Faux Vows, True Desires

"Do you need anything else from me?"

"No, that's all."

With that, Stefan wasted no time in showing his guest the door. "Well then, you can go now."

Owen bristled with indignation. "Come on, Stefan. I came all the way here to give you the heads-up about the Porter Group, and this is how you repay me?" "What do you want, a medal? Are you afraid your girl Cecilia will get jealous; think you're playing both sides?"

Owen spat dismissively, "I only have eyes for the ladies."

He gazed at Stefan's handsome face and, with relief, proclaimed, "Looking at you for nearly thirty years and not falling for you - my resolve is rock-solid." Stefan ignored it without a word.

After Owen finished his coffee, he stood up, bade his goodbyes, and left.

Time continued its march.

Exiting Ascend Global, Owen decided to skip returning to the office and headed straight to the Serendipity Cafe to claim his kudos from Cecilia.

Approaching noon, the cafe was at its quietest, the rush of customers having ebbed away.

Cecilia was scrolling through her phone, checking out the latest lunch specials from nearby restaurants, pondering what to eat.

"Cecilia, Mr. Cooper's come again," the waitress suddenly spoke up.

Cecilia looked toward the cafe door and sure enough, there was Avery, pushing it open and stepping inside.

Thankfully, this time he was without a bouquet of flowers.

By now, she knew Avery was someone Mr. Martinez had hired to pretend to court her-which explained why Avery, despite being terrified of Owen, still dared to declare a fair competition. It turned out there was Mr. Martinez backing him up.

Moreover, Avery would brave any storm for the sake of his beloved.

disapproved of by society, Avery's feelings were as genuine

making a beeline for Cecilia as usual, Avery chose

several bottles of liquor from his bag and, forgoing the need for a glass, began to drink

and the waitress exchanged puzzled

that they had some level of acquaintance, Cecilia walked over and sat across from Avery, asking with concern, "Avery, what's wrong? Is something

would reply, "Cecilia, do

anguish. "Cecilia, why can't Cedric and I, who

a matter

it was a problem with Mr.

the kind of love. My heart belongs to someone else. The pursuit was all an act, a charade. It's a long story, but to sum it up briefly,

they've turned their backs on me, urging Cedric to go on dates, even to get married.

had heard from Owen about Avery's true love for Cedric, the CEO of the Frost Group. She also knew Lucinda mentioned Cedric had even been set up with Tiffany Paisley, although that didn't pan out. The

hard time accepting their sons'

Cedric's protection or warnings from Mr. Martinez, given their collaboration. That's why Avery remained

was undoubtedly hell-bent on

what extent Cedric is willing to go for you.

are also driven apart by their families and end up having

resort to extreme acts like suicide, hoping to remain

have faith in him. As long as you

Cecilia talked with Avery about his relationship with Cedric, she also thought of

facing one's

willing to do anything for

He really tried hard.

She had fallen for Owen, yet she hadn't buffed up the courage as Avery had. She wasn't in together with Owen to confront their obstacles side by side. She had left

fighting alone match the

try harder to change Olina's opinion of her and

unchangeable, but she could make herself strong, strong enough that even