Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 268

"He isn't planning to divorce."

Janice went quiet for a moment, then turned to her daughter and affectionately said, "Lucy, we'll handle our own problems. You don’t have to worry about it too much. As long as you are doing well, I will be doing just fine."

"Mom, I've been doing great. Before I was married, my parents and brother took really good care of me. After marrying Stefan, he spoiled me rotten. Now, having found you guys again, my life is even better."

When it came to her son-in-law, Janice looked towards Stefan. He was amazing with both her and her Fiona, always so patient. He'd sit with them, chat about this and that, just being an all-around awesome guy.

A smile spread across Janice's face as she said contentedly, "Not only did I find you again, but I also got a perfect son-in-law. It's enough to make me smile in my sleep."

Despite Stefan being as dashing and wealthy as her husband, his family's attitude was nothing like that of the Blue family’s. The Andersons always stood firmly by Lucy's side. The men in the Anderson family, once they got married, stuck to their vows, forever and always.

It was the ideal marriage.

After spending a few days with the Andersons, Janice found herself wanting to stay there long-term, the atmosphere was just that good and welcoming.

No wonder the Andersons were top dogs in Pinehurst.

A harmonious family led to prosperity and who could argue against that?

The Andersons were the perfect example. They had a big family and a lot of wealth, but they always kept a low profile, never showing off.

Janice even saw the Andersons' grandmother sitting in a field chatting with the local farm-workers about crops. If she didn't know any better, she would think that she was a lifelong farmer.

Who would've thought that in her youth, she was a fierce woman standing by her husband's side in the business world?

"Mom, don't be like that, I'll get jealous. You guys are all so nice to Stefan."

Janice patted her nose affectionately and said, "Well, his family treats you even better, don't they? So, of course, we must be extra nice to him. It's all about give and take. If you only take and never give, it'll eventually hurt the other person."

Lucinda immediately thought of Owen and Ruby.

Owen was all in when it came to Ruby.

But Ruby, all that she knew was to take and never give. In time, Owen's heart would naturally grow cold.

Today, after exposing Ruby, Lucinda hoped that once Owen received the gift Stefan had for him, he would finally let go of Ruby. Then, Ruby would truly have nothing.

Thinking about this outcome, Lucinda couldn't help but want to burst out laughing.

Would people think she was mean for taking such pleasure in another's misfortune?

Who cared? Even if they did, she'd still laugh. If Ruby ended up with nothing, she'd be happy and she'd laugh. Haha!

"Lucy, I heard Stefan has a villa somewhere else, I'll move there in a couple of days. I don't want to face your father and your grandmother."

Lucinda replied, "Alright, I'll move into the Diamond Ridge Estates villa with you. I know Stefan has a lot of properties, but I didn't ask for the specifics, so I'm not exactly sure about his wealth."

Stefan actually wanted to hand all his wealth over to her to manage, but she was afraid that having such a large sum of money would make her worry about it all the time and keep her up at night, so she flatly refused his proposal.

Surprisingly, her biological father was also very wealthy. By law, she could inherit half of his estate, which would roughly amount to several billion. It seemed like she couldn't escape from her fate of being a billionaire!

So, she would eventually have to accept the reality.

Next Monday, she would dutifully start work at Ascend Global.

Tiffany was already staying with the Andersons, ready to help her with makeup every day so she could hide her identity when she went to work at Ascend Global.

Knowing that her biological mother didn't want to return to Ascend Estate, Lucinda went over and sat next to her adoptive mother, telling Stefan, "Stefan, my mom says she doesn't want to go back to Ascend Estate. She'll be staying at your Diamond Ridge Estates villa starting tonight."

Stefan nodded understandingly and agreed to the proposal, saying, "Alright, we'll stay with Mom."

Lucinda then asked her adoptive mother, "Mom, do you want to come with us? But my dad is still at the mansion."

"You guys aren't going back to the mansion, right? Then I'll just stay at your rented place for a couple of nights. You haven't canceled your lease yet. If no one stays there, it'll be a waste of rent. Lucy, you can cancel your lease."

"Okay, I've already talked to the landlord about canceling. It will be done by the end of the month."

"Mom, if you're not going back to the mansion, you can move into Diamond Ridge Estates with us. If you want to go back to the mansion, then I'll take you there first."

Stefan felt that having his mom stay at a rental place didn't just feel right.

Fiona chuckled and said, "I'm pretty busy. I have to come to the shop to help tomorrow. It's inconvenient to commute from the mansion. Staying at the rental place is much more convenient as it is only a few minutes' walk. You guys don't need to persuade me. I'll stay at the rental."

Fiona chose not to move into Diamond Ridge Estates with them because she wanted Lucinda to spend more time with her biological mother. She thought that if she was around, Lucinda would be torn, afraid of neglecting either one of her mothers. Fiona didn't want to see her daughter so stressed, so she chose to step back.

Lucinda had been with her since she was a child, and even if she found her biological mother, she wouldn't abandon Fiona.

Why compete for affection with Janice?

What was wrong with stepping back?

Besides, living in a rental place was more comfortable for her. She never quite got used to living in a mansion.This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org - ©.

Stefan and Lucinda tried their best to convince Fiona to move into Diamond Ridge Estates, but all to no avail. They eventually gave up.

“Lucy, it's getting late, you guys should head back. We can handle the closing up.”

Checking the time, Fiona urged them to take Janice back with them to rest.

The shop was pretty quiet during the night, just some cleaning and tidying up stuff were left.

Lucinda tried once more to persuade her mother to come with them. After being turned down by Fiona, she could only head back to their villa at Diamond Ridge Estates with her husband, taking her mom with them.

"Mom, I have no idea if Cecilia will be back or not. If she does indeed come back and it's not too late, ask her to give me a call.”

Fiona saw them out, “Got it.”

"Fiona, come back with us."

Janice tugged at Fiona's hand.

Fiona chuckled and said, “Janice, you don’t need to keep trying to persuade me. I’m not a fan of moving around, and there’s no room for me to stay in the shop. If there had been, I would have moved in a long time ago. Now, you just go back and get some rest, don’t overthink things, just go with the flow. You don't need to be so stubborn about some things. Being too stubborn can make you paranoid. Sometimes, we need to understand that there may be complicated reasons behind some decisions. Sometimes, what you see isn’t necessarily true, and what you hear isn't necessarily false. Everything has two sides, try looking at things from a different perspective, and you might discover a new understanding."

Fiona had a good mindset, being older and having more life experience than Janice.

She noticed that Nathan's attitude towards Janice wasn’t exactly heartless.

No matter what, they were still Lucy's biological parents. Fiona still hoped that Lucy's biological parents could somehow get along so that Lucy could live a happy life when she returned to them.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind,"

Janice said gratefully.