Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 187

The distance between the two was abruptly closed by Hayden’s move. Julien was caught off guard and quite repulsed. But being a master of concealing her emotions, she maintained a brief silence before addressing Hayden in a composed manner, “I don’t find our current distance comfortable. What about you?”

“Do you genuinely want to know my feelings?” Hayden’s chiseled features resembled a meticulously crafted work of art, his usually icy gaze now warmed.

His rough fingertips gently trailed along the back of her neck, the coarse sensation causing a shiver to run down her skin. Julien was always on guard against men, but this one… she could only mask her unique feelings towards him with disgust.

She grabbed his arm tightly, “Are you trying to seduce me?”

He neither confirmed nor denied.

In response, Julien retorted, “Being seduced feels disgusting.”

She used the word “disgusting,” probably the deepest form of repulsion a woman can feel towards a man. However, this man, who had experienced life and death, seemed unfazed. Instead, he revisited her previous topic, “You asked what distance I find comfortable. Lien, I prefer a negative distance.”

“Wait till the day I reach into your heart, rip it out, and see how comfortable that distance feels,” she forcefully shook off the arm resting on her neck, took a step back, and leaned against a chair, maintaining a safe distance from him.

She of course understood what he meant by “negative distance”.

He didn’t engage in an argument, but looked at her with a somewhat dominant gaze, “Lien, I’ll give you a choice. Temporarily abandon your mission from the National Security Agency, or permanently abandon your identity given by the National Security Agency. I think, Klein will listen to me.”

Klein, the previous deputy director and current director of the National Security Agency, had earned his position through the successful capture of Miles, a feat largely attributable to Hayden’s assistance. Julien’s parents were both victims of Miles, and Klein had been secrétly looking after the Julien sisters since childhood. If Hayden were to exert influence to force Klein to fire her, he would likely have no choice but to comply.

In the end, Julien merely averted her gaze, murmuring as though talking to herself, “Then tell me, what can I do for you? Apart from my own life, I have nothing else to offer.”

Her tone was sharp, direct, and cold.

Hayden cut to the chase, “If I remember correctly, you’ve had contact with the Fitzgerald family.”

Julien had once been an undercover agent for the National Security Agency, working under Miles. Although he didn’t fully trust her, he would assign her to handle many important matters, including those related to the Fitzgerald family.

any ties with the Fitzgerald family,” Julien

the grudges between Miles and them; you just need to tell me about the

family is known for their secrecy, I only know they own banks

their wealth. Tell me about the people,” Hayden cut her

at Hayden, “Are you asking about the second young miss of

young miss?” Hayden asked, puzzled.

curious about that? As expected, all you men care about is

Julien, his gaze subtly shifting.

didn’t think much about it and continued, “I’ve never met the second young miss of the Fitzgerald family. All I know is that her name is Beatrice. She

family, have you met him?” Hayden

surprised,

if even Julien hadn’t met someone, then that

that Simon once had a secret lover, but they broke up. Simon also had a younger

had nothing to do with Miles. Otherwise, according to the tradition of the Fitzgerald family,

died of a terminal illness. Simon started a charity project to provide free treatment for people with rare diseases in memory of his brother. The feud with Miles involved the head of the Fitzgerald family and had nothing to do with his

into this Simon, the more detailed the

ask why, but instead told Hayden, “I might not be able to find much. I’m more interested in

her feel worse than death. But today, he stopped Julien from handling the situation privately and voluntarily handed Davina over

police would be so unreliable, they actually lost her. Hayden said, “If I get a lead on Davina, I’ll let

sent out several teams to look for Davina, but to no avail.

awake with a bucket of cold water. She’d been shot multiple times, mostly by Julien, but none had hit a vital spot. After she was carted onto an ambulance, her

came to again, she found herself in an operating room with doctors and nurses around, but they weren’t operating on her. They

woke up. She squinted her eyes open, seeing an IV needle in the back of

from a corner of the operation room: “Begin the

body started convulsing on the operating table. She

weak it could hardly