Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 269

At Harmony Hillside Homes.

When Kieran and Julie arrived, Julien was arranging flowers in the living room.

It was surprising to see Julien, who usually excelled at martial arts, showing a knack for flower

arranging. As they entered, they saw Hayden sitting on the couch across from Julien.

“The origin of flower arranging art lies in people’s love for flowers, expressing a kind of artistic

conception through still life to experience the reality and brilliance of life. Now look at what you’ve

arranged,” Hayden pointed at the pot of flowers arranged by Julien, his tone icy.

Upon entering, Julie saw a chaotic, cluttered mess. It was less flower arranging and more like shoving

stems haphazardly into a pot. It was not a pleasant sight.

The arranger Julien, however, looked impatient at Hayden, “You asked me to arrange flowers, so I did.

If you’re not satisfied now, I can remove them.”

With that, she reached out to pull out the flowers.

But Hayden stopped her, grabbing her wrist, “So you think you’re so great now, huh?”

“I am your pawn. You can throw me away, let alone scold me.” She pulled her wrist from his grasp, then

noticed Julie and Kieran.

She turned to grab some documents to hand to Julie, “This is all the information on Zenith. In short,

Zenith is clean, hardworking, ambitious, a graduate of a prestigious university, with no bad records, no

stains on his life, and no suspicious activities.”

:

Julie opened the file and began to review it with Kieran.

Zenith was born and raised in Sycamore Village. He attended elementary and middle school there,

then went to the renowned Whispering Pines High School for high school. Later, with a full scholarship,

he was admitted to the Johns Hopkins Medical University. He met Fred during a lecture at the medical

school, followed him to Veridia to develop his career, and became Fred’s proud disciple.

It was said that Fred and Zenith had a dispute over a paper on awakening vegetative patients. Rumors

circulated that Professor Fred plagiarized Zenith’s theory, but Zenith, unable to fight back, was

blacklisted by Fred. However, Zenith had personally accepted a written interview with a newspaper,

clarifying that he had unilaterally decided to give up being a doctor.

Later, with Fred’s financial support, Zenith established Zenith Group, which specialized in crisis

management for companies. Then, as everyone knows, the team under Zenith Group became the gold

medal team, and Zenith, who had never been seen, became the chairman.behind Zenith Group.

His background was impeccably clean, indeed, they could not find any flaws.

But Julien said, “The more flawless the lie, the harder it is to expose, but it also raises more suspicion.”

Hayden stood up and said to Kieran, “Zenith’s parents died when he went to university, leaving only a

blind grandmother at home.”

“If you think Zenith is suspicious, I’ll go to Sycamore Village tomorrow,” Julien said.

But Kieran spoke, “I’ll go there myself.”

Sycamore Village is a tourist attraction. Known for its flower culture, every year tens of thousands of

people visit Sycamore Village to admire the flowers.

The White Magnolias of spring, Tulips of summer, Hibiscus of fall, and Cherry Blossom Grass of winter.

Each season has its unique beauty. Julie had heard of it, but never visited. From Whispering Pines to

Sycamore Village, it’s only about a two-hour drive on the highway.

Considering all that had happened, she hadn’t had a chance to take Ivan out for a while. Missing out on

the spring and autumn outings, taking him to Sycamore Village to enjoy some family time seemed like

a good idea.

When lyan found out his parents were taking him to Sycamore Village for a vacation, his aloof persona

instantly crumbled. Excitedly, he grabbed Julie and asked, “Mom, this is the first time I’m going on

vacation with you, are you excited?”

Holding Ivan’s chubby little hand, Julie smiled and nodded, “Of course.”

“Kerry is finally being considerate. He knows to take time to accompany his son.” Ivan said, posing as a

mature little man.

Kieran came over and put his arm around Julie’s shoulder, smiling at his son, “I’m accompanying your

mother, not responsible for accompanying you.”

“I’m only accompanying Mom, not Dad, hmph!”

In terms of learning ability, Julie was amazed at her son.

Amanda was still worried about Julie and Kieran going out at this time, probably because of the

recording pen she had received earlier.

She repeatedly told Kieran, “Come back as soon as you can, so the child won’t feel uncomfortable in

the unfamiliar environment

“Grandma, our son needs to be raised tough.” Kieran said with a smile.

Julie and Kieran were in sync, not mentioning Zenith in front of Amanda. He ruffled Ivan’s hair, “Go

pack your things, we’ll leave soon.”

Upon hearing this, Ivan happily ran into his bedroom.

Amanda sat on the couch, and Julie turned to Kieran, “I’ll prepare some snacks in case Ivan gets

hungry on the road.”

The little Ivan came home from school and they told him the good news, so they had plenty of time to

leave for Sycamore Village today.

Kieran pulled Julie back, “Shannon has already prepared everything.”

“Come sit with me, Joyce, Amanda gestured, patting the spot next to her on the couch, turning to Julie.

Julie looked somewhat taken aback as she noted the ring on Amanda’s hand, a flawless green

emerald, perfectly complementing the elderly woman’s slender fingers. Amanda had a fair complexion,

transparent nails meticulously trimmed, yet very simple.

Even a simple gesture like tapping the couch was done with elegance.

Julie moved to sit next to the elderly woman.

“Grandma, she called out sweetly.

Kieran also moved to sit next to Julie, close enough as if he was afraid Amanda would trouble his wife

again.

“Are you guarding her because I’m asking how does Joyce’s training going?” Amanda shot her

grandson a reproving look.

Kieran answered for Julie, “Didn’t you ask about Bolt, grandma?”

“Did I ask you to speak?” Amanda gave Kieran a disdainful look before turning back to Julie, “Learning

is useless if you can’t put it into practice. Wherever you go, you must protect yourself before you can

protect those you love, understand?”

Julie nodded obediently, “Okay.”

“By the way, Grandma,” Kieran suddenly interrupted their conversation, asking Amanda, “You were

there when my elder brother was born, right?”

“Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?” The topic made Amanda’s expression grave. Her only

son was killed by his own wife. After that, with Amanda’s husband gone, only the two grandsons

remained. It was utterly unexpected that the eldest grandson would die in an air crash.

Now knowing Lucian was alive but refusing to acknowledge her, mentioning Lucian made Amanda’s

face harden.

Kieran asked Amanda, “Do you remember any distinct birthmarks on my elder brother?”

“He has three moles on his lower back. I used to hear that having moles on the lower back meant

sweetness, indicating a happy and fulfilling life. If it was a girl, it meant attracting the love of a husband,

if it was a boy, it meant attracting the care of a wife. But your brother… he never got a taste of

happiness due to your mother.”

“Are those three moles close together?” Kieran didn’t want to discuss this somewhat sad topic, so he

interrupted Amanda.

Amanda had Basil fetch Lucian’s baby photos, then handed one to Kieran, pointing at the bare bottom

in the picture, “Right there.”

Julie leaned in curiously, wanting to see the legendary three moles, but Kieran covered her eyes with

his hand, pressing her head against his chest.

“What are you doing?” Julie found it difficult to breathe with her head buried in his chest.

“You can’t take advantage of my brother,” he replied in a righteous tone.

Amanda, serious in most occasions, laughed, “What’s wrong with Joyce seeing it?”

“I thought grandma was on my side! So you’re supporting my wife now?” Kieran said in a tone

suggesting he felt hard done by.

“You disobedient children, none of you are in my good books,” Amanda retorted.

Kieran looked at the picture, pointing at the pink birthmark on the lower back, “Was this always there?”

Amanda looked and laughed, “I’m getting old. My memory isn’t what it used to be. I remember the three

moles but forgot about this birthmark. Look at the shape of this birthmark, doesn’t it look like a cloud?”

While Kieran was distracted, Julie wriggled out from his chest, looked at the picture and innocently

said, “I think it looks like cotton candy.”

“All you know is eating.” Kieran affectionately flicked her forehead.

Ivan, with his black backpack, descended the stairs, excitedly addressing Julie and Kieran, “I’m ready,

let’s go! Bye, great grandma!”

His enthusiasm was apparent. He hadn’t even stepped out of the room yet, but was already saying

goodbye. Kieran picked him up and Julie stood, bowing to Amanda, “Grandma, we’re leaving now.”

Kieran carried Ivan, with Julie by his side, and they all headed towards the door.

Ivan, casually hooked around his father’s neck, seriously said to Kieran, “You adults always think we’ll

never grow up, so you treat me like a toddler. But I’m old enough to walk on my own now…”

”

“Is the next line going to be that in a few years, you’ll be ready to marry the girl you like?” Kieran stared

at his son.

Ivan thought about it seriously before seriously replying, “The legal age is too high, But that’s okay, I

can pursue the girl I like. After all, that’s how you pursued my mom, right?”

“Your mom pursued me,” Kieran said coyly. Julie, ever the gracious one, decided not to argue with him,

after all, he was telling the truth!

The little guy looked shocked, covering his mouth, “Then why does Dad have photos of Mom when she

was little? It’s clear you had a crush on her!”

Julie was surprised.