Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 285

“Want some more?” Daphne offered her ice cream to Julien like it was a prized possession.

Julien, without hesitation, took it from Daphne’s hand and started eating it voraciously.

In all the years she had known Julien, Julie had never seen her indulge in a snack like this. It was truly

a sight to see. But…

Wasn’t her eating manner a bit too aggressive? It was less of eating and more of stuffing her mouth.

Was this binge eating a result of some traumatic experience, perhaps?

Julie gently patted Julien’s back, concern lining her features. Julien, with a mouthful of ice cream,

looked back at Julie with a confused expression, as if asking ‘why are you patting my back?’ through

her gaze.

“You’re going to get a brain freeze if you eat ice cream like that,” Julie remarked, watching Julien’s

eating frenzies.

Julien then handed the now-empty ice cream tub back to Daphne:

Daphne tossed it into a nearby trash bin and chuckled, “I always thought you were too high and mighty

to enjoy such earthly pleasures. Turns out you also love vanilla ice cream, just like me.”

Julien looked perplexed, “What ice cream?”

“…So, you just ate half a tub of ice cream without even khowing what flavor it was? Daphne asked, the

disbelief evident on her face.

“That’s vanilla, vanilla ice cream. The one you just ate,” she said, trying to suppress her laughter.

“Ah,” was the only response Julien gave.

Julie suddenly grabbed Julien’s shoulder, “Who are you, and what have you done to my Julien?”

Julien swatted Julie’s hand away, and turned to Daphne, “Give me the couch.”.

Daphne glanced at the couch beneath her, a grey piece of furniture that had been with her for a while

now.

She patted the couch, speaking to it as if it were a pet, “My dear couch, the queen has taken a liking to

you. It’s an honor really. She wants to take you away, but don’t miss me too much. I’ll come visit you

occasionally.”

“I didn’t mean your couch,” Julien retorted, looking at Julie, “I meant, I’ll be sleeping on the couch

tonight.”

“You’re not going home tonight?” Julie asked, looking surprised, “Won’t Hayden be looking for you?”

“Why would he be looking for me?” Julien countered, trying to play it cool, yet eagerly awaiting Julie’s

answer.

Daphne chimed in, “My God, are you pretending to be cute? Hayden adores you; how could he not

miss you?”

“I think Hayden’s feelings for Julien go beyond mere fondness,” Julie pondered.

After a moment, Daphne nodded, “Yes, I think it’s love. How else could he put up with our queen?”

Upon hearing this, Julien abruptly stood up and headed towards Daphne’s bedroom.

“Julien, where are you going?” Julie called out.

“To make a bed on the floor,” came Julien’s aloof reply from the bedroom.

Daphne covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, leaning in to whisper to Julie, “Don’t you find her

attitude adorable? I’ve thought of a nickname for my baby.”

“What is it?” Julie asked, merely curious, but not holding out much hope for Daphne’s idea.

And rightly so, because Daphne, with a triumphant grin, revealed, “I’ve decided to name my baby

‘Queen’!”

Julie looked at Daphne as if she had lost her mind, “What if it’s a boy?”

“Oh… right,” Daphne quickly apologized to her unborn child, “Sorry, baby. Your dumb mom didn’t think

that far.”

Julie patted Daphne’s shoulder sympathetically, “Don’t worry, Daphne. Your child has a smart father.”

“I’ve got it!” Daphne suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Julie’s hand, “If it’s a boy, we’ll call him ‘Prince’!

Aren’t I a genius?”

Watching Daphne, Julie mentally said a prayer for Mr. Lionel.

Meanwhile, an ecstatic Daphne ran off to the bedroom to share the news with Julien

True to her word, Julien had made a makeshift bed on the floor using blankets from the wardrobe.

“My dear queen,” Daphne began, brimming with excitement, “I’ve thought of two nicknames for my

baby. If it’s a boy, we’ll call him ‘Prince’, and if it’s a girl, ‘Queen’. What do you think? Genius, right?”

Instead of commenting on the names, Julien asked her, “When are you and Lionel Kemp getting

married?”

That question… was unexpected!

Julie, who had just entered the room, heard Julien’s question and was instantly taken aback.

“I think Julien’s question is quite constructive, Julie agreed, turning to Daphne, “What do you and Mr.

Lionel plan to do?”

“My mom doesn’t want me to marry into a wealthy, complex family like Lionel’s. She says it’s like a

deep, dangerous ocean, and with my intelligence, I might not survive. Not only would risk losing my

child, but I might also lose my own life. You know those people in TV dramas who step on others’

bodies to climb to the top? My mom says there are a lot of those in wealthy families.”

Julien agreed, “Your mom is right.”

Julie was surprised that Julien would support Edda Flores’s viewpoint.

She asked Daphne, “What do you think? Just because the ocean is deep and dangerous, you would

not even try to swim? What about the lifeguard who is waiting for you in the ocean?”

Julie knew how to hit the nail on the head with her metaphor. The world of the wealthy was an ocean,

and she stood at its edge, wrestling with the decision to dive in. Her parents, standing by her side, were

pulling her away from the water’s edge, while Lord Lion, the lifeguard of this metaphorical ocean, was

eagerly waiting for her to take the plunge.

Now, the most important question was, what should she do?

For Daphne, the answer was anything but simple. She turned to her friend, Julien, with a look of

desperation, “What do you think, Queen?”

Daphne’s question caught Julie off guard. For someone with little experience in matters of the heart,

this was a tough question. Not expecting Daphne to seek her advice, Julien was equally taken aback.

Daphne smiled awkwardly at Julien, Actually…”

Before she could complete her sentence, Julien interjected, “Firstly, you need to ask yourself whether

you really want to take the plunge. Secondly, the decision to dive in depends on whether the lifeguard

can be trusted and if he can assure your safety, and not how deep the ocean is.”

Julie applauded Julien’s insight. The phrase ‘love is blind’ suddenly made sense to her. Perhaps being

an outsider gave Julien a clearer perspective.

Julien was right. The first thing Daphne needed to do was to understand her own feelings. The most

important factor was Lionel’s actions and choices, whether he was reliable, and not his societal

standing.

Overwhelmed, Daphne slumped onto the ground, grabbed Julien’s hand, and looked at her gratefully.

“You truly are wise, Queen.”

Julie frowned at Daphne, “You seem to have forgotten that you’re pregnant…”

Daphne quickly reassured herself by rubbing her belly, displaying a beaming smile.

Julien, with an air of aloofness, withdrew her hand and pointed at the bed. “Sit there.”

Daphne obediently climbed onto the bed and sat on its edge.

“Do you want me to dig up some dirt on Lionel’s series of ex-girlfriends?” Julien asked.

Julie couldn’t help but laugh. “This is the first time I’ve heard someone describe ex-girlfriends as

series.”

“Let’s not go down that road,” Daphne said, chuckling. “We might end up unearthing another series.”

་།

“Have some faith,” Julie said, patting Daphne’s shoulder. Then, a thought crossed her mind, and she

turned to Julien. “By the way, isn’t your sister close friends with Ms. Albertine? Lionel was mentored by

Ms. Albertine herself, so she should know him well. Instead of investigating his past relationships, why

not ask someone reliable?”

Julien agreed with Julie’s suggestion and nodded. “I’ll ask her.”

“Actually…” Daphne paused, “I’ve been thinking about this. If Lionel can win over my parents, I

probably won’t have any issues. I mean, I can’t deny Lionel’s personal

charm.”

“Has Lionel ever confessed his feelings to you?” Julie asked, her curiosity piqued.

Daphne looked at Julie, puzzled. “Confessed? Like ‘I love you’?”

The next moment, Julien’s head bumped against the bedside table.

Alarmed, Daphne and Julie peered over the edge of the bed, asking in unison, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Sleep now!” Julien said, switching off the light. The authoritative tone left no room for

argument.

“Julien, you’re acting a bit strange tonight,” Julie whispered, lying on the edge of the bed.

“When am I not strange?” Julien shot back.

As Daphne was about to say something to Julie, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. The

phone kept ringing, not the typical behavior of a spam call.

She picked up the phone.

A cool, deep voice came over the line, “Put Julien on the phone.