e-bike. It's faster. It's too hot to cycle." She mumbled to herself, "After dinner, I'll get a sunshade for the e-bike, so we can avoid the sun when going out."

Stefan also wanted to leave as soon as possible, not wanting Ruby and Lucinda to chat more.

So, he told a security guard, "Can you help me put the bike inside?"

"Yes, Mr. Coleman."

Stefan quickly glanced at Lucinda, replaceing that Lucinda had no reaction.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

As they were about to leave, Ruby blocked the e-bike. She stared at Stefan and sarcastically laughed, "When did our Mr. Coleman start riding an e-bike? Where's Mr. Coleman's fancy car? Did Ascend Global hit a rough patch and you sold all your fancy cars?"

Lucinda gawked at Ruby. Before Stefan could reply, she poked her head out from behind Stefan and said to Ruby, "Ms. Scott, you just returned from abroad. You may not know the situation in Pinehurst, which is understandable. But there's no way Ascend Global is having financial issues. If Ascend Global is in trouble, other companies in Pinehurst would have gone belly up."

Ascend Global offered a large number of job opportunities for residents in Pinehurst and was also the city's major taxpayer.

If Ascend Global was in trouble, other small companies' survival would also become difficult.

Lucinda didn't want Ascend Global to have issues. If these companies collapsed, her coffee shop would be hit, as many of her customers were Ascend Global employees. Only the white-collar workers liked the hand-ground coffee in her shop.

Ordinary workers rarely patronized her shop.

But the more important reason was that Stefan worked at Ascend Global, and she didn't want him to be jobless.

"Lucinda, put on your helmet."

Stefan put on a helmet and passed one to Lucinda. Once Lucinda put on the helmet, he rode the e-bike, carrying Lucinda past Ruby. He didn't say a word to Ruby's mockery. "Stefan." Ruby reached out to stop the e-bike, but Stefan immediately sped up. The e-bike sped away, leaving Ruby behind quickly.

"Stefan...hey, you promised me a drink. Come back, come back!"

Ruby's words were directed at Lucinda.

Lucinda had previously invited Ruby to dinner.

But now, Lucinda and Stefan left.

Lucinda looked back at the increasingly distant Ruby, feeling a bit sorry for her. She was the one who invited Ruby to dinner, but Stefan obviously didn't want to deal with Ruby. It was quite awkward for her.

She even felt like she might have done more harm than good.

The relationship between Stefan and his childhood playmate Ruby didn't seem to be as Gabriel said.

"Hold me tight!"

Stefan ordered in a deep voice.

Lucinda responded, reaching her hands under Stefan's arms and holding his waist.

With her movement, Stefan's tense face relaxed a bit.

He liked the intimate gesture she made towards him.

"Stefan, what's going on with you and Ms. Scott? Didn't Mr. Turner say you've been sweet on each other since childhood? Now that she's back from abroad, aren't you planning to rekindle the old flame? Is it because we signed a contract and it feels inconvenient? The contract says that it can be terminated once we replace true love."

Stefan initially wanted to stop, but seeing Ruby chasing them in the rearview mirror, his face hardened. He said in a deep voice: "Hold on tight, I'm going to speed up."

Lucinda responded and held onto his waist tighter.

Stefan hit the gas, but their e-scooter didn't stand a chance against Ruby's car. He took a hard right at the next intersection, weaving through the criss-cross of city streets and back alleys. The alley was a narrow one-way street, just wide enough for one car. Even if Ruby caught up, she couldn't give chase like on a main road.

Before long, they'd left Ruby eating their dust.

Only when he was sure Ruby couldn't catch up, did Stefan emerge from the alley, back onto the main street.

Ruby was still stuck in the alley, a car coming head-on. She hoped they'd give way, but they seemed to have the same idea. Too bad the alley was too narrow. Unless she backed out, even if they made room, she couldn't squeeze through.

Looking ahead, Stefan was gone without a trace.

Ruby slammed her hand against the steering wheel in frustration.

She sensed something off about Stefan's attitude towards Lucinda.

It wasn't like Lucinda said, that they were just friends.

Stefan wasn't one for dining with girls. She and Stefan had grown up together, and the only reason they ate together was because their parents brought them along.

In private, he wouldn't have a meal with her alone.

But he was willing to have a meal with that girl, which was really odd.

What was that girl's name again?

Ruby never got her name, only that she was the sister of Stefan's college mate.

She needed Owen to do some digging. How many of Stefan's college mates had a sister?

She, Ruby's target, could not be snatched away by someone else!

Absolutely not!

Stefan could only be hers!