Faux Vows, True Desires

He suddenly stopped, freaking everyone out. Everyone was watching him nervously.

Stefan turned his head and looked at Lucinda.

Lucinda, looking very respectful, gave him a secret wink when no one was looking.

Before she had left home, Stefan was still sulking in the room and hadn't noticed her makeup for the day. Thankfully, the voice was familiar, as was the figure. At that moment, Stefan realized how his wife was seen in the company.

He walked up to Lucinda.

Everyone was watching his every move, especially the HR assistant, who was sweating bullets, scared that the new employee might tick off the big boss.

"A new employee?"

Stefan asked in a soft voice.

Lucinda looked up at him briefly, then lowered her head. She made herself look scared to look at him directly and answered respectfully, "Yes, I just started today."

"Keep it up!"

Stefan said kindly, then turned around and walked away.

After he left, the assistant let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't until Stefan entered the elevator that the assistant dared to lead Lucinda further inside, saying as they walked, "That really spooked me. I thought the boss had a bone to pick with you. If you managed to tick off the boss on your first day, you wouldn't last long here."

Lucinda replied, "I've just started, haven't done anything yet. I shouldn't have pissed off the boss, right? By the way, you guys are all scared of the boss, aren't you?"

The assistant looked at her and said, "Aren't you scared?"

Lucinda feigned fear and said, "I'm scared too."

"That's more like it. There aren't many people in this company who aren't scared of the boss. Even though he's not a cold-hearted person, his presence can be quite intimidating. I, as a minor employee, rarely get the chance to see him. I guess I lucked out today."

Then the HR assistant whispered, "Actually, I'd rather not have run into him. I was really scared, especially when he walked up to you. I was sweating bullets."

Lucinda echoed, "I was pretty nervous too."

The HR assistant continued, "By the way, you're also called Lucinda, same as the boss' wife. I got a shock when I saw your name, thinking that the boss' wife was coming."

The assistant was a chatty person, constantly finding topics to chat with Lucinda while leading her to her workstation.

Lucinda smiled and said, "There are many people in the world with the same name."

"True, but fates are different. The boss' wife has the same name as you, and you're about the same age. She's lucky, having married the boss. Before this, we all thought the boss stayed single because he was waiting for the girl he fell for since he was a kid."

"Now we know that the boss had been waiting for his wife all along. They've known each other for eleven years. The boss had his eyes on her from the very beginning, waiting for her to grow up. Think about it, she's really lucky!"

The assistant's words were filled with envy towards Lucinda.

All Lucinda could do was to laugh and echo, "She is indeed very lucky."

Even though Stefan had deceived her, she had to admit, marrying him was truly a bliss.

Lucinda hadn't worked in a company since graduating. Although her major was design, due to her lack of work experience, she had to start from scratch.

As a newcomer and quite ordinary, her current job was nothing more than a bunch of odds and ends. Wherever she was needed, she went.

Stefan wanted to go downstairs several times to check on her, but he held back each time.

Lucinda had once said, in the company, they were strangers.

The morning flew by quickly.

Stefan went downstairs earlier than usual, thinking he could have lunch with Lucinda. He texted Lucinda, but she replied that she was having lunch in the company cafeteria. Stefan stared at his wife's reply, speechless.

It seemed that he could only see her when they returned home.

While Lucinda was preparing to take over the company in the future, Cecilia was struggling to get Owen to agree to a divorce.

Last night, she was taken back to the Martinez family's mansion by Owen. She wasn't willing to go but thinking of Trenton, she held back and stayed for dinner at the Martinez family. Shane's attitude towards her was okay, but Olina couldn't stand her.

Cecilia knew that Olina was very fond of Ruby and wanted Ruby to marry Owen. If it weren't for Stefan uncovering the truth about Ruby being abroad, Olina wouldn't have given up on Ruby. However, even though the situation of Ruby made her unhappy and she no longer persuaded her son to be with Ruby, she would not accept Cecilia as her daughter-in-law easily.

In Olina's view, Cecilia was just a girl from an ordinary family. Whether her status or vision, she couldn't compare with the Martinez family in any way.

After dinner, Cecilia wanted to go home, but Owen didn't want to drive her home. She warned him that if he dared to force her to stay at the Martinez family overnight, she would cut him off. In the end, he still drove her home.

This time, he wanted to come in, but Cecilia didn't let him.

Owen left with a gloomy face.

Cecilia let out a deep sigh.

No one responded.

"It's so annoying."

She sighed again.

Still, no one responded. She glanced around and realized that there was indeed no one else around, Lucinda was not there.

Cecilia mumbled to herself, "Lucy's gone to work, I'm so bored on my own."

The business in the shop was still booming.

Even though Lucinda had gone to work, many people didn't know and they still came because of Lucinda's identity.

"Ms. Yates."

A familiar voice rang out.

Without looking, Cecilia knew it was Avery.

Seeing Avery, Cecilia's eyes lit up, finally, someone to chat with.

"Mr. Cooper, you're here."

Cecilia got up excitedly, went around the cash register, and walked towards Avery.

She had thought that Avery, after being chased away by Owen once, would not dare to come back.

It seemed this guy still had some guts.

Avery gave a bitter smile to himself. He was here for his boyfriend's company, like it or not.

He noticed that even without his provocation, Owen had already shown interest. His presence only added fuel to the fire.

Cecilia let Avery to sit down.

"Bring out two desserts for Mr. Cooper."

"Sure thing."

Avery scanned the room, ensuring he wouldn't run into Owen again, his tension eased a tad.

"Ms. Yates, no need for more desserts. I'm feeling a bit down today and would love to have someone to dine with. Ms. Yates, our chats are always so delightful, could I possibly persuade you to join me for dinner?"

His boss had instructed him to get as close as possible to Cecilia, to get her to agree to meals and shopping sprees together. So, he began to shower Cecilia with gifts. The money for the gifts was all on his boss, not a penny from his own pocket.

Avery felt the mission was getting riskier and riskier.

When Owen had kicked him out yesterday, the pain was excruciating.

Almost broke all his limbs.

If Owen found out he was still dining and shopping with Cecilia and giving her gifts, Avery was afraid he'd end up with broken legs and missing teeth. Owen was one hell of a jealous guy!