Faux Vows, True Desires

Lucinda, clutching several photo albums, made her way back to Stefan's spacious room and plopped herself on the couch, her curiosity piqued as she opened the first album. Stefan had kept these albums locked away in his drawer, which meant they were something special, something he wanted her to see.

Opening it, she was taken aback.

Pictures of her? Photos from her teenage years?

Breezing through the album, she found it full of pictures of her. She racked her brains but couldn't remember ever taking so many pictures, let alone giving them to Stefan. She wasn't a selfie queen; her social media posts and phone gallery mostly consisted of scenic shots.

Next, she flipped through the second album. Slowly, she realized the pictures of her spanned from her early teens up to her current age of twenty-four.

Holy cow! Ten years!

Stefan had claimed he had had a crush on her since childhood and had watched her grow up. It turned out he wasn't bluffing. He really had watched her grow up. But wait, had he been taking sneaky snaps of her?

Lost in the sea of photos and the flood of emotions they stirred, Lucinda was no fool. She could guess Stefan's intentions. After all, she was a romance novelist, spending her days spinning tales of love and passion. She fancied herself quite the expert on matters of the heart.

Stefan had set his sights on her when she had barely entered her teens, never interfering with her life, letting her grow up carefree, and only recently laying a trap to lure her into his world. The truth left Lucinda in a whirl of emotions.

Her phone rang, disrupting her thoughts. It was her brother, Ike.

"Lucinda, where are you and Stefan? You're not at the shop or your apartment. It's pretty late; you should be home. That jerk Stefan is a bad influence, keeping you out all hours."

words were peppered with digs

stolen his beloved little

at night? You're trapped with that wolf in sheep's clothing! Send me your location; I'm coming to

I are married now. There's no

love to knock Stefan's

upset,

already smitten with that charmer, Stefan. But I guess it's not surprising; he's quite the looker and has women falling at his feet left and right." "Alright, Ike. It's late. Go to bed and stop worrying

to entertain Ike's ranting. She knew he was just upset about her moving out, not because he thought

Ike had always

accept that his

"Ike, I'm hanging up."

call and went back to looking at the albums. Each flip of the page was

at her coffee shop was

scaring off her potential suitors. Taking discrete photos of her was one thing, but

amused and touched. He gently removed the albums and carefully lifted her into his arms, carrying her to their bedroom. Whispering in her ear, he said, "Lucy, do you understand how much I love you now? Don't ever think about leaving me again;

the Scott family mansion. Jean, the Butler, who had known Owen and the Scott family for a long time, wasn't surprised by his late-night visit. Upon seeing Owen's swollen face, Jean asked, "What

Miss Scott. We got into a fight, and I

Owen so hard?