Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 285

“Want some more?” Daphne offered her ice cream to Julien like it was a prized possession.

Julien, without hesitation, took it from Daphne’s hand and started eating it voraciously.

In all the years she had known Julien, Julie had never seen her indulge in a snack like this. It was truly a sight to see. But…

Wasn’t her eating manner a bit too aggressive? It was less of eating and more of stuffing her mouth.

Was this binge eating a result of some traumatic experience, perhaps?

Julie gently patted Julien’s back, concern lining her features. Julien, with a mouthful of ice cream, looked back at Julie with a confused expression, as if asking ‘why are you patting my back?’ through her gaze.

“You’re going to get a brain freeze if you eat ice cream like that,” Julie remarked, watching Julien’s eating frenzies.

Julien then handed the now-empty ice cream tub back to Daphne:

Daphne tossed it into a nearby trash bin and chuckled, “I always thought you were too high and mighty to enjoy such earthly pleasures. Turns out you also love vanilla ice cream, just like me.”

Julien looked perplexed, “What ice cream?”

“…So, you just ate half a tub of ice cream without even khowing what flavor it was? Daphne asked, the disbelief evident on her face.

“That’s vanilla, vanilla ice cream. The one you just ate,” she said, trying to suppress her laughter.

“Ah,” was the only response Julien gave.

Julie suddenly grabbed Julien’s shoulder, “Who are you, and what have you done to my Julien?”

Julien swatted Julie’s hand away, and turned to Daphne, “Give me the couch.”.

Daphne glanced at the couch beneath her, a grey piece of furniture that had been with her for a while now.

She patted the couch, speaking to it as if it were a pet, “My dear couch, the queen has taken a liking to you. It’s an honor really. She wants to take you away, but don’t miss me too much. I’ll come visit you occasionally.”

“I didn’t mean your couch,” Julien retorted, looking at Julie, “I meant, I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“You’re not going home tonight?” Julie asked, looking surprised, “Won’t Hayden be looking for you?”

be looking for me?” Julien countered, trying to play it cool, yet eagerly awaiting Julie’s answer.

to be cute? Hayden adores

go

it’s love. How else could he put up with our

abruptly stood up and headed towards

you going?” Julie called out.

the floor,” came Julien’s aloof

to whisper to Julie, “Don’t you find her

is it?” Julie asked, merely curious, but not holding

triumphant grin, revealed, “I’ve decided to name my

if she had lost her mind, “What if it’s

apologized to her unborn child, “Sorry, baby. Your dumb mom didn’t think that

Daphne’s shoulder sympathetically, “Don’t worry, Daphne. Your child has a smart

it!” Daphne suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Julie’s hand, “If it’s a boy, we’ll call

mentally said a prayer for Mr. Lionel.

to the bedroom to share the news

Julien had made a makeshift bed

began, brimming with excitement, “I’ve thought of two nicknames for my baby. If it’s a boy, we’ll call him ‘Prince’, and if it’s a girl, ‘Queen’. What do

of commenting on the names, Julien asked her, “When are you

question… was unexpected!

had just entered the room, heard Julien’s

is quite constructive, Julie agreed, turning to Daphne, “What do you and Mr. Lionel plan

marry into a wealthy, complex family like Lionel’s. She says it’s like a deep, dangerous ocean, and with my intelligence, I might not survive. Not only would risk losing my child, but I might also lose my own life. You know those people in TV dramas who step on others’ bodies to climb to the top? My mom says there are a lot

agreed, “Your mom is right.”

Julien would support Edda Flores’s viewpoint.

the ocean is deep and dangerous, you would not even try

knew how to hit the nail on the head with her metaphor. The world of the wealthy was an ocean, and she stood at its edge, wrestling with the decision to dive in. Her parents, standing by her side, were pulling her away from the water’s edge, while Lord Lion, the lifeguard of this metaphorical ocean,

important question was, what should she

She turned to her friend, Julien, with a look

For someone with little experience in matters of the heart, this was a tough question. Not

at Julien, Actually…”

complete her sentence, Julien interjected, “Firstly, you need to ask yourself whether you really want to take the plunge. Secondly, the decision to dive in depends

insight. The phrase ‘love is blind’ suddenly made sense to her. Perhaps being an outsider gave Julien a

own feelings. The most important factor was Lionel’s actions and choices, whether he was reliable,

slumped onto the ground, grabbed Julien’s hand, and looked at her gratefully. “You

to have forgotten