Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 379

"Get out of here, Owen; Cecilia doesn't need you to walk her home."

With that, Becca turned on her heel, stepped briskly away, and firmly locked the garden gate.

Owen had planned to follow them shamelessly, but the lock on the gate made it impossible, even for someone with his thick skin. He could only watch helplessly as his mother-in-law retreated into the house.

Owen had been squatting at her front gate all morning, and Cecilia had been blissfully unaware.

She had slept in, a luxury afforded by the fact that the store didn't open until nine.

She took her time washing and dressing before she sauntered downstairs for breakfast.

After greeting her family members one by one, Cecilia sat next to her older brother, Hudson.

Today's breakfast was simple: a bowl of soup and pastas for each family member.

"Mom, no toast today?" Cecilia asked casually as she picked up her spoon, ready to tuck into her bowl of soup.

"I just didn't feel like making it," Becca replied curtly.

Cecilia turned to her father. "Dad, who upset Mom this early in the morning?"

Her father, Kevin, offered his wife a piece of the sunny-side-up egg from his bowl and said without looking at Cecilia, "Don't look at me. I'm too old to get on your mother's wrong side."

In their youth, the couple had been hot-tempered and prone to arguments. But now, with age, they had mellowed, and their relationship had become more peaceful.

"Brother, it must be you."

Cecilia nudged Hudson.

Hudson glanced at her and said, "Actually, it's the guy squatting outside our gate who scared Mom. She was so upset that she didn't feel like making a proper breakfast and just made us these bowls of soup and pastas."

Becca shot Hudson a glare, and he quickly backtracked. "Mom, your pastas are the best.."

Becca huffed and let it go. Hudson breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't cook, and he knew better than to complain about his mother's cooking.

"Is Owen still out there?" Cecilia asked, her tone betraying her annoyance.

Seeing her family members remain silent, Cecilia picked up her bowl and walked out. "I'm not going to starve just because of him."

The Yates family watched her, bemused. This girl, who loved food more than anything else, might not be such a bad catch after all.

Soon, Owen saw Cecilia.

Instead of letting him in, however, she stood on the other side of the gate, eating her pastas and asking, "What are you doing squatting out here? Did you scare my mom because you drank too much last night?"

“Cecilia, can you open the door and let me in?”

He could see her through the slatted gate. She was close, yet she seemed so far away. Owen didn't like this feeling.

"I don't have the key." Cecilia replied, taking a bite of her egg. "Even if I did, I wouldn't dare let you in with my parents home."

"Cecilia, I talked to my mom last night. She was wrong, but she doesn't have the final say in who I marry."

Cecilia continued to eat her pastas.