Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 168

From Payne’s place to where Julie and Kieran are staying tonight, it’s just a short stroll that takes less than ten minutes.

Having just hung out at Payne’s for a while, they stepped out to find it was already frosty. The chill of late autumn hung in the air. The dim streetlights glowed hazily through the frosty mist, casting a blurred light on the surrounding villas, making them appear vaguely visible.

When they left, Kieran casually grabbed a coat for Julie. Now, she draped it over her shoulders, but it didn’t do much to ward off the cold. The night wind carried a desolate chill that seemed especially piercing.

They walked side by side, maintaining a small distance between them.

After leaving Payne’s, they had been walking like this for about half a minute. You could tell that Kieran had deliberately slowed down to match Julie’s pace.

“What’s on your mind?” Kieran asked out of the blue.

Julie paused before answering, “At first, I was wondering if you had anything to do with No. 49, but now I’ve dismissed that idea.”

“Can you guess what I’m thinking?” Kieran asked, inching closer to Julie without her noticing.

Julie, too engrossed in the conversation, replied, “I don’t want to guess.”

Kieran seemed to anticipate her response, a playful smile playing on his lips. “I was thinking… what would have happened if you hadn’t stopped me from bidding for that ring. Who would have ended up with it and for how much? If you hadn’t interfered, who do you think would have gotten the ring?”

Julie glanced at the ring box in her hand and then smiled at Kieran, “I guess, in the end, it would still be mine.”

Kieran laughed, “My wife’s got a point here.”

Julie shot him a look, “You seem quite comfortable calling me your wife. You don’t have to be in character all the time, there’s no one else here.”

“True, my wife is definitely not a stranger.” Kieran reached out and playfully ruffled Julie’s hair, a casually affectionate gesture.

Julie dodged to the side, a bit uncomfortable. “You can talk, just don’t touch me!”

She took a step away from him, adding, “Never mind, you don’t even need to talk. I can’t out-talk you anyway!”

“Let’s change the subject.” Kieran suggested cooperatively.

Julie fell silent, unable to fathom what his next topic might be.

“Do you know about Platonic love?” Kieran asked out of nowhere.

Julie didn’t answer.

Kieran started rambling, “Platonic love, also known as spiritual love, named after the philosopher Plato, is a kind of spiritual love

same sex, which was in line with the social mores of ancient Greece. Greek scholars believed that love between the same sex was the true love, and heterosexual marriage was just for societal construction. So, the core of Platonic love is homosexuality.

he looked at Julie, asking earnestly, “In

profound

“You just said that the core of Platonic love is homosexuality, so since you acknowledge that I’m a man, why do

should have a platonic love relationship with him. But since he was a man, they should have a deeper relationship. Basically, whether he was a man or a

Kieran, who was blocking her way, and retorted, “When did I acknowledge

with Julie, “So, you’re saying you don’t see me as

-“Get lost!”

“My wife…”

me by my name!”

“My dear…”

name is

“My sweetheart…”

“What are you up to? Weren’t you so cold and aloof when I was pursuing you?

probably fed it to Coco,” he shrugged

“Don’t blame Coco, Coco is only interested in your

she was mocking

screamed, clutching his

fat cat dart out from god knows where, run past Julie’s feet, and quickly disappear into

had scared the living daylights out of Julie. She clung tightly to

other, gently patted her back, reassuring her,

voice was deep and soothing, it hit her eardrums and seeped into her brain, giving her

forgot why they were arguing in the first

Kieran bent down and scooped her up

because she wanted to, but just to prevent herself from falling. When she finally came back to her senses, she said to Kieran, “I can

you.” His calm words echoed in the quiet night.

they were already near the villa entrance. She was genuinely scared of small animals popping out of nowhere in the dark. The bright eyes of these small creatures seemed very terrifying in the dark. As someone who learned to

led her to the bedroom she

that everything looked the same as before, with the

always been this way. In Padgett’s heart, Julie and Sansa were his beloved daughters, his little princesses. Darcey had always been dedicated to raising them as elegant girls. Kieran placed Julie on the soft round bed. The pink color didn’t quite fit with Julie’s character, but the woman wrapped in the beige coat, with her hair scattered, blended into this pink bed, looking as

at her sitting on the round bed, “Get

pitiful, even if he didn’t sleep with her in the bed, he would at least sleep on the sofa to stir up her sympathy. However, she didn’t expect him to get up

door closed

Julie