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 ce sometime."
Ashley wasn''t just avoiding the Serendipity Cafe because she thought it was beneath her status as
ady of leisure.
She couldn''t bear to be seen in a ce 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 nced 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.This is from N?velDrama.Org.
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-inw 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 simrly 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 ster, and so after Owen was born, Trenton, fearing his
daughter-inw 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.
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 ryed, 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 notshing 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,e 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 epted 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,y out the
gifts Cecilia had brought on the coffee table. "Cecilia, you''ve already made my day bying over
to keep mepany for dinner. Why on earth did you bring all these things? It''s too extravagant!"
"Just a few treats. I hope you could ept 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 voiceced 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 Vi.
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 yfullypetitive.
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 notcking 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 vi at Tranquil Terrace to rx," Trenton went on, seemingly setting
the stage for Cecilia and Owen to live together.