Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 376

Once, she had this idea of making Cecilia her sister-in-law, but unfortunately, her brother saw Cecilia as nothing more than a sister.

Cecilia, "Interestingly, I also wanted you to be my sister-in-law. My brother even had a crush on you. But when he realized that you only saw him as a brother, he gave up."

Lucinda laughed, "We are indeed best friends!"

Stefan joked, "You're easy-going, as long as your brothers don't bring home some unreasonable harpies, you won't have to worry about managing sister-in-law relationships."

Sister-in-law relationships required mutual effort, and it also depended on whether the effort was reciprocated. Some sisters-in-law think that their husband’s sister should treat them well, while they enjoy the benefits and stir up trouble. Such sisters-in-law are best kept at a distance.

And of course, if the sister-in-law is only taking without giving, they should also keep their distance.

It's countless how many marriages have been destroyed by meddling sisters-in-law, leading to divorce.

Even if they didn't divorce, they did create resentment.

When a woman married and visited her parents, she was there to see her parents if they were alive, or to see her siblings if their parents were deceased. If she had a conflict with her sisters-in-law, once her parents were gone, their meeting with the siblings would possibly result in some unpleasant moments.

Lucinda couldn't bear the thought of cutting off ties with her parents. She told herself that she must be a sensible sister-in-law, never meddle in her brothers' marriages, and not stir up trouble in front of her mother, so as not to offend her sisters-in-law and weaken her relationship with her brothers.

She shared her thoughts, "Once my two brothers get married, I will not interfere in their marital life. If I meddle too much, it's easy to create conflicts. I will just observe and not make any comments. I also believe that with the temperament of my two mothers, they will not ill-treat their daughters-in- law. If my mothers who are mothers-in-law do not interfere, why should I, a married sister-in-law, interfere?"

“Not only would I get loathed by them, but also the connection with my brothers may not be as close as before. It’s more harm than good.”

Stefan praised, "I knew I married a wise woman. Aunt Bettina is just like this, so her relationship with my mother and the relatives is very good. Whenever Aunt Bettina visits her parents, no one would say they don't welcome her."

“Even though the members in the Anderson family are all well-disciplined, there’ll be always disputes between married couples, between wives and their mother-in-law. No matter who complains to Aunt Bettina, she never judges. She’s very sagacious.”

Lucinda also admired Bettina Anderson.

Bettina was the only girl in her generation, and her parents and brothers all loved her. Although she might be spoiled, but she was very sensible in dealing with people.

She treated her brothers and sisters-in-law equally and never got involved in their affairs.

Seeing how Bettina got along with her sisters-in-law, as close as sisters, Lucinda was envious.

She also hoped that she could maintain a close rapport with her two sisters-in-law.

Of course, her personal wish was for the Bishop sisters to marry her two brothers respectively, because they were good matches for her brothers. It was not because she liked the Bishop sisters that she forced them on her brothers.

Ike was the one who liked Belinda first.

Keith and Darlene seemed incompatible on the surface, but what if Darlene was someone sophisticated? In the Blue family, a couple working together would definitely be more powerful than she and her brother joining hands.

The two had some small talks and soon returned to Ascend Estate.

Their parents had returned from their vacation. Even though the journey back to Ascend Estate was longer, the couple chose to return there to spend more time with their parents.

The main hall of the house was still lit.

The couple entered.

Janice was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. Seeing her daughter and son-in-law return, she smiled, stood up, and said, "Stefan, Lucy, you're back."

"Mom," they said in unison.

Lucinda went to her mother first, and asked with concern, "Mom, it's so late. Why haven't you gone to bed yet? Is there something wrong?"

Janice sat down on the sofa with her daughter and laughed, "Nothing. Keith said he would call me when he was done with his work, so I am waiting for his call."

As her daughter and son-in-law were out, Janice was also worried.

Even though she knew that with her son-in-law around, nothing would go wrong, she couldn't help but concern as a mother.

"Mom, you can call him."

"He’s very busy. I don't know when he would have time to answer the phone. I’ll wait for him to call back. When he calls back, it means he is done with his work, and we can chat for a little longer."

Lucinda thought of her brother who was indeed very busy.

"Lucy, why don’t you two go upstairs and rest? I'll wait a little longer. If he doesn't call, I'll go to rest also."

"Mom, let me be here with you."

Janice smiled and looked at her daughter, dressed in an evening gown with light makeup. She couldn't help but gently touch her daughter's face, her eyes full of tenderness, and her love for her daughter was evident.

"Lucy, you look really gorgeous tonight."

Lucinda wanted to say that she was beautiful because her mother was beautiful, but remembering that she looked a lot like her grandmother, she hold back her tongue.

Why did she inherit her grandmother's looks?

"Mom, are you saying I don't usually look good?"

Janice laughed, "My daughter always looks good."

"Lucy, did you make any friends at the banquet?"

Since her daughter said she wanted to keep her company, Janice asked about the banquet.

Before Lucinda was taken away, Janice would accompany Nathan to every banquet.

The couple were both charming and remained an intimate relationship, which looked much like Lucinda and Stefan. They were always the focus of the crowd. However, their love story became a joke after twenty years of neglect.

Every time Janice thought about it, her heart ached. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"Yes, I made quite a few friends. My favorite was Ms. Bishop. Mom, you know what? Darlene is truly beautiful. We hit it off right away."

Janice's eyes shimmered, as if sighing, "If only Keith could appreciate girls like you do."

Keith wasn't incapable of love. He was just too scared to let it in.

He feared that the woman he loved would become his weakness.

He also feared that his troubles could bring harm to someone else's innocent daughter.

"Mom, Keith is still young. There's no rush for him to get married."

Lucinda had been thinking about introducing Darlene to her brother, but since nothing was set in stone yet, she decided to keep it to herself for now.

All she could do was reassure her mother that there was no need to worry about Keith's marriage.

"You and your brother are twins. You've been married for a few months now, and yet Keith doesn't even have a girlfriend, let alone someone he's fond of. How can I not worry? I'm afraid that because of what happened between your father and me, he's given up on the idea of getting married."

The impact of failed marriages on children can be massive.

Janice felt grateful that Lucy was raised in the Moore household, where Vincent and Fiona had a strong and loving relationship. Their positive energy was all their children knew.