Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 188

The figure by the window drew a cigarette and then found a lighter. In the dim room, the flame flickered

to life, igniting the cigarette. The fire died, leaving only a twinkling ember behind.

“Do you know why you’re still alive?” The voice was as cold as ice.

Davina Field laid on the bed, unable to move. She felt like a zombie that had just crawled out of a

grave; even breathing was a chore, let alone answering questions. She wished this would all end

quickly, but it seemed like an extravagant hope.

The figure was a bit far away, and his voice was unclear, but she thought she heard him say, “You don’t

have the right to die.”

Tranquil Care Hospital.

When Kieran Hernandez returned to the ward, he found Julie Abraham and Daphne Flores chatting

away happily.

As he entered, he overheard Daphne discussing a shocking topic with Julie.

Daphne clearly didn’t expect Kieran to return at this time. She didn’t even have time to retract her

words, “So, Julie, do you think Mr. Hernandez has been a two-timer in spirit and body over these

years? Or just physically and not emotionally? Or has he been repressing his desires?”

Julie had already coughed a few times and tried to signal with her eyes for Daphne to stop talking. But

Daphne was too engrossed in the topic to notice Julie’s hints.

So, Julie failed to stop Daphne from asking this profound question.

Seeing that Julie was not responding, Daphne continued analyzing seriously, “I personally think that

Kieran only did it physically. It’s unlikely that he cheated emotionally too!”

“Ms. Daphne, maybe you could ask me directly?” Kieran’s voice suddenly came from behind Daphne,

startling her.

She spun around and was shocked to see Kieran right behind her, making her feel extremely

embarrassed. She shot Julie a blaming look. The look seemed to say, ‘why didn’t you warn me?’

Julie shrugged innocently, indicating she had tried her best. She had almost gone cross-eyed trying to

signal Daphne.

Daphne obviously wouldn’t really ask Kieran this question face-to-face; her immediate reaction was to

grab her stuff and leave. She put her phone into her pocket and waved goodbye to Kieran and Julie,

“See ya! I’ll pick you up tomorrow; bye!” Daphne blew a kiss to Julie, gave Kieran an awkward smile,

and then made a quick exit.

Kieran walked towards Julie’s bed and leaned on the headboard with one hand while looking down at

her somewhat pale face, “What do you want for dinner?”

“Whatever you want to eat!” She replied.

“What I want to eat isn’t being served recently; we can have it in a few days.” Kieran said, with a deep

meaning, then asked Julie again, “What do you want?”

Julie thought about it seriously for a moment, then replied, “Just anything will do! As long as I’m full.”

In the end, it was Kieran who made the decision. He called Shannon and asked her to bring some

soup.

“Where’s Ivan?” Julie asked.

“He’ll pick you up tomorrow. He’s staying with Dylan Pierson tonight.”

In reality, Ivan was very independent. But Julie still looked out the window worriedly; it seemed like it

was going to pour. She remembered that the kid was afraid of thunderstorms, so she nudged Kieran’s

chest, “You should go home to be with Ivan; I’m fine here alone.”

Julie actually felt there was no need for her to stay in the hospital, but she followed the doctor’s orders.

However, the man sitting by her bed didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving.

“The last time there was a thunderstorm was the night I injured my foot. It was raining cats and dogs,

and you left Ivan home alone. I got a call from him; he said he was really scared. When I got there, he

was crouched in a corner, hugging his knees.” Julie suddenly realized something mid-sentence and

looked at Kieran, That night wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

What were the odds?

On the night she injured her foot, after getting a cast, she insisted on not letting him send her home.

She waited for a cab for ages, but none came. As soon as Kieran left the hospital, there was a taxi.

When she got back to the apartment and found she couldn’t unlock the door, Ivan called to say he was

scared of the storm. When she limped over to Ivan’s villa, Ivan called Kieran in front of her. Then he

deliberately caused a misunderstanding. She was going to explain, but then Kieran suddenly

announced that he was going on a business trip and asked her to look after Ivan for two months.

Were all these coincidences part of his plan?

Julie looked at Kieran with suspicion, and Kieran in front of her didn’t deny anything. He simply

accepted it.

“So from the start, I was living according to your plan, huh?” Julie’s eyes flickered, looking somewhat

dangerous.

Kieran seriously considered this question, “Not entirely.”

Julie suddenly felt there were many issues between her and the man in front of her that needed to be

resolved.

“The day I was helping Daphne photograph Elliot Sanches, when I came out, there was a taxi right

there, and you were in it. Was that a coincidence?”

“I and the taxi driver waited for you at the door for a good half hour. Do you think that was a

coincidence?” Kieran lifted his hand from Julie’s side and sat next to her on the bed with his long legs

crossed, admitting everything frankly.

“Then there was the time Edda Flores set me up on a blind date. The time I met Jeremy Ford.”

“How do you still remember his name?” The man turned his head as his impenetrable gaze fixed on

her.

This wasn’t the point; it seemed like another one of his traps.

“And the time I accidentally bumped your car with Adeline Sanches’s car?” Julie asked again.

“Babe, you really need to brush up on your driving skills.” He gently patted her head and said with a

serious tone.

It seemed that the car accident wasn’t intentionally planned. Julie thought that she might be

overthinking things. Kieran wouldn’t do something that dangerous.

“You definitely did that on purpose at the school celebration!” Julie was talking about the dinner party

where they played rock-paper-scissors and she lost badly.

She asked, “Was it because of you that I can get into Porter’s company?”

“You can’t blame everything on me. Wasn’t it Daphne who pulled the strings for you?”

Julie thought for a moment; it seemed like that was indeed the case.

“Kieran, I’m telling you seriously, don’t set up traps like this again!” Julie said sternly, pointing her

slender index finger at his nose.

He caught her white finger and hid it under the covers, “Are you done with your questions? Can I ask

you one now?”

“What’s the question?”

Under the covers, Kieran let go of Julie’s finger and intertwined his fingers with hers. This time Julie

didn’t avoid him but glanced at Kieran and then silently withdrew her gaze, waiting for him to start

asking.

His other hand suddenly reached over, gently pinched her chin, and made her face him, “Let’s discuss

that question you and Daphne were just talking about.”

Was he referring to the question about emotional and physical cheating?

Julie took the opportunity to withdraw her hand, which was just tightly clasped with his, crossed her

arms over her chest, and didn’t plan to give him another chance to hold her hand.

Just as Kieran was a bit stunned, Julie proudly responded, “Is there a need to discuss this question?”

“Why isn’t there a need for discussion?” Kieran pulled her into his arms, making her rest on his lap.

He lowered his head, quietly staring at her clear and proud eyes, “Tell me, what do you think?”

Leaning against him gave her a sense of security.

After a day of exhaustion, it was nice to have a shoulder to lean on. Julie didn’t sit up but looked up at

him and said, “That time at Majestic Peaks International Hotel, when I sold the condom…”

She paused for a moment, organized her words, and then continued, “That woman in the black lace

nightgown, the one who made me demonstrate how to put on a condom, isn’t she the answer to the

question?”

He gently smiled at her, “I admit. That was a trap.”

Julie wanted to skip this question, so she asked, “Is it my turn to ask you now?”

“Do you have anything else you want to ask?” His slender fingers stroked her smooth hair as he asked

her.

This was a question that had bothered Julie for a long time, “Are you really a lightweight?”

In the past, Julie had never seen Kieran drink. When Lucian Hernandez was in charge, Kieran didn’t

need to socialize. After Kieran took over, he managed to abstain from drinking. Therefore, Julie didn’t

know about Kieran’s tolerance, but he recently got drunk twice, and Julie happened to be there both

times.

The first time was when she hit his car, and he shamelessly climbed into her bed. Although he didn’t do

anything excessive, his behavior was definitely unreasonable.

The other time was in front of Dr. Brice; he was in so much pain that he called her ‘wife’ in front of Dr.

Brice.

Kieran seriously responded, “Not so good.”

“Kieran.” She grabbed his hand, then turned over and sat up, straightened her body, and sat face to

face with him, looking seriously at him, “No matter what happens in the future, don’t hide things from

me. I don’t want to be the person who’s kept in the dark.”

After a moment of silence, he seriously replied to her, “Okay”

“So, what else have you been hiding from me?”

He was silent for two seconds, then said, “I was pretending to be drunk those two times.”

What an annoying man!

“Anything else?” She asked.