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.

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

for Cecilia as usual, Avery chose a secluded table in the

bottles of liquor from his bag and, forgoing the need for

and the waitress

across from Avery, asking with concern, "Avery, what's wrong? Is something bothering you? Did you hit

were here, he would reply, "Cecilia, do

and after emptying a bottle, he finally shared his anguish. "Cecilia, why can't Cedric and I, who love

it was a matter of love

thought it was a problem with

to come clean to you. The truth is, I do like you, but it's not the kind of love. My heart belongs to someone else. The pursuit was all an act, a charade. It's

weathered the storm, they've turned their backs on me, urging Cedric to go on dates, even to get married. It's tearing me apart, Cecilia. What should I do?" Upon his confession, Cecilia finally realized what had

mentioned Cedric had even been set up

a hard time accepting their sons' being gay,

or warnings from Mr. Martinez,

hell-bent

will be determined by how strong your connection is, and to what extent Cedric is willing to go for you. If he chooses his family and their expectations

love; many heterosexual couples are also driven apart by their families and end up having to

like suicide, hoping to remain united in

persevere and have faith in him. As long

relationship with Cedric, she also thought of herself

others is easy; facing one's own

willing to do

He really tried hard.

what about Cecilia herself? She had fallen for Owen, yet she hadn't buffed up the courage as Avery had. She wasn't in

alone match the strength of two

Cecilia suddenly felt that she needed to try harder to change Olina's opinion of her and earn herself

background was unchangeable, but she could make herself strong, strong enough that even Olina