Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 168

From Payne’s place to where Julie and Kieran are staying tonight, it’s just a short stroll that takes less

than ten minutes.

Having just hung out at Payne’s for a while, they stepped out to find it was already frosty. The chill of

late autumn hung in the air. The dim streetlights glowed hazily through the frosty mist, casting a blurred

light on the surrounding villas, making them appear vaguely visible.

When they left, Kieran casually grabbed a coat for Julie. Now, she draped it over her shoulders, but it

didn’t do much to ward off the cold. The night wind carried a desolate chill that seemed especially

piercing.

They walked side by side, maintaining a small distance between them.

After leaving Payne’s, they had been walking like this for about half a minute. You could tell that Kieran

had deliberately slowed down to match Julie’s pace.

“What’s on your mind?” Kieran asked out of the blue.

Julie paused before answering, “At first, I was wondering if you had anything to do with No. 49, but now

I’ve dismissed that idea.”

“Can you guess what I’m thinking?” Kieran asked, inching closer to Julie without her noticing.

Julie, too engrossed in the conversation, replied, “I don’t want to guess.”

Kieran seemed to anticipate her response, a playful smile playing on his lips. “I was thinking… what

would have happened if you hadn’t stopped me from bidding for that ring. Who would have ended up

with it and for how much? If you hadn’t interfered, who do you think would have gotten the ring?”

Julie glanced at the ring box in her hand and then smiled at Kieran, “I guess, in the end, it would still be

mine.”

Kieran laughed, “My wife’s got a point here.”

Julie shot him a look, “You seem quite comfortable calling me your wife. You don’t have to be in

character all the time, there’s no one else here.”

“True, my wife is definitely not a stranger.” Kieran reached out and playfully ruffled Julie’s hair, a

casually affectionate gesture.

Julie dodged to the side, a bit uncomfortable. “You can talk, just don’t touch me!”

She took a step away from him, adding, “Never mind, you don’t even need to talk. I can’t out-talk you

anyway!”

“Let’s change the subject.” Kieran suggested cooperatively.

Julie fell silent, unable to fathom what his next topic might be.

“Do you know about Platonic love?” Kieran asked out of nowhere.

Julie didn’t answer.

So Kieran started rambling, “Platonic love, also known as spiritual love, named after the philosopher

Plato, is a kind of spiritual love between people. It seeks soulful communication, rejects carnal desire,

and is a rational, pure love…”

Before Kieran could finish, Julie interrupted him, “Actually, according to the Symposium, Platonic lové

refers primarily to love between people of the same sex, which was in line with the social mores of

ancient Greece. Greek scholars believed that love between the same sex was the true love, and

heterosexual marriage was just for societal construction. So, the core of Platonic love is homosexuality.

So, let’s leave it there.”

“Joyce,” he looked at Julie, asking earnestly, “In your eyes, I’m a man, right?”

What a profound question!

“Do you not know whether you’re a man or not?” Julie quickened her pace, trying to get away from this

crafty and mysterious man. But he caught up easily, grinning cheekily, “You just said that the core of

Platonic love is homosexuality, so since you acknowledge that I’m a man, why do you want to have a

platonic love relationship with me?”

What Kieran meant was: if he were a woman, then Julie should have a platonic love relationship with

him. But since he was a man, they should have a deeper relationship. Basically, whether he was a man

or a woman, Julie was his.

So Julie sidestepped Kieran, who was blocking her way, and retorted, “When did I acknowledge you as

a man?”

Kieran kept pace with Julie, “So, you’re saying you don’t see me as a man?”

-“Get lost!”

“My wife…”

“Call me by my name!”

“My dear…”

“My name is Julie!!”

“My sweetheart…”

Finally, Julie had had enough. She stopped, turned to look at him, “What are you up to? Weren’t you so

cold and aloof when I was pursuing you? Where’s that aloofness now?”

“I’m not sure, probably fed it to Coco,” he shrugged innocently.

Julie retorted, “Don’t blame Coco, Coco is only interested in your conscience.”

He took the hint, she was mocking him for being conscienceless.

“Joyce…” Before Kieran could finish, Julie suddenly screamed, clutching his shoulder tightly, and threw

herself into his arms.

It was then that Kieran saw a black fat cat dart out from god knows where, run past Julie’s feet, and

quickly disappear into the bush.

The cat had scared the living daylights out of Julie. She clung tightly to Kieran, her body trembling

slightly.

Kieran put one arm around Julie’s waist, and with the other, gently patted her back, reassuring her, “It’s

okay, I’m here.”

His voice was deep and soothing, it hit her eardrums and seeped into her brain, giving her a sense of

security.

She felt so safe that she forgot why they were arguing in the first place.

While Julie was still lost in thoughts, Kieran bent down and scooped her up in his arms.

Julie instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, not because she wanted to, but just to prevent

herself from falling. When she finally came back to her senses, she said to Kieran, “I can walk on my

own.”

“I want to hold you.” His calm words echoed in the quiet night.

Julie didn’t resist any further, they were already near the villa entrance. She was genuinely scared of

small animals popping out of nowhere in the dark. The bright eyes of these small creatures seemed

very terrifying in the dark. As someone who learned to fight by reading comics since childhood, this

was the only thing that the fearless Julie of the past was afraid of.

Kieran carried her into the villa and expertly led her to the bedroom she used to live in as a child.

What surprised Julie was that everything looked the same as before, with the same bed, the same

wardrobe, the same small sofa…

The whole room was pink, which was not in line with Julie’s character, but her bedroom had always

been this way. In Padgett’s heart, Julie and Sansa were his beloved daughters, his little princesses.

Darcey had always been dedicated to raising them as elegant girls. Kieran placed Julie on the soft

round bed. The pink color didn’t quite fit with Julie’s character, but the woman wrapped in the beige

coat, with her hair scattered, blended into this pink bed, looking as peaceful as a Barbie doll.

Kieran squatted in front of Julie, looking up at her sitting on the round bed, “Get some rest.”

Julie thought he would act pitiful, even if he didn’t sleep with her in the bed, he would at least sleep on

the sofa to stir up her sympathy. However, she didn’t expect him to get up and walk out.

Not until the door closed did Julie’s frown relax…

Platonic love? Julie laughed.

The door was suddenly pushed open by Kieran from the outside, and Julie’s smile froze on her lips.

“Helga said they just disinfected the room today, remember to open the window, don’t suffocate

yourself.” Kieran said.

Julie responded grumpily, “Fine.”

Kieran’s hand was on the doorknob, ready to close the door when he suddenly turned back and looked

at Julie sitting dumbly on the bed, “Joyce, let’s take it slow…”

This time, Kieran really closed the door.

Julie suddenly let out a sigh, realizing that she had been holding her breath when Kieran was talking to

her.

The sudden ring of her phone made Julie shudder a bit, and it took her a while to find her phone.

Seeing that it was Daphne calling, she guessed it was because of the message she had sent earlier, so

she promptly answered the call.

“Julie, I got your message. You were right, as soon as Lord Lion and I exited the party venue, we were

surrounded.” Daphne’s innocent voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Why do you have time to call me?” Julie asked.

Daphne replied, “I’m in Lord Lion’s car!”

Hearing Daphne’s lowered voice, the understanding Julie suggested, “Shall we switch to WhatsApp?”

Daphne on the other end of the phone agreed enthusiastically, “I sent you a message on WhatsApp,

but you didn’t reply!”

“I was out just now, we can move the chat to WhatsApp.”

Julie hung up the phone and opened WhatsApp, looking at the messages Daphne had sent. The first

message read, “I’m in Lord Lion’s car, and he is taking me to his house. What if I can’t control myself

and do something inappropriate? Please reply ASAP!”

The second message, “I’m serious, I’m hiding in the bathroom! Reply when you see this!”

The third message, “I’m already in Lord Lion’s car, and there are too many fans outside, I can’t escape,

can you come and save me?”

The fourth message, “If you don’t answer the phone, I’ll have no choice but to give up!”

Julie quickly replied to Daphne, “Do you need me to come and rescue you now?”

Daphne took a while to reply, “It’s okay, he will drop me home in a bit.”

After reading this message, Julie finally relaxed.

However, she didn’t know that the person who replied to her message was actually Lionel..