Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 164

Recently, Julie and Kieran seemed to have gone back to a civil and respectful relationship, but never

like now. On the journey back to Noblewood Retreat from the charity event, they didn’t exchange a

single word.

Kieran was busy with work stuff. Julie didn’t initiate conversation either.

Not until the car smoothly came to a stop at the entrance of Noblewood Retreat.

Karl got out of the car, and then opened the door for them. Julie and Kieran walked into the gates of

Noblewood Retreat one after another.

“Woof, woof…”

Suddenly, a large grey dog charged towards Julie. She didn’t have time to dodge.

Just as Julie closed her eyes, Kieran reached out to hold her waist and pushed her against the wall

behind them. Kieran protected Julie’s head. She leaned against his chest, hearing his strong heartbeat.

“Coco, where are you going!” Ivan’s anxious voice came from behind.

The big dog immediately jumped onto Kieran’s thigh. Ivan wasn’t as tall as the dog. He called out

Coco’s name while trying to pull the dog off Kieran by holding its waist from behind.

However, the dog named ‘Coco’ didn’t respond at all.

Julie had been terrified by a brown dog when she was a child. Now, she was so scared that she held

onto Kieran’s waist tightly, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth while hiding in Kieran’s arms.

Kieran held Julie’s waist with one hand and buried the other in her soft hair, smelling the sweet scent of

her hair.

After a struggle, Ivan finally pulled Coco off Kieran’s thigh.

Ivan, red-faced and panting, looked at Coco and said, “You can’t just pounce on people! This is my

dad. If he’s not happy, he’ll definitely beat the crap out of you! Look, you scared Mama Julie right into

my dad’s chick muscle!”

Kieran was speechless.

Hearing Ivan’s words, Julie finally let go of Kieran’s waist with some embarrassment.

Looking at Julie who was keeping her distance, Kieran pulled Ivan in front of him and corrected

seriously, “What? it’s called chest muscle!”

Ivan thought for a while, then asked Julie, “Mama Julie, are chest muscles flesh?”

Julie nodded, “Yes…”

Ivan nodded with satisfaction, “Then is chicken flesh?”

Julie nodded again.

“Then it’s the same!” Ivan seemed very pleased with his analysis.

However, his sophistry didn’t convince the serious Kieran.

Kieran pointed at the grey Husky and asked Ivan, “Coco? Tell me, where did you get this?”

“Cupid asked me to take care of Coco for a few days. You won’t object, will you, Kerry…” Ivan looked

at Kieran innocently, “Cupid’s parents are going abroad tomorrow. Cupid is staying at her

grandmother’s house. And Coco is usually taken care of by Cupid’s mother…”

“What does that have to do with you? Having the dog stay with her at her grandma’s house, isn’t that

better?” Kieran frowned slightly. He shielded Julie behind him, keeping a certain distance between her

and the Husky.

Ivan explained earnestly, “This dog has a name, it’s called Coco. Cupid’s mom and grandma don’t get

along. You know, like the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the TV shows.”

“So what?”

“Cupid is worried that Coco might be mistreated at her grandma’s house, so she asked me to take care

of her for a few days!” Ivan replied.

Kieran frowned, looking seriously at Ivan, “Do you know that Mama Julie is allergic to dogs?”

Ivan was shocked. So that’s why Mama Julie kept her distance as soon as she arrived, and why Kerry

deliberately hid her behind him. She’s allergic to Coco!

Ivan immediately ordered Coco, “Coco, go to the balcony!”

The Husky showed a proud expression, then trotted off with a wagging tail.

Ivan quickly went to Julie, “Mama Julie, are you okay…”

Before he could finish his words of concern, Ivan was lifted up by his father.

“Wait for me outside.” After instructing Julie, Kieran directly picked up Ivan and headed for the

bathroom. After ordering Shannon to give Ivan a bath immediately, Kieran turned to ask Noah, “Where

has this dog been?”

From the bathroom came Ivan’s angry shout, “It has a name! It’s called Coco, Coco!”

Noah looked helpless, “It’s been almost everywhere in the mansion.”

Kieran couldn’t help but frown. He told Noah, “Clean Ivan up, disinfect the mansion, then send Coco to

Gilded Gate Residences. Call me when everything is settled.”

After giving the order, Kieran went upstairs to take a quick shower and change his clothes, then

grabbed the car keys and headed towards the door.

In the bathroom, Ivan looked worriedly at Shannon, “Will Mama Julie get sick because of Coco?”

If he had known earlier that Mama Julie was allergic to Coco, he would never have brought Coco back.

He was an innocent and kind-hearted child, although stubborn in speech. In this respect, he was

somewhat like his mother.

Shannon smiled and patted Ivan’s head, “With Mr. Hernandez here, Mrs. Hernandez will definitely be

fine. Besides, she hasn’t touched Coco, so she’ll be okay.”

Ivan nodded, half-believing.

Kieran drove the car out of the garage, stopped next to Julie, wound down the window, and said to

Julie, “Get in.”

The day had turned into night. Julie gave Kieran a confused look, asking, “What are we doing?”

“Sleep.” Kieran gave a blunt reply.

Julie was taken aback, then asked, “Sleep in the car?”

Kieran suddenly gave a cheeky grin, “If you’re up for it, I’d be more than happy to keep you company.”

Η

Julie got into the car and then asked earnestly, “Where are we headed?”

“Do you feel okay?” Kieran asked Julie with a hint of concern.

Julie did a quick self-check, ensuring she wasn’t affected by the dog. She then smiled at Kieran, which

was quite unusual for her, saying, “I’m fine. My allergies haven’t been as bad these past few years.”

Kieran looked at Julie solemnly, “Back when we first met, you almost died in my arms.”

At the mention of this, Julie’s smile grew brighter. She joked, “I’m a superhero, I’m not that easy to take

down.”

When the big brown dog lunged at Julie, her first instinct was to run. Little did she know, Kieran was

right behind her.

So Julie ended up knocking Kieran to the ground.

The dog, named Ben, was Kieran’s pet. Back then, Kieran was Julie’s neighbor. That day, Ben’s leash

broke unexpectedly. Kieran, being about the same age as Julie, was no match for Ben’s strength.

So Ben ran off. Kieran followed him all the way. When he found the big dog, he hadn’t even managed

to put the leash on it when he was suddenly bumped into by Julie rushing over.

Kieran was standing behind Ben, ready to put the leash on, and Julie was standing across from Ben.

Most people would turn and run away from Ben, but Julie instead headed straight for Kieran.

Thinking back, Kieran turned to look at Julie, “Most people would’ve turned and ran, why did you

charge at Ben?”

Julie looked a bit embarrassed, “You might not believe this, but I saw you standing behind Ben and

thought I could grab you and run…”

At that moment, Julie fell silent because Kieran had pulled over to the side of the road. He was looking

at her intently. In the dark night, his eyes seemed to be filled with stars.

He just sat there quietly, looking at her, making Julie forget what she was saying and what she was

supposed to say next.

It wasn’t until Kieran slowly leaned in that Julie snapped back to reality. She turned her head to the

side, “Don’t you dare try to take advantage of me!”

Only someone like Julie would say something like that at a moment like this.

Kieran was taken aback for a moment, then he laughed. He went back to their previous conversation,

“In the end, you didn’t manage to drag me away with you. Instead, you knocked me down. You’re

something else!”

“It was your dog’s leash that tripped me!” Julie argued back.

Kieran, still chuckling, slowly got the car moving again.

All Julie could remember was knocking Kieran down and then feeling Ben jump onto her back. But Ben

didn’t bite her, because Kieran, who was pinned underneath her, told Ben, “Easy, Ben!”

Even though Ben didn’t bite her, he did give her neck a good lick.

Julie couldn’t quite remember what happened after that. She just knew she had an allergic reaction.

Did she really almost die in his arms?

Julie turned to look at Kieran and asked, “I had an allergic reaction. When I woke up, I was at home.

What happened in between?”

“Don’t you remember?” Kieran asked.

Julie shook her head.

“Why didn’t you ask me then?” Kieran asked.

“Because you didn’t tell me that I almost died in your arms. I thought it wasn’t a big deal.” Julie

answered Kieran earnestly.

When she woke up, Sansa, Padgett, and Darcey were all by her bedside. They told her that she was

allergic to cats and dogs and that the boy next door had saved her. Julie didn’t think much of it at the

time.

Kieran seemed lost in his memories. He paused for a moment, then looked at Julie and said, “Back

then, I kissed you.”