Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 189

Julie realized she shouldn’t pry into what Kieran was hiding from her because the answer might give

her insomnia tonight. So she decided to ask the question she’d always wanted to know.

“So, if Ivan survived, how’s Bertha Stewart’s kid?”

She’d always wanted to know the answer to this but never had the nerve to ask. After all, Bertha’s child

was Lucian’s only kid, and Kieran had once said that he’d treat the child as his own. So, if the kid

hadn’t survived, it would have been a deep blow to Kieran too.

Kieran had been waiting for Julie to ask this question because that kid was like a thorn in her heart.

Only if she asked him directly would he tell her the answer without hesitation.

He pulled out his phone, opened his photo album, and found a picture to show Julie.

In the picture, there was a little boy wearing a black hoodie. He was as tall as Ivan, sitting on a floor full

of puzzles, staring blankly at Animal Planet on TV. His long eyelashes shadowed a pair of deep black

eyes that seemed melancholic beyond his years.

“Phoebe Hernandez.” He said.

“Phoebe.” Julie repeated softly, her fingers gently tracing the child’s picture, seemingly lost in thought.

He knew she was pondering why Bertha named the child Phoebe.

Then it dawned on Julie. “Where is the kid now?”

Bertha had committed suicide by jumping off a building. The cause of her death was still under

investigation. Lucian was a dangerous man and was incapable of taking care of a child. If the kid

wasn’t with Kieran, where could he be?

“Switzerland.” Kieran said, “Bertha wanted Phoebe to be with Camilla Stewart. Phoebe was sent to

Switzerland right after she was born.”

Camilla was Bertha’s sister, or, in other words, Phoebe’s aunt. It made sense for Bertha to decide to let

Camilla take care of Phoebe.

Whenever Julie thought of Phoebe, she thought of Lucian.

“You still haven’t found Lucian?” She asked with worry.

While looking at Julie’s frowning face, Kieran gently stroked her cheek but eventually shook his head.

All he could say to her was, “I’ll let you know the moment there’s any news about Lucian.”

“Promise you’re not lying to me?”

“I promise.”

Julie stuck out her pinky finger. Even though it was a childish gesture, Kieran still hooked his pinky with

hers. “You know, you can’t always trust a man’s

words in bed.”

“I didn’t know that!” She laughed, pulling back her hand with a smile on her face. “All I know is that if a

man lies to a woman in her bed, it might be easier for him to land on the moon than get back in her

bed.”

“You’re underestimating space technology.” He pulled her into his arms as he playfully raised an

eyebrow. “I suddenly remembered a saying.”

“What’s that?” She asked casually as she played with his fingers.

“Experience is the mother of wisdom.” He answered.

Before Julie could figure out what he meant, he said, “Why don’t you test me? After you’ve recovered

from your ordeal, I’ll prove to you whether or not I’ve cheated on you physically. What do you say?”.

The room fell silent.

“It started raining.” She suddenly let go of his hand, pointing to the heavy rain outside. That was a

unique way to change the subject.

His face seemed to ask, ‘It’s raining, so what?’

As Julie was staring at him, she randomly grabbed her phone from the bedside table, found Daphne’s

number, and said, “It’s pouring heavily outside, and Daphne might not have an umbrella. I wonder if

she’s reached home. I should give her a call.”

1

With that, she dialed Daphne’s number with a serious look on her face.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered.

“Daphne, are you home yet?” She asked with concern.

Daphne glanced at Lionel, who was driving, and twitched the corner of her mouth. “I’m home; I’ve been

home; stop worrying about me and rest well. I’ll pick you up from the hospital tomorrow.”

With that, Daphne hung up without waiting for Julie’s response.

It had started raining when she left the hospital.

Daphne had only remembered that she was penniless when she walked out of the hospital door. Julie’s

sudden kidnapping that day had left her in a hurry to reach the old factory at Enchanted Pathway for an

ambush. All she had with her was her phone and nothing else.

As it was raining, she was debating whether to go back and ask Mr. Hernandez for a favor when a

black Passat suddenly stopped in front of her. Daphne hadn’t seen this car before, so she curiously

stared into the dark window, only for it to be rolled down unexpectedly.

She was shocked to see the man in the driver’s seat. Who else could it be but Lionel?

No exaggeration, Daphne almost ran into the rain, pretending not to see the man in the car. Her acting

was worthy of an Oscar.

But obviously, the owner of the car had no intention of letting her escape like that and swerved the car

in front of her.

Daphne’s heart pounded in fright, but she composed herself, pretending as if nothing had happened,

and continued to walk in the rain.

Knowing that Daphne was determined to avoid him, Mr. Lionel was not in a hurry. He just drove his car,

following Daphne at a leisurely pace.

It was weird to see a person and a car slowly moving forward on the road in the dark night.

Daphne had a strong feeling that if she didn’t get in the car, this patient man would follow her all the

way home.

Luckily, Tranquil Care Hospital was not far from her single apartment. So Daphne just kept on

pretending that she had no idea who was in the car tailing her and sprinted all the way back to her

place.

But then disaster struck.

She showed up at her apartment door looking like a drowned rat, and only when she was about to dig

for her keys in her bag did she have the sudden realization, “Oh crap, my bag is still…”

Yes, her bag was still at Lionel’s place.

At this point, Lionel casually rolled down his car window again and looked at the woman standing at the

apartment door with a troubled face, “Did you leave your keys at my place? Daphne, you’re really lucky

that I happened to drive by, or else you might be spending the night on the streets!”

Daphne was amazed at how easily Mr. Lionel could lie. She responded grumpily, “You’ve been

following me all the way, haven’t you?”

After she said this, she regretted it.

“You realized that I was following you, and yet you still didn’t get in the car? Did you really forget your

keys at my place, or were you planning to let me see you homeless and then kindly take you to a

hotel?” His eyes were sparkling and his long lashes were quivering slightly, carrying a hint of danger

that literally made her heart race.

Daphne forced a smile at Lionel, “Even if I were homeless, I definitely wouldn’t bother you to get a

room; you can rest assured about that!”

“So who are you planning to bother then? Mr. Watson?”

Why did his words give her a sense of unease?

“How could that be? Mr. Watson is Dr. Ladd’s guy, how could I possibly have anything to do with him?”

Daphne had just finished saying this when she suddenly realized that what was her relationship with

Lionel? Why did she have to explain this to Lionel?

While Daphne was in a daze, Lionel pushed the passenger side door open from the inside.

“Get in! Your stuff is taking up space at my place.”

Daphne looked at Lionel’s handsome profile and pondered for a moment before realizing that she was

being slighted. So she still didn’t get in the car.

“Are you waiting for me to haul you in?”

Daphne felt wronged. She was hoping for a handsome man to carry her into the car, not to be hauled in

like some cargo. She felt this was unfair.

“Could you please have your assistant send my bag over tomorrow?! I don’t want to disturb you late at

night.” Daphne said weakly, now keeping Lionel at arm’s length. Although she really wanted to get her

stuff back, she rationally decided to keep her distance.

Lionel was a very patient man, so he patiently said, “My assistant is not your assistant. Does he also

have to take responsibility for delivering your luggage? Are you going to pay half his salary?”

Daphne would have to be nuts to confront Mr. Lionel head-on.

She stood under the eaves, looking at him somewhat innocently, and said, “I’m all wet. I’m afraid I’ll

dirty your car.”

Innocent Daphne really didn’t realize the other implications of this sentence, nor did she realize how

likeable her innocent and pathetic look was.

Not until Lionel’s gaze fixed on her chest, and then he kindly reminded her, “Daphne, black underwear

is very sexy.”

“You pervert!” Daphne immediately covered her chest with her hands, “Where the hell are you

looking?”

Lionel glanced at the passenger seat, “Daphne, if you don’t hurry up and get in, I’m going to be all wet

too. Hurry up!”