Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 201

Julie distinctly remembered falling asleep with Ivan in-between her and Kieran, but when she woke up

in the morning, she found herself in Kieran’s arms instead.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Kieran’s chin. She was nestled in the crook of

his arm, and looking up she could see the faint stubble on his face with a hint of sex appeal.

She carefully reached over for her phone to check the time. It was still early for work. She tried to get

out of bed quietly, but Kieran’s long arm pulled her back.

“If I get up now, I’ll have time for breakfast before heading to the office. Why didn’t you go for your

morning run?” she asked.

“I already did. I just wanted to sleep in a bit longer with you.”

“Well, I need to get up now. How about you join me?” she suggested, play fully rubbing his nose.

In the early moming, his voice slightly hoarse and nasal, he asked, “Have you heard the story of

Sleeping Beauty?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“What about Snow White?”

“Neither!” She let go of Kieran’s nose, gave his face a gentle pat, and said, “Come on, get up, Mr.

Hernandez.”

Kieran took her hand, his eyes still heavy with sleep, and said, “Do you know what Sleeping Beauty

and Snow White have in common?”

“They’re both women, and you’re a man. I’m not going to kiss you awake, but you’ll wake up anyway!”

she laughed, prying his fingers off her one by one.

Unexpectedly, he flipped her onto her back and planted a kiss on her before letting go, “Are you going

to the office today?”

“Today marks the start of a new month. I lost my perfect attendance bonus last month because of you. I

can’t make the same mistake this month.” With that, she got up from the bed and headed to the

bathroom to freshen up.

Kieran picked out a black and white formal suit for Julie, “How about you wear this today?”

“I think I’ll stick with this,” Julie pulled out a clean outfit from the corner, a dress she used to wear often.

It was from a budget brand, not too fancy but not too shabby either.

Kieran simply nodded and said, “I’ll ask Daniel to send over some budget brands later.”

“No need. As long as I have enough clothes to wear. I’ll dress up all pretty on my off days for you.” She

put on the casual dress suitable for everyday wear.

Kieran stood there, arms crossed, watching the woman change and asked, “Need a hand?”

Julie nodded, “Yes, could you please leave and close the door. Thank you.”

“I refuse, because I have an eye for beauty. I want to appreciate beautiful things, so I can’t help you.”

Kieran replied straightforwardly.

Julie was unfazed. She took off her pajamas, threw it over Kieran’s face, and said, “As long as I cover

your ‘beauty-spotting’ eyes, you won’t be able to see anything.” “Even if my eyes weren’t covered, I still

wouldn’t be able to see anything.” Kieran removed the pajamas from his head and purposely stared at

Julie’s chest.

Julie had already changed. She glared at him, “Are you going to say my chest is like two beans on an

airplane runway again?”

“Beans…” Kieran replied thoughtfully, “Beans are delicious.”

“Get out!”

Kieran chased after her laughing, “Darling, wait for me! Let’s go to the office together!”

Julie rode with Kieran to the office.

It was peak hour, so the staff elevator was packed. Julie was led by Kieran straight to the private

elevator. She frowned and said, “I’ve decided not to commute with you anymore. I want to keep a low

profile.”

“Alright. I won’t join you for lunch in the cafeteria then.”

Upon hearing this, Julie happily nodded and patted his shoulder as if praising a child, “You’re such a

good boy!”

“Then join me for lunch in my office!”

As they were approaching the legal department in the elevator, Julie looked up at Kieran, her

expression suddenly serious, “Still no news from Davina Field?”

“None.” He patted her back, “Hayden is investigating.”

Julie had no doubts about Hayden’s abilities. She held Kieran’s hand and said, “Rankin… Davina said,

Rankin is dead.”

Kieran was silent.

Julie continued, “I’m thinking, maybe the reason why Davina hates me so much is more because of

him… When she kidnapped me, from her tone, she seemed to think that Rankin’s death was my fault.”

She mumbled to herself, “I always thought he just went abroad to study. We used to email occasionally.

Then he stopped replying and I didn’t think much of it. I thought he was just busy with school… If I had

dug deeper then, maybe Davina…

“This isn’t your fault. You don’t need to take any responsibility or blame yourself for the mistakes Field

or Davina made. I’ll investigate Rankin’s death.” He comforted her, patting her head.

The elevator arrived at the legal department. He said, “Go on. We’ll have lunch together.”

“I have a date with Daphne at noon. She stated confidently.

Kieran sighed and laughed, “Can you guys take me along?”

“No.”

Julie walked into the Legal Department. The normally bustling office suddenly fell silent. Julie silently

returned to her seat. Before she entered the Legal

Department, she clearly heard everyone discussing Davina’s whereabouts.

As the only person who knew the truth, she didn’t say much. Now that they knew Julie’s current status,

no one dared to confront her directly, so the office was unusually quiet.

Davina’s place was taken by another senior staff member. Julie managed to call Dr. Brice before work

started.

“Sansa’s condition is stable now, but she’s still out of conscious. I heard Mr. Hernandez brought in Dr.

Ladd to check on Sansa, which kinda took me by surprise. Don’t worry though, if Dr. Ladd is willing to

help, that would be the best shot for Sansa.” Harding Ladd is a general practitioner. Even though he’s

young, he’s incredibly skilled. His medical team is top-notch too. If even he can’t save Sansa, then no

one else stands a chance.

Julie thanked Dr. Brice and hung up the phone.

Newly appointed Hagan, before starting the workday, encouraged everyone in the office, “Don’t be so

uptight. It’s not even work hours yet! You guys can prepare your stuff. At half past nine, we’ll have a

meeting. Also, I know having Mrs. Hernandez here might put some pressure on you guys, but besides

being Mrs. Hernandez, Attorney Abraham is also our coworker. Right, Attorney Abraham?”

Julie nodded with a smile, “Exactly, Hagan. Here, I’m just a regular assistant. I’ll do my best. And thank

you all for your help and understanding.”

Hearing Julie’s humble words, everyone wasn’t as tense as before, but they still kept a respectful

distance. No one dared to brown-nose her.

The office tension eased up a bit.

Some employees started to chat before work.

“Did you guys catch the news about Mr. Watson yesterday?”

“I did! You’re talking about the fan photo of Mr. Watson and Mr. Ladd having BBQ, right?”

“I want to be the meat in Mr. Watson’s mouth…”

“Honey, give it up! The whole world knows Mr. Watson and Mr. Ladd are the perfect match!”

“I have big breasts, but can’t even compete with a man!”

The office broke into laughter. Even Julie couldn’t help but chuckle.

“And speaking of Mr. Lionel’s so-called ‘female friend’, turns out she has a boyfriend. I thought she was

sneaking around with Mr. Lionel!”

“Don’t kid yourself. Mr. Lionel was Ms. Albertine’s…”

“Ex-boyfriend.” Another person interjected, “I don’t think she’s good enough for Mr. Lionel. Didn’t she

get bashed online by Mr. Lionel’s fans? Everyone didn’t believe they were just friends, but today we

suddenly learned she has a boyfriend. Finally, Mr. Lionel’s fans can rest easy. Yesterday they took

photos of her and her boyfriend at a restaurant. They looked super close!”

“As a fan of Mr. Lionel, I was one of those bashing her, haha…”

At this point, someone glanced at Julie. Everyone suddenly realized the magazine editor who held the

press conference with Julie was Lionel’s ‘female friend’.

So, everyone instantly shut up and started focusing on their own work.

Julie called Daphne, wanting to share the good news about Sansa.

After several rings, Daphne finally picked up.

“Daphne, my sister woke up!” After a brief pause, she continued, “Though she’s not fully conscious yet,

she can open her eyes now. I believe she’ll get better.”

“Really?” Daphne’s excited voice came through the phone, “That’s a miracle!”

Julie was equally excited, “Despite her cardiac arrest yesterday, her vital signs are stable now. Are you

free for lunch? I’d like to treat you.”

“I think we might have to postpone it until tomorrow…” Daphne sounded a bit down, “I’ll treat you to

lunch tomorrow and then we can visit her together, okay?”

“Okay.” Julie thought for a moment, then said, “By the way, you yesterday on Twitter…”

“I gotta hang up now. I’m having a showdown with a monster!” After that, Daphne hung up..

Julie naively thought Daphne was playing a game, but the reality was…