Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 21

Now, Lucinda had a lot of money and also won over a lot of readers, who've showered her with gifts. So her income next month would surprise her.

Lucinda said to Stefan, all generous-like, “Stefan, I've decided to give you a bit of a bonus. When I get all this cash from the readers next month, I'll give you a bonus, get you some new threads, a bed, some good grub. Then, I'll rent a bigger place, one room each, so even if we're not playing house anymore, we can still be roomies.”

Stefan's eyes were all mysterious, which Lucinda had gotten used to. He said, “Cool, I'll look forward to the bonus, and the new clothes.”

They're not playing house anymore?

She thought she could just marry him and then leave him?

Dream on!

But Stefan wouldn't say that, of course.

That night, Lucinda was all smiles, even in her dreams.

No, she thought she was dreaming, that's why so many readers were tipping her.

When she woke up, the first thing she did was to log onto the website, open her own article, and found out that the number on the gift leaderboard had increased from the night before. But it wasn't skyrocketing like before, so it didn't give her such a shock.

She nibbled her finger gently.

She could feel the pain.

"Turns out I'm not dreaming, I really did struck gold!”

In no time, her article dominated all the gift leaderboards on the website.

By then, Stefan had prepared breakfast.

When he saw Lucinda came out, he took off his apron and greeted her, “Honey, breakfast is ready, all your favourite foods.”

“Stefan, stop calling me like that. My parents aren't here now, we don't need to put on a show.”

Lucinda went over to check out the breakfast Stefan had made. There was a variety of food, all stuff she liked.

Just by going home to meet his parents once, Stefan had already figured out her preferences.

He really was a considerate and caring guy.

She took a bite of the sandwich.

“Are the veggies fresh?”

Lucinda ran a coffee shop, so she knew about food. She could taste the freshness of the ingredients.

“Yes, they're fresh. I bought them from the market this morning.”

“Stefan, did you get up early?”

Thinking about how she had made him sleep on the living room floor last night, Lucinda said apologetically, “Stefan, I'll buy you a bed today.”

She could borrow some money from her brother for now and then pay him back next month. After all, she was rich!

She could even pay off all her debts with the tip money.

“I just woke up naturally. If you're short on cash, don't rush to buy a bed. It's hot now anyway, sleeping on the floor is pretty cool.”

Lucinda nodded, “It is pretty cool.”

But she still needed to buy a bed.

After breakfast, Lucinda wasn't in a hurry to open the shop. Her coffee shop usually didn't open until 9 am.

Stefan had an important meeting in the morning. It was a meeting that he had postponed yesterday in order to get the certificate with Lucinda, but he couldn't postpone it again today.

Even though he was reluctant to leave her, he still left for work under Lucinda's watchful eyes.

……

Ascend Global was the largest corporate group in Pinehurst, with a wide range of industries. As long as the industry was profitable, Ascend Global would be involved. Even if the industries it invested in might initially make a loss, they would eventually turn a profit.

This was thanks to the leadership of Ascend Global, their management methods were very effective.

The 88-story office building stood in the bustling commercial center of Pinehurst.

As a leader of Ascend Global, everyone was surprised when Stefan from the Anderson family showed up at the company on a bicycle.

Stefan was in a good mood, smiling, and even humming a song. He completely ignored everyone's surprised looks, and rode his bicycle into the company.

“Is that Mr. Coleman?”

"Is something wrong with my eyes?" “Oh my God! Mr. Coleman is cycling to work? Is the traffic in Pinehurst really that bad?”

Traffic jams often occurred here during peak hours.

During traffic jams, cyclists and electric vehicle riders became the envy of car drivers.

No matter how expensive your car was, when in a traffic jam, it was not as good as a bicycle! Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I've decided, I'm going to cycle to work tomorrow, it'll also help me keep fit and lose weight.”

“I don't have a bicycle.”

“Go buy one!”

After all, even Mr. Coleman was cycling to work.

On the other hand, Stefan had no idea that his decision to cycle to work, in order to keep up his poor image in front of Lucinda, would spark a cycling trend among Ascend Global employees.

Back in his office, Stefan's expression became serious and cold.

Edgar knocked and came in.

He was Stefan's chief assistant and also his friend.

“There really is a difference between married and unmarried people.”

Edgar came over with the documents, put them on Stefan's desk, and joked, “Mr. Coleman, what's it like dating a female writer?”

Stefan looked at the documents and answered calmly, “You should try it yourself, instead of asking me.”

Edgar laughed, “I don't know any writers. Why don't you have the first lady introduce me to one?”

“Ascend Global has a subsidiary that specializes in online literature, go find the person in charge of that department, and ask him to introduce you to a young female writer, he'll be more than happy to help you.”

The person in charge of the subsidiary, whenever he came to the headquarters and saw Edgar, the chief assistant, would always try to please him as much as possible.

But Edgar was very loyal to Stefan and was also very fair in his work, so no one could bribe him.

Edgar laughed, “Never mind, someone like me shouldn't disturb those cultured people.”

“How come you suddenly got married? And you won't let us announce it publicly, is this a secret marriage?”

Considering the many women who were openly or secretly pursuing Stefan, Edgar seemed to understand why Stefan chose to get married in secret.

He's probably worried about those annoying women bothering his author wife.

"You're awfully chatty today."

Stefan finished reading the documents, signed them, stamped them, and then handed them over to Edgar, "Off you go, I've got a meeting."

Edgar took the documents, checked they were all good, and said with a grin, "You're really protective of your wife, huh? You won't even let me ask about her. You've got a meeting, well, I've got one too. You make it sound like I've got time on my hands."

As Stefan's chief assistant, if Stefan was busy, Edgar was equally swamped.

Sure, a lot of people were green with envy over the deep trust Stefan had in him and the hefty paycheque he got. His annual wage was even more than some middle-sized company bosses. But they didn't know that all of this came from hard graft and constant work.

Edgar was a year younger than Stefan. The year he graduated, he was brought over to Ascend Global by Stefan, a fellow alumnus, and gradually climbed up to the lofty position of chief assistant.

Nowadays, he's very busy, still single at 28, watching his boss walk down the aisle.