Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 430

Olina and Megan strode into the cafe one after the other.

They had been all smiles and laughter stepping out of their car. But as they pushed through the door, their expressions tightened as if someone owed them a fortune and refused to pay up.

Upon seeing Cecilia, Megan's face soured with a gaze poisoned with envy. Dressed to the nines in her evening gown, Cecilia was shining like a star.

As for Lucy, Megan no longer dared to treat her with the same disregard. Even Olina wouldn't dare cross the towering figure backing Lucy—not to mention Megan herself.

Gone were the days when the Scott family ruled the roost in Pinehurst. Even at their peak, they wouldn't have the nerve to provoke the mighty Blues of Skywatch.

Megan's thoughts turned to her own daughter, who was nearing thirty. No amount of makeup could eclipse Cecilia's youthful beauty.

And considering how Owen's affections seemed to be drifting towards Cecilia, Megan's hatred for the younger woman simmered dangerously.

In her eyes, Owen's decade-long love for her daughter couldn't have just evaporated overnight. It had to be Cecilia's doing to poison Owen's mind against her daughter.

Did Cecilia think she could comfortably settle into the role of the Martinez family matriarch just because her daughter was out of the picture?

They were divorced!

Dreaming of remarriage?

As long as Megan drew breath, she vowed to muddy the waters and thwart Cecilia's plans.

With jealousy fueling her, Megan's words came out sharp and ugly.

"Look at that dress, Olina. She looks like a streetwalker. Is this how she drums up business? No wonder her little cafe is so popular—those customers aren't here for the coffee, are they?"

In a swift motion, Cecilia grabbed a half-finished glass of water from a nearby table and splashed it right in Megan's face.

Lucy believed a single glass wouldn't cleanse Megan's foul mouth. She went inside and emerged with a bucket of water which she dumped over Megan's head as she shrieked insults at Cecilia.

The force of the bucket's contents was such that even Olina, standing by, wasn't spared a drenching.

The two matrons screamed in outrage.

Dripping wet, Megan wiped her face and yelled at Lucy and Cecilia, "Is this how you treat elders?"

"Elders? What connection do we have that makes you my elder? Pretending to be respectable in front of me? You have the gall to talk about shame when it was your shameless behavior that raised a daughter like Ruby!"

Megan had dared to call her a streetwalker, and Cecilia wasn't holding back.

"Cecilia!" Olina's face darkened as she called out, "We are guests in your cafe. Megan and I came to support your business. What do you mean by dousing her with water? Apologize to Megan at once!"

"Guests? You two are no guests of mine. Support my business? That's a laugh. I don't need your kind to support. My place is too humble to entertain 'goddesses' like you. Just go back to wherever you came from."

"You want an apology after hurling insults? And what's this about my outfit? Can't you see what I'm wearing? If I'm a streetwalker for wearing an evening gown, then you've been masquerading as one for decades."

Olina was speechless.

"Apologize!" Cecilia's voice was icy. "Megan, you owe me an apology for your words."

Megan was livid. "You drench me and demand an apology? What are you? Nothing but a fox preying on Ms. Lucy's status. Without her, you're nothing!"

"Olina, watch out for your son. Don't let him be ensnared by this vixen. She's jealous of Lucy marrying into the Andersons and wants to claw her way up too. But with her background, she doesn't come close to deserving Owen."

"Lucy, see your 'best friend' for the ambitious fox she is, using you to climb the social ladder."

Before Megan could finish her rant, Lucy stepped forward and slammed the bucket over her head, then walked away without a backward glance.

Not to be outdone, Cecilia reached for a broom. But Lucy called back without turning around, "Cecilia, don't bother."

Olina was Owen's mother, after all.

Cecilia and Owen were officially an item, and it was likely Cecilia would marry him. Lucy didn't want Cecilia to overstep in front of Olina, to leave room for future peace between mother and daughter-

in-law.

If things couldn't be smoothed over, then let it be.

They could always do as Owen had suggested: after the wedding, he and Cecilia moved out of the Martinez mansion and kept a healthy distance between mother and daughter-in-law.

Lucy’s marriage with Stefan was different. With her in-laws and her husband backing her, she didn't have a care in the world.

If her mother-in-law had been there, she might've joined in on giving Megan a piece of her mind. Megan's mouth was just too foul for her own good, always stirring up trouble and trying to wedge between Lucy and Cecilia.

The scene at the café was something straight out of a sitcom. Lucy had chased Megan out with a broom held high like some sort of domestic warrior. Megan had scrambled back to her car, not even waiting for Olina, and sped off in a cloud of exhaust.

Lucy, not one to back down, had hurled the broom with all her might and smacked it against the windshield of Megan's car before it clattered to the ground.

Megan's car disappeared down the road in no time, leaving behind a trail of gossips and wonders.

The local shopkeepers had all poked their heads out to catch a glimpse of the commotion.

Lucy went to retrieve her broom, as if reclaiming her dignity along with it.

"Lucy, what in the world just happened?" a familiar face asked with genuine concern.

Lucy spoke up, her voice carrying down the street, "That was the mother of a homewrecker trying to sully my café. I just swept the trash out the door, didn't want her dirtying up my place."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

No wonder Lucy had come out swinging like that.

What was the world coming to? Homewreckers growing bold as brass, and their mothers even had the gall to follow suit.