Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 462

Ms. West's actions, a mere slip of paper, nearly led her to misunderstand Owen.

Cecilia considered herself kind-hearted, but she was no saint - she couldn't turn the other cheek indefinitely.

She would certainly not advocate for Ms. West.

Owen could do whatever he wanted; she would just watch and keep her mouth shut.

"Ms. Yates, I—I'll just be honest. I'm not actually pregnant. Kris put me up to tricking you. I don't know what beef you have with Kris, but he paid me a grand to lure you into that car, promising another two grand after the deed was done."

"I'm strapped for cash lately, really need that three grand, so I went along with it. I—I had no clue about any hidden truths."

Ms. West did spill the beans.

"Guess I was too greedy. Didn't do my homework before agreeing to help Kris with this."

Ms. West laughed at herself, a self-deprecating chuckle. If she'd known that Owen was the target, she wouldn't have helped Kris for all the money in the world.

Cecilia didn't respond. She fiddled with her phone, seemingly engrossed in a game. In reality, she was recording the whole confession to hand over to Owen for investigation.

"Ms. Yates, please let me go. Just tell those two guys outside not to stop me, and I'll leave right away."

The best plan was to make a swift exit.

Ms. West just wanted to bolt.

Forget the money, she no longer dared to take it.

All she wanted was to leave the café and head back to the countryside, swearing off city life for good.

"Look who's here," Cecilia suddenly said.

Ms. West followed her gaze to the door and saw Owen stride in, a thunderstorm brewing on his face. His authority, long established, radiated out as he approached. Ms. West's heart raced, and she desperately wanted to vanish.

She was done for. Completely done for.

"Cecilia."

Owen walked over, seemingly oblivious to Ms. West. He urgently grabbed Cecilia, eager to clarify, "Cecilia, please don't listen to any gossip. I haven't cheated—not before, not now, never in the future. My eyes, my heart, they're only for you."

"If anyone comes knocking, claiming they're carrying my child, you send them packing. They're definitely lying!"

Cecilia teased him, "You sure you haven't gotten tipsy during a night out and made a mistake?"

"Never. Absolutely not. I'm always careful. The drunkest I've ever been was that night I slept on your doorstep, and you woke me up with a bucket of ice water."

"Cecilia, believe me, I've never been with anyone else. I respect women too much to do that. If you don't consent, I'd never force you. Even with Ruby, it was the same."

Owen hated bringing up Ruby in front of Cecilia, but to clear his name, he had no choice.

He and Cecilia had come so far.

He wouldn't let anyone ruin it now.

And if he found out who was pulling the strings behind this, they'd regret crossing him, that was for sure.

"Where's that wretch? I want to ask her myself, who sent her to pin this on me?" Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

Cecilia nodded toward Ms. West.

"She's right there, how could you miss her."

Owen turned to Ms. West, who was pale as a ghost, scared out of her wits. Seeing Owen's gaze, she suddenly collapsed on her knees, tears streaming, begging for mercy, "Mr. Martinez, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you. I was blinded by greed. I'm not pregnant, and you've never slept with me. We haven't even met before."

"Please forgive me this once, I'll never dare again. I swear I'll leave Pinehurst immediately. I'm not carrying your child. It was Kris who sent me to trick Ms. Yates, told me to get her into that car outside."

Owen glanced outside.

The car that had been parked curbside had vanished without a trace.

The person waiting in the car must have realized the plan was a flop as Cecilia didn't fall for it and had quickly driven off, abandoning Ms. West.

Owen wanted to kick her, but that would be too brutish and might affect how Cecilia saw him. So instead, he shouted for Jay and Rex to come in and ordered his bodyguards, "Take this wretch out and teach her a lesson. Just make sure she stays alive."

Why dirty his own shoes?

The guards stepped forward, ignoring Ms. West's cries and pleas, and dragged her out.

"In Pinehurst, everyone knows that Stefan and I are like roses with thorns; nice to look at but painful to touch," Owen said with a snort of laughter.

"Comparing men to roses, that's new. Mr. Coleman's always been called the untouchable flower—a symbol of purity."

"Cecilia."

Owen pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her tightly, "Thank goodness you didn't believe her lies and didn't get into that car. If you had, who knows what might've happened."

"At first, I believed her. I was so mad, jealous out of my mind. But then it didn't add up. When I probed, her story was full of holes, and she kept trying to get me to go with her. It reminded me of Lucy getting into a car after a frantic phone call and then, she was kidnapped."

"Didn't Madeleine come to you before? And you had bodyguards tailing me. I suspect this was all Madeleine's doing."

That Kris was certainly not the real mastermind.

"Cecilia."

Owen couldn't resist and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Cecilia pushed him away, blushing, whispering, "The barista is still here."

Owen looked to the barista, who quickly started wiping tables, then realized it wasn't enough. Time to make herself scarce.

She grabbed a cloth and headed out, calling back, "Cecilia, I'm going to run to the store for some supplies."

Owen appreciated the barista's tact.

"Cecilia."

Owen pulled Cecilia back into his embrace, holding her tightly. "Cecilia, thank you for trusting me. I'm so relieved you kept your cool, otherwise."

The mere thought sent shivers down his spine.

Madeleine had vowed to make him regret.

If Madeleine had laid a finger on Cecilia, it would have crushed him.

Thankfully, Cecilia had learned from Lucinda's mistake and hadn't fallen for the trap.

The more Owen thought about it, the more frightened he became, tightening his hold on Cecilia as if trying to merge her into his being, never to be separated again.

"The Porters have no clout in Pinehurst," he murmured, "Madeleine must've bribed someone to be her inside man. Cecilia, just give me a little time, and I'll unravel this whole mess. I'll root out whoever's working with Madeleine!"

"Next time something like this happens, you've got to stay level-headed and trust me. I'm not the kind of guy to mess around. I've been, until now, I still am a."

He whispered something into Cecilia's ear.

Cecilia was speechless.