Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 421

"Do you need anything else from me?"

"No, that's all."

With that, Stefan wasted no time in showing his guest the door. "Well then, you can go now."

Owen bristled with indignation. "Come on, Stefan. I came all the way here to give you the heads-up about the Porter Group, and this is how you repay me?"

"What do you want, a medal? Are you afraid your girl Cecilia will get jealous; think you're playing both sides?"

Owen spat dismissively, "I only have eyes for the ladies."

He gazed at Stefan's handsome face and, with relief, proclaimed, "Looking at you for nearly thirty years and not falling for you – my resolve is rock-solid."

Stefan ignored it without a word.

After Owen finished his coffee, he stood up, bade his goodbyes, and left.

Time continued its march.

Exiting Ascend Global, Owen decided to skip returning to the office and headed straight to the Serendipity Cafe to claim his kudos from Cecilia.

Approaching noon, the cafe was at its quietest, the rush of customers having ebbed away.

Cecilia was scrolling through her phone, checking out the latest lunch specials from nearby restaurants, pondering what to eat.

"Cecilia, Mr. Cooper's come again," the waitress suddenly spoke up.

Cecilia looked toward the cafe door and sure enough, there was Avery, pushing it open and stepping inside.

Thankfully, this time he was without a bouquet of flowers.

By now, she knew Avery was someone Mr. Martinez had hired to pretend to court her—which explained why Avery, despite being terrified of Owen, still dared to declare a fair competition.

It turned out there was Mr. Martinez backing him up.

Moreover, Avery would brave any storm for the sake of his beloved.

Though Avery and Cedric's love was disapproved of by society, Avery's feelings were as genuine as they come.

Instead of making a beeline for Cecilia as usual, Avery chose a secluded table in the farthest corner and sat down.

He pulled out several bottles of liquor from his bag and, forgoing the need for a glass, began to drink straight from the bottle.

Cecilia and the waitress exchanged puzzled glances.

Feeling that they had some level of acquaintance, Cecilia walked over and sat across from Avery, asking with concern, "Avery, what's wrong? Is something bothering you? Did you hit a rough patch?"

Could it be that Mr. Martinez was withholding payment?

(If Mr. Martinez were here, he would reply, “Cecilia, do I look like that kind of guy?”)

Avery kept drinking, and after emptying a bottle, he finally shared his anguish. "Cecilia, why can't Cedric and I, who love each other so dearly, be together?"

So it was a matter of love issue.

She had thought it was a problem with Mr. Martinez's payment.

"I did everything I could to help their company survive, accepting all this. Cecilia, I have to come clean to you. The truth is, I do like you, but it's not the kind of love. My heart belongs to someone else. The pursuit was all an act, a charade. It's a long story, but to sum it up briefly, it was all for my true love.

"But now that the Frost Group has weathered the storm, they've turned their backs on me, urging Cedric to go on dates, even to get married. It's tearing me apart, Cecilia. What should I do?"

Upon his confession, Cecilia finally realized what had happened.

She had heard from Owen about Avery's true love for Cedric, the CEO of the Frost Group. She also knew Lucinda mentioned Cedric had even been set up with Tiffany Paisley, although that didn't pan out.

The Frost family probably knew about Cedric's orientation but hoped to “cure” him by pushing him into conventional relationships.

Most families would have a hard time accepting their sons’ being gay, let alone a prominent family like the Frosts.