Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 396

Upon seeing someone emerge, Hayden quickly adjusted his attire.

"Mr. Blue."

The maid came out, her face stern. "Miss Porter doesn't want to see you. You're to leave."

Hayden hastily asked, "Is Madeleine feeling better?"

The maid remained cold. "I haven't seen Miss Porter. Mr. Blue, she doesn't want to hear anything about you. Please, do not come again."

"I just want to apologize to Madeleine face-to-face, make amends."

The maid remained silent.

This wasn't her call to make.

She delivered the message, ignored Hayden and turned to walk away, closing the mansion door behind her.

Hayden pulled out his phone to call Madeleine. She had been unreachable for days, but this time, her phone actually connected.

He was over the moon.

Sadly, Madeleine didn't pick up his call.

No matter how many times he dialed, the result was the same.

With no other option, Hayden left the bouquet of flowers and several sets of jewelry he brought at the entrance of the Porter family mansion. He then texted Madeleine, saying he had left the gifts as

an apology. He also mentioned that if she needed him to take responsibility, he would do so without hesitation.

After sending the message, he waited for a while, but received no response from Madeleine. With a heavy heart, he returned to his car and drove away.

Soon after, another servant came out, threw away the flowers, and took the jewelry inside. However, Madeleine didn't want Hayden's gifts and gave the jewelry to the housemaids.

At the coffee shop, Owen had been volunteering his help all day. Seeing Cecilia sit down at the cash register with no customers around, he took it as a chance to rest and walked over.

"Cecilia, it's quiet now in the shop. How about we go out for dinner?"

Cecilia casually responded, "I've already ordered some takeout."

After a pause, she added, "I ordered something fancy for you."

As it was the weekend, Owen didn't have to work. He had turned down all other invitations, opting not to join his friends for golfing or sailing as usual, and instead spending his time helping out at the Serendipity Cafe.

No matter how much Cecilia tried to send him away, he refused to leave. So, she let him be.

Owen sat down at the cash register, grinning. "So, my order is special?"

"Yes, it's the most special, and I ordered your favorite food."

"You know what I like?"

Perhaps she had feelings for him, too.

Owen thought happily.

Cecilia fell silent, counted out a thousand dollars, and put it in front of Owen. "This is your pay for today. I can't let you work for free. Though I can't afford to pay you more, you chose to stay and help."

Owen immediately tried to give the money back. "Cecilia, we don't need to be formal."

"What kind of relationship do we have? Giving you money makes me feel better. We owe nothing to each other."

Cecilia forcefully handed him the money. "Take it, or you won't be allowed to help here anymore."

Owen: "Alright, I'll take it."

He planned to give her control over all his assets once he had won her over and married her. The thousand dollars would naturally return to her hands.

He was ready to let Cecilia manage his finances. He thought that in marrying and leaving their families, women deserved something to rely on. He was ready to provide for Cecilia, with a house, a car, savings - everything he could offer.

He just hoped Cecilia would accept.

She sometimes seemed materialistic, but in reality, she wasn't. She only accepted what was rightfully hers. Anything else, even if she accepted it temporarily, she would find a way to return.

"Ruby turned herself in."

Cecilia suddenly said.

Owen was slightly taken aback but quickly regained his composure. "That's what she should do. If she didn't, things would get worse when Stefan finds out. All the business she moved back home all gone down the drain."

Ruby had no chance of a comeback unless she managed to do it out of Stefan's sight.

"You seem to know a lot about her situation."

Owen silently observed Cecilia, wondering if she was jealous. Seeing her expression remained unchanged, he said, "Stefan and I are rivals. I need to know his every move. And it's not like I'm unaware of what's happening outside my window."

"Ding, Ding, Ding."

As they were talking, Owen's phone rang.

He checked the caller ID and answered the call in front of Cecilia.

Cecilia didn't know who was calling him and didn't care. She took out her own phone and saw a pile of WhatsApp messages. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Aside from messages from her classmates, there were also messages from the group chat with her three closest friends. Tiffany seemed very excited.

Cecilia asked in the group chat, "Tiffany, what's the good news that got you so excited?"

Tiffany readily admitted, "I'm going to be a mom."

Cecilia: "You got pregnant this quickly?"

That night, the three of them had gone to Neon Nectar Nightclub together.

"It's been about a month, I guess."

Lucinda was the one to respond.

Then, the two friends congratulated Tiffany on becoming a mom in the group chat.

Darlene didn't respond.

Cecilia heard Owen's low voice on the phone, demanding, "Have your boss personally deliver it to me."

Then, he hung up the call.

Cecilia thought to herself, whoever had just called Owen must have ticked him off.

This man, despite his short temper, was surprisingly patient with her. Even back when they first met, she had dumped a bucket of ice water over him. It got him hopping mad and even gave him a cold, but he never held it against her.

"I've set a date for the wedding with Liam. It's the eighth of next month, which is half a month away," Tiffany dropped another piece of good news.

Cecilia asked her, "Isn't this a bit rushed?"

Lucinda, who was now living with Tiffany at Ascend Estate and knew everything, responded to her friend: "Tiffany and Liam are childhood sweethearts, and both families have been prepared for this for a long time. You could say everything is ready except for the right moment. Half a month's time is not rushed for them at all."

The engagement gifts, the wedding place, everything had been quietly prepared by both families. The lovebirds only had to play their parts as bride and groom.