Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 372

Upon meeting tonight, they both felt an instant connection.

"Mr. Moore, Mrs. Lucinda, Darlene and I seem to have arrived late. We shall go in and apologize to Jason." Belinda said in a deep voice. Her statement ended the mutual complimentary comments made between Lucinda and Darlene.

Ike knew that the Bishop family and the Barlow family were old acquaintances. It wouldn't be appropriate to have Belinda chat with him first upon arrival. "President Bishop, why don't you and Ms. Darlene go in first? Lucy and I will stay out here a bit longer. We'll see you inside soon."

"See you soon."

Belinda nodded at Lucinda, then took her sister inside.

Once they had gone, Lucinda nudged her brother and chuckled, "Ike, after all this time you still call her 'President Bishop'? Can't you just call her 'Belinda'?"

Ike replied, "Well. She doesn't like people call her that."

"She might not like others calling her 'Belinda', but maybe she'd like it if you called her that. You could try it. If she doesn't mind, it might bring you two closer."

Considering his sister's advice, Ike thought it made sense. "I'll give it a try. If she reacts negatively, I'll just go back to calling her 'President Bishop'."

"She won't react negatively." Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Lucinda confidently said, "From my observations, she has a liking for you. She mentioned you to her sister, and when she introduced Darlene to us, I noticed the way Darlene looked at you. She

appraised you for quite a while. If Belinda hadn't mentioned you at home, Darlene wouldn't have taken an interest in you. She wouldn't have observed you that closely."

Lucinda tilted her head to look at her brother, uttering, "For Darlene, who's seen plenty of handsome men, you're not someone she'd fall for at first sight. So, it must be that Belinda often talks about you, which made Darlene take a longer look."

Ike laughed, "Is that true? Lucy, are you sure you didn't misread?"

He hadn't noticed the way Darlene looked at him. As soon as Belinda arrived, his attention was entirely on her.

Belinda hadn't changed her clothes for the evening. She wore a sharp suit and had her hair short as always. Although the terms 'handsome' and 'dashing' are usually used to describe men, Ike thought they suited Belinda perfectly.

"Trust me, Ike. A woman's intuition is usually right. You can slowly make your move. I'm sure President Bishop has feelings for you."

Perhaps Belinda was secretly testing him.

As long as Belinda didn't look down on her brother for being temporarily less successful than her, Lucinda believed that Ike could win her heart.

Having experienced the harsh realities of life, Belinda was unlikely to judge people. Plus, her brother was an exceptional man.

Ike laughed, "I'll take your word for it, Lucy. You've had enough fresh air for now. Let's go inside. You should go back to Stefan. Don't think marriage means you're safe. There are plenty of women eyeing Stefan, just waiting for a chance to make a move."

"If he can be seduced easily, then he's not worth it. But, I'm sure Stefan won't change."

Ike lightly flicked his sister on her forehead.

The siblings then headed back inside the room.

Lucinda was attending the party and met her brother there, while her friend Cecilia was also surprised by the arrival of her own brother at the party.

Truth be told, Cecilia was quite taken aback to see her brother. She had never expected he’d come.

Hudson flicked her forehead lightly, then said irritably, "Cecilia, what is with that expression?"

"Hudson, why are you here? I didn’t expect that. I'm truly shocked."

Upon hearing this, Hudson gave her another flick on her forehead again.

Rubbing the spot where she'd been attacked, Cecilia pouted and complained, "Is this how you treat me after not seeing me for so long? You don't care about your only sister at all. Unlike Ike, who is always warm and attentive to Lucy. He really is the ideal brother. And so is Ethan."

After seeing how Lucinda's brothers treated her, anyone would feel envious and desire a brother like them.

"If you despise me so much, why don't you swap Lucy over? Let her take me as her 'brother' and you can be Ike’s sister."

"I wish."

Before she could finish her sentence, Cecilia quickly hopped away, avoiding another flick from her brother.

After scanning the café and seeing a fair number of customers, Hudson decided not to tease his sister anymore and took a seat in front of the cashier desk.

A waitress deftly brought Hudson a glass of juice and a plate of snacks.

Cecilia circled back to the cashier desk and leaned on the counter, asking, "Why are you here tonight, Hudson? You're definitely not here to support my business. You've barely visited since the first day I opened this place. Spill it, what do you need? Did you get into trouble and need my company because you're too scared to go home?"

"Mom asked me to return the new car that Owen asked his men to send to our house."

Cecilia replied, "Mom told me about that. What, did something happen to the car?"

Hudson glared at his sister, "Can't you think more positively? Are you hoping something really happened to that car? Remember, I was the one who drove it. If something had happened, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. You’re hoping your brother might meet some problems with it?"

"Of course not!"

Cecilia uttered apologetically. "Sorry, Hudson, I misspoke. Stop beating around the bush. You know I'm not good at guessing."

"I tried returning your car to the Martinez family, only to find myself treated like a beggar by your former mother-in-law. She had her butler hand me a couple grand, declaring that the Martinez family isn't a charity and I should take the money and scram. She made it clear that I'm no longer welcomed at their residence, that they don't consider us having any connection anymore."

Hudson couldn't help but fume every time he recalled the butler handing him with money.

The way how the Martinez family treated him was a clear indicator of their disdain for Cecilia.

"Cecilia, listen to me, no matter how much Owen tried to woo you, no matter how sweet his words or how many bouquets of flowers he sent, don't fall for it. His family doesn't like you. If you were to marry into their family, you wouldn't be happy. Unless, of course, Owen is willing to bear the name of our family."

Hudson made a special trip just to carp about Owen.

Cecilia patted her brother's shoulder, "Hudson, I'm sorry you had to go through that. You should've taken the money and then, when Olina showed up, just flung it right back at her, defiantly declaring, 'Who needs your stinking money?!'"