Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 40

"Knock knock."

Someone was at the door.

Even though the Serendipity Cafe always had an open-door policy, upon seeing Lucinda and Cecilia deep in conversation, the visitor knocked gently on the door. "Hey there, which one of you is Miss Lucinda?"

Cecilia glanced at Lucinda, her eyes asking who this person could be.

Lucinda took in the newcomer, a professionally dressed woman around her late twenties. She was attractive with a good aura about her. Clearly a savvy career woman, she was also carrying a bouquet of flowers.

Stars of Baby's Breath surrounding roses, it was a stunning arrangement.

"That's me, may I know who's asking?" Lucinda admitted easily.

Iris smiled, walked over with the flowers, and introduced herself, "Hi Ms. Moore, I am Mr. Coleman's secretary. He ordered these flowers and asked me to deliver them to you."

These were from Stefan.

Lucinda accepted the flowers, expressing her thanks to Iris.

"No need for thanks, Ms. Moore, I have to get going," Iris hurriedly said. As the secretary to the CEO of Ascend Global, every second of Iris' time was precious.

"Iris, would you like to stay for a cup of coffee?"

"Thank you, Ms. Moore, but I don't have the time right now. I'll definitely come by next time."

Mr. Coleman had mentioned that his wife owned this coffee shop. She could let the others at the company know, so they could come here whenever they wanted coffee.

Iris left in a hurry.

Lucinda held the bouquet, examining it closely.

Cecilia joked, "Can you tell anything from the flowers?"

"They're just flowers, what else is there to see?"

Cecilia was speechless.

"Beep, beep, beep."

Lucinda's phone rang. It was Stefan. After a moment's hesitation, she answered it.

"Lucy."

His voice was gentle. Lucinda thought, not only was Stefan handsome, but his voice was also very pleasant to listen to. If their marriage was a sham, then she had lucked out. A catch like Stefan was rare.

Unfortunately, he came from the Anderson family. The gap between them was too wide.

After that party, Lucinda was certain word of her and Stefan would reach the Andersons soon. She was waiting for her future mother-in-law to show up with a check for half a million, asking her to leave Stefan.

"Lucy, did you receive the flowers I sent through my secretary? Do you like them?"

"Yes, Iris just left. The bouquet is beautiful, I love it."

Lucinda spoke the truth. Since she didn't dislike Stefan, and they were already married, there was no need for pretense. As for whether the Andersons could accept her, Lucinda didn't think too much about it, she'd let things take their course. Before her future mother-in-law came knocking, she didn't mind continuing to play wife with Stefan.

Her words made Stefan very happy. His gaze fell on a photo frame in the corner of his desk. He had placed it there that day. It was a photo of Lucinda when she was 18. Of course, he had someone secretly take it.

Lucinda had no idea he had many candid photos of her.

From the moment he started noticing her, he had someone secretly take photos of her. Every month, he would receive many photos of her. He had filled several photo albums with them, carefully preserving his secret.

"I'm glad you like them. Let's have lunch together when I finish work."

"I'll have lunch here at the shop. If you don't mind, you can join us. But if you'd rather not, that's fine too."

This was her way of turning down an invitation to a fancy restaurant. Lucinda wasn't afraid of high- end places. She seemed to be able to adapt to such environments, but not being afraid didn't mean she liked them.

"Why wouldn't I want to? Even if it's simple fare, as long as I'm with you, I'll enjoy it."

Lucinda was silent for a moment, then asked, "Stefan, are you trying to sweet-talk me?"

Stefan laughed, "If you think it's sweet talk, then it is."

"Stefan, you're changing too quickly."

Because he had been waiting to marry her for too long.

"Give me some time to adjust."

"Lucy, we have a lifetime." Stefan spoke earnestly, "Slowly, you'll understand."

Lucinda smiled, "Right now my mind is a mess, and I'm drawing a blank. I haven't written a single word this morning."

"Then don't write. I'll take care of you." Stefan said generously. He had made so much money, who else should he spend it on if not his wife? With him around, how could he let his wife suffer? He had restrained himself for so many years, silently watching her grow up, start a business, and work late into the night for the cafe.

God knew how many times he wanted to help her. Now, they were husband and wife, he could openly pamper her.

"I can't do that. My editor said my novel could be a hit. I'm counting on it to make big money. I'm waiting to publish it, sell the film rights, and turn it into a comic."

A writer who didn’t dream of publishing, selling film rights, and turning their work into a comic wasn’t a good writer. Lucinda was a good one. She dreamed of everything, hoping that one day her dreams would come true.

Stefan kept her words in mind.

"You can't help me!" Lucinda seemed to have a sixth sense. She guessed that Stefan would use his position as CEO of Ascend Global to help her achieve her dreams and immediately stopped him. "Stefan, I want to achieve my dreams on my own. I don't need your help."

Before she knew it, she stopped seeing him as a big brother. Lucinda hadn't noticed yet, but Stefan had and was over the moon.

He never wanted to be her big brother in the first place! What he wanted, was to be her husband, her man! Of course, he had to keep his feelings under wraps and give her some time to adjust.

"Hey, were you the one tipping me for my novel?”

When she received a big gift and tips, Lucinda was through the roof, thinking she had found a very generous reader, and she was going to hit the jackpot. But now that she knew Stefan's real identity, she was no dummy. How could she not figure out who this generous reader was?

This wasn't hitting the jackpot at all. It was like taking money out of her left pocket and putting it in her right and losing half in the process. What a rip-off!

Stefan, "Only one of them was me, the rest weren't."

"What a dork!"

Stefan laughed and said, "As long as you're happy."

"I thought I was going to strike it rich, but now it seems like I got the short end of the stick. We're husband and wife, you took money from your pocket and stuffed it into mine, losing half in the process, how could I possibly be happy?" Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Stefan was at a loss for words.