Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 274

Late into the night, Stefan returned after seeking justice for his wife from the Scott family.

After climbing the stairs, he first went to Janice's room. He didn't knock, though, figuring they were all probably in dreamland by now, so he didn't want to disturb them.

He wondered if Lucinda was dreaming about him?

He stood in front of Janice's room for several minutes before returning to his own.

His big bed was lonely with only his pillow and a thin blanket and no beloved wife in sight.

Unable to sleep with his wife, Stefan could only hug his pillow and brave the rest of the night.

The next day, he woke up at his usual time.

After putting on his sportswear, he prepared to go for a morning run. Just as he opened the door, he bumped into Janice, who was about to head downstairs.

"Janice."

"Stefan, you're up early." This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

Seeing it was him, Janice smiled and said, "Why not catch some more z's?"

"I'm used to waking up at this time. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Slept like a baby."

After being talked down by Fiona, she wanted to take a break from the mess of her marriage to Nathan and just enjoy the good times with Lucinda. The rest could wait.

Less stress, better sleep.

Janice seemed to be in a much better mood today.

Stefan's gaze moved beyond Janice.

"Lucinda's still catching some Z's. She looked so peaceful, so I didn't have the heart to wake her. Go on, Stefan, go get your workout in. I'll whip up some breakfast for you guys."

"Janice, let's leave that to Emma."

Stefan followed Janice downstairs.

"No biggie; I just felt like doing something. I want to cook something good for you guys. Lucinda's never had my cooking. Back when things were good between Nathan and I, I loved cooking for him. I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

Since this was for Lucinda and it was Janice's wish, Stefan didn't say anything more.

Stefan did a couple of laps in the yard and then headed back.

Janice was still busy in the kitchen, with Emma helping her. The two of them were chatting and laughing away. Stefan stood at the kitchen door and listened for a bit. Emma was sharing some of Stefan's old stories with Janice.

Stefan gave a chuckle and then headed upstairs.

Since Janice wasn't in the room, he went right in and saw Lucinda still asleep. He walked over, deliberately sat on the edge of the bed, and watched her.

He wanted to see if his gaze could wake Lucinda from her dreams.

After a moment of watching and seeing Lucinda still asleep, Stefan couldn't help but reach out and touch her face and lips, and then tugged lightly at her ear in a playful manner.

In her dream, Lucinda encountered an annoying fly. She tried to swat it dead with an electric fly swatter but couldn't find it. So she tried to swat the fly away with her hand.

But every time she swatted it away, the fly returned.

Suddenly, Lucinda got angry and swung her hand with force.

But instead of hitting it, her hand was caught by the fly. But flies didn't have such big mouths, did they?

Lucinda quickly opened her eyes, only to see her husband's smiling eyes.

Lucinda blinked. She seemed to have gone to bed with her mother last night, so why did she wake up to Stefan's face?

Was she dreaming?

Lucinda closed her eyes again.

There was a familiar masculine scent on her lips.

This was real; she wasn't dreaming.

Lucinda opened her eyes again, trying to push the man kissing her away, but he caught her hands, pinning them above her head. His lips pressed harder against hers, giving her a deep kiss.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

Stefan, who took advantage of his wife's drowsy state to steal a kiss, grinned like a kid who had stolen a treat.

His eyes were full of sweetness.

Waking up to such a handsome man every morning was a treat, filling her day with happiness.

"Sweetheart."

Lucinda sat up, then rested her head on his thigh. "How did you get in? Where's my mom?"

"I walked in. Your mom is downstairs, making breakfast for us. She said we've never had her homemade breakfast, so she's making it."

Lucinda laughed: "My mom's cooking is probably the best in the world!"

"That's debatable. My mom's cooking, I mean, I really question it. Only my dad can stomach the food she cooks. My brothers and I can't eat it. Every time my mom says she's cooking, my brothers and I find an excuse to leave. The fastest to leave are always our grandparents."

Lucinda: "Is it really that bad?"

Stefan laughed, saying, "Next time my mom cooks, I'm willing to take one for the team and have you taste her cooking. I guarantee you, once you've had it, the next time you'll definitely run. In our house, my dad's cooking is the best. But he rarely cooks for my brothers and me. He always waits until we've gone to work before making something delicious for my mom. When we get back, my mom brags about it, making us drool."

Lucinda thought Stefan's parents sounded really interesting.

She hadn't spent much time with them yet and didn't know them well, only knowing that they really liked her.

"By the way, where were you last night?" Lucinda suddenly asked.

Stefan's eyes flickered as he asked her, "How did you know I went out?"

They didn't sleep together.

"I was about to fall asleep when you left so I heard some noise. I wanted to ask you when you got back, but the next thing I knew, it was morning."

Stefan took out his phone.

He opened a video sent by his bodyguard, then handed the phone to Lucinda, smiling, "I didn't do anything; I just found something interesting to cheer you up."

Lucinda took his phone.

"What interesting thing?"

The video was captured perfectly. After watching it, Lucinda handed the phone back to him.

"Sweetie, how do you feel? Are all your complaints addressed now?"

"I wasn't really complaining; all this was done on purpose. Seeing Megan slapping Ruby and Ruby looking at you as if she'd seen a ghost, it all made me quite happy. Darling, you did a great job! Haha, seeing Ruby like this, I feel so satisfied. I want to laugh some more, haha!"

Lucinda was patting her husband's shoulder, praising him for a job well done, all the while laughing heartily.

Stefan grabbed her hand, his eyes crinkling with a smile. "Since I've done so well, I guess you owe me a reward."

Lucinda, being a generous woman, hugged him and planted two kisses on his face. She then whispered something in his ear, making him break into a wide, unstoppable grin.