Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 67

"Whether they actually tie the knot or not, as long as they sign the marriage agreement, I wouldn't let them split. As long as I'm around, they wouldn't dare to sneak a divorce. If Lucinda dares to pull a stunt like that, I'll line up ten blind dates for her every day."

Clearly, Fiona was hell-bent on keeping Stefan in her clutches, not letting him off the hook.

If Stefan were to hear what Lucinda's mom was saying right now, he'd definitely retort, "I wanna be your son-in-law forever, don't worry, I ain't going anywhere."

Cecilia chimed in: "Fiona, don't you think you've pushed Lucinda to the limit with the match-making that she's marrying Mr. Coleman just to escape it all? They've known each other for eleven years, they're tight. It's not like they rushed into marriage, they genuinely dig each other."

Cecilia rolled her eyes internally, eleven years of familiarity but they still felt like strangers. Lucinda was royally screwed over by Mr. Coleman. In Cecilia's eyes, she was just too naive.

"Cecilia, you're about the same age as Lucinda, right?" Suddenly Fiona shifted the conversation to Cecilia.

"Fiona, you enjoy your fruit first, there is something I need to take care of."

Cecilia quickly made an excuse to beat it. Her folks were also on her case about settling down, but not as relentless as Fiona was with Lucinda.

"Cecilia, go ahead. Next time I come across a decent bloke, I'll introduce him to you."

Fiona offered warmly.

Cecilia high-tailed it out of there even faster.

Fiona went back to munching her fruit. She didn't know any of the other people around, so she whipped out her phone and started chatting with her husband on Whatsapp.

Vincent told her: "Our daughter's married now, once you've confirmed she's not putting on a show, come back here pronto. Stop meddling with the kids' work. If you have the time, you can start nagging our son about getting married. He's turning thirty next year and doesn't even have a girlfriend."

True, their daughter was married now, but they still had a son.

Ike was five years older than Lucinda. But Ike didn't heed her words, and he wasn't afraid of her pressure to get married. Whenever she started nagging, her son would listen attentively, then promise to replace a girlfriend. However, he would forget all about it after a while.

Over time, Fiona didn't feel like nagging her son anymore. Her daughter was more obedient, after all, she had found a man and got married under the continuous pressure for marriage from her. The glass door was pushed open and three men walked in. The man leading the group was probably in his fifties, followed by two younger men, all suited up.

Fiona stood up and walked over, smiling and asking: "Gents, what can I get you? Any preference for coffee?"

The leading man sized up Fiona and asked her: "Are you a server here or the owner?"

"I'm the owner's mom."

"Are you Cecilia's mom or Lucinda's mom?"

"What are you guys up to?" Fiona asked warily. They clearly weren't regular customers. Otherwise, they wouldn't ask this question.

"I'm from the Martinez family. The master of our house is ill and he had me come to replace Cecilia."

Fiona frowned, "If your master is ill, why are you looking for Cecilia? Cecilia is not a doctor, you should take him to the hospital." Wouldn't such a family have a private doctor? Could it be, Cecilia really knew medical skills?

"Don't talk too much. Call Cecilia out."

"Cecilia isn't a doctor, and she doesn't know how to treat patients. You should rush your master to the hospital for treatment."

Fiona felt the three men were shady. She didn't want to tell them who Cecilia was.

"What's going on?"

Cecilia came out with a plate of freshly baked pastries. These were ordered by the customers.

She sent the pastries to the customers' table, smiled and told them: "Enjoy your meal, if you have any feedback, feel free to let us know, we're all ears."

The customers smiled and indicated they got it.

Then she returned to Fiona's side and asked the three men: "Are you looking for me?"

Cecilia responded directly to them before Fiona had a chance to stop her.

"Ms. Yates, I'm the butler of the Martinez family. Our master has come down with a bad cold."

Webster stared at Cecilia. Their master had always been robust and rarely fell sick. Even when he did get sick, he usually had their family doctor see him rather than going to the hospital. Today, after he returned from outside, he started to feel unwell. Surprisingly, he didn't let them call the family doctor but had him come to Serendipity Cafe with two bodyguards to replace Cecilia. Webster was curious about who Cecilia was. Their master wouldn't even see Ruby, yet he wanted to see Cecilia.

Webster had many questions, but it wasn't appropriate to ask.

After hearing Webster's reply, Cecilia was stunned. That lousy CEO got sick? A bucket of ice water caused him to acquire a cold. His physique was horrible; it had to be the effect of overindulgence; his body was exhausted.

He looked burly and healthy, but it was just a facade. So, he just looked healthy but was actually weak.

Owen was about to explode, the water she poured on him was ice water, ice water.

"Fiona was right just now, your master is ill, but what's the point of getting me? I'm not a doctor. I can't treat him. You should hurry back and take him to the hospital."

Webster was polite enough, he had to be careful not knowing the relationship between Cecilia and their master. If Cecilia turned out to be their master's future wife, he wouldn't be in her good books, and life in the Martinez family would be difficult for him in the future.

"Ms. Yates, our master sent us to pick you up. He said, as long as we relayed this message to you, you would naturally come with us."

Cecilia wanted to blow her top, she didn't want to go with them at all. Owen had someone come to pick her up; there must be a catch. That rotten CEO must be plotting revenge against her.

Just because she doused him with a bucket of ice water, but it was his fault in the first place! After all, he was the one who played dead at her doorstep and scared the living daylights out of her. Drenching him was just a warning shot. She should be the one charging him for giving her the fright of her life.

"Cecilia, do you know these guys?" Fiona inquired with concern.

Cecilia mumbled in response, not providing a clear answer.

"Who's this 'master' they're talking about? If you don't know them, don't go with them. God knows what tricks they're playing," Fiona whispered to Cecilia, meaning well.

People these days were full of tricks, Fiona worried that Cecilia might be conned.

"Ms. Yates, please come with us. Don't keep our master waiting. He once said that you're the kind who stands by her actions. If you break your promise, he might change his mind," one of them said. Cecilia's expression turned livid in an instant. That rotten CEO was always threatening her.

"Fiona, could you keep an eye on the store for me? I need to go with them. Don't worry, I know who their 'master' is. No one in Pinehurst would dare impersonate him," Cecilia said, not having any doubts about Webster's identity.

Owen held the same status in Pinehurst as Stefan did.

Cecilia turned back to the cashier, picked up her phone, then walked towards Webster's group and said, "Let's go. I'll come with you to see your master."

How sick was he, she wondered. Was he in critical condition? If she went, she could help contact the funeral parlor to deal with him.

Owen: ...What a vicious woman!