Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 245

She racked her brain for a long time but still couldn't figure out where Keith had slipped up earlier.

In the end, Lucinda could only sigh inwardly. Her father and brother were both very clever men.

Their understanding and tacit agreement were beyond her comprehension for now.

"Dad, don't take such risks in the future," Keith advised his father once more.

Nathan laughed it off. "It's okay; I used a stand-in. I just wanted to come see Lucy a bit earlier. I'll be heading back in a few days."

His original plan was to come visit his daughter today and then leave immediately.

But upon hearing that his wife had woken up, he decided to stay a couple more days before going back.

Although the relationship between father and son seemed a bit distant, Keith knew his father's intentions well. He frowned and said, "After dinner, you better get going. Even if you come with us to Ascend Estate, my mom might not want to see you. You should give her some time to accept the fact."

Nathan's mood instantly plummeted.

Regardless of why and what he had done, he had failed to protect her. That was his mistake. He couldn't make excuses for himself.

He and Janice, in this life, may never be able to go back to how they were at the start. This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.

Nathan felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife as he looked at his children before him.

Only after he had eliminated all enemies, changed the family rules, and completely taken over Blue Corporation, if he was still alive by then, could he retire and leave everything to his children to manage. Then he could use the remaining time to beg his wife for forgiveness.

After a while, he quietly agreed, "I'll head back after dinner."

He looked at Lucinda and asked, "Lucy, how about we have dinner together later? And Stefan too. I want to meet my son-in-law."

He had some matters to discuss with Stefan.

Stefan was five years older than Keith and had already taken over the family business for many years, so he was very mature in all aspects. Nathan's expectations for Stefan even exceeded those for his son.

"Sure."

Lucinda agreed to his request: "I'll call Stefan."

She got up and left the café to make the call.

Being with his father always seemed to spark an argument, so once Lucinda stepped out, Keith also said, "I'm going to get some fresh air."

He then got up and left.

Nathan: "You just don't want to be with me."

He wasn't a fool.

Thinking that his children didn't really like him, Nathan let out another sigh.

There's no such thing as perfection in life. There were always things he couldn't accomplish.

After finishing her call with her husband, Lucinda turned around to see her brother standing nearby. She instinctively asked, "Why are you out here too?"

"My personality clashes with that old man's; it's easy to start an argument. Without you in there, I'm afraid we might start arguing, so I came out for some fresh air."

Lucinda: "He's not old."

Although their father was already fifty, he had taken good care of himself and now looked more like their big brother.

No wonder his children were already twenty-four, yet twenty-six-year-old Madeleine still wanted to marry him.

"He's fifty; how is that not old? I insist on calling him an old man. That way, he won't think he's still an eighteen-year-old and keep wanting to marry an eighteen-year-old woman."

Lucinda laughed and said, "True, good point. First, let him feel old; then he won't have too many ideas."

She thought for a moment, then said, "Keith, if you meet the right person, try to start a relationship. After mom woke up, she mentioned your marriage to me."

Hearing this, Keith showed a shocked expression: "No way? She's actually going to start rushing me to get married like Fiona?"

He knew that the reason Lucinda had willingly fallen into Stefan's trap was because Fiona had been urging her to get married.

In some places, many people got married as soon as they reached the legal age to do so. Generally, once a person was over twenty-five, their parents started to get anxious. Keith knew several of his bodyguards, who were often pressured by their families to get married.

However, his bodyguards weren't that young anymore, the youngest being twenty-eight. They should indeed be pressured to get married.

"Maybe. Probably all mothers in the world are the same."

Recalling her own helplessness when she was being rushed to get married, Lucinda sympathetically patted Keith's shoulder and laughed, "It's okay; you'll get used to it gradually, and then you won't be affected by mom's urging. When my mom was rushing my brother, oh, I mean, when Fiona was rushing Ike, it was like this. After she rushed him many times, Ike stopped taking her words seriously. My mom had no choice but to switch to rushing me."

Keith laughed, "Got it. If mom really starts rushing me to get married, I'll learn from Ike."

The brother and sister were laughing and joking; their actions were very affectionate. This scene was seen by a person in the distance. She was as excited as if she had discovered a new continent, excitedly took out her phone, and started snapping pictures of the siblings like mad.

Taking pictures wasn't enough, so she began filming a video.

This excited person was Ruby.

She had gone to Ascend Global again, but Stefan refused to see her. This time, she couldn't even get through the door of Ascend Global.

Out of options, she lurked in the Serendipity Café, waiting for Stefan's appearance.

She didn't expect to see Lucinda being so affectionate with a strange man.

She wanted to make the pictures she took public, then send them anonymously to the elders of the Anderson family and Stefan, and finally post the video online.

Now, everyone in Pinehurst knew that Lucinda was Stefan's wife.

Stefan had also explained to everyone that he and Ruby had not been in love since childhood. He publicly stated that he had never had romantic feelings for her, and the two had kept their distance since they were twelve.

Thanks to Stefan, everyone knew Lucinda. As soon as the video was posted online, it would definitely cause a stir. The mere harassment from media reporters could make Lucinda collapse.

So what if Stefan loves Lucinda? The thing men hate most was being betrayed by women.

She didn't believe that Stefan can calmly continue his life with Lucinda after seeing these photos and videos.

They were definitely getting a divorce!

Even if Stefan didn't want to divorce, the elders of the Anderson family will force them to!

The more Ruby thought about it, the more excited she got.

It wasn't until Lucinda and that strange man walked back into the café that Ruby stopped taking photos.

She was itching to walk into the café right now to take a close look at the guy who had the guts to challenge Stefan.

She started her car but then immediately turned it off again.

She couldn't go.

If she showed up in the café now, when she sent out the photos and uploaded the videos online, Lucinda would easily suspect it was her doing.

With that thought, Ruby managed to resist her urge to go see the strange man.

To avoid Stefan putting more pressure on her, Ruby decided to have someone else expose the photos and upload the videos.

The entertainment journalists in Pinehurst were perfect for the job.

After all, paparazzi loved sneaking shots of celebrities' private lives. If she let them do this, when Stefan got angry, he'll only lash out at the journalists, not her.