Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 97

Stefan went silent for a bit before saying, "Owen, you could live a life that others would envy too."

All Owen had to do was let go of his obsession with Ruby, replace a good partner, and he could have a life that others would envy.

Owen fell silent too.

Though they were enemies, they'd known each other since they were kids. If it weren't for their quarrel, they could have been good friends.

"You've known Lucinda for eleven years, and you've been in love with her for eleven years. Why can't I be happy because I'm persistent?" Owen's words were filled with discontent.

They were both obsessed with someone.

Stefan was happy.

Did he have to end in tragedy?

"The person I like is worth my affection. Is the person you like worth yours?"

Owen was at a loss for words. Comparing them objectively, Lucinda surpassed Ruby in many ways. He was well aware that Ruby exploited his feelings to get close to Stefan. She had even gone to the extent of ruining Lucinda's shop for Stefan's attention.

Even after all her schemes, Owen consistently supported Ruby. He faced his grandfather's wrath for her and even picked fights with Stefan on her behalf. Ruby, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to his sacrifices. She took advantage of his generosity without a hint of remorse and continuously caused him pain.

His grandfather had been right about her. Because Owen showed her kindness and support, Ruby must have believed she could continually exploit his influence, right?

Owen then heard the voice on the other end, "Look, Owen, even though we're rivals and neither of us wishes the other well, our enmity isn't that profound. Beyond our business competition, we've been acquaintances for over two decades."

"Ruby really isn't worth your effort. If you want to take my advice, take it. If not, just consider it as if I didn't say anything. I'm going to hang up now. You don't need to come over, I don't want to see you." With that, Stefan hung up.

Owen stared at his phone for a while before saying, "He hung up so quickly, he didn't even give me the chance to say goodbye."

The bodyguards of the Martinez family said nothing.

The confrontation ended with Owen's defeat.

After standing quietly outside of Ascend Global for a few minutes, Owen returned to his car. Soon after, his convoy left Ascend Global.

"Mr. Martinez, are we returning to the company or going somewhere else?" the driver asked.

Owen thought for a moment and said, "Not going back to the company yet, go to the Yates family."

Stefan noted during a call that Cecilia's hand was still injured.

He had given her money for a hospital visit, but seeing her swollen hand, she likely hadn't gone.

He had also paid her well to pose as his girlfriend to upset Ruby.

While the amount was trivial to him, for someone like Cecilia, it was substantial.

It surprised him that she was so frugal that she wouldn't even spend on her health.

Owen quietly remarked that Cecilia seemed very tight-fisted.

The driver bravely asked, "Mr. Martinez, I'm not sure which Yates family you're referring to?"

In his memory, Mr. Martinez never had any business dealings with the Yates family.

"Just Cecilia's family."

The driver asked, "Mr. Martinez, who's Cecilia?"

He had no idea who Cecilia was.

Owen wanted to lose his temper, but he suddenly remembered that he had Webster pick up Cecilia, and his personal driver had no impression of Cecilia.

He held back his anger and said, "I'll send you a location, and you can navigate."

The driver hurriedly agreed, and he also let out a long sigh of relief.

Owen was clearly in a bad mood.

But the place he wanted to go, he had no impression of it.

Owen searched his phone for the location he had sent the bodyguard that morning and sent it to the driver.

Serendipity Cafe was temporarily closed for a few days. Lucinda went back to her house, and Cecilia stayed home to recover.

That day, her hand was cut by glass. She disinfected and bandaged it, but it still hurt.

Her hand was swollen, but it wasn't as serious as Stefan made it out to be.

The Yates family was just an ordinary family, like the Moores.

Cecilia's father worked in construction, out early and back late. Her brother worked, her mother was a housewife, her grandpa was still alive, and her grandma passed away when she was fourteen. At the moment, Cecilia was curled up on the couch, with an apple in her uninjured hand, munching on it while watching TV.

Becca Yates was picking vegetables nearby, occasionally glancing at the TV.

Devon Yates was reading the newspaper with his glasses on.

"Cecilia, could you turn down the TV a bit?" Devon found the TV was too loud and was disturbing his reading.

"Got it."

Cecilia picked up the remote and turned the volume down.

Just as she turned the volume down, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Cecilia, go see who's here." Becca said casually.

"It must be the old man next door coming to see grandpa."

Cecilia said as she got up to answer the door.

Hearing his granddaughter say this, Devon immediately said, "I'll get the door then. It's probably him. We agreed to meet today." Since grandpa volunteered to answer the door, Cecilia sat back down on the couch, continued watching TV, and eating her apple.

"Cecilia, since your shop isn't open, why don't you invite Lucinda over for dinner?"

Becca voiced her thoughts, then added softly, "Now that Lucinda's part of a wealthy family, we might feel hesitant to approach them. I doubt she'll visit us now."

Her daughter responded, "Mom, Lucinda's still the same. Even after marrying someone wealthy, she hasn't changed. She and Stefan still live in their rented place."

"It's clear Stefan truly cares for her, choosing to live in a modest home for her sake. I wish I could replace someone as wonderful as Stefan. I'd be over the moon," she daydreamed. Becca replied, "I've tried introducing you to potential matches, but you never seem interested. You dream of marriage, yet you don't even date."

"Mom, I'm still young, stop rushing me to get married."

"You're already 24 years old, you're not young anymore. When I was your age, your brother could already handle house chores."

Becca teased, "I don't want us to become enemies, you better replace a man and get married. Or you could learn from Lucinda and rent a boyfriend, then after some time, it becomes real." Cecilia said, "... Mom, I don't have the guts like Lucinda. Besides, the husband Lucinda rented was someone she knew."

"But she was still fooled, right?"

Cecilia gave a charming smile, "If I could be fooled into marriage by such a good man, I'd be willing."

Becca threw the vegetable in her hand at her daughter.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"You can't steal a friend's husband! You better behave, don't become the kind of person who steals their friend's man."

Cecilia looked helpless, "Mom, how could you say that about me? Am I that kind of person?"

She wouldn't know how to handle a cunning man like Stefan.

"Anyway, I'm telling you in advance, even if you never get married in your life, you can't ruin someone else's marriage. If you dare to do that, don't blame me for kicking you out and cutting ties with you."