Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 53

"Who the hell are you? I don't care who you are; Stefan is mine. You can't take my Stefan."

Adrienne was young and fiercely determined. She had feelings for Stefan, and regardless of how Stefan treated her, she saw him as her boyfriend.

Emma quickly covered Adrienne's mouth and dragged her out of the main house.

Adrienne struggled fiercely.

But she couldn't resist Emma's strong arms and large hands.

Muffled sounds were all Adrienne could make with Emma's hand covering her mouth.

"Lucinda."

Stefan was desperate to explain to Lucinda, but he got a bit pissed off when he saw her seemingly enjoying the whole thing.

He was her man, her husband, and he didn't expect her to help him deal with the situation, but at least she shouldn't be watching like it was a show.

Stefan felt very frustrated.

But then he figured that since Lucinda didn't love him, he shouldn't expect her to be jealous.

"Stefan, Adrienne's voice when she calls your name is so sweet and pleasant to the ear. I can't help but replace her voice quite alluring."

Lucinda laughed lightly. Her words sounded a bit jealous, no matter how he took them.

She picked up the tray, stirred the soup with a spoon, then took a sip and praised, "This is so good! It seems Adrienne really knows her way around making soup; otherwise, she couldn't make such a delicious soup."

"Lucinda."

Stefan reached out, snatched the soup bowl from her, and put it heavily on the table.

Soup splashed out of the bowl.

Stefan didn't care. He started explaining hurriedly and angrily, "Lucinda, there's nothing going on between Adrienne and me. She's our neighbor, the Dewey family's daughter. She's nine years younger than me I can't possibly have feelings for her. No, I like you."

"Lucinda, if you don't like hearing her call me Stefan, I won't let her call me Stefan again."

"Believe me, I have absolutely no feelings for Adrienne. Like with Ruby, even though we've known each other since we were kids and grew up together, I don't have feelings for her."

Lucinda couldn't help but laugh, seeing him so anxious.

Stefan's mouth twitched.

He was so worried about her misunderstanding, and she was laughing.

"She's nine years younger than you; it's normal for her to call you brother. It's just a title; I won't be petty enough to not let others call you by your name."

Lucinda stood up laughing and made Stefan sit down. "Alright, I won't misunderstand you. It's just that your charm is so strong, but that's normal. If you didn't have so many admirers, I would have to worry if you really were charming."

"You know best whether I am charming."

Lucinda blushed and rolled her eyes at him. "We are discussing serious matters here."

Stefan gripped her hand, closely watching her expression. Seeing that she really didn't misunderstand him and believed him about Adrienne, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He would have Emma tell the Dewey family that, without his permission, Adrienne wasn't allowed to step foot in his house again.

They were peaceful neighbors, and the Deweys should keep a better eye on Adrienne.

He was a married man now!

"Stefan, since you don't plan on divorcing me, let's sit down and have a serious talk. You need to tell me; how many competitors do I have? Give me a heads up so I don't have to suddenly deal with some random person and get the reputation of having a mistress."

He spent ten years loving her and waiting for her to grow up. He also paved many roads for her to willingly fall into his trap.

How could Lucinda not cherish and fall for such a devoted man?

If she's decided to live a good life with him, she needed to know how many competitors she had and be prepared.

"Besides you, I have no other women! You have no competitors!"

"Not just the ones who have a romantic entanglement with you are my competitors. Anyone who likes you is my competitor."

Stefan, with a displeased look, said, "I don't know how many."

Too many to count!

Lucinda: "You really do have a lot of female admirers."

Stefan felt very embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Then Adrienne was dragged out of the main house and the villa by Emma's plump hand covering her mouth, and not until they were outside the villa did Emma let her go. Adrienne leaned against the wall, gasping for breath.

She was almost suffocating!

If Emma didn't let go, she would really be suffocated by Emma's plump hand.

After a while, Adrienne finally caught her breath and felt like she was recovering.

"Emma, you should lose some weight; you're too fat, your hands are too meaty, and you could make someone pass out just by covering their mouth and nose."

After complaining, Adrienne asked, "Emma, can you tell me who that woman was? How can she have breakfast with Stefan? I haven't even spent two minutes with Stefan."

Because their villas were next to each other, they became neighbors.

When Adrienne first saw Stefan a few years ago, she was smitten.

At that time, Adrienne was still a teenager.

She tried to grow up just so she could marry Stefan after she turned twenty.

Stefan was hers!

Whoever dared to take her Stefan, she would fight them to the death!

"Adrienne, this is not for you to ask. Go home; don't come here again; Stefan doesn't like you."

Emma didn't reveal Lucinda's true identity.

Stefan had brought his wife home, but the people at Anderson Manor didn't know yet.

Emma ain't got a clue what Stefan was planning to do next. She didn't know whether he's going to keep this under wraps or spill the beans and tell everyone that he's hitched, and his wife was Lucinda! Because of all this uncertainty, Emma didn't give Adrienne a straight answer.

"Emma, spill it! Who is she? If she's having dinner with Stefan, she must be a big deal, right? Is she the girl Stefan had a crush on when he was a kid?"

People from upper class in Pinehurst knew about Stefan's situation.

Nah, scratch that. Everyone in Pinehurst knew.

"Adrienne, quit trying to sweet-talk your way into this. I ain't falling for your tricks. You better scoot and head home. Mr. Stefan ain't got time for girls like you." With that, Emma turned to go back in, ready to shut the villa doors.

She needed to replace out who let Adrienne in.

Didn't they know how much Stefan can't stand clingy women?

"Emma, Emma!"

Adrienne rushed forward, trying to stop Emma from shutting the door.

Spoiled as she was, how could she possibly hold her own against Emma? The villa doors were finally shut by Emma and locked.

"Emma!"

Adrienne was so mad, she's stomping her feet.

"Is that the girl Stefan had a crush on when he was a kid? I've got her number now! She left for ten years; why the heck is she back? Stefan is mine!" Adrienne concluded that Lucinda must be Stefan's childhood playmate.

In Stefan's heart, there was only one girl he ever cared about when he was a kid, and that was Lucinda.

Everyone else was just background noise!