Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 303

On the drive to the cemetery, Julien gripped the steering wheel, turning to Julie, “No wonder it wasn’t found abroad. Turns out, Rankin’s final resting place is right here at Whispering Pines.”

It seemed they had been searching for quite some time. After the incident with Davina Field, Julie had asked Julien to help locate Rankin’s grave. Unexpectedly, even with Julien’s capabilities, it had taken this long to find it.

A light drizzle misted from the sky as they passed a florist. Julie asked Julien to pull over, then walked inside the shop.

She lingered among the blooms, contemplating her choice. The florist, eager to help upon learning Julie was visiting a friend’s grave, suggested an array of vibrant flowers, each more beautiful than the last.

Yet Julie’s gaze settled on a secluded corner.

The owner hurried over, “Ah, this is the Bird of Paradise. It’s also known as…”

“Strelitzia,” Julie finished with a smile, and then turned to a bunch of light pink gypsophila nearby. “Could you wrap these up for me?”

Her eyes had been on the Bird of Paradise, but in the end, she asked for the gypsophila to be wrapped. The owner handed Julie the neatly packaged flowers and then watched as she picked a single Bird of Paradise, settling the bill.

Back in the car, Julie placed the Bird of Paradise amidst the gypsophila.

Julien nonchalantly inquired, “What flower is that?”

Julie knew she wasn’t asking about the gypsophila.

“It’s Bird of Paradise, also called Strelitzia. It’s said to be the bird that flies to heaven, carrying all sorts of emotions and yearnings with it. If there’s a heaven, then a good soul like Rankin is surely there. The flower’s message is: No matter when, no matter where, never forget the one who waits for your love. It just… felt right for him.”

Julien remarked, “A flower is just a plant. All those nice and sad meanings, we attach them ourselves.” After saying this, noticing Julie’s expression, Julien quickly added in a softer tone, “But if there really is a heaven, he’s probably there.”

For Julie, hearing such words from Julien was nothing short of miraculous. She knew it was just an attempt at comfort.

“Julien, can I ask you something?” Julie asked tentatively, wary of broaching a sensitive topic.

Julien replied, unfazed.

earlier about Hayden and Adeline…”

Julie could finish,

embarrassed by the interruption, but there

Julie, Julien’s temperament had softened. She would have once been indifferent to cutting Julie off, but now she regretted her abruptness, sensing it might have upset Julie, and she explained further, “I mean, I haven’t figured out what’s really going on between Hayden and

additional explanation, a flicker

moment, she asked, “How’s your investigation into the murder case going? You’re not working for the National Security Agency at the moment, right? So why are you

was momentarily lost, her mind sifting

her, “You know, the time you took a bottle filled with vitamins to QuadDylan for analysis, suspecting something else was inside, only to find out they were indeed just vitamins. He asked what was going on, and you mentioned

Julie must be jumping to conclusions. Julien

do you think I’m thinking?” Julie teased, her

Julien remained silent.

“So there was no murder case,

were from him,” Julien admitted, knowing Julie had seen through the facade. There

a

you imagine anyone else?” Julien asked

one but Hayden would dare such a bold

you and Hayden, you

what you think; there’s nothing more to it,”

“Aren’t you going to tell me about the

After a pause, Julien added, “Quad Dylan has a

imagine the look on Hayden’s face

and said, “You know, Julien, you and him, you’re both pretty tough. But when two tough people get together, it can take a lot longer to work things out. Like you said that night, have you ever thought about why you actually care about

stuff either. Even my relationship with Kieran got pretty messed up sometimes. But we complement each other’s personalities, and we do sit down and talk things out, every once in a while.” Julie

stubbornness often attributed to boys, yet lacked the dependency and softness expected of girls. She was used to solving problems on her own, rarely shared her feelings, and had spent a lot of time in

acted as if she couldn’t care less, as if she didn’t even hear Julie speaking, sometimes even threatening to shut

Julie was a friend Julien cherished deeply-someone who would tell you the hard truths even if it meant risking the friendship. And that was truly rare.

she parked the car at

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