Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 5

Lucinda heaved a sigh of relief. Now she wouldn't have to pay for his rent.

Stefan's phone started ringing out of the blue. He was driving, so he couldn’t pick up, but the caller was relentless, the phone kept ringing non-stop. He had no choice but to take out his phone from his pocket with one hand and handed it to Lucinda, who looked puzzled.

"I'm driving, can't answer the phone, can you check who it is?"

Lucinda felt awkward about it, but she couldn't say no. When she saw the caller ID was "Ike", she felt nervous.

Ike had no idea that his sister Lucinda was the one holding Stefan's phone, neither did he know that Stefan was driving when he called again. Stefan looked at Lucinda quizzically, "Who is it, Lucinda? Why didn't you pick up for me?"

"Stefan, I can't take the call."

Although Lucinda had prepared herself for how to face her family when she decided to rent Stefan, she still felt a bit flustered when her brother Ike called.

Well, she needed some time to compose herself.

"It's my brother." Lucinda added.

Stefan was a bit surprised. He and Ike were college buddies, but they weren't close. They just kept in touch sporadically over the years since graduation, and occasionally met up for a few drinks. That was it.

"I'll take it." Stefan slowed down and pulled over, luckily, parking was allowed here.

He took the phone from Lucinda and answered Ike's call.

"What's up, Ike?" Stefan's deep and sultry voice was music to Lucinda's ears.

Even without his good looks, just hearing him speak, Lucinda felt that renting him as a husband wasn't a bad deal at all.

"Nothing much, just got a call from Gabriel saying you got married. It’s such big news. As your friend, I've got to congratulate you right away."

Ike laughed, "Stefan, who's the girl? She's incredible, even you couldn't resist her. When are you introducing her to us? And remember, save a best man spot for me at your wedding."

Stefan was quite popular at school, although he appeared to be amiable, he was actually quite aloof. Many girls had crushes on him, but he never paid them any attention, and there were no rumors about him. Upon hearing the news from Gabriel, Ike couldn't resist his curiosity and immediately called Stefan, curious about what the girl who attracted Stefan looked like, she must be quite something to have tamed this lofty character.

Stefan was speechless. He had forgotten that Gabriel was not only his friend but also his junior, so Ike also knew him.

"Stefan, you're married now, why hide it? Indulge me in my love for gossip, tell me."

Stefan glanced at his newlywed wife, Lucinda.

Lucinda immediately got his drift. She took a couple of deep breaths, then took the phone from Stefan again.

"Ike, it's me."

Ike, hearing his sister's voice on the other end, was taken aback. He pulled the phone away from his ear and checked the screen, it was definitely Stefan's number, and the call was still connected. Why was his sister answering the phone?

"Lucinda? This is Stefan's number."

Lucinda had collected herself. She responded to her brother seriously, "Ike, Stefan and I are married."

She had heard everything her brother said earlier, his voice was pretty loud.

Ike was so startled he dropped his phone. He must have misheard, his little sister couldn't possibly be Stefan's wife!

The next moment, Ike bent down to pick up his phone, and asked loudly, "Lucinda, say that again? Who did you marry to? Stefan? Do you know what he's like? You actually dared to marry him, you have guts!"

The thought of his sister marrying Stefan made Ike extremely upset. Even he, who had been classmates with Stefan for four years, didn't fully understand Stefan, let alone know where he lived.

All Ike knew was that Stefan wasn't as easy-going as he seemed, he was a scheming person. When he was smiling his brightest, he could be calculating everyone else's downfall.

His sister was straightforward and naive, how could she see through Stefan?

"Ike, let's talk about this tomorrow when we have time. Mom wants me to come home tomorrow, so I'll bring Stefan home to meet our parents."

As long as her mother saw Stefan, she wouldn't set up any more blind dates for her. Otherwise, even if she told her mother she had a boyfriend over the phone, her mother wouldn't believe her. Wasn't the purpose of renting Stefan to shut her mom up and live a peaceful life?

Lucinda hung up after saying that, to prevent her brother from asking a string of questions. Although she didn't know Stefan very well, they had known each other for eleven years, she believed Stefan wasn't a bad person.

Ike, whose call was cut off by his sister, paced anxiously in his office, mumbling to himself, "Stefan you bastard, you tricked my sister. Lucinda, you're bold, daring to marry Stefan, how ridiculous! When did they get together? How did they kept it a secret?"

In short, Ike was in a state of agitation, wishing he could fly to his sister's side immediately to get to the bottom of things.

After the call with Ike, Lucinda and Stefan sat silently, neither of them spoke.

When they returned to the Serendipity Cafe, as Lucinda was about to open the car door to get out, Stefan asked her softly, "Lucinda, will you regret it?"

Lucinda turned her head to look at him. He was refined and courteous, his elegance couldn't be hidden even in casual wear. The way he spoke was always so refined, clearly a real gentleman. Why did her brother make Stefan out to be a big bad wolf, like she'd be devoured if they were together?

Lucinda felt her brother was seriously overreacting.

"Stefan, we're in a contractual relationship, everything's by the contract. How could I possibly regret it?"

Lucinda replied, then, after a brief pause, she added, "I don't do things that I'll regret later."

She'd given it a lot of thought before she proposed the whole rent-a-boyfriend thing to Stefan.

Stefan cracked a smile, "Alright, I got it."

Lucinda blinked, feeling like there was a deeper meaning to his words, but try as she might, she couldn't figure out what it was.