Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 258

The next morning.

Kieran suggested taking Julie out to a restaurant. But Amanda, lounging on the sofa, said, “Why bother

going to a restaurant? It’s not like it’ll fall apart without the boss.”

‘There’s a new dish at the restaurant, and I thought Julie might like to try it,” Kieran sat next to Amanda,

holding her arm.

Amanda was clearly not pleased. “Just for tasting a new dish? Couldn’t Karl do that?”

“Seems like I’ve turned into a weirdo, wanting you guys around is too much to ask,” Amanda said with

a sigh. Kieran had no comeback to that.

“You haven’t been out since you got back. Whispering Pines has changed a lot. How about trying the

new dish at the restaurant with Julie and then letting her show you around?”

“I’m not going. I’m not as strong as I used to be, can’t wear myself out. If you’re worried about me

bullying Julie, then take her with you!” Amanda turned her back on Kieran, giving Julie a threatening

look.

If Julie didn’t say anything now, it would be disrespectful to Amanda.

So Julie stepped forward, smiling at Amanda. “You misunderstood Kieran. He wants me to stay home

with you.”

Pulling Kieran out the door, Julie looked back at Amanda. “I’m going to see Kieran off.”

Once they reached the door, Julie said seriously, “It seems Amanda really doesn’t want me to leave. I

guess I’ll stay home. If anything comes up, let me know on WhatsApp. I think Amanda will confiscate

my phone, but I’ll find a way to contact you on the computer.”

Kieran had no choice but to leave. He needed to figure out Amanda’s true intentions.

Just as Julie was about to watch Kieran leave, a motorcycle suddenly parked between them, startling

Julie.

Payne, the rider, took off his helmet, revealing his face.

“Kieran, Julie.” Payne held his helmet, winking at Julie.

Kieran kicked at the motorcycle tire. “Watch where you park next time!”

“Why are you kicking my motorcycle?” Payne quickly got off and patted his tire, looking hurt.

“Your bike?” Kieran looked at the motorcycle, coughed, and murmured, “Isn’t this the one you won

during that drinking bet?”

Julie suddenly laughed, touching the handlebars of the motorcycle. “Poor motorcycle, having Payne as

its owner. It’s really hard on the motorcycle.”

Payne adjusted his motorcycle ‘That’s too much, Julie. Did you really have to insult my motorcycle?”

Kieran asked, “Were you out for a morning ride?”

Payne told Kieran, “I just wanted to tell you that there’s nothing special about that ring. I’ve tried

everything I could think of, but there’s nothing special about it, apart from it being really expensive. Do

you know why someone would risk their life for it?”

“Yeah, why would they?” Julie chimed in.

Payne also asked, “Didn’t we catch the ring thief last time? Did we find out anything from questioning

him?”

“Dylan didn’t get any useful information, and I got interrupted when Amanda suddenly came back. I’ll

make time to go today. You can go and say hi to Amanda.” Kieran said.

Although Payne wasn’t Kieran’s cousin, they were very close. So, he also knew Amanda well.

Hearing that Amanda was home, Payne turned and went inside.

Kieran told Julie, “Sansa has been transferred to Tranquil Care Hospital, and Fred is also there. This

afternoon, I’ll pick you up to see Sansa. A meeting with Adeline and Dr. Brice is scheduled for the day

after tomorrow. I’ll also arrange things with Amanda. I had Julien call Bolt, he’ll go easy. Thanks for

your hard work.”

Julie smiled, tiptoed, and kissed his cheek. “Be safe on the road.”

In the afternoon, Kieran came home from work and said he was taking Julie to see Sansa. Amanda

didn’t like Sarsa because she had once framed Kieran. But in the end, she didn’t say anything and

silently let Kieran take Julie away.

On the way to the hospital, Julie received a call from Kyle.

Julie hesitated, looked at Kieran, and then answered the call.

Kyle’s voice came from the other end, “Joyce.”

“Kyle, what’s up?” Since their last meeting at the hospital, Julie had been thinking about reaching out to

Kyle. She felt that Sansa’s sudden reaction was related to him.

But the issue with the ring made Julie wary. As Dylan had said, be careful not to feed the sheep to the

tiger. So, it was better not to approach him rashly before knowing Kyle’s true intentions.

“I heard from Lisa that Sansa has been transferred.”

So Kyle called to inquire about Sansa?

Julie replied, “Tranquil Care Hospital has better facilities, so we moved her there. Thanks for your

concern, Kyle. Sansa

never wake up, I’ll do my best. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, I won’t give up.”

my sister. Even if she might

I also hope she’ll wake up soon.” Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, no one could tell if Kyle was sincere.

Julie clutched her phone tightly. Kieran took her icy cold hand in his. Julie glanced back at Kieran

before she spoke into the phone again, “I’m saying this on behalf of Sansa. Thank you, Kyle.”

After hanging up, Julie turned to Kieran, grabbing his hand, and asked, “What’s the deal with Kyle? He

broke up with Sansa before. I don’t know much about Kyle, but I know that Sansa was so tore up over

him that she couldn’t eat or drink. She finally got her act together because she wanted to be someone

worthy of Kyle.”

“The last time we called, it seemed like Kyle didn’t know that Sansa is in a vegetative state. As the

CEO of JS, if he really wanted to know about Sansa, he could have easily found out. Why didn’t he?

He broke up with her so ruthlessly before, and now he’s back buying a crazy expensive ring for Sansa

and acting all concerned. He has a girlfriend named Jessica, but he’s engaged to Sansa: They were

supposed to get hitched, but he dumped Sansa and set up a law firm in the name of Jessica who’s

already passed away. What the hell is he playing at?”

Kieran didn’t answer Julie’s question, not wanting to make blind guesses without a clear answer.

Julie was just voicing her doubts and didn’t really expect an answer from Kieran.

When their car pulled up in front of the Tranquil Care Hospital, they went to Sansa’s room where

Professor Fred and Dr. Brice were present.

Harding was very concerned about Sansa’s condition and had been following the case closely. Seeing

Julie and Kieran’s arrival, Harding quietly left the room, leading them to the Director’s office.

He locked the door behind him, and gestured for them to sit on the couch.

“Fred has been keeping an eye on Sansa’s condition these past few days, and Dr. Brice has been

observing Fred’s treatment and medication. He hasn’t done anything substantial to treat Sansa, but he

hasn’t done anything to harm her either.”

“He doesn’t want to save her, nor does he want to harm her, what’s that supposed to mean?” Julie’s

facial expression turned serious.,

Harding said, “I think, Fred seems more like a watchdog. He’s constantly watching Sansa, making sure

she doesn’t wake up.”

“Right now, our enemies are hidden, and we’re exposed,” Julie said, looking at Kieran. “Should we play

the long game and draw them out into the open?”

Harding, hands in his pockets, gave Julie an appreciative look. “Many say you went from being a total

loser to a lucky duck. Now, I think you totally deserve that luck.”

Julie smiled, turning to Kieran, “Is he complimenting me?”

“He’s saying you’re brave, strategic, and willing to fight against evil forces,” Kieran said, patting Julie’s

head fondly.

When they returned to the Hernandez family after visiting Sansa, it was already past ten at night:

They had expected Amanda to be asleep at this hour, but surprisingly, Basil was still sitting with her on

the living room couch, seemingly waiting for their

return.

Upon seeing Kieran and Julie return home safe and sound, Amanda finally seemed to breathe a sigh of

relief. She didn’t say anything, simply turned to go back to her room.

“Wait a moment,” Kieran suddenly called out to Amanda from the doorway.

Julie, who was taking off her shoes, looked up at Kieran.

Kieran walked over to Amanda, holding her by the arm, “I have some questions for you.”

“Ask tomorrow,” Amanda wasn’t in the mood to chat with Kieran.

But this time, Kieran didn’t back down, gripping her arm tighter, “Did you decide to come back on a

whim?”

Amanda, clearly annoyed, shook off Kieran’s hand and hit her cane hard on the floor, “I’m an old

woman. Do I need to tell you in advance when I’m coming back?”

Seeing Amanda’s angry expression, Julie quickly pulled Kieran away.

Yet, Kieran wasn’t deterred, he asked Amanda, “What’s the real reason you came back, and why are

you keeping Joyce from going out?”