Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 409

Cecilia bit her lip and then spoke, her voice steady, "I believe you."

In his own words, if she asked Mr. Coleman to dig some dirt, he could unearth the truth.

He knew it, and he wouldn't lie to her.

She trusted him.

Owen sighed with relief and felt a wave of emotion at Cecilia's trust in him.

"Cecilia," he said with a sheepish grin, "the mastermind behind my so-called heroic rescue was actually Stefan."

Cecilia raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Yeah, you wouldn't guess it, right? Stefan's a sly one. Don't be fooled by his gentlemanly facade; the guy's got schemes darker than a stout. I followed his lousy advice."

Cecilia poked his chest with her finger, admonishing him, "Mr. Coleman wouldn't just cook up a plan for no reason. You obviously went to him first. What's going on between you two, huh? You walked right into his trap and now you're complaining about it? You had the choice to use his advice or not. And now you're thinking of ratting out Mr. Coleman? Is that your idea of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge?"

Owen stuttered, "Cecilia, no, that's not it. I'm just being honest with you, that's all."

Yet, inside, he was thankful he hadn't complained to Lucinda. If Lucinda had mentioned anything to Cecilia, she would have been furious.

Being scolded by Cecilia somehow felt better than fearing her wrath.

"Ever since our divorce, I've been a mess, can't eat, can't sleep. Worried sick you'd fall for Avery's charms. In my desperation, I sought advice from someone experienced, hence Stefan. Little did I know he'd hand me a bum steer. You know the saying, 'desperate times call for desperate measures'? Well, I was desperate."

"And Cecilia, I have to tell you something, and you must not fall for Avery's act. He will never like you; he's deceiving you. The truth is, he's gay, and he's got a thing for Cedric Frost."

Cecilia paused, puzzled, "And how would you know if he's gay or not? Have you tried to, you know, with him?"

"Ugh, no way! I'm straight as an arrow. The person I really want to, you know, is you."

Owen's voice softened, "I did some digging. The guy's trying to steal my wife; I gotta know everything about him. His ancestors would turn in their graves if they knew he was batting for the same team and not into women."

"People have the right to like whoever they want. It's not our place to judge."

Knowing Avery was gay cleared up a lot for Cecilia. Someone had clearly sent him to pursue her under false pretenses.

She had thought well of Avery - he was a looker, after all. But his sexual orientation was his choice, and she wouldn't discriminate against him just for being gay.

Owen grimaced, "Pretending to be my rival and chasing after my wife, and you expect me to speak well of him? I didn't wreck his career out of respect, but thank goodness he's gay. Otherwise, hmph!" The real issue was the force behind Avery - his powerful grandfather.

As his own grandpa had said, without Avery's interference, he wouldn't have realized his true feelings for Cecilia so quickly.

"Does it still hurt?"

Cecilia changed the subject.

Despite the ridiculousness of his rescue attempt, she appreciated his honesty and didn't want to dwell on it. After all, he had done it for her.

"It hurts. Hurts like hell."

Owen put on a show of agony, "Cecilia, you know me. Born with a silver spoon in my mouth, never suffered a scratch, and now this wound, it's just unbearable."

Cecilia considered silently before suggesting, "Maybe you should be hospitalized."

"Will you take care of me?"

"With all the servants and bodyguards at your place? Are you afraid that my touch might actually make it worse, considering I'm supposedly a jinx?"

"Cecilia."

Owen clutched her hand, apologizing, "I'm sorry! My mom's got it all wrong; you're not a jinx. Even if being with you did bring me bad luck, I'd willingly take it." "So, you think I'm a jinx, too?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant. I was just trying to express how much you mean to me. You're my lucky star, the light in my heart. Being with you is infuriating, yet it's also liberating and makes me happy. Every frustrating moment with you just becomes a fond memory that cheers me up for days. I love being with you."

Cecilia withdrew her hand, "Your mother doesn't like me. She looks down on my background, and that's something I can't change. Our worlds are just too different. Unless my family strikes it rich and yours goes broke, she'll never accept me."

It was an unrealistic scenario.

"Cecilia."

Owen held her hand again, earnestly saying, "Trust me, I'll work on changing my mom's opinion. If I can't, we don't have to live with them. I've got plenty of properties. Once we're married, I'll transfer all my assets to you. I'll tell my mom you're the heiress of Pinehurst, and I have nothing but a salary from the Ikella group, which I'll hand over to you. If she upsets you and drives you away, her son will be left with nothing."

Cecilia was stunned.

He was actually willing to transfer all his assets into her name.

She had teased him before about making her rich if he died, but now that he was serious, she felt no excitement, just shock.

It was clear he was going all-in to win her back.

"Lucy's heading back to Skywatch soon to claim her inheritance. Once she gets her hands on her dad's fortune, she'll be the richest woman in town."

"I'll work my tail off to make sure your wealth surpasses hers," he promised with a wink.

Cecilia chuckled. "Are you really gonna hand over your riches to me? Aren't you scared of ending up broke and alone? Remember how you used to tease me for mentioning your will every time we talked about, well, the inevitable?"

"What else was there to talk about back then?" Owen replied, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he recalled those days.

She had a knack for driving him up the wall, that was for certain.

"As long as it brings you peace of mind and shuts my mom up from picking on you, I'd do anything," he said earnestly.

When Owen loved someone, he went all in, heart and soul.

Lucinda always said that any woman loved by him was one lucky lady, implying that Ruby didn't really know how good she had it.