Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 169

Julie hadn’t had a nightmare in ages.

Maybe it was because she was back in a familiar environment, which triggered some scenes from her

subconscious mind.

She dreamt of teenaged Sansa in a white ballet dress, dancing elegantly in the living room, as Darcey,

with a gentle smile on her face, guided Sansa’s dance moves with satisfaction.

Julie sat by practicing her handwriting with a pen, making a mess of it, and even splashing ink on

herself. Darcey frowned and scolded her while Sansa continued to spin gracefully.

Padgett came back from work and said to Darcey, “Honey, you must be tired from all that scolding.

Have some water, I’ll take over.”

Then he turned to Sansa and said, “Sansa, get your mom a glass of water.”

Sansa, who finally got a break from her dance practice, winked happily at Julie and ran to the kitchen to

get some water.

Darcey sat on the sofa drinking water in a huff, while Padgett put his hands on his hips and looked at

Julie sternly, “Little Julie, why do you always make your mother worry?”

Padgett winked at Julie and said, “You’re being naughty, now go clean up the weeds in the garden!”

Little did he know that Julie would rather pull weeds than practice writing. So, she happily picked up a

comic book, tucked it into her pocket, and ran cheerfully towards the garden.

However, when she pushed the backyard gate open, the scene changed dramatically.

Instead of a beautiful garden, there was a winding tarred road.

Julie turned around instantly. The sunlit living room turned pitch black, with no end in sight. Sansa’s

gentle and serene smile gradually disappeared.

Suddenly, heavy rain started to pour, and raindrops splashed on her face, her body….

A thunderclap roared in the sky, causing Julie to jolt in fear.

Then, there was a loud bang behind her.

Frightened, Julie spun around. She saw two cars colliding at the turn of the road. The screeching

sound of brakes pierced through Julie’s eardrums. She clearly saw the bloody faces of Sansa and

Darcey….

“Ah!” A scream suddenly echoed in the villa.

Julie sat up in bed, drenched in sweat.

Kieran, who was sleeping lightly next door, heard Julie’s scream and immediately got up and opened

her bedroom door.

In the faint moonlight, he saw Julie curled up in a corner of the bed, hugging her legs, and trembling

slightly.

“Julie.” He called her name softly and slowly approached her.

Despite his gentle approach, Julie was startled and moved away quickly, murmuring, “Don’t come

over…”

Her voice was trembling with strong resistance, obviously terrified of Kieran coming closer.

Still, Kieran held her hand and pulled her into his arms, “Joyce, it’s me, Kieran…”

His familiar voice finally reached Julie’s ears.

Under the moonlight, she lifted her pale face. The sweat on her forehead was especially clear in the

moonlight.

He wiped the sweat from her forehead and comforted her softly, “Don’t be scared, I’m here.”

Julie’s trembling body gradually calmed down.

“Did you have a nightmare?” He covered her tiny body with a blanket, gently cradled her in his arms,

and adjusted the blanket for her.

Julie finally found her voice and nodded gently.

“Go back to sleep…” Kieran lay down holding Julie, placing her head on his chest. His arm was on

Julie’s back, gently soothing her.

Julie, lying in Kieran’s arms, felt like a child being carefully held in the palm of his hand. His steady

heartbeat rhythmically echoed in his chest. With her ear pressed against his chest, she heard it very

clearly.

As a child, Julie always fantasized about a prince riding a white horse and giving her a passionate love

story. But now she realized that the person who was there for her when she needed comfort, however

plain it may be, could make her heart flutter.

Her mind was a mess, but for some reason, listening to his steady breathing and smelling the familiar

scent deeply ingrained in her memory, she fell into a deep and sweet sleep.

The nightmare didn’t bother her again that night. It was only when she woke up the next morning that

she realized she had overslept and

was half an hour late for work.

And it wasn’t just her who was late, it was Kieran too!

Her head was resting on his arm and she was curled up peacefully in his arms. Kieran had his eyes

closed, seemingly asleep. Looking at the time on her phone, Julie felt like giving up on going to work.

But eventually, she managed to wriggle free from Kieran’s hand around her waist.

But before she could get up, the hand returned to her waist.

“Mr. Hernandez, we’re late!” Julie said helplessly.

But the man beside her, as if he hadn’t heard her, kept his hand on her waist and continued sleeping.

Julie didn’t believe that a man who could be woken up by the sound of footsteps could not hear her

loud voice.

She grabbed Kieran’s ear and shouted louder in his ear, “Mr. Hernandez, we’re late!”

Before Julie could pull her hand away, the man next to her suddenly rolled over, pinning her

underneath him.

Frightened, she opened her eyes wide to look at the man on top of her. Before she could say anything,

he suddenly leaned down and kissed her lips.

His tongue gently probed past her teeth, his breath mixed with hers, his rough thumb caressed her skin

around the waist. Julie was wearing a thin T-shirt last night, which had slid up to her waist during their

tussle.

Kieran’s large hand held her waist, as if lighting a fire on her skin.

Her breath became erratic, and a moan escaped from her lips…

Until his passionate kiss began to trail down…

“Kieran!!” Julie suddenly yelled out.

Kieran reluctantly halted his movements, his gaze blurred as it fell on her smooth neck. His morning

desire was pressing against her leg. Julie was having some trouble breathing, a hint of what seemed

like shyness immediately blushed her face…

“Platonic love?” Kieran didn’t seem willing to let go of last night’s topic. He had just woken up, his voice,

sexy and slightly hoarse

Julie remained silent for about two or three seconds before finally blushing and speaking, “This has

nothing to do with platonic love…”

Julie’s sweet voice swept over Kieran’s heart like a feather.

He continued to press against the woman in his arms, his deep voice slightly raised, “Then what does it

have to do with?”

“Tampax,” Julie quietly replied.

Kieran frowned, looking at Julie displeased, “What’s Tampax?”

“Poise,” Julie mumbled, looking down.

Kieran furrowed his brows, grabbed Julie’s delicate chin, raising her exquisite face, asked angrily,

“What are you saying?”

Kieran thought for a moment and then asked Julie, “Is that another name for Daphne? What does your

refusal to see me have to do with Daphne?”

Daphne, who was far away in Lionel’s bed, sneezed loudly.

Julie couldn’t hold back anymore, shouted into Kieran’s face, “It’s a sanitary pad!”

Kieran was speechless.

Ten minutes later.

Julie came out of the bathroom after changing her sanitary pad. Kieran had already changed his

clothes. His handsome appearance looked especially dashing, but the surrounding gloomy atmosphere

couldn’t be broken no matter what.

Julie had a feeling that she should definitely avoid Kieran at this time. She felt like this man could tear

her apart at any moment…

Julie’s periods were irregular, which Kieran knew better than anyone. Back when they were still

married, Kieran had even thought about calculating a formula for her irregular periods…

He picked up a tie and put it around his neck, walking towards Julie.

Julie decisively stepped back two steps, eventually backing up against the wall.

“Help me tie my tie,” he said.

“Don’t you have hands?” she replied.

“I slept with you last night, consider this as a thank you gift!” he said calmly, then suddenly leaned

down, one hand propped on the wall next to her ear, his mouth turned up in a wicked smile, “Or… you

can sleep with me once?”

“You climbed onto my bed yourself, I haven’t even blamed you yet!” Julie was more than willing to play

the rogue.

Kieran changed from propping up with one hand to both hands, “My arm was numb from you using it as

a pillow all night, I can’t even

tie a tie now…”

He really knew how to make an excuse…

Considering that she really did sleep in his arms all night, Julie wasn’t that heartless. Even though she

knew he was joking, she still reached out to grab his tie.

As she expertly tied his tie, she said to him, “Last night… did I scream really loud?”

Kieran didn’t answer Julie’s question, instead he said to her, “Let me sleep with you in the future, I’ll just

sleep on the bed, I won’t touch you.”

Julie suddenly remembered last night, “Sleeping with a normal person, what a sacrifice for you!”

“I’m not that arrogant, I don’t feel wronged.”

Julie was speechless. He was so good with words, complimenting himself while admitting she was

ordinary. No one from the Hernandez family is easy to bully.

He lowered his head, lovingly looking at the woman in his arms, “Holding me, you won’t have

nightmares, isn’t that great?”

Julie glanced at him, tugged his tie hard, “You think you’re some kind of bedroom guardian?”

“Bedroom guardian?” Kieran held onto Julie’s hands that were pulling his tie, his deep pupils revealing

a wicked light.