Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 90

Ten years ago, Ruby tried to win Stefan's heart, but he was like, "Nah, I’m not interested in you."

Ten years later, Stefan was all loved up with someone else and couldn't give a damn about Ruby.

Ruby couldn't figure out why she was so hung up on Stefan.

Owen thought Ruby was acting like a complete idiot.

But then he'd think about his deep feelings for Ruby and laugh at himself for being just as foolish.

Cecilia told him he was a laughable fool, and he had to admit, she was right.

"I... I didn't defend her."

Owen was noticeably deflated.

Whenever Ruby was mentioned, Owen felt diminished in front of Stefan.

Perhaps it's the gap between being emotional and being detached.

Owen's profound affection for Ruby, and knowing her one-sided love for Stefan, made him treat her kindly. Stefan, devoid of feelings for Ruby, often disregarded her emotions. This explained Stefan's consistent arrogance towards Owen.

Owen began to see why he always felt overshadowed by Stefan. It wasn’t just Stefan's competence, but also the presence of Ruby.

"I'm willing to pay for the damages, Ms. Moore. I'll cover all the losses in your store, even double."

"Name your price."

Owen pulled out his wallet, took out all the cash, and handed it to Lucinda. "If it's not enough, I'll pay you the rest."

Lucinda looked at Stefan and refused Owen's compensation.

"The person who damaged my store was Ruby, so she should be the one to pay, not Mr. Martinez."

"I'm willing to pay for Ruby."

"There's no need. Ms. Scott insulted me once. I want her to apologize publicly and pay for all the losses in my store."

Owen looked to Cecilia, hoping she would say something on his behalf.

But Cecilia pretended not to get his hint and said nothing.

Were they close?

No, not at all!

Their discord ran deep, though.

"Lucy, let's go."

Stefan took his wife's hand and, under the protection of his bodyguards, walked straight past Owen and left.

Cecilia also followed and left.

"Cecilia."

Owen called out to her.

"What do you want, bad guy?"

"I've told you, stop calling me a bad guy! I'm not a good guy, but I haven't done anything bad."

Owen growled, "If you call me a bad guy again, I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to the dogs!"

Cecilia giggled, "And you say you haven't done anything bad. You're threatening to cut my tongue out and feed it to the dogs."

Owen was speechless.

"What do you want?"

"Here, take this money."

Owen handed the cash to Cecilia, looking at her bandaged hand.

"Is this a bribe?"

Owen: "...What do you have that's worth bribing? Your hand is injured because of Ruby, indirectly. I'm willing to pay for Ruby's medical expenses."

Cecilia took the money, "Well then, I'll accept it."

"I‘m leaving now."