Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 295

Glancing at the woman satisfied on the bed, half her arm peeking out from the cover, Kieran gently pulled the covers over her before slipping out of the room.

Just as he closed the door, there was a knock. Kleran beckoned the visitor in with a soft-spoken, “Come in.”

Karl entered and handed Kieran a photo album, “Pictures from Sycamore Village.”

Kieran flipped through the hefty album. It was filled with pictures of Karl and Ivan frolicking in the fields of Sycamore Village, their laughter captured in vibrant colors. Tucked at the end were two special photos of Julie, her radiant smile framed by blooming flowers. The photos were perfectly wallet-sized.

He replaced the old photo of toddler Julie in his wallet with one of the new photos. He placed a loving kiss on a new photo of smiling Julie before putting it to his wallet. Suddenly, the ringtone of his phone interrupted his momentary reminiscence. He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call, with a furrowed brow.

By the time Julie woke up, more than an hour had passed. Realizing she had fallen into Kieran’s trap, she sighed, wishing she had just called him ‘honey’. She changed into a fresh dress and carefully opened the door, only stepping out when she was certain there were no voices in the office.

Kieran, seated at his desk, heard her soft footfalls and asked, “Awake now?”

“Thanks to you,” Julie replied, settling down on the couch across from Kieran. “Did you see my phone?”

Instead of answering, Kieran pointed to a cupcake on the coffee table, “Hungry?”

The irresistible treat made Julie forget about her phone. She picked up the spoon, took a big bite from the cupcake, and asked, “Are you busy?”

“Why?” Kieran put down his pen and looked at her.

She hesitated before asking, “From a man’s perspective, do you think Kyle…” Julie then shook her head, “Never mind, should I call Kyle or meet him in person?”

“Honey…” Kieran suddenly put on an apologetic look.

Julie paused, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“Kyle called me,” he confessed.

Julie didn’t see anything wrong with this. She placed her cupcake down and asked, “And? Did he agree?”

about cooperating with

deflated, she picked up the dessert again and asked, “So

the question you

on her cupcake, her eyes wide as she waited for his

phone, “I

about Sansa’s treatment. I’ll cooperate as

you?” Kieran

cryptic, “Sometimes, it’s not good to

are things

kidnapping Emily?” Kyle anticipated Kieran’s

asked, “Mr. Hernandez, have you

Kieran countered. Of course he knew, since he had

chuckled on the recording, “Sometimes, you do wrong things because you’re afraid of threats to her life. But the deepest wounds are those of the heart. So you realized, to protect her, you must not avoid wars, but win

recording ended there. Julie listened in silence. Did Kyle mean he also made mistakes because his love for Sansa? Is that why he used her and Kieran’s past as an analogy? He seemed to know their history

“I feel like I understand Kyle less and less. There must

stroked her hair gently, “Let’s wait for Sansa to wake up and tell

needs to spend time with Sansa, talk to her, reminisce about old times. Ive also asked

Quickly, she grabbed her cupcake and darted over to the couch to make herself comfortable. Watching her, Kieran couldn’t help but flash a grin, calling out, “Come

grip on his mobile, as he made

to say the least, by his

Zenith’s secretary, Jesse, just called to set up a meeting

mention of Zenith, Julie’s calm facade crumbled. She rushed over to Kieran’s side, asking Karl, “What could Zenith

Kieran and

everything for tomorrow afternoon,”

to put the new plan in

used his blood for the test?” Julie ventured, a bold guess forming in her mind as

same lines. He immediately dialed Dylan on

with the equipment here,” Dylan reported, “I know you wouldn’t trust anyone else to handle this, so I’m going to move the sample to a different machine. I’ll have the results by tomorrow night,

With that, Kieran hung

before chose this moment to fail… A coincidence? Neither Kieran nor Julie were buying it.