Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 302

When Ivan awoke, he found himself in a somewhat unfamiliar environment. He rolled over and saw Julie,, sleeping peacefully beside him. Rubbing his eyes with a hint of excitement, he turned his head to see his dad lying on his other side, made a face, and then turned back to Julie, grinning to reveal two adorable little canines.

Waking up next to mom should be a privilege of babyhood, and sadly, Ivan couldn’t quite remember having that when he was a baby.

From the moment he opened his eyes, his little brain was working overtime.

Julie, stirred awake by the rustling beside her, opened her eyes to see the little boy grinning at her. Her heart melted instantly.

“Mom, I love you,” Ivan seized the opportunity to confess his sweet affection.

Julie, beaming with joy, cupped his cheek and kissed his forehead. “Morning, my Ivan.” As soon as she finished speaking, a slightly discordant voice chimed in, “I love you too.”

Kieran, propping himself up on one arm, leaned in close to Julie, his face begging for a kiss.

Julie poked his forehead with a finger, “Good morning, my Childie.”

“Where’s my kiss?” Kieran shot a look at his wife, clearly feeling the sting of unequal treatment.

Ivan turned and planted a kiss on Kieran’s cheek, “Good morning, my Kerry.”

Kieran threw back the covers, scooped up Ivan, clad in his bear pajamas, and headed toward the next room. “Do you know how you ended up here last night?”

“I was abducted by aliens?” Ivan, perched on Kerry’s shoulder, feigned shock.

“Hmm, more like a mental abduction,” Kieran teased, poking at his son’s head as he carried him.

Ivan, in a half-daze, suddenly remembered and exclaimed, “Oh! Right, it rained last night! My room was leaking, and my pillow got all wet! You don’t believe me? Go look! You only care about work and not your only son!!”

Kieran was speechless.

Julie, wrapped in her robe, followed the father and son duo out, surprised. “It really leaked? What kind of shoddy construction is this?”

They walked towards the room as Ivan pointed to his pillow, “See, I told you it leaked!”

Upon inspection, Julie noticed the pillow did have a damp spot, but upon closer examination…

“Ivan, are you trying to fool me with your drool?” Kieran set the boy down and nudged him, “Go wash up and brush your teeth, Noah will take you to school soon.”

Drool? Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“I don’t drool in my dreams!” Ivan huffed and strutted off to the bathroom.

Julie, half-amused, half-exasperated, tapped Kieran’s chest, “You’re so blunt, aren’t you afraid of hurting my beloved son’s feelings?”

“And what about me, don’t you love me?”

Julie tiptoed and cupped his face, “Of course I do!”

“No, I’m a big strong man,” he declared, scooping her into his arms and heading back to the bedroom.

After freshening up, Julie and Kieran set off for the Zenith Hotel.

But they were late. The guest who had checked in the previous morning had already checked out. The reservation had been made under Jesse’s name.

Julie pulled out her phone and dialed the number they had contacted the day before, only to find it had been disconnected.

Kieran had no choice but to reach out to Zenith Group.

No matter how he tried, even through the company, Kieran couldn’t find any trace of Zenith.

Zenith and Lucian seemed to have appeared out of thin air and vanished just as quickly…

Walking hand in hand, Julie fretted, “Had I known, I would have come last night…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if it was last night or today; you can find someone who goes missing, but not someone who’s hiding on purpose,” Kieran reasoned, slipping both their hands into the pocket of his overcoat.

Julie had to agree; Kieran made a good point. Lucian was clearly the one hiding.

What she couldn’t understand was, “Why promise to meet us and then disappear? Why not just refuse from the start? What’s on that USB drive, and who was in room 2404? And who keeps trying to run me over with their car? Is the person threatening me for the ring the same one trying to kill me? Why does our life have to be so complicated?”

“Our life isn’t complicated; the people creating these mysteries are,” Kieran replied.

“Why does everything you say make so much sense?”

“You might be blindly admiring me, but…” he glanced sidelong at her and smirked, “I like it.”

Julie laughed, “I’m heading to the restaurant this afternoon. How about we have dinner together at home tonight?”

“I’ll pick you up after work,” Kieran promised, dropping Julie off at the restaurant before he went off to take care of business.

In the days that followed, they didn’t hear from Zenith or Lucian.

Kyle kept his word, visiting Sansa in the hospital each evening after work, reminiscing about the old times they shared. Julie saw in Kyle a glimpse of the man who had almost married Sansa, as he sat by her bedside, storytelling into the night.

Kyle’s intentions were unknown to her, but from Julie’s perspective, it seemed clear that he had a soft spot for Sansa.

Julie would also constantly swing by and chat with Sansa whenever she could spare a moment. Today, as fate would have it, she arrived just as Kyle was at the hospital. Perched on a bench near the ward’s entrance, Julie was thumbing through messages on WhatsApp with Kieran when Kyle burst through the door. Spotting her, his lips curved into a teasing smile. “Hi there.”

After all that had transpired, Julie wasn’t quite sure how to face Kyle, whether to greet him as friend or foe. So she offered a curt nod, her words tinged with formality, “You’ve been working hard.”

Following in Kyle’s wake was Lisa, she was in heels, which made her also as tall as Kyle. Even when she had held an umbrella over his head once, it had seemed perfectly natural. Julie watched Lisa and Kyle disappear into the elevator before a sudden, critical thought struck her. That day when Kyle had come to visit Sansa, Zenith had also arrived at the hospital and ended up in Kyle’s car. What was the connection between Kyle and Zenith?

With the urgency of this realization fueling her, Julie dashed toward the elevator.

Just as the doors were sliding shut, Julie lunged, wedging her hand to halt their closure. The doors reopened, and Kyle, taken aback, found Julie cradling her pinched hand. She looked up at him, determination etched across her features. “I need to ask you a few questions. Can you spare me a few minutes?”

Kyle hadn’t expected such a rash move from Julie, but her boldness reminded him of her childhood spunk. He glanced at Lisa, signaling her to step out. Lisa cast a wary eye at the impetuous Julie, but upon catching another affirming look from Kyle, she finally exited, leaving the elevator to the two of them.

Despite knowing it wasn’t the safest option to be in a confined space with Kyle, Julie’s instincts whispered that he wouldn’t hurt her.

As the doors sealed shut, Kyle finally broke the silence, his tone a blend of amusement and reprimand. “What’s so urgent that it couldn’t wait? You haven’t changed a bit since you were a kid.”

He adjusted his glasses, the thin gold frames lending him an air of sophistication.

A hint of embarrassment colored Julie’s cheeks as she asked tentatively, “Zenith, the elusive owner of Zenith Group. You know him, right?”

Kyle didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he countered, “Why asking about him all of a sudden?”

“Or… maybe you don’t have to tell me if you know him. I just need to know where he is. There’s a reason I need to find out,” Julie quickly improvised, thinking that Kyle might find the question difficult.

Kyle’s answer was noncommittal. “I don’t know where he is right now. We’re not close.” But Julie recalled the ease with which Zenith had joined Kyle in his car, suggesting a familiarity at odds with Kyle’s claim.

Realizing that pressing the issue might not only be fruitless but also potentially dangerous, Julie chose not to inquire further. Instead, she mustered a smile and said, “Oh, I see. Thanks anyway.”

“You’ve stopped regarding me as your friend because of Emily?” Kyle asked with a light, teasing tone.

Their past troubles, including any harm that might have come to Emily, had seemingly dissipated without consequence, even the professor had opted not to delve into it. And yet, Kyle was now casually bringing up the topic over a matter of address.

Julie didn’t linger on the subject. She simply uttered, “Kyle, I should get going,” her voice stripped of emotion.

As the elevator doors opened, she turned and stepped out.

She had just left the elevator when her phone buzzed with an incoming call. It was Julien on the line. Pressing the phone to her ear, Julie heard his voice, crisp and to the point, “I found what you were looking for. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up.”