Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 344

Stefan then sent over a few voice messages.

"Owen wants to scare off the other guy but also wants to keep his cool, without resorting to violence. However, his approach is easily misunderstood."

Stefan laughed so hard that his belly hurt.

His arch-nemesis was definitely sent by the heavens to make him laugh.

Not everyone could understand Owen's thoughts and actions.

After her husband's explanation, Lucinda got it.

She laughed so hard that she was pounding on the table.

Cecilia felt super awkward and said to her friend, "Lucy, I'm off work, you manage the shop."

She was ready to go home, as she couldn't stand the drama anymore.

Lucinda teased, "Don't you want to see how long their standoff lasts?"

Cecilia awkwardly said, "I can't take it anymore."

Lucinda laughed till her stomach hurt and said, "Cecilia, you really picked a clown. If you two get back together, life would surely be a riot."

That was just too funny!

She couldn't understand at all how Owen's move was meant to make his rival feel the danger and back off.

Thank God for Stefan's explanation.

Both were childhood rivals and knew each other very well.

If they were a boy and a girl, she and Cecilia surely wouldn't stand a chance.

"Cecilia."

Seeing Cecilia was about to leave, Owen and Avery shouted her name at the same time.

Owen, being more shameless, even grabbed Cecilia's hand.

Seeing Avery also calling Cecilia's name, Owen pushed the flower bouquet made of money in front of Avery and said, "Mr. Cooper, don't you think you're broke? Flowers wilt and can't be eaten or used, who would want them?"

Avery was speechless.

Broke?

He looked at Owen's flower bouquet made of money, very bright and won't wilt.

Although it couldn’t be eaten, it could be exchanged for lots of food, very practical.

Compared to that, well, he was indeed broke.

At that point, everyone finally got it.

Avery's face turned bright red.

He didn't know if it was because he misunderstood Owen or because he felt that his flowers were shabby.

"Cecilia, this flower is for you."

Owen finally handed the flower bouquet made of money to his ex-wife.

She was his wife in the morning, and now she was his ex-wife.

Cecilia shook off his hand and said, "Thanks, but I'm off work, got to go. You guys carry on."

Then, she turned around and walked out of the coffee shop.

Seeing the big red heart at the door, she paused slightly but didn't linger. She walked down the stairs to her electric bike, hopped on, and quickly left that place.

The people watching as Cecilia left were still mulling over what had just happened in front of them.

"Mr. Cooper, Cecilia is mine!"

Owen growled at Avery.

Avery was uneasy, but he had to do what his employer wanted from him. So, he stood tall and responded, "We'll compete fairly."

Owen quickly had to go find Cecilia and didn't have time to argue with Avery. He glared at Avery, picked up the money flower, and left the coffee shop in a hurry.

Lucinda smiled and said to herself, "Owen is such a lovesick fool, acting so immature."

She couldn't help but laugh.

In order to keep his cool in front of Cecilia, Owen wouldn't use violence or bully people with his power. But his actions were hard to see through.

In the eyes of others, Owen was just an immature man.

After laughing, Lucinda felt a bit regretful. She had to mind the coffee shop and couldn't see what happened next.

The next part would definitely be even more exciting, and she was going to miss out on the fun.

Looking at the customers in the coffee shop, Lucinda rubbed her chin in thought. She wanted to expand the coffee shop so that more customers had a place to sit.

Thanks to Ruby's recommendation, Serendipity Cafe was becoming known in Pinehurst. With her background, many people came to check in every day.

The coffee was good, the pastries were delicious, and there were always interesting things happening in the shop to hold onto the attention of the customers. Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

Serendipity Cafe was the perfect place to watch a show.

Yeah, if she expanded the shop, business would definitely improve.

With that thought in mind, Lucinda decided to act on it.

The two shops next door were clothing stores and didn't seem to be doing very well. She planned to ask the owners if they were willing to sublet, and she could rent the two stores, connect them to Serendipity Cafe, and renovate.

The onlookers hadn't completely dispersed.

Some of them were tired from standing and came in to sit. Feeling awkward about taking up space, they ordered some food and drinks.

Soon, all the seats in the shop were filled, and the people coming in couldn't find a place to sit.

That made Lucinda even more determined to expand the shop.

Not making money when she could was stupid!

If Cecilia knew that her friend was not only using her and Owen as writing material but also planning to write a story about them and using her as a bait to attract more customers and expand business, she'd definitely regret it and think she made a poor choice in friends.

Owen drove to find Cecilia.

Cecilia was riding an electric bike, which couldn't outrun his car.

But he didn't dare to forcibly stop Cecilia.

They were divorced at that moment, and when Owen chased Cecilia, he had to be very careful because he had nothing to rely on.

If Cecilia frowned, he'd have to worry about his status dropping.

Right at that time, in Cecilia's heart, he probably had scored 60 points. Any lower and he'd fail.

He wasn't like Lucinda, who had a bunch of readers giving her good reviews and boosting her score.

And so, Owen silently drove his luxury car, trailing behind Cecilia's electric bike. Cars behind him kept honking, but he didn't care and let them pass when they could.

The drivers who overtook his car were all thinking, “So, even luxury cars can drive this slowly.”

They arrived at the alley where the Yates family lived. Owen's car was too big to get into the alley. Afraid to block traffic, he had to park near a supermarket, then got out of the car, took the flower bouquet, and ran after Cecilia.

The alley was uneven and crowded. Cecilia drove slowly, and Owen caught up to her and sat on the back of her bike.

Cecilia's bike wobbled. She quickly braced herself with her foot, stopped the bike, and then turned around to look.

"Cecilia." Owen was laughing his head off, his smile more stunning than the sunset.

"Get off!"

"I ain't getting off!"

"Cecilia, let's scoot. People behind are honking non-stop, we shouldn't be blocking the traffic."

Cecilia saw a bunch of e-bikes behind them. Everyone there was accustomed to using e-bikes to get around. After all, that was the old part of town, with tiny lanes and bumpy roads. The streetlights at night were dim, and many of them weren't working.

She freed one hand and gave Owen's thigh a hard twist. Only after hearing his yelp of pain did she start the bike again.

Even though Cecilia had twisted Owen hard enough to make him yell, he still stayed on her bike. He held the flower bouquet made of money in one hand, and casually wrapped the other around Cecilia's waist.

Cecilia almost fell off the bike when he pulled her in like that.