Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 76

"Sweetie, do you think Owen and Cecilia could end up catching real feelings from acting together?" Novelists do tend to have more imagination.

Lucinda thought that her friend might actually fall for Owen while acting with him for the money.

After a moment of deep thought, Stefan replied, "It's hard to say at this point. His feelings for Ruby are quite deep, and despite knowing her situation, he hasn't given up." "Ruby doesn't value herself either."

Lucinda muttered to herself, "You've already got me, but she still hasn't given up. She came back to the country for you, probably didn't expect us to get married."

She didn't see it coming.

"Lucy, don't worry about what others are doing. Just remember, I'll only ever love you in this life. You're the only one in my heart."

Stefan spoke these loving words softly to Lucinda, as it wasn't the right setting to say them out loud.

Lucinda turned her head to look at him, and he took the opportunity to give her a light peck on the lips. Seeing the blush on her face, his eyes were filled with laughter and deep affection.

Lucinda always felt his gaze was like a deep pool which she would fall into whenever they locked eyes, and she could only follow his lead and sink with him.

"I've never experienced what it feels like to be in love. When others are dating, they go to movies, receive flowers and gifts daily, get red envelopes on every holiday, and hold hands while visiting parks and eating delicious food."

Lucinda tried to remember how the male and female leads in her novels fell in love. Although she set them up as nobles, when it came to love, they were all just ordinary people.

She shared her ideal love story with Stefan.

He kept her hidden in his heart for eleven years, and she was going to dig out his hidden love bit by bit.

Back when Lucinda was dating George, they just went to movies and parks because they were both still in school and didn't have much money. She never even received flowers from George.

On their first Valentine's Day, George said he wanted to give her a bouquet of flowers. She knew he didn't have much money for living expenses each month, so she gently declined his kind offer. In the end, he spent ten dollars on a single rose for her.

She even complained about how expensive roses were on Valentine's Day.

So, she has never experienced a romantic date.

Readers say they're envious of the female lead in her novel for being so loved and happy. She's envious of her too.

Stefan chuckled, whispering, "Whatever my wife wants, as long as I can provide it, I will."

So he was going to make up for her lack of romantic experiences.

Getting married first, then falling in love can be a beautiful process too.

"I want the stars, can you give me the stars?"

Lucinda teased him.

A twinkle in Stefan's eyes, he said, "I can give you a man-made starry sky, but I can't give you real stars."

He had said that he would give her anything within his means.

Plucking stars, sorry, he really couldn't do that.

Lucinda replied, "That's a bit over the top, don't you think? You said you could create a starry sky for me, so go ahead and show me."

"If I do it, will there be a reward?"

"What else do you need? You already have everything."

Stefan whispered something in her ear, and Lucinda playfully glared at him and lightly slapped his arm. Her blush deepened, and she was as beautiful as a peach blossom. "This Saturday, come with me to the old house to formally meet my family, and I'll have a surprise for you at night."

"I'm looking forward to it." said Lucinda, "If you can satisfy me, I'll let you do what you want."

Stefan looked at her affectionately, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing his expression, Lucinda suddenly felt like she'd been tricked by him again.

This man always liked to trick her.

Although every time, he just led her into his arms, she thought it was pretty sweet.

A good man waited for a girl to grow up for eleven years, carefully planned everything, pretended it was all a coincidence, and finally led her into his arms.

Such a process, such a story, it could make one feel that the girl was really lucky.

Lucinda suddenly felt that she didn't need to envy the female lead in her novel anymore, because she was walking the same path as the female lead in her novel. The afternoon passed quickly.

Cecilia didn't call Lucinda again. At dusk, she came back, and it was Webster who personally drove her back.

The couple, Lucinda and Stefan, were about to go to the Ascend Hotel with their mother who moved from the rented house.

Seeing Cecilia, Lucinda quickly greeted her.

"Cecilia, are you okay?"

Seeing one side of Cecilia's face a bit red and swollen, she gently touched it, and Cecilia flinched.

Lucinda's face darkened, and she asked her friend, "Did Ruby hit you?"

A hundred thousand dollars isn't that easy to get.

When Ruby came to replace Lucinda, her attitude made it clear that she was a bully in front of others, and her gentleness was only shown to those she needed to please. Lucinda hated dealing with two-faced people.

Webster said to Cecilia, "Ms. Yates, if there's nothing else, I'll report back."

Mr. Martinez actually used Ms. Yates to provoke Ms. Scott, and Ms. Scott found an excuse to slap Ms. Yates, did Mr. Martinez achieve his goal?

In the end, Ms. Scott still left. Before she left, she said she was going to the Anderson family.

What did Mr. Martinez gain? But he got Ms. Yates slapped.

Cecilia responded with a hum.

When Webster left in his car, Cecilia said to her friend, "Lucinda, a hundred thousand dollars for a slap, it's worth it when you think about it."

Lucinda asked, "She hit you, why didn't you hit back?"

Cecilia was like, "I wanted to hit him back, but that jerk Owen had my hand. He was touching my face with a distressed look, and I never got the chance to retaliate."

"You!" Lucinda didn't know what to do with Cecilia.

"Lucy, are you guys heading out?" Cecilia changed the topic.

"Stefan is taking my mom out for dinner, you should come too."

Cecilia was quick to decline, "Nah, you guys go ahead. My face is still a bit swollen, and I need to get some ice on it. Lucy, I'll explain everything to you tomorrow. I didn't do all this just for the hundred grand." The main reason was that Owen had said that as long as she went along with his plan to rile up Ruby, he wouldn't seek revenge on her anymore, and their past disputes would be wiped clean.

Plus, there was the hundred grand that would be deposited into her account, so she agreed.

"You better get that ice on your face then."

Cecilia nodded, gave an awkward smile to Stefan, and then turned to Fiona, "Fiona, I'll head inside first."

Fiona really wanted Cecilia to join them.

Cecilia was her daughter's good friend, and she treated Cecilia like her own daughter.

After Cecilia politely declined and waved goodbye, she went inside the shop.

Fiona had no choice but to let her go.