Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 53

Daphne was a real go–getter, always quick on her feet and never one to dilly dally. She said she would call Porter and boom, she was already dialing. Porter agreed to let Julie start working the very next day Daphne left Julie’s number with him and hung up, only to find Julie pacing nervously on the spot. “What’s up?‘ Daphne asked.

“I lost my phone, did I leave it at the restaurant last night?” Julie frowned. Even though the phone was old, it was still important to her.

Daphne shook her head “When you left last night, Mr. Hernandez took your phone with him. So…”

“Do you know where I can get a simple, cheap phone? Just for making calls” Julie had no intention of asking for her phone back, or rather, she didn’t want to see Kieran in the near future

Daphne rolled her eyes at Julie You’re being a total wimp!”

She took out a spare phone from her bag and handed it to Julie. “Just use this for now. Judging by the way you were acting last night, I guess you don’t want to see Mr. Hernandez ever again”

“How crazy was I last night?” Julie asked Daphne incredulously.

“Crazy as a mad cow”

Julie decided to put thoughts of last night on hold for now. Since her phone was in Kieran’s hands, she didn’t have to worry about him calling to ask questions

However, she was being too naiv

When Julie took the bus home, she stopped by the market to pick up a couple of veggies to cook, then headed home.

As she reached the entrance of her apartment complex, Ada, her next–door neighbor, gave her a knowing look and said, “Julie, I was going to introduce you to my cousin’s son! But it seems you already have a boyfriend!”

“Boyfriend?” Julie frowned in confusion.

Ada chuckled. “That young man is very handsome, you know. You’re not getting any younger, better hurry up. Oh, I can’t chat now, my grandson is waiting for me to cook dinner!”

Ada walked off, leaving Julie standing there with two bags of groceries. After a few seconds of silence, she realized that the only men who knew where she lived and had come to see her were Elliot and Kieran.

At this thought, Julie glanced at the door just a few steps away. Whether it was Kieran or Elliot, she didn’t want to see either of them. So, Julie quickly turned around, only to bump into a solid figure. Her nose throbbed with pain. Julie rubbed her small nose and then saw a pair of shiny black shoes

up and Kieran’s handsome face immediately filled

who it was, she quickly stepped

to avoid me?” Kieran asked, a clear smirk on his face. He was likely amused by Julie’s

attempt to escape.

responding, Julie just picked up her groceries and headed for her apartment.

followed behind,

him.

do you think?” Kieran countered.

gave in. She left her groceries at her doorstep, then turned to face

of the staircase. The old, worn–out stairs of the apartment complex were overgrown with vines. He was wearing her favorite white shirt, standing quietly in front of her. The fading sunlight of the sunset

beautiful as any of Julie’s

breath and said, “Let’s

just want to date you. There’s nothing else to

let’s not talk. Just leave. Don’t come to my house, or show up in front of me I’ll repay the money I

get closer. Each footstep sounded like it was echoing in Julie’s heart. Finally, he stood right in front

warm, strong hand around her waist. His arm tightened, forcing Julie to close the gap between them. He looked down, meeting her defiant gaze. His deep voice resonated in

A child? Or a love? Either way, she didn’t want it back.

and steady. All she said was, “I don’t

seeing Kieran’s reaction. Would he be angry? Or would he remain expressionless? But in the end, he just took out the phone she’d left behind the night before, waved it in front of her, and said, “I thought you’d care. But

to throw her phone away. Who would’ve thought that what Kieran owed her

reached out, grabbing onto his wrist as if afraid he’d actually throw the phone away. Even standing on tiptoes, she barely

who was standing on tiptoes trying to snatch

intimate her actions were. She quickly let go of his hand But Kieran bent down, took her wrist, and placed the phone in her hand

lose your phone again, he said, then turned and

they were still in high school. One Christmas, Julie insisted on dragging Kieran to the supermarket to buy ingredients, then insisted on dragging him to the pedestrian street for dinner.

line was too long. She told Kieran to wait for her, but when he turned around with a bottle of water, Julle was no

in the crowd. She managed to buy the skewers, but when she got back, Kieran was nowhere to be seen. So she started looking for him. As expected, with poor

her squatting at his front door like a stray