Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 153

Shannon left immediately.

Julie walked up to Kieran and asked, “If we’re living together legally, do I also have to share the bed

with you?”

“If that’s what you want, I can oblige,” Kieran replied.

Julie called out to Shannon in the kitchen, “Shannon, could you move the beddings to the guest room

later?”

Kieran, with a grin, ruffled Julie’s hair and yelled towards the kitchen, “Shannon, move the beddings to

the study.”

Julie watched Kieran walk away, his back looking more mature than she remembered.

After Julie had her bath, Shannon moved all of Julie’s luggage to the master bedroom. Then she

grabbed some bedding and headed to the study.

Before leaving, Shannon looked back at Julie and said, “You and Mr. Hernandez being together is a

blessing. As the saying goes, small quarrels between couples don’t affect their love. That’s wisdom our

ancestors left us. Believe in it.”

Julie knew Shannon meant well, so she just smiled and nodded.

Without saying more, Shannon took the bedding and left for the study.

She placed the bedding on the long leather sofa and looked at Kieran with concern, “Mr. Hernandez,

should I make the bed in the guest bedroom for you? You must feel terrible not being able to sleep

comfortably.”

Kieran smiled back, “Has Julie gone to bed?”

“Not yet, she just finished showering.”

Kieran sat on the sofa, looking tired, “Shannon, sometimes I wonder if I’m too hard on Julie.”

Shannon looked at Kieran, “Mrs. Abraham will understand your predicament. Your love for her will

eventually reach her.”

“Go rest, goodnight,” Kieran said with a smile.

In the end, Julie didn’t sleep in Kieran’s master bedroom but stayed in her old room. Before going to

bed, she took the remote that could turn the two rooms into one from Kieran’s room.

In the middle of the night, Julie got up to get some water and noticed the study’s light was still on.

For some reason, she gently pushed open the door to the study and found Kieran lying tiredly on the

sofa. The blankets had all fallen onto the floor, making him look somewhat similar to Ivan when he slept

in the hospital.

Julie approached cautiously, picked up the blanket and covered him.

She sat cross-legged by the sofa and suddenly felt a surge of energy.

Men looked so peaceful when they’re asleep. His eyelashes looked particularly long under the warm

yellow light, and the shadows accentuated his facial features.

Julie carefully studied his eyelashes, recalling his words.

After all the twists and turns, Julie never thought she’d have a peaceful encounter with him again.

She gently touched his eyelashes and sighed…

How did she end up here?

Julie withdrew her hand, dimmed the room’s light, and carefully left.

The moment Julie closed the door, Kieran slowly opened his eyes.

He had a sleepless night.

The next morning, Ivan got up early. The first thing he did was check the master bedroom only to find it

empty.

He saw Shannon and excitedly asked, “Shannon, where’s mom? Did dad upset her again?”

Shannon gently patted Ivan’s head, “Mrs. Abraham is in the guest bedroom, Mr. Hernandez is in the

study…”

Before Shannon could finish, Ivan was already running towards the guest bedroom.

Shannon chuckled helplessly. Ivan and Julie’s relationship was truly intricate.

“Mom, can you take me to school today?” Ivan gently knocked on the door.

Julie, who had just finished her morning routine, opened the door, bent over to pick Ivan up, and

agreed with a smile, “Of course.”

She was overjoyed at the chance to live with Ivan and naturally accepted his request.

van happily kissed Julie on the cheek and yelled towards the study, “Dad, are you ready? Mom’s

coming with you to drop me off at

/school!”

Julie was a little speechless

Wasn’t she supposed to take Ivan to school alone? Why include Kieran?

Just as Julie was at a loss for words, Kieran suddenly opened the study door, all dressed up, walked

towards Ivan, and picked him up.

“I’m big enough, I don’t need to be carried,” Ivan said to Kieran with a serious look, “I asked Noah to

bring breakfast to the car. I’m running late, let’s go!”

Kieran put Ivan down, Ivan took Julie’s hand with his left and Kieran’s with his right, and started

heading downstairs.

Ivan’s soft hand in Julie’s made her reluctant to let go.

In the end, Ivan led Julie to the parking lot.

Julie had been getting along well with Ivan, but after finding out his real identity, she became more

reserved and didn’t know how to interact with him.

But it was the clever kid who helped her open the car door, “Mom, you sit in the front. I’m used to sitting

in the back alone.”

Kieran had already walked to the driver’s seat, opened the door, sat down, and told Ivan, “Get in.”

Compared to Kieran’s domineering and passionate ways, Julie preferred a relationship where they

were independent, rational, and restrained.

Julie got into the car. Only after Kieran drove out of the courtyard did Ivan in the backseat pass two

sandwiches to Julie, “Mom, dad has a stomach condition. Can you tell him to have a sandwich?”

Ivan had been holding out a sandwich to Julie, with the stubborn insistence of a man on a mission. It

was as if he was saying, “You take this, or my arm stays up forever.” In the end, Julie, with a sigh of

resignation, took the sandwich and handed it over to Kieran, who was sitting next to her.

“Can you drive with one hand?” she asked.

“I can, but it’s not exactly safe. If you don’t want to feed me, just put it aside,” Kieran replied.

So, Julie put the sandwich aside.

From the backseat, a disgruntled Ivan suddenly turned to Julie and Kieran, his voice a mixture of hurt

and worry. “You guys… are you going to get divorced in the future?”

The little boy, with his soft voice and cautious question, made Julie’s heart skip a beat.

Ivan was smart. Sometimes, he seemed more mature than his age. So, there were times when Julie

almost forgot that beneath all that’ maturity, Ivan was just a little boy who was about to turn six.

Julie wanted to reassure Ivan that she and Kieran wouldn’t divorce, but she knew she couldn’t fool

herself.

So, she turned to Kieran.

Kieran answered without hesitation. “Divorce isn’t the end of the world. The important thing is, will Julie

and I ever leave you?”

Ivan nodded, not completely understanding, then looked up at Julie with hopeful eyes. “Mom, will you

leave me?”

That question was much easier to answer. Without a second thought, Julie assured him, “Of course

not.”

No matter what happens between her and Kieran, Julie was certain about one thing: she would never

leave her precious son, Ivan.

The reassured Ivan was all smiles.

Upon reaching the school gate, Ivan took Kieran’s hand in his left and Julie’s in his right, strutting

towards the entrance. After basking in the envious looks from his classmates, Ivan finally turned to

Julie and Kieran, “Alright, mom and dad, you can go enjoy your alone time

now.”

Ivan waved at them as he headed towards the school gate.

“Sillyvan! MoMo’s high-pitched voice echoed in the empty school entrance.

Startled, Ivan quickly covered MoMo’s mouth. “Stop it! Didn’t we agree not to call me Sillyvan in front of

Julie?”

“Oh,” MoMo quickly nodded seriously, then leaned in to whisper, “Ivan, you’re quite the hot topic now!”

Ivan brushed it off. “More than your dad?”

MoMo’s father was, after all, the famous director Babur.

MoMo shook her head, “I mean, you’re popular in school. No one will say you’re the kid without a

mother anymore.”

“I was never a kid without a mother,” Ivan replied, slightly annoyed.

“Ivan, I have something cool to show you,” MoMo said, grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing the mysterious smile on MoMo’s face, Ivan knew something was up.

“I’m not interested,” he replied coldly, the aloofness clearly learned from Kieran.

But MoMo wasn’t deterred by Ivan’s coldness, and pulled out a shiny, big diamond ring from her

pocket. “Ivan, look! This is the ring Ms. Albertine gave to Babur last night. Pretty, isn’t it?”

“Why did you bring the ring here?”

“You don’t need to know,” MoMo said, admiring the ring in her hand.

Suddenly, Ivan realized something, “MoMo, does having a ring mean they won’t get divorced?”

Because in Ivan’s memory, MoMo’s parents were deeply in love…