Faux Vows, True Desires

Yep, she was definitely hitched, and she was hitched to him!

Yes, they tied the knot secretly.

"Hey, gorgeous lady boss, I'm ready to pay up."

Avery gave Cecilia a wave. Cecilia was on her feet in a heartbeat.

Owen muttered, "Usually folks walk to the register to pay, but he's just sitting there expecting you to come over so that he can pay the bill."

"If this handsome dude calls for me, I'm more than happy to go. What's it to you? Quit cramping my style and go hang somewhere else!"

Cecilia walked past Owen. Owen saw her looking at the handsome man, all smiles and felt a sting in his heart. She was always so good to others but so cold to him, her husband! There was a stark contrast between her behavior with others and with her husband.

She only seemed happy when she was making a buck. The moment she got paid, her face changed.

Cecilia expressed her feelings, saying, "I just love the smell of cash."

Owen was speechless.

After Cecilia took Avery's money, she even walked him out, saying cheerily, "Mr. Cooper, we're always glad to have you."

Avery laughed, too. This girl was really cute, he thought, her smile was so natural, it made him feel at home.

"Your Serendipity Cafe really lives up to its name. Great coffee, great pastries, I really like it here. I'll be dropping by every day."

Cecilia was grinning from ear to ear, "Thanks for the compliment, have a great day."

Avery waved goodbye and then made his way to a sedan.

Soon, he was out of Cecilia's sight.

"He's long gone and you're still standing there grinning like an idiot."

Owen said sarcastically, "He sat here all morning, had one cup of coffee, two plates of pastries, and spent a few bucks. Clearly, he's just enjoying your cafe's ambiance, hogging a spot to use the Wi-Fi. I have remembered his license plate number and I'll have someone look him up later."

"Mr. Martinez, if you're in a bad mood, just stay home, daydream or drink or whatever, don't come here spreading your negativity. And quit being so sarcastic."

Cecilia told him off and then turned to walk back inside, leaving him standing there.

Owen's face grew darker and darker.

He really wanted to leave right then and there, didn't want to be snubbed by Cecilia any longer. But his legs felt like they were full of lead, too heavy to move. After a while, he slowly went back inside and sat down where Avery had been sitting. When no one was looking, he kept shifting in his seat.

He was trying to rub off Avery's scent!

If Cecilia saw that childish behavior, she'd die laughing.

At ten past twelve, Stefan arrived at Serendipity Cafe right on time.

He noticed a snazzy sports car parked at the entrance and glanced at the license plate. It was his familiar rival's car.

Shouldn't a heartbroken man be crying at home?

Driving such a fancy sports car here, was he trying to show off how cool his car was?

At noon, the cafe was usually quiet with very few customers coming at that time.

Owen was sitting by the window. There were two cups of coffee and two plates of pastries on his table.

He hadn't touched them; his eyes were on Cecilia. Cecilia wasn't looking at him, she just checked the time and said to the barista, "Can you mind the store for a bit? I'm going to help Lucy cook. I'll call you later and you and Basil can come over. Mr. Martinez is here; Mr. Martinez can help us mind the store."

She handed the barista twenty dollars, "This is for Mr. Martinez's help."

The barista took the money, and wanted to say something but didn't know what. She could only watch as Cecilia left the store, went up to Mr. Coleman, said something to him, then got in his car with him, and they drove off.

Owen blinked; he didn't quite understand what had just happened. Cecilia got in Stefan's car and just left!

He quickly got up to follow.

"Mr. Martinez."

The barista quickly stopped him and handed him the twenty dollars, "Mr. Martinez, Cecilia's going to help Lucy cook. We hope you can help us mind the store; this is for your trouble."

Owen's eyes widened, he couldn't believe it. "Cecilia's paying me twenty dollars to help you mind the store! Does she even know how much I charge? I make more than twenty dollars a minute!"

"Mr. Martinez, Cecilia doesn't know how much you charge. Twenty dollars is not a small sum. We just need an hour to have lunch. You don't have to do anything, just sit here and enjoy your coffee and pastries Easy twenty bucks, isn't it great?"

Owen stared at the barista; she was as hard to read as her boss.

He took the twenty dollars and reached for his wallet to add some more money, only to find it was completely empty. He had given all his cash to Cecilia earlier.

Cecilia was using the money he gave her to ask him for help. In reality, she didn't spend a dime!

Sneaky!

She said he was sneaky, but she was no saint herself.

"What's your social media handle? Give it to me."

"Mr. Martinez, we can't exchange social media handles."

The barista wasn't dumb, she could see that Mr. Martinez and Cecilia were together.

"You're overthinking. I'm adding you to send you money. You mind the store, I'll go eat."

"Thank you, Mr. Martinez, but I can't eat what you eat. I'll eat by myself."

Owen glared at the barista.

The barista quickly shouted to the kitchen, "Basil, we're going to Lucy's for lunch."

"Alright!"

Basil replied cheerfully.

The boss was treating them to a feast.

After informing Basil, the barista quickly made her exit, reminding Owen on her way out, "Mr. Martinez, Cecilia rarely asks for your help, you must do a good job. We will be back as soon as we finish eating." Owen was speechless. He was livid! He must have beef with Serendipity Cafe.

Every single time he came here, he got pissed off.

At Lucinda's rented house, she was cooking crabs. Seeing her husband and friends coming in, she casually said, "Didn't we agree, you guys were supposed to wait till I finish cooking before coming?" Stefan walked in and grabbed an apron from behind the kitchen door. As he tied it on, he said, "Babe, what else do we need to cook? I'll help you out."

"I still have clams and shrimp to cook, everything else is done."

"Smells delicious."

Cecilia complimented, then picked up her utensils and tasted some dishes. She said while eating, "So yummy!"

Lucinda laughed and said, "Didn't have much time, so I didn't buy a lot of ingredients. But it should be enough to fill you guys up."

As she spoke, she made room for Stefan.

"Are the crabs ready? You two go ahead and take it out to eat."

"It's almost done."

Lucinda took out her phone and called her staff at the store. The staff answered quickly and before Lucinda could speak, they happily said, "Lucy, open the door, Basil and I are here already." Lucinda laughed as she said, "You guys have such sharp noses, came right away when you smelled the food."

"I'll go open the door."

After Cecilia tasted a dish, she slipped away, giving Stefan and Lucinda alone time.