Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 172

It was a pity that Adeline ordered so much food, and Julie didn’t even get time to eat before she was

sent back.

She glanced at her watch, still half an hour to go to work, so Julie went to the cafeteria.

Her tummy was screaming for food and she totally forgot about her lunch date with Kieran, leaving him

hanging.

As Julie walked into the cafeteria, she saw Davina chowing down with some colleagues. She flashed

Davina a smile but noticed she was acting a bit squirrelly.

Following Davina’s gaze, she saw Kieran in the employee dining room, staring at her with a poker face.

It never crossed her mind that Kieran would be waiting for her here. Julie could feel a shiver running

down her forehead as she approached him. Only then did she remember her phone had died, and she

completely forgot to text Kieran back.

She didn’t grab any food, just plonked down opposite Kieran and started, “Look, I can explain…”

“Curry potatoes, bacon rolls, what else tickles your ” Kieran cut Julie off, pointing at her favorite dishes,

“Eat up before the food

gets cold.”

Julie clamped her mouth shut, the words she was about to say stuck in her throat.

Shaking her head, she said, “No need, this is more than enough.”

Realizing she screwed up, Julie started to dig into the bacon rolls.

Kieran sat back in his chair, looking all chill but with a vibe of nobility, making Julie feel like she was

being looked down upon. The bacon roll felt stuck in her throat.

“What did you say to Adeline?” he asked, his voice low and husky.

Adeline had dragged her out of the office earlier, with lots of colleagues around. But no one should

know about Adeline, so Julie was surprised and asked, “How did you know I went out with Adeline?”

“I also know Elliot dropped you off at the office,” he said.

Julie looked puzzled, not speaking but just staring at him, trying to figure out what he was playing at.

But she couldn’t read him.

Kieran was always good at playing his cards close to his chest, otherwise, he wouldn’t have tricked her

into thinking their child died during surgery years ago.

A good marriage requires balance, but in their marriage, Kieran always held the upper hand.

He picked up a bacon roll with his fork and offered it to Julie.

But Julie didn’t take it, just gave him the cold shoulder, waiting for him to explain himself.

Finally, Kieran said, “Your bag might have a mini camera.”

His gaze landed on Julie’s black handbag.

Julie’s eyes darted, doubting his words. But his serious look convinced her. She clutched her bag and

checked it, only to find no camera. She looked up at Kieran, frowning, “Are you pulling my leg?”

She actually fell for it.

Kieran put down the bacon roll and said, “Check the strap of your bag.”

と

Julie was torn, not sure whether to believe him.

But Kieran grabbed her bag and found a hidden camera on the strap.

The camera was the same color as the strap, and Julie never paid attention to it. She certainly never

imagined Kieran would bug her bag, so she naturally overlooked it.

It was only when Kieran took out the hidden camera that she frowned, “Are you spying on me?”

Kieran didn’t reply.

Julie grabbed her bag back and demanded, “Since when?”

She had carried that bag for a while, not knowing it was bugged. This meant that as long as she had

the bag with her, Kieran knew her

every move.

Furious, Julie stood up, clutching her bag and walked away.

Kieran watched Julie’s receding figure, furrowing his brows, then stood up and followed her.

In the stairwell, Kieran grabbed Julie’s hand but she shook him off.

“You’re not just stalking me, you’re also bugging my stuff. How are you any different from a peeping

Tom?” she said, her face flushed with anger.

She looked at him, choking on her words, and let it all out, “You never ask me what I want! You always

tell me after you’ve done it. You always say it’s for my good, even when you lie to me! Even when you

wanted a divorce, you never said it, instead you forced me to say it. I was the one who loved you,

chased you, proposed to you, and I was the one who said let’s divorce! Besides the ‘I love you’, was

everything else part of your plan?”

She said it all in one breath.

Tears welled up in Julie’s eyes, but she didn’t let them fall.

With tears in her eyes, she looked at him and said, “For all these years, do you know how many times I

wished I had never met you? Do you know how much I wished all this was a dream and when I woke

up, there would be no Kieran in my life? Do you know how much I hated you…”

“I know,” he said.

“You don’t get it!” Julie yelled at him, “You never will! You only know that all your decisions are right,

that your choices are protecting the ones you love. But you don’t know that you’ve deprived me of

being a mother, deprived Ivan of having a mother. You’ve made me lose the man I was willing to

cherish with my life!”

She eventually lost control over her tears, but stubbornly wiped them away, sobbingly asking him, “Did

you ever think that if you trusted me from the start, if you were honest with me from the start, I wouldn’t

have missed out on Ivan’s growth, we… wouldn’t have missed out on so many years… What do you

want me to do now? What can I do?”

“Stay with me. Bertha stayed with me all these years…” Kieran’s deep eyes glimmered with a cold light,

but they were also filled with profound emotions. Yet his words were cold as ice.

He asked her, “How should I keep you with me? As a tombstone or a handful of ashes?”

Over the years, he and Hayden had been tracking down Lucian. Because Lucian was operating in the

shadows and they were in the spotlight, they had to be extra careful.

Before Bertha gave birth, she confessed to Kieran about Lucian. At that time, Kieran didn’t know much,

only that Lucian mistakenly thought that Julie forced him into marriage and framed Kieran, leading to

Kieran having to marry Julie. Therefore, Lucian was determined to get rid of Julie for Kieran.

Because Kieran didn’t know where Lucian was, he couldn’t tell Lucian in person that he truly loved

Julie. So, he had to divorce Julie first, letting Lucian see his deep hatred for Julie, and he wanted to

punish Julie himself.

That’s why over the years, despite Julie’s hard life, Kieran never directly helped Julie, but instead

helped Julie under the guise of Daphne. He indirectly had Daphne occasionally win the lottery, get

promotions, and increase salaries. Because he knew about Daphne’s friendship with Julie and knew

that Daphne would definitely help Julie.

And he continued to look for Lucian.

Not long ago, Kieran finally found Lucian’s exact location. He and Hayden hadn’t had time to act when

Bertha suddenly fell from a building and died…

Sometimes, accidents happen faster than plans. Kieran couldn’t let Julie become another accident in

his plans. Because he knew better than anyone that Julie, with her unchanging love for him, could even

give up her life for him. When he couldn’t protect her, he’d rather painfully push her away.

Even if she hated him, he wanted her to be alive to hate him.

Julie was silent for a long time before she looked up at Kieran, “You knew a long time ago that I’m a

fool, that I would die for you. But what about you? Would you do that? Tell me, if you were in my shoes,

what should I do now? Pretend that nothing happened, continue to be Mrs. Hernandez, and keep

dreaming that we’ll be together forever?”

Julie’s eyes filled with tears, yet she laughed mockingly.

She pushed Kieran away with all her might, turned around, and slowly climbed the stairs. She knew

she needed to calm down. She’d finally said what’s been on her mind for a long time, and she felt a bit

relieved, even though she still didn’t know how she’ll face the future. But the heavy stone in her heart

seemed to have moved a bit.

This time, Kieran didn’t immediately follow her.

He took out his phone, dialed a number, and pressed the call button.

Hayden’s calm voice came from the other end, “Kerry?”

“I’ve taken off the mini camera you had your woman install on my wife’s bag. Have her explain it to my

wife herself! If she can’t explain it, have her ready to be sent to the most desolate place to build some

snowmen!”

Hearing Kerry’s tone, Hayden knew he was pissed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have thought about sending

Julien to the most desolate place in the world, where even the airport often can’t be used.

Hayden on the other end of the phone couldn’t help but frown. |

Julie knew she looked a mess, so she planned to freshen up in the bathroom before going to the office.

But just as she walked into the bathroom, a handkerchief suddenly wrapped around from behind her,

covering her mouth and nose.