Faux Vows, True Desires
Chapter 131

She needed to try and get Mrs. Mitchell's contact info and fill her in on the situation to avoid any gossip that could lead to misunderstandings.

As a woman, Lucinda didn't want to see Mrs. Mitchell get hurt by George.

Then, Cecilia showed up, spotting Lucinda, broom in hand, standing at the shop entrance. Parking her car, she asked anxiously, "Lucy, what's going on? Someone causing trouble?" "George is such a jerk."

Lucinda was still pissed at George's actions.

Cecilia said, "How does that jerk have the nerve to keep coming after you?"

Now that Lucinda's marriage to Mr. Coleman had gone public, and everyone in Pinehurst knew they were hitched. Did George think Mr. Coleman won't come after him?

They headed back inside the shop.

Lucinda grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a sip.

"George is a real piece of work. He actually suggested I divorce Stefan, take half his money, then start again with him. Does he think he's God's gift or something? He even said he'd divorce once he had more savings."

After hearing this, Cecilia cussed out George and sniggered, "Serves George's wife right. Does she really think George loves her? He's only after her money, he'd ditch her in a heartbeat if there's no profit in it.

Lucinda stayed quiet for a moment, then said, "I've met Mrs. Mitchell. She's a sensible woman, probably got fooled by George's smooth talk."

"I'm going to spill the beans about what George said to Mrs. Mitchell. As a woman, I hope she's prepared and won't let George's scheme succeed."

Cecilia chimed in, "Absolutely, we can't let George win."

"Has the renovation crew shown up yet?"

"I arranged for them to come at nine in the morning, it's not time yet. The landlord came by earlier for the rent, I totally forgot about it, he thought I couldn't afford it."

Cecilia laughed, "Now that you're officially Mrs. Coleman, unless someone's blind and deaf, they'd know your status has skyrocketed. The landlord won't be worried about us not paying the rent anymore." She took out her phone and transferred half the rent to Lucinda.

Lucinda accepted it.

They're friends, but Serendipity Cafe is their joint venture and they split everything in half.

"So what's the deal with you and Owen?"

Lucinda pulled her over to a table, asking curiously.

Cecilia, "...What could there be? We're not even the same species, his grandpa is already on my grandpa's blacklist."

She told Lucinda in detail about how Trenton appeared, forged a friendship with her grandpa, and tangled up her and Owen's potential match with her grandpa.

"Cecilia, I feel like Trenton is setting you up. Think about it, Owen is head over heels for Ruby, Stefan said they've been friends since childhood. As soon as Owen understood what love was, he fell for Ruby and that's been the case for over a decade."

"He's not going to let Ruby go that easily, anyone who becomes his wife will have a hard time being happy. But Trenton doesn't like Ruby, that's what Stefan told me. Trenton hopes that Owen will marry someone else to end his entanglement with Ruby."

"The high society in Pinehurst isn't big, Trenton didn't set his sights on any rich girls, but you. On one hand, you've had contact with Owen, on the other, your family is ordinary, without power or influence, it's easier to control."

"If you marry Owen, even if you suffer, it won't affect the Martinez family's business. Trenton is ruthless. He's thought this through."

Cecilia went pale, she knew Trenton was crafty but didn't think as deeply as Lucinda.

"It's impossible for me and Owen to be together, even if he's forced into marriage by his grandpa, I won't give in."

Cecilia told herself if things were as Lucinda analyzed, she must hold her ground, not to be swayed by Owen's looks or money.

Last time he gave her some money and asked she to pretend to be his girlfriend, then she got slapped by Ruby.

Cecilia worried Owen would use the same tactic again.

"Cecilia, I'm sorry, it's all because of me. I dragged you into this."

Lucinda grabbed her hand, apologizing.

"Lucy, what are you talking about, how can it be your fault? My encounter with Owen started when I splashed him with a bucket of ice water, causing him to catch a cold."

Cecilia wouldn't let her blame herself.

Lucinda wanted to say something else, but her phone rings.

She thought it was Stefan.

But when she checked the caller ID, it's an unfamiliar number.

Lucinda was a bit puzzled, but answered anyway.

Before she could say much, her face turned pale. She immediately stood up and dashed out the door.

Cecilia was startled and followed her out, asking while running, "Lucy, what's wrong? What happened?"

Lucinda rushed to the sidewalk, there happened to be a taxi parked. Without checking if there are other passengers, she opened the door and hopped in, replying, "Cecilia, my brother had a car accident, the hospital called. I need to go there now."

Cecilia was stunned, then told her, "Well, you better rush to the hospital, if you need any help, call me anytime, don't worry about the shop, I've got it covered."

The taxi started moving.

Cecilia stood on the sidewalk watching the taxi drive away.

Ike's a real stand-up guy. Because Cecilia was Lucinda's friend, he always cared for Cecilia like she's his own sister.

When Cecilia heard that Ike had been in a car accident, she was sending up a little prayer in her head, hoping he'd be okay.

After hanging around at the side of the road for a bit, Cecilia finally turned to head back to the shop.

No sooner had she stepped foot back in the shop, than she heard Ike's voice.

"Cecilia, are you the only one here? Where's Lucinda? Didn't she say she was gonna swing by today?"

Cecilia spun around, looking at Ike with a puzzled expression. "Ike, you are okay? I heard you had a car accident and was in the hospital. The hospital called Lucinda and she hopped in a cab to go there just a few minutes ago."

Ike looked stumped. "Who said I had a car accident? Which hospital called her? I'm fit as a fiddle, how could I have had a car accident... Wait, Lucinda could be in danger!"

With that, Ike quickly ran to the door.

Cecilia snapped out of it, her face tense, as she followed after him.

Ike stopped in front of his car, turned around to face Cecilia and asked anxiously, "Cecilia, do you remember the license plate number of the cab Lucinda got in?"