Faux Vows, True Desires novel Chapter 495

After bidding farewell to everyone, Lucinda and her husband boarded the Blue family's private jet, joining her biological parents on their journey to Skywatch.

Lucinda felt a bit uneasy, but Stefan's presence was a comfort. If she had to return to Skywatch alone, even though it was her ancestral home, she would feel like a stranger there after twenty-three years of absence. Fortunately, her mother had regained consciousness, so they would have each other for company.

Upon her return to Skywatch, Lucinda knew she wouldn’t be able to dive into the family business right away. Besides, the Blue family's house rules dictated that women, whether daughters or daughters-in-law, didn’t have to work. A newcomer to the corporate world, even if her father and brothers pulled strings to get her into Blue Corporation, she’d have to start from scratch, just as she had at Ascend Global.

For the time being, her role was to be by her mother's side and get acquainted with the lay of Skywatch.

“Don’t be afraid, Lucy,” Janice said, sitting close to her daughter and son-in-law. She could see the uncertainty in her daughter's eyes and patted her hand soothingly. “Mom's here now.”

Janice regretted not being able to protect her daughter in the past, allowing her to be taken by bad people and separated from her for twenty-three years. Now, if anyone dared to touch a hair on her daughter's head, she would fight them tooth and nail.

“Mom, I'm not scared,” Lucinda replied with a smile.

Janice looked at her son-in-law and smiled. “With Stefan by your side, not even the sky falling down could touch you. Stefan, I appreciate you looking out for Lucy.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?” Stefan replied warmly. “Lucy is my wife. We're in this for life. If I'm not her shield, who am I shielding?”

Janice laughed, “With those words, I can rest easy.”

Both the Moore family and the Blue family were more than pleased with Stefan, certainly a step up from Nathan.

Janice's smile faded as she thought of the old man whom she'd avoided for the past couple of days—Nathan. When she had first been with him, her family had approved of him, trusting he would keep her safe and happy for a lifetime, surrounded by children and grandchildren in their old age.

But then...

She softened her resentment towards Nathan as she remembered how he had taken a bullet for her. Perhaps his neglect of her and their child was due to that shooting incident. Still, she found it hard to be at peace with Nathan.

And with the return to Skywatch looming, her hometown was also the stage of her nightmares.

When Nathan and the entire clan had shown up in Pinehurst to support Lucinda, the Blue family had seemed amiable, but Janice knew better—they were masters of pretense. Once back at Sunnyglade Abbey, she knew there would be many more battles to fight, even if they weren't accompanied by the smell of gunpowder.

Janice straightened up and silently swore that this time around, if anyone dared to target her again, she wouldn't care about appearances or status; she'd go to war with them. In her youth, she had cared too much, and what had that gotten her? Driven mad by their schemes.

They say a mother's love is fierce, and she knew she had to stand strong to protect her children.

She would help her son and daughter claim every bit of Nathan's private fortune and the share due to the head of the Blue family. She wouldn’t let the villains profit from their decades of machinations.

“Lucy, when we get home, don’t trust your grandmother too much, no matter how nice she seems,” Janice warned her daughter. “She’s the quickest to change her colors, and even if she loved you before, she’s not just your grandmother.”

Pinehurst, after all, boasted winters where the mercury scarcely dipped as low as Skywatch's autumnal lows.

“I've never seen real snow, only on TV,” Lucinda said with a laugh, “In previous winters, I'd scroll through Facebook, envying the snowy landscapes. This year, I'll be the one posting snow pictures!”

The winters of Pinehurst never saw snowfall, and Lucinda, with her aversion to cold, had never ventured to snowy destinations for holidays. She had heard tales of many who couldn’t bear the harsh northern chill, some even suffering frostbite.

So, truly, she had never witnessed snow firsthand. The spectacle of heavy snowfall was an experience she had only indulged in through the flickering frames of her television set.

“When it snows this winter, I'll help you build a snowman,” Janice promised, “And there's a ski slope at our place. You should definitely try it out.”

The Blue family wanted for nothing. They owned their own ski resort, horse racing track, golf course, and even a children's playground. There was no need to travel far for amusement—they had everything right on their own estate.

“Absolutely!” Lucinda agreed with enthusiasm.

“Mom, let me help you with your coat,” she offered tenderly after putting on her own jacket, then gently assisted her mother, while Stefan followed closely behind the mother and daughter.

Nathan was on another flight. Keith, once again, had not accompanied his father.