Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 280

Stefan drove Lucinda back to the Serendipity Cafe.

Before they even got close, they could see a few cars parked outside the cafe.

"Dad's here."

Lucinda guessed her father might be there just by looking at those cars.

"Your mom's here too."

Lucinda felt a bit nervous, fearing her parents would start arguing.

"Don't worry, Dad won't fight with Mom, and Mom won't argue with Dad in the shop. They'll consider how it might affect your business."

Stefan comforted his wife.

After they parked the car, Lucinda got out and walked into the cafe.

"Lucy, you're back." Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Cecilia saw her friend return, and quickly came up to her, whispering, "Your parents are arguing."

Fiona also came over, whispering to Lucinda, "We can't stop them."

Following their gaze, Lucinda saw her father piling money on the table, taking up most of the space.

Her mother stood on the side with a blank expression, apparently trying to get Nathan to leave.

"What are they arguing about?" Lucinda asked quietly.

Fiona was the first to arrive and saw everything, so she answered, "Your dad was already waiting here when I came to open up this morning. As soon as I opened the door, he came in and sat down, but he didn't order any coffee or food. When your mom arrived, she saw your dad, and her face changed. She walked straight up to him and told him to leave. Your dad said he was a customer who came for coffee and snacks and that it's not good business to drive customers away."

Lucinda asked in a hushed tone, "What's with all the money?"

"That's because your mom said she wouldn't serve him and wanted him to leave, so your dad withdrew a lot of money from the bank as soon as it opened and piled it on the table. He told your mom that as long as she made him coffee and snacks, she could earn tens of thousands of dollars for the shop."

Lucinda thought to herself, "This scene seems familiar."

She looked at her friend, Cecilia.

Cecilia wondered, "Lucy, why are you looking at me like that? I can't make tens of thousands of dollars with a cup of coffee and a plate of snacks."

The world of the rich was beyond her reach.

Being around these rich people every day was really depressing, you know!

Seeing her friend's confusion, Lucinda didn't say much else, handed the jewelry box in her hand to her mother, and told Fiona, "Mom, this is a gift from Mr. Martinez. Please keep it for me. I'm going to go talk to them."

Fiona took the jewelry box and said, "Was the show good? Stefan really loves you; he actually took you to the Martinez family to watch the drama. When I heard your mom talking about it, I didn't know what to say."

Lucinda felt a bit embarrassed and stuck out her tongue.

Ruby was so eager to see her embarrassed, so she had to be a witness when Ruby was at her most awkward. Otherwise, it would be too unfair to Ruby.

Cecilia casually complained, "Why didn't you invite me when you went to watch the drama?"

When Stefan walked in, Cecilia immediately changed her tone: "Thank god you didn't invite me, otherwise I would have been the third wheel."

Regrettably, they did not see Ruby's embarrassment or Owen's troubles.

Owen thought: Thank God I didn't seek comfort from you; otherwise, your words might have killed me.

Cecilia thought, If you're going to die, remember to leave a will. I'm still waiting to become the richest person in Pinehurst after your death!

Owen thought, I'm already on my way to death!

Owen had to discuss money with Cecilia every day; otherwise, she would feel uncomfortable.

Owen transferred two hundred dollars to her every day and also gave her thirty thousand dollars a month for spending money.

When Stefan walked in, he felt the atmosphere in the room was a bit off.

He looked at Janice and Nathan and thought it was best not to go over.

So he asked Fiona, "Mom, is there anything I can help with?"

Fiona picked up a cup of coffee that was already packed from the cash register, handed it to Stefan, and said, "Finish this coffee and then go back to work. From now on, don't just listen to Lucy all the time."

Stefan laughed and said, "Mom, Dad said that listening to your wife can make you rich. I think I'm not rich enough. I need to listen to my wife more to become the richest man in the world."

Fiona laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I can't argue with you. Just finish your coffee and go back to work. I won't be looking after you guys tomorrow."

"Mom, are you leaving?" Stefan quickly asked.

He didn't want Fiona to leave.

"Tomorrow is the weekend," Stefan realized.

He was startled and he thought Fiona was leaving.

Right, tomorrow is the weekend. They had already promised to take Lucy to their island for the weekend. They could take Fiona and Janice too.

Stefan understood, and without disturbing the angry Janice and Nathan, he quietly drank the coffee that Fiona had prepared for him.

Lucinda sat in front of Nathan.

She patted the money with her right hand and smiled at her father, saying, "Dad, you know I've never seen so much cash before. Did you take it out just to show me? Let me count it. I'm going to count money until my hand cramps."

Nathan moved her hand away from the money and said, "Lucy, this is my money for coffee and snacks. Your mom said I can't come to her cafe to buy things, so you'll just have to watch this money fly by without touching it."

Janice said expressionlessly, "As if I've never seen your money."

"Our daughter has never seen so much money. Didn't you hear what Lucy just said? She said she's never seen so much cash and wants to count money until her hand cramps. We went to great lengths to find Lucy; can't you even fulfill this small wish of hers?"

Janice looked helpless.

Nathan glared at Lucinda.

Lucinda thought, I'm innocent!

She had seen a box of cash before, which Stefan had borrowed to deal with George Mitchell, but she thought the money was props at the time and never really touched it.

Lucinda chuckled, unsure of what to say.

"Stefan." Janice suddenly called out to Stefan, who hadn't dared to come over to greet them yet.

Instantly, Stefan put down his coffee and stood up, quickly walking over as if oblivious to the awkward tension between the couple. He asked with a smile, "Mom, what's up? I'll get right on it."

Lucinda softly mocked him, saying, "You sure know how to butter people up."

Janice's face relaxed, a smile appearing on her lips. This prompted Lucinda to sarcastically remark, "Even your attitude towards me isn't as good as the sugary-sweet smile you give Stefan."

"Stefan, do you have any spare cash at the moment? Could you lend me some? It doesn't have to be much, just a bit more than this shameless old man."

Man, this was a tough one. Caught between Nathan and Janice, Stefan felt that he was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place!