Faux Vows, True Desires

Madeleine was convinced she'd hit the jackpot with some sort of philter and would quickly establish a steady relationship with Nathan.

However, when she went to the Blue family, she waited all day but Nathan never returned. He had gone on a business trip, leaving Keith Blue at Blue Corporation in Skywatch. She was seething but powerless.

As the head of the Blue family, Nathan was obviously a busy man.

In the evening.

After work, Lucinda, being the newbie, didn't have to work overtime. She texted her husband, saying she'd drop by the coffee shop first.

Just as she sent the message, Stefan called.

She quickly glanced around to make sure nobody would overhear her phone conversation before she relaxed.

"Darling."

Normally, she'd address Stefan by his name, but to avoid arousing suspicion, she sweetly called him darling. A smile tugged at Stefan's lips.

"Darling, aren't we having dinner together?"

"No, I ordered takeout to the café. I'll go help out there first."

She was also worried about her friend's situation.

She wondered how Cecilia and Owen were doing.

Stefan was silent.

"Darling, tomorrow, I'll definitely have dinner with you. Don't be mad."

Hearing her cajoling him, Stefan chuckled, "I'm not mad. Your husband is very magnanimous, not petty at all. Fine, we'll let it slide tonight, but the day after tomorrow, you have to come with me to a social event. You have to learn not just the company operations, but also socializing."

Lucinda's social circle was too narrow at the moment.

"Sure, darling. You go eat, don't starve."

"Miss me?"

Stefan's voice dropped, sounding incredibly attractive. Lucinda hadn't really cared about other people's voices before, but since knowing Stefan, his voice was her favorite.

Lucinda left the company and walked to the side of the road. A bus passing by the Serendipity Cafe just happened to come by, so she got on.

"I miss you."

Hearing her say she missed him, Stefan chuckled lowly, "Tonight when I get home, show me just how much you miss me."

Lucinda blushed slightly, replying, "I'm on the bus now, Let's chat later."

Reluctantly, Stefan hung up the call.

No sooner had their call ended than Keith called.

As soon as Lucinda answered, her brother asked, "Lucy, who were you just talking to? I tried calling a few times but you were always on a call."

"I was talking to Stefan. What's up, big bro? Is everything okay with you and Dad?"

"What could possibly happen to us? We're totally fine, don't worry. How was your first day at work? I held off calling you all day so I wouldn't interrupt your work, but I couldn't help it anymore. Actually, you didn' need to join Ascend Global. After you came back, I could've trained you myself."

"Lucy, don't overwork yourself or push yourself too hard. If you really can't learn it, it's okay. I'll hire some professional managers to handle the business and you just need to collect the money."

In the end, Keith was still worried about his sister who had finally returned. He was afraid she'd overwork herself.

"Bro, I can take care of myself. I really like my current lifestyle."

Before she went to work in the afternoon, Ike had called to ask about her adaptation to work.

Lucinda felt her brother's concern and felt like a kid in front of him.

Keith sounded a bit disappointed, "You really like working? I thought you were tired and wanted to quit. You can choose not to work, I can support you."

Lucinda could hear the disappointment in her brother's voice and couldn't help but laugh.

So her brother was hoping she wouldn't adapt to work so they could protect her like a treasure.

She began to feel like the pampered child of the family.

She really liked this role and felt incredibly lucky.

"Bro, I can support myself."

"When you and Stefan get married, I'll give you some gifts to ensure you won't have any worries. You take the bus to work? I heard the bus announcement. I won't disturb you anymore. If there's anything, remember to call me first. I'm always here for you."

Ascend Global was not far from Serendipity Cafe, just a few minutes by bus.

The staff greeted Lucinda with a smile when she arrived, "Welcome, there are still seats available, please come in."

She didn't recognize Lucinda.

Looking around the café, Lucinda noticed there were a lot of customers.

Cecilia came out from the pastry room and joked when she saw Lucinda, "You haven't moved out of your rental yet? Go remove your makeup. See, even the staff didn't recognize you." The staff was left speechless.

Lucinda laughed, "Can't fool you."

Cecilia laughed, they were good friends. Even with different makeup, Cecilia could recognize Lucinda from her figure.

Lucinda spent about ten minutes removing her makeup before returning to the café.

After the customers had left in dribs and drabs, they finally had some free time.

The takeout had also arrived.

However, Ruby came in with the delivery guy.

Seeing her, the smiles on Lucinda and the others' faces faded.

"Cecilia, can we talk?"

Surprisingly, Ruby didn't come to find Lucinda, she was looking for Cecilia.

Cecilia responded coldly, "Ms. Scott and I are not close, there's nothing to talk about."

"Let's talk about Owen."

Cecilia looked at Ruby. Her makeup was still exquisite, but she looked haggard and lacked the pride and confidence she had the first time she came.

"In reality, Owen and I are just a couple in name. I think he's told you why we got married. Ms. Scott, if you want to get Owen back, you should go find him, not bother me." Ruby looked embarrassed.

She wanted to get Owen back.

But when Owen loved her, his affection was real. No matter what she did wrong, he would forgive her, tolerate her, help her solve problems, without complaint or regret.

Now he said he's totally over her, and he meant it. He became heartless, no matter how much she cried, he just didn't give a damn anymore.

Growing up together, Ruby realized she didn't really know Owen that well. His coldness was no less than Stefan's.

"Cecilia, I won't keep you long."

Cecilia looked at her for a while, thinking about her complicated relationship with Owen. That guy refused to admit their marriage was a sham, saying they were both willing when they got their marriage certificate.

What a sneaky guy!

"Fine, I'll give you half an hour, spit it out."

Cecilia picked up her takeout, headed to a corner, and sat down. This was her way of showing enough respect to Ruby.

Ruby was silent for a moment, then she chose to bite the bullet, walked to the corner, and sat opposite to Cecilia.