Chapter 20


    Lucinda and her contract hubby had a chill weekend at home, with Ike driving them back to the city


    on Sunday afternoon.


    Ike''spany had rented an apartment for him, and he initially nned to take the couple back


    with him, but Lucinda rejected the offer.


    The ce was too far from her shop and wouldn''t be convenient for work the next day.


    So Ike ended up dropping them off at their rented house.


    Knowing that the two of them were living together made Ike a bit ufortable, but he couldn''t


    really say anything.


    After all, both of their parents had epted Stefan, so there was no point in Ike opposing it.


    "Lucinda, you go ahead, I need a word with Stefan."


    Lucinda nced at Stefan and got out of the car, she still had to take the stuff from the car to the


    house.


    These were home-cooked foods her mom had brought for her, including Fiona''s homemade chili


    sauce.


    There were also some vegetables and fruits grown in their home garden.


    Every time she went back home, her parents would prepare a lot of stuff for her to bring back to the


    city.


    "Lucinda, I''ll take care of this stuffter."


    Stefan stopped her, not wanting her to carry such heavy things.


    The stuff was plentiful and quite heavy.


    "I''ll take some of the fragile stuff first, and you can bring the rest inter. And bro, don''t forget to lend


    a hand."


    Lucinda reminded Ike that he should help out and not just stand by.


    "Yeah, yeah."


    Ike responded dismissively.


    N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    He didn''t really n to help, he wanted Stefan to do it all by himself, to tire him out!


    He still couldn''t ept that his ssmate had be his sister''s husband.


    Lucinda took some stuff and headed for the house.


    Once she walked away, Ike turned to Stefan who was sitting in the back seat of the car and warned


    him, "Stefan, just because my parents and grandparents don''t hate you, don''t get cocky. If you treat


    Lucinda badly, I won''t let you off the hook. If you think Lucinda is doing something wrong, you are


    not to hit her, and you are not to yell at her. Call me, and I will take her back home immediately. I''ll


    take care of her for the rest of her life!"


    Lucinda was their family''s treasure, and they couldn''t bear to hurt her in any way.


    Stefan responded seriously, "Ike, we might not have been close, but we were ssmates for four


    years, and we''ve kept in touch since graduation. Don''t you know me at all? I..."


    Ike interrupted him, "I don''t know you. When we were in school, a lot of ssmates and I thought


    you were not easy to get along with. All I know about you is your name, your age, and that you were


    single before you met Lucinda. That''s it."


    "I work at Ascend Global, don''t you know that?"


    "...That''s all I know."


    "Ike, since you have such a view of me, no matter how nicely I speak, you won''t believe me. I can


    only prove my love for Lucinda through time and actions."


    Ike red at Stefan for a while before reluctantly saying, "I''ll take your word for it this time. Get out


    and carry the stuff in."


    Stefan smiled and said, "I didn''t n to bother you with this in the first ce, brother."


    "Don''t call me brother. Every time I hear you call me that, it hurts even more. My beloved little sister


    was taken away by you, and now every time I see you, I get pissed."


    Stefan just smiled, not saying anything.


    He carried several bags of stuff prepared by Lucinda''s mom out of the car.


    Ike seemed afraid he might change his mind. As soon as Stefan got the stuff out of the car, he


    drove off.


    Stefan carried several bags of stuff, without a singleint, and headed for the house.


    When he got to the door of Lucinda''s room, Lucinda came to open the door for him, her eyes curved


    into crescents from smiling.


    "Stefan." Lucinda reached out to help.


    "I can handle it." Stefan refused her help.


    He had married her and he was going to spoil her for a lifetime.


    He would do all the heavy and tiring work.


    All she needed to do was to be his happy wife.


    "Stefan, I have some good news."


    Lucinda closed the door, turned around and smiled at Stefan, "I''m going to make a fortune!"


    Stefan put all the bags in one corner of the room, turned around and asked with a smile, "How so?


    Did you win the lottery?"


    "I''ve never bought a lottery ticket. It''s my book! I received a lot of gifts today. Apart from the wealthy


    reader who gave me a lot of diamondsst night, more readers gave me gifts today. I suspect those


    readers are falling in love with me."


    Stefanughed, "How much money can you make from the gifts they sent you?"


    "Probably more than half, the website takes a cut."


    After saying this, Lucinda cried out in pain, "Ah, I lost so much money!"


    If someone tipped her a diamond, she and the website would split the money, she wouldn''t mind.


    But when the base amount of money increased, she began to begrudge the money that was taken


    away.


    "If they gave me so many gifts and coins on my birthday, it would be perfect, because all the tips


    received by the author on their birthday go 100% to the author, no need to split with the website."


    Stefan didn''t know how to answer.


    The fact that Lucinda''s book could receive so many gifts, apart from Stefan himself generously


    investing money to make his wife happy, also had a lot to do with him posting the link of Lucinda''s


    book published on the website as a post. Those who could see his status were basically his good


    friends and some important clients, all of whom were wealthy. He chose not to let his family see this


    message, fearing that they would be too enthusiastic or curious and scare Lucinda.


    He told them it was a novel written by his wife.


    Those bored bosses immediately showed great interest. They downloaded the app, recharged, and


    then gave gifts and coins to Lucinda''s book.


    Stefan''s initial intention was to help Lucinda increase some poprity and let more people read her


    book, but he didn''t expect those people to start throwing money!


    Anyway, it wasn''t him who forced them to throw money, it had nothing to do with him!


    "Ah, can''t do much about it, can we? The tform gave me the chance to publish my novel, so of


    course there’s gonna be some costs. They take a bit of my money, they take a bit of my money, it is


    what it is." Lucinda quickly came to terms with this.


    Stefan smiled, "That''s the spirit. After all, running a website isn’t free, they gotta make a profit. They


    can’t be running at a loss, right? Your birthday''s passed, hasn''t it?"


    "Yep, half a year ago."


    As Lucinda replied, she thought of her brother and then asked, "Has Ike left already? Didn''t he


    come with you?"


    "He’s got work tomorrow, and he lives quite a distance away from here, so he left earlier."


    "Stefan, I can tell that Ike might not be the friendliest to you, don’t take it to heart, he just needs time


    to ept the situation."


    Lucinda gave Stefan a thumbs-up, "But Stefan, your acting skills are top-notch! My mum had her


    suspicions, but you managed to pull the wool over her eyes. Now she totally believes in our


    marriage, and I can live in peace."