Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 399

"I need to get someone to fix that broken streetlight tomorrow."

As Devon watched his granddaughter tending to Owen's wound, he asked, "Is Owen's injury severe?"

Owen quickly responded, "Grandfather, I'm fine, it's just a minor cut."

"It's not deep, but we can't take it lightly. I'll take him to the hospital to get it properly disinfected and dressed."

Cecilia picked up Owen's car keys and helped him to his feet, telling her grandfather, "Grandpa, I'm going to take him to the hospital."

"Have your brother accompany you."

Devon, recalling the recent mugging and the broken streetlight, thought it would be safer if his grandson accompanied them.

Cecilia and Owen wanted to refuse, but they could already hear movement upstairs.

The rest of the Yates family had been awakened.

They found out that Cecilia had been mugged on her way home and Owen, concerned for her safety, had followed her and intervened, getting cut by the mugger's knife in the process.

Once they understood the situation, their looks towards Owen softened.

In the end, Hudson accompanied them to the hospital.

By the time they arrived at the hospital, Owen's wound had stopped bleeding.

However, the doctor still cleaned and dressed the wound again.

As they left the hospital, they were stopped by a stranger.

"Are you Mr. Owen?" the stranger politely inquired.

Owen quickly sized him up, determined he didn't know him, and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

The stranger remained polite, "I am the owner of Cipher Detectives."

He handed a file over to Owen, "You specifically asked me to deliver these results personally. This is the investigation that you had our agency conduct."

Upon receiving his boss' assignment, he had tracked Owen down.

Owen accepted the investigation results, asking indifferently, "How did you know I was here?"

The man simply smiled, "Your recent movements have been easy to track, and since I'm in this line of work and you sought our help, it's a testament to our capabilities."

Owen remained silent.

Recently, in his pursuit of Cecilia, his movements had become transparent. In the man's words, even he had acknowledged their capabilities.

It was only natural that they knew his whereabouts.

"Mr. Martinez, now that I've delivered the item, I'll be leaving. Please contact us if you need our services again."

The assistant left promptly, leaving Owen with the impression that the man had intentionally delivered the results in front of Cecilia and her brother.

The siblings didn't ask about the matter.

Owen's reputation in Pinehurst made them aware that he might conduct some shady business, like investigating others. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Owen certainly couldn't explain to them that he was investigating his romantic rival. He couldn't let Cecilia know.

With Owen's arm injured, Hudson decided to drive his sister home before taking Owen.

The night quietly came to an end.

Owen had a pleasant dream where he successfully wooed Cecilia. In the dream, they had a grand wedding where Cecilia wore a gown he had custom-made for her. She was so beautiful that he couldn't take his eyes off her.

When he woke up, he savored the dream for a while before reluctantly accepting that it was just a dream.

"Cecilia!" Owen murmured her name.

His phone rang.

Seeing that it was Cecilia calling, he was overjoyed. She only contacted him when she needed his help, otherwise, she was too frugal to spend on phone charges.

"Cecilia," Owen answered, sounding weak.

It was intentional. He wanted Cecilia to show him some concern.

Since he had used his archenemy's advice, he had to use it to strengthen their bond.

"Did you just wake up? Or is your wound hurting? Do you have a fever?"

"The wound hurts, but I don't think I have a fever. Let me check."

Owen touched his forehead and told Cecilia, "No fever. I'm not that weak that a small wound would cause a fever."

Cecilia assumed he had just woken up.

"You have a wound, rest at home today, don't go anywhere."

"Just a small wound, I'll be fine. But it really hurts."

Cecilia silently said, "Don't rush over like you did last night. Criminals usually have weapons."

"As long as you're in danger, I'll rush over, regardless of who it is."

She asked, "Am I worth it?"

"Absolutely! Cecilia, my feelings for you are genuine. I really like you and want to start over with you. I won't force you though. I know what you're worried about. Let's let time prove everything."

Owen saw their problem as simple. Cecilia had not fallen in love with him and didn't want to marry him. Everything else could be resolved.

"It's still early. Get some more sleep. I'm going to go eat breakfast."

Cecilia didn't respond directly to Owen's confession.

Owen didn't press for an answer.

The worst-case scenario was the present situation.

"I believe things will get better."

After ending the call, sleep was the last thing on Owen's mind. He got up and headed towards the bathroom.

Just as he stepped into the bathroom, his phone rang again.

Assuming it was Cecilia, he had barely taken off his shirt when he rushed out of the bathroom to answer the call.

But it was his bodyguard, Jay, on the other line.

"Sir, our plan from last night didn't go accordingly; we never saw you and Ms. Yates show up."

Owen: "So the muggers last night weren't you guys?"

Jay seemed taken aback, "Sir, you and Ms. Yates ran into muggers?"

The pieces clicked together for Owen. The events from last night weren't a plot concocted by him, they had genuinely run into muggers.

He immediately let loose a string of curses, verbally tearing the mugger's ancestors apart.

At the same time, he realized the route Cecilia took home was no longer safe.