Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 348

When they stepped out of the Yates family estate, Owen turned to Derek. "What did you mean just now, Derek?" he asked.

"Mr. Martinez, I believe you're trying to win Ms. Yates back, aren't you?" Derek replied. "Becca invited us for dinner, but she only served you an egg. It's her way of showing disapproval, implying that you should scram once you're done eating."

Owen blinked in surprise. "I didn't know an egg could carry such meaning. I'm aware that my mother-in-law doesn't like me for now. If she did, Cecilia and I wouldn't have divorced."

Owen's face fell momentarily at the veiled dismissal from his mother-in-law. However, he quickly recovered his usual composure.

Trenton glanced at him with distaste and then walked away, ignoring him. He left with Derek and the bodyguards.

Owen sighed, feeling once again rejected by his grandfather.

At ten in the evening, Stefan went to pick up Lucinda from the Serendipity Cafe.

"Where's my cousin?" Lucinda asked as her husband helped to close and lock the shop's security shutters.

They had all eaten lunch together, and in the afternoon, Hayes Brooks had left with Stefan and his brothers to return to their company. Lucinda had taken the bus back to the office to avoid the suspicion that she was the CEO's wife.

"He sat at the office for a while, then I had someone take him back to the Ascend Estate," Stefan replied.

Lucinda nodded. "My mother said she'll be back tomorrow."

"I'll arrange for someone to pick them up."

Stefan opened the car door for his wife. After watching Lucinda get in, he closed the door, walked around the car, and returned to the driver's seat.

"Lucy, will you accompany me to a banquet tomorrow night?"

"Sure, will we get to meet President Belinda?"

Ever since Lucinda learned about Ike's crush on Belinda Bishop, she had been eager to meet her.

"I've looked into it for you. Belinda will be attending the banquet tomorrow night, along with Ike and his partners."

What his wife wanted, Stefan always knew how to provide.

The couple chatted about various topics during the drive. They talked about work and family, and inevitably, the topic of Owen and Cecilia came up. Naturally, this led to a discussion about Avery, Owen's rival in love.

Lucinda voiced her suspicions, "Every time Avery comes to see Cecilia, Owen always shows up. Stefan, do you think Owen has planted a tracker on Avery?"

"Considering Owen's capabilities, I replace it strange that he lets Avery appear in front of Cecilia repeatedly. He gets so jealous whenever Avery is around."

"I feel like it's all part of a play. Someone is pulling the strings."

Stefan chuckled, "That's Owen's business, not ours. It's good for him to have a rival. It keeps him on his toes. If he can't stop Avery and can't replace out who's behind him, it's highly likely that it's his grandfather's doing."

Trenton was a crafty old fox.

The Ikella Group might seem to be under Owen's control, but in reality, Trenton still had the reins.

"That's probably why Owen loses to him. I have full control in Ascend Global, while Owen still has his grandfather watching over him."

"His grandfather?"

Lucinda had never considered this.

Her impression of Trenton was that he was a kind old man, much like Stefan's grandfather. Both were friendly towards her.

"Last time, he even gave me a very expensive gift."

Trenton may thought in his mind. "Oh dear, let's not talk about gifts. I thought you would refuse, so I prepared an especially expensive one. But you accepted it so quickly!"

"Why would Owen's grandfather do this?"

"To hold him back, I suppose."

"So, he doesn't like Cecilia, and he's trying to spur Owen on by using someone else."

Stefan reached over to gently touch his wife's face, praising her, "You're as smart as I am, Lucinda. I'm proud of you."

"Don't flatter yourself. They say that a child's intelligence largely comes from the mother."

Stefan laughed, "Then our child will definitely be brilliant, seeing as his mother is so smart."

"You're making me blush."

Lucinda laughed at her husband's words.

"Stefan, do you think I'm selfish for not wanting to have a child so soon?"

He seemed to be a man who loved children.

"Of course not. Even if I didn't know your true identity, I wouldn't want you to have a child so soon. We should enjoy a couple of years to ourselves first. If we have a child too soon, all your attention will be diverted to the baby. Where would that leave me?"

Lucinda laughed, "But that's your child. You're jealous of your own child?"

"The child would be my biggest rival. And the worst part is, I can't do anything about it."

Lucinda was speechless.

Since Hayes was at the Ascend Estate, the couple decided to spend the night there. However, by the time they arrived, it was already late, and Hayes had gone to bed.

They tiptoed into the house, not wanting to wake anyone.

The lights in the living room were still on.

Upon entering, they saw a figure sprawled on the sofa.

Lucinda didn't recognize him at first, but Stefan immediately knew it was his younger brother, Liam Anderson.

He walked over to him.

"oh, you're back."

Liam heard their footsteps and opened his eyes. He hadn't really been asleep. He sat up from the couch, clutching a pillow, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"What are you doing? You have a home but don't go back and even you sleep on the sofa?"

Liam's face turned red, and he said nothing.

Lucinda tactfully excused herself, "You two should talk. I'll go upstairs first."

Once Lucinda had gone upstairs, Stefan furrowed his brows and asked, "What happened?"

"I got kicked out."

Upon saying this, Liam's face flushed even more.

Stefan was stunned.

They had been slept for several times, yet he still got kicked out.

Without asking, it was clear that Liam kept pestering Tiffany about why she wouldn't marry him.

"That's your house, and you get kicked out?"

Liam replied, "If I hadn't left, she would have, and it would have been a real struggle to get her back. So, I left."

All he did was ask before bed, asking her what was wrong with him. If she would just tell him, he would change.

All this just to persuade her to marry him sooner, to avoid the potential scandal of having a child out of wedlock.

"Bro, you say it's my fault, too. Can you tell me what's wrong with me? I just can't figure it out. I'm desperate. If we have a baby, would Tiffany really put her surname first, raising the child in the Paisley family?"

"If it's Tiffany's child, born of Tiffany, why not take Tiffany's surname? If Lucinda wanted to put her surname first, I wouldn't mind."

Stefan didn't insist on having the child take his surname, given that he himself took his mother's surname.

In the future, if he had a child and Lucinda wished to do the same, he would have no objection.