Faux Vows, True Desires

Ike got royally screwed over by the Anderson brothers. But he had a hand in it too. He never bothered to look into Stefan's family background nor did he ever ask. He thought it was bad manners to pry into someone's family business.

Stefan never mentioned his family at school, so Ike felt even more awkward asking about it. He was scared of hitting a nerve and making things awkward. Now, Ike was kicking himself. If only he'd asked more back then, his sister wouldn't have ended up with Stefan so quickly.

"Your cousin is a cunning fox, he kept his real identity from me for eleven years," Ike grumbled.

Eric defended his cousin, "You never asked about him. He wanted to keep a low profile."

Ike was at a loss for words. After a moment, he fired back, "How would you feel if your best friend hooked up with your sister behind your back?"

"I don't have a sister."

"I meant hypothetically."

"Your hypothetical is unrealistic. I don't have a sister, so I can't imagine what that feels like. Even if you asked me a hundred times, I still wouldn't be able to comprehend the feeling of parting with a sister when she gets married."

Ike was pissed off.

The Anderson family had mostly boys. The old lady had five sons and one daughter. In Stefan's generation, it was all boys again. The old lady never had a granddaughter and this remained a regret in her life. Now, all she could hope for was that her grandsons would get married and have daughters.

Stefan didn't know nor did he care that Ike was fuming because of his cousin. He explained to his wife, "Eric is third in line among us brothers. He's in charge of all the food and beverage businesses under our family's company. He's the general manager of Ascend Hotel."

Lucinda responded with a casual nod. She asked quietly, "Does your family know about us?"

"They probably do. Most of the people at the party that night were familiar faces."

Even if he didn't tell his family, someone would have spilled the beans to his elders. His grandparents would definitely find out. Although the old folks no longer worked and seemed out of touch with the outside world, spending most of their time gardening at home, they were actually well-informed. Their sources of information were even quicker than Stefan's.

a slight twist and

said he needed her to be his companion. Basically, he was announcing to the world, low-key, that she was Stefan's woman! Back then, she had happily accompanied him to social

was to draw her into his world, to make her his beloved wife. To be with

and had already ordered all the dishes. Once the four of them were seated, they could start

and the others, but they knew Eric was the general manager. Anyone who could get the general manager to personally entertain

already married. Good men were always

starving, and Stefan let her have soup first. After finishing the soup, Lucinda finally

love seafood, so

disposable gloves, peeling the shrimp for Lucinda,

a shrimp. It was

had to do was eat the shrimp. He also thoughtfully put

on her plate was all carefully chosen for

need to eat

been sleeping for so long, and he must've been

"I'll eat

he had to let her

felt as if the couple was flaunting their love, making them envious "Stefan." Ike

picked up a pair of disposable

to eat. He can't peel shrimp for you. If you want to eat shrimp, you'll have

Ike was speechless.

on his face, feeling

peeled off the shells, and then put one of the shrimps on Ike's plate, laughing,

plate back a

you really