Faux Vows, True Desires

Chapter 19

Stefan's face turned sour.

What's wrong with Ike? Did he have some mental problems?

With a threatening tone, Stefan asked Ike, "Do you want to try?"

And then, Ike's face turned just as sour. He almost threw a punch again.

Annoyed, he said, "Stefan, I ain't hinting anything, alright?"

Stefan sneered, "If you doubt me again, I can prove to you..."

"Alright, alright, I believe you, I believe you!"

Ike cut him off.

"Stefan, you're engaged to Lucinda. You can't go after me. I'm a handsome dude, but I'm only interested in women." Stefan replied, "I didn't ask you to validate me. I have a fiancée. Whether I can do it or not, my fiancée would know best."

Ike: "...You and Lucinda aren't married yet. You guys can't do that!"

Ah, his precious little sister was going to be taken by this jerk!

Ike was in low spirits, feeling more and more annoyed by his old classmate and Lucinda's fiancé.

Stefan didn't give a damn about what Ike said.

His target was Lucinda.

As long as Lucinda was willing, he, as a ready-to-be husband, could marry her anytime.

On the rooftop, two men were glaring at each other.

Downstairs, Lucinda was sitting in front of her computer, hands tapping away on the keyboard, words popping up on the screen.

Fiona opened the door, saw her daughter busy writing, then quietly retreated and closed the door.

Lucinda knew her mother had been there. She intended to chat with her after finishing a section, but Fiona left, not disturbing her writing.

It was already 10 PM. She was still short of her daily updates. She had to finish them before midnight.

She had no choice, because her coffee shop wasn't making a profit yet.

So giving up was out of the question. After all, with hope ahead, persistence would pay off.

Her editor told her she could level up by the end of the month. If she was willing, she could switch to a sharing model next month. If not, the original base price could be raised a bit. This way, her income would be higher, and she wouldn't have to work so hard to get the same amount of payment.

When she was not disturbed, Lucinda wrote really fast.

"You're writing a novel?"

Stefan's voice suddenly came from behind.

Lucinda didn't have time to close the file, so she admitted, "Yeah, a novel, a web novel. It's published online, not the kind for printing."

As a newbie, she just started writing web novels recently to earn a little more. She was still an unknown, so publishing was far away for her.

Stefan laughed, "I didn't expect to marry a great writer."

"Stefan, quit kidding. What great writer? I'm just writing web novels to make a living. Instead, you surprised me, Stefan."

Lucinda turned her head in his direction, noticing the door was not closed. She teased, "Stefan, have you ever thought about being a star? You're really good at acting. Seriously, you're wasting your talent if you don't. Or, wanna consider it? I can be your agent."

Stefan chuckled and flicked her forehead lightly.

"When I can't survive in the business world, I'll consider your suggestion, to be a star."

"When you're famous, Stefan, remember to give me more autographs."

"You're my agent, do you need my autograph?"

Everything of his was hers.

"Which website is your novel published on?"

Lucinda told Stefan the website she signed with and her pen name.

"How's the income from writing?"

"I'm a newbie, so I signed the minimum guarantee contract. I have to keep updating to make money. I need to write for more than 10 hours a day to make enough for rent and living expenses."

With an extra rent from him, her financial burden was heavier.

Keep going, Lucinda! Stick to the path you choose, no matter what.

Stefan's eyes were filled with sympathy.

"Stefan, what did Ike ask you about?"

Stefan chose to keep quiet.

"Can't you tell me?" Curiosity filled Lucinda's eyes.

Stefan pursed his lips and said softly, "Your brother asked me if I could do it."

"Can you?"

Lucinda hadn't quite understood him, so she asked.

After asking, she saw his serious face, his deep gaze at her, a spark seemed to be dancing in his eyes.

Such a heart-fluttering gaze.

Her heartbeat involuntarily sped up.

Stefan's gaze was irresistible!

Lucinda turned away, facing the computer screen, not looking at Stefan, so she wouldn't be captivated.

"Lucinda, in the future, no matter who says I have a problem, if you have any doubts, you can come to me for verification. I'm more than willing to cooperate with your inspection."

Lucinda didn’t know what to say.

She didn’t understand what he meant?!

What problem he had?! What inspection?!

"Go on with your work. I won't bother you. I'll go rest in the guest room next door."

Of course, Stefan couldn't share a room with Lucinda yet, even if they were married.

Lucinda rented him to be her shield, and the Moore family couldn't accept letting this wolf live with their daughter.

So, they arranged for him to sleep in the guest room.

"Goodnight, Stefan."

"Goodnight."

After Stefan left, Lucinda started writing again.

As she was writing, she thought about what Stefan just said. Ike asked him if he could do it.

Could he do what?...

Huh?

Got it!

Do intimate things!

She actually asked him again!

Lucinda was so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a hole to hide herself.

Oh, no need to blush. He left a while ago.

Half an hour later, Lucinda finally finished today's update, uploaded the finished chapter to her author backend, then logged out.

She picked up her phone, habitually opened the website's app, opened her bookshelf, then opened her own book.

Sometimes when her latest updates didn't get approved, they won't show up. After she updated, she would open her own book to see if the new chapters were visible. If they were, she wouldn't have to worry.

If the updates didn't appear, she'd be able to spot the problem sooner rather than later. This way, she wouldn't be left in the dark, not knowing why her new chapters got rejected and unable to make updates.

"Huh? Wow! So many gifts! My goodness!"

On the platform where Lucinda had signed a contract, readers could send gifts. A flower was worth one-tenth of a cent while a diamond was worth almost a buck. They could also send any amount of in-app currency. Some of the gifts' value would go to the website, but as a hardworking author, she would get a hefty cut too.

At that moment, she realized her book had received a ton of diamonds.

She remembered vividly that her past work had only received five diamonds in total.

Readers usually sent her a few flowers as encouragement as diamonds were pricier and less likely to be gifted.

But now, she had received tens of thousands of diamonds.

After splitting the profits with the website, she would still make almost twenty grand.

Just from the gifts alone, she was making more than her monthly writing income.

"Did I just attract some filthy rich reader?"

Lucinda had a satisfied grin on her face. The reader who ranked first on the gift leaderboard was named "WaitingForHer".

It was this loaded reader who had gifted her tens of thousands of diamonds! Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

That's so rich! She was so thrilled she was flipping and flopping on her bed!