Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 45

Owen rocked up looking all confident, but then he skedaddled in a hurry.

Lucinda gave a sarcastic applause, saying, "He's just wasting his time trying to stick up for Ruby.”

The man beside her kept quiet.

Lucinda turned her gaze to Stefan, whose handsome face was stormy. The next thing she knew, he was pulling her into his arms, holding her tight, and whisking her away.

What the heck just happened?

Lucinda was completely bamboozled.

Stefan took Lucinda back to his place at Diamond Ridge Estates.

“Master, mistress!"

Seeing them enter, Emma greeted cheerfully.

Lucinda was taken aback. "Auntie, aren't you Stefan's mom's friend?"

Last time, she called Stefan her nephew, but now she was calling him master.

How many times had he and his people hoodwinked her?

Seeing the master's sour face, Emma explained with a smile, "Mistress, I'm the housekeeper here. You can just call me Emma from now on.”

Lucinda wanted to say something, but Stefan pulled her into the house.

“Stefan, what's up with you? You look upset; did I do something wrong?”

He'd been all quiet and holding her hand tight all the way, like he was afraid she'd bolt if he let go.

Stefan still kept mum, leading Lucinda upstairs. Once in his room, he nudged her into the bathroom, making her stand in front of the sink. He squeezed some soap into her hand, then had her wash her hands.

Lucinda turned to look at him; he was washing her hands with a serious look.

He kept washing her hands over and over, like her hands were poisoned or something.

Maybe because she kept staring at him, she found herself pinned between his chest and the sink. He couldn't resist any longer and planted a kiss on her lips.

It wasn't like his usual tender kisses; this time it was more forceful, she could even say rough.

After a few kisses, his face finally started to lighten up.

"From now on, don't lift a finger as long as I'm there. I won't let anything hurt you.”

Her lips were a bit swollen from his kiss, and his eyes were filled with concern.

He gently touched her lips, whispering, "Don't ever do what you did earlier again. Owen was just messing with you. Do you really think you could take him down with your strength? He's a drama queen; he’s hard to read. Try to keep your distance when you run into him.”

Lucinda was staring at his lips as he said some bossy things that she found kind of cool.

She was captivated.

It turned out that the genteel Stefan can be really cool when he's being bossy!

He must have many different sides, always changing.

“Stefan, I do have a bit of strength.”

Lucinda said softly, "I was thinking of taking down Owen first, so his guys wouldn’t wreck my store or hurt me.”

“He is pretty handsome; those eyes are really seductive, and his lips are quite sexy, but it's not because of his looks that I have a thing for him.”

Stefan's eyes narrowed, giving off a dangerous vibe. He asked her darkly, "Owen is handsome? More than me? His eyes are seductive. You don't like my eyes? You think my lips aren't sexy?"

Lucinda might not be the brightest, but she knew she'd be in deep doo-doo if she said yes.

Besides, she wasn't stupid.

What to do when her husband was angry and jealous

Lucinda quickly threw her arms around Stefan's neck.

The novel she's currently writing was about the heroine's life after resurrection. The heroine betrayed her husband when she was alive, so she chose to make it up to him after her resurrection, but her past actions led to his distrust, so the heroine often had to appease her husband.

So, she had a lot of tricks up her sleeve to appease her husband.

Lucinda now applied the tricks from her novel to real life, dealing with the jealous Stefan.

“Darling.”

Lucinda called softly.

Her voice was naturally pleasant; she intentionally softened it and dragged out the end. Stefan felt his heart melt upon hearing it.

Lucinda felt a chill run down her spine; she was getting goosebumps all over.

She really wanted to live.

To pacify this suddenly jealous man, she even started to act cutesy.

“Darling, you're the handsomest, handsomest in my eyes; no one can compare! Your eyes are like blazing fire; every time I look into them, my heart races, and I'm often at a loss, totally smitten.”

“Your lips might not be thin, but I heard that men with thin lips are fickle, and I know you're definitely not that kind of man.”

She went on and on with these compliments.

Thank God she's a writer; her novel's heroine always praised the hero like this.

Every time the hero got angry, the heroine would praise him, and then he would calm down.

She hoped this would work on Stefan too.

“Did you hear what I said earlier?” Stefan asked her.

“Not only did I hear it, I remembered it and thought about it all the time.”

Stefan laughed; all the unpleasantness vanished after her soft "darling".

How could he stay mad at her? Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

But clearly, she didn't take his words to heart.

He pinched her nose affectionately and said, "Now you really know how to sweet talk."

“It's all because of you.”

Stefan laughed.

He lightly poked her lips, then picked her up and left the bathroom.

As he was laying her on the bed, she held onto his suit tightly, looking all pitiful. "Stefan, I'm hungry.”

She was completely exhausted from his pampering last night; she should at least get some rest tonight.

Lucinda started thinking about how to kick this man out of her room tonight.

Of course, she wouldn't say it out loud, in case he turned all bossy and dominant.

She thought they'd known each other for eleven years and knew each other well.

But now it seemed she didn't know him at all.

This was bad!

Right now, she felt like she was stuck on a mountain with no way down and stuck being his wife on top of that!

Stefan gently tapped her forehead, then pulled her up and said, "I know what you're thinking. Lucy, I've watched you grow up, and I can guess what you're up to from your slightest move."

"Since you've watched me grow up, you should treat me like a sister, but you,"

"It was you who said you'd sponsor me."

Lucinda gave a bitter smile: "I said rent!"

What a mess!

If she had known, she wouldn't have impulsively agreed to marry him.

If men could be trusted, pigs could climb trees!