Faux Vows, True Desires

Lucinda, clutching several photo albums, made her way back to Stefan's spacious room and plopped herself on the couch, her curiosity piqued as she opened the first album. Stefan had kept these albums locked away in his drawer, which meant they were something special, something he wanted her to see.

Opening it, she was taken aback.

Pictures of her? Photos from her teenage years?

Breezing through the album, she found it full of pictures of her. She racked her brains but couldn't remember ever taking so many pictures, let alone giving them to Stefan. She wasn't a selfie queen; her social media posts and phone gallery mostly consisted of scenic shots.

Next, she flipped through the second album. Slowly, she realized the pictures of her spanned from her early teens up to her current age of twenty-four.

Holy cow! Ten years!

Stefan had claimed he had had a crush on her since childhood and had watched her grow up. It turned out he wasn't bluffing. He really had watched her grow up. But wait, had he been taking sneaky snaps of her?

Lost in the sea of photos and the flood of emotions they stirred, Lucinda was no fool. She could guess Stefan's intentions. After all, she was a romance novelist, spending her days spinning tales of love and passion. She fancied herself quite the expert on matters of the heart.

Stefan had set his sights on her when she had barely entered her teens, never interfering with her life, letting her grow up carefree, and only recently laying a trap to lure her into his world. The truth left Lucinda in a whirl of emotions.

Her phone rang, disrupting her thoughts. It was her brother, Ike.

"Lucinda, where are you and Stefan? You're not at the shop or your apartment. It's pretty late; you should be home. That jerk Stefan is a bad influence, keeping you out all hours."

Ike's words were peppered with digs at Stefan.

Who could blame him? Stefan had stolen his beloved little sister, the apple of their family's eye.

"And you're at Stefan's place? Late at night? You're trapped with that wolf in sheep's clothing! Send me your location; I'm coming to get you."

Lucinda responded quietly, "Ike, Stefan and I are married now. There's no escape."

Ike exploded, "I'd love to knock Stefan's teeth out."

"If you hurt Stefan, I'd be upset, Ike. He's the one I'm relying on."

Ike wailed, "Lucinda, it's only been a few days, and you're already smitten with that charmer, Stefan. But I guess it's not surprising; he's quite the looker and has women falling at his feet left and right." "Alright, Ike. It's late. Go to bed and stop worrying about me. I'm hanging up now."

Exhausted and emotionally drained, Lucinda was in no mood to entertain Ike's ranting. She knew he was just upset about her moving out, not because he thought Stefan was bad news.

In fact, Ike had always admired Stefan.

He just wasn't ready to accept that his idol was stealing his sister.

"Ike, I'm hanging up."

Despite Ike's attempted to stop her, Lucinda ended the call and went back to looking at the albums. Each flip of the page was a testament to Stefan's deep affection for her.

The realization of his feelings made many things clear. That day Stefan had arranged a business meeting at her coffee shop was no coincidence. Except for not having a hand in her blind dates, everything else was his doing.

No wonder no man had ever pursued her except for her ex, George. Stefan must've been scaring off her potential suitors. Taking discrete photos of her was one thing, but getting rid of love rivals? That was child's play for him.

Lucinda eventually dozed off, clutching the photo albums, sprawled on the couch. When Stefan returned and saw her, he was amused and touched. He gently removed the albums and carefully lifted her into his arms, carrying her to their bedroom. Whispering in her ear, he said, "Lucy, do you understand how much I love you now? Don't ever think about leaving me again; I won't let go of you in this lifetime." Lucinda, deep in sleep, didn't hear a word.

Meanwhile, in a different part of town, Owen was pulling up at the Scott family mansion. Jean, the Butler, who had known Owen and the Scott family for a long time, wasn't surprised by his late-night visit. Upon seeing Owen's swollen face, Jean asked, "What happened to your face? It's all red and swollen. Did someone hit you?"

Owen touched his face, wincing at the pain. "I went to confront Stefan for Miss Scott. We got into a fight, and I ended up on the losing end. Hence, the black and blue."

Who would dare hit Owen so hard? Oh, Stefan would!

The housemaid immediately began to scold Stefan in front of him: "Ms. Scott treats him so well, but he always breaks her heart. Owen, did you ever teach Stefan a lesson?"

Owen tugged at the corners of his mouth and laughed at himself, saying, "I wouldn't dare to hurt Stefan. She treats Stefan like a treasure. If I hurt Stefan, Ruby would be all over my case."

Ruby had already had a go at him for Stefan's sake more than once.

At this moment, Owen's bruised and swollen face hurt even more because of his bitter smile.

Would Ruby worry about him when she saw he was injured?

"Do you not understand what kind of woman she is? Is she worth all this sacrifice?"

The words Stefan had said to Owen popped up in his mind out of nowhere.

Ruby had been smitten over Stefan for so many years, and he has been smitten over Ruby for just as long.

Whether it's worth it or not, it's his business, and Stefan should keep his nose out of it!

"Owen, come in. I'll get you some ice for Ms. Scott to put on your face."

Jean was hoping that Ms. Scott would choose Owen. From her experienced perspective, Owen was truly in love with their lady. As for the young master, he never said he liked their lady, nor had he made any promises. It was all their lady's wishful thinking.