Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 448

Cecilia chuckled, "No worries, I've got staff at the shop. I'm mostly just handling the cash, and these days, with everyone using NexTrust Pay, I hardly even do that. Leaves me plenty of time to chat with you, Ashley."

"I'll have to swing by your place sometime."

Ashley wasn't just avoiding the Serendipity Cafe because she thought it was beneath her status as a lady of leisure.

She couldn't bear to be seen in a place that wasn't up to her high standards.

But now, she had a change of heart.

As long as it got under Olina's skin, she'd make it a point to chat with Cecilia, infuriate Olina, and make Olina despise Cecilia even more.

"Owen, did Cecilia buy all these things?" Ashley asked, her voice dripping with faux concern. "You really shouldn't let her spend her money like that."

After a round of insincere pleasantries with Cecilia, Ashley pivoted the conversation to the bags of gifts Owen was holding.

Olina glanced at the bags in Owen's hands, not with disdain but with irritation toward Cecilia. "Cecilia, what are you thinking, making my son carry all this heavy stuff, it's inconsiderate."

"Mom, I insisted on carrying them. How heavy can they be? Even if they were, I wouldn't want Cecilia to strain herself. I'd feel terrible—it's better that I do it."

Olina was speechless at Owen’s words.

Cecilia put on an innocent face, which only made Olina's blood boil.

"Owen, Cecilia, the old Mr. Martinez knows you're back and wants to see you inside," Derek interjected timely, sparing Cecilia from further embarrassment in front of Ashley.

Trenton was increasingly regretting his soft-hearted decision years ago to let his eldest son marry Olina, the brainless beauty from the Earwood family.

Sure, Olina came from money, but beyond her looks and figure, she brought nothing to the table. Families who valued wisdom in their daughters-in-law had no interest in her.

Before Shane had set his sights on Olina, the Earwoods had tried to marry her off to the Andersons, but the Andersons had politely declined every overture.

Not just the Andersons, but several other respected families had been approached by the Earwoods and had similarly declined.

Shane, a man easily swayed by beauty, fell hard for the stunning Olina at a social gathering and pursued her relentlessly.

Trenton was against Shane marrying a woman of such little substance and tried to stop him. However, Shane was headstrong, and after Olina became pregnant, Trenton couldn't bring himself to demand an abortion and reluctantly agreed to the marriage.

Olina's behavior as a wife was less than stellar, and so after Owen was born, Trenton, fearing his daughter-in-law would spoil his grandson, took it upon himself to raise the boy, much like Mr. Anderson did with Stefan.

He was mainly concerned about Owen falling into the same pattern as his mother.

Choosing the right wife is crucial.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Derek knew Trenton initially had reservations about Cecilia, pushing Owen to marry her, mainly to cut off Ruby's prospects.

However, as time passed, Trenton grew fonder of Cecilia. She wasn't born into wealth, but she was smarter than Olina. She was also a bold woman who had struck up a friendship with Lucinda of the prestigious Blue family in Skywatch.

Trenton was considering the future of the Martinez family.

Regardless of his personal feelings about Cecilia and Owen's genuine love for her, had Owen married anyone else, there was a risk that the Martinez family business might one day fall prey to the increasingly powerful Andersons.

But marrying Cecilia was different. At least for the next two generations, it guaranteed that the Martinez and Anderson families would not continue their feud, securing the Martinez family business.

Mrs. Lucinda, like Cecilia, was loyal and would not let the rivalry between their men affect their friendship.

"Ashley, the old Mr. Martinez says you've done well," Derek relayed, before turning to Ashley with a subtle message.

Ashley smiled, "Cecilia, Trenton wants to see you inside. I won't keep you any longer."

With that, she turned and walked away, her motives transparent to Trenton.

What did it matter if he saw through her? he had his favorites!

"Mom, Cecilia, let's go inside," Owen said, holding back his frustration and not lashing out at his mother.

Olina watched her son tightly gripping Cecilia's hand and eventually grunted in acknowledgment.

Trenton was sitting in the living room, and upon seeing Cecilia, his face lit up with a warm smile. "Cecilia, there you are, come have a seat," he beckoned.

Cecilia approached.

"Mr. Martinez."

"Call me Trenton, I love hearing you say it," he insisted with a grin.

Cecilia just smiled, staying silent. Her journey to this point with Owen was, in no small part, thanks to this smiling old man.

Trenton had long accepted that Cecilia wasn't going to start calling him by his first name anytime soon, so he let the formalities slide. His eyes twinkled as he saw his grandson, Owen, lay out the gifts Cecilia had brought on the coffee table. "Cecilia, you've already made my day by coming over to keep me company for dinner. Why on earth did you bring all these things? It's too extravagant!"

"Just a few treats. I hope you could accept them."

"Of course! I cherish whatever you give me. Derek, could you take Cecilia's gifts to my room?"

It was a clear nod of approval from Trenton toward Cecilia.

It was also a subtle nudge to Olina.

"Grandpa, it's not all for you. There are gifts for mom and dad, and my uncles and aunts, too," Owen chimed in, his voice laced with mock jealousy. "Look at you, Cecilia prepared gifts for everyone except me."

"Oh, cut it out, Owen. Cecilia spent the whole afternoon shopping with you and got you a whole new wardrobe. How can you say you got nothing?" Trenton knew all about his grandson's shameless antics, especially since Jay and Rex had returned home earlier.

"Cecilia, Owen bought you a lot of stuff too. I had it all sent over to the Tranquil Terrace Villa. Owen's got a big fancy house there, and it wouldn't make sense for his gifts to clutter up my space. I don't want to be green with envy over here. I mean, I'm his grandpa, and he's never spoiled me like that!"

Like grandfather, like grandson.

Always playfully competitive.

Olina's expression soured even further.

Her son had sent over an array of luxury items—clothes, handbags, jewelry, you name it. All high- end and in abundance.

"Thanks, but I really don't need all those things. I'm not lacking anything," Cecilia said with a polite smile, declining the gifts.

But Trenton and Owen carried on as if Cecilia hadn't spoken a word.

"The two of you must be famished after an afternoon of shopping. Let's have dinner first. After that, you can both head over to the villa at Tranquil Terrace to relax," Trenton went on, seemingly setting the stage for Cecilia and Owen to live together.