Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 280

Everything happened so quickly. He had scooped her up into his arms and whisked her away from the serpent’s tail, her feet leaving the ground in an instant. There had been no wind on the small island, but his swift action had caused a slight breeze to brush against Julie’s face, ruffling her hair.

A sharp intake of breath reached her ears.

Snapping out of her surprise, Julie looked down to see the python that had been ready to strike her. Its mouth was open with venomous fangs. Her sudden departure had caused the serpent to miss its target and strike his ankle instead.

He had a gun in his other hand and with one shot, he blew the serpent’s head off. The accuracy of his shot was breathtaking. The snake writhed on the spot for a while before it finally

died.

He then let her down and squatted beside her. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Julie was genuinely scared. In her world, creatures like these were far scarier than any weapon. Even now, seeing the dead body of the snake, she couldn’t help but shudder. The python, over a metre long, had frightened her so much that she was still struggling to catch her breath.

Would he die here because he had saved her, and there was no antidote on this island?

“Are you okay?” Julie asked, her words coming out choppy from her laboured breaths.

Just a moment ago, he had been holding a gun at her, and she had thought of a thousand ways to escape. But she never imagined that he would risk his life to save hers.

“What do we do now?” She asked, her eyes welling up as she watched his ankle swell rapidly. She held the two ends of his wound, thinking of scenes from TV dramas.

She looked up at him, her eyes full of helplessness, her face etched with worry. She asked, “Would sucking it out work? What should I do?”

He was sitting on the leaf-littered ground, quietly watching her. Sunlight filtered down through the leaves and fell on her hair. She was kneeling beside his ankle, her hair swept to one side.

He had never thought that he would one day get injured while saving a woman. However, the decision to save her had been made without a moment’s hesitation. He knew that the snake

wasn’t venomous.

She had dropped her backpack as though ready to make a difficult decision.

Julie never thought she would be held hostage at gunpoint, nor did she think that her negligence could cost someone their life. Even if there was only a one-in-a-million chance, she didn’t want anyone to sacrifice their life because of her mistake.

She was going to try.

She took out a bottle of mineral water from her backpack, poured it over his ankle, took a deep breath, and prepared herself for what was about to come. She closed her eyes and leaned in to do what needed to be done.

But then, her forehead hit his broad palm.

“Pythons are non-venomous,” he explained calmly, lifting her head with his hand to prevent any contact between her mouth and his ankle.

Julie was speechless.

She was pissed and wanted to kill him!

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” She exclaimed, pointing at his nose.

“Even non-venomous snakes can cause swelling due to bacteria and toxicity in their teeth and saliva,” he explained calmly. “use the first aid kit to disinfect the wound.”

Regardless of everything, he had saved her life.

Julie took out the disinfectant and carefully cleaned his wound..

“What’s your name?” He asked out of the blue,

Concentrating on her task, Julie almost blurted out her real name. But remembering his unknown identity, she decided against it.

“I am Patriot. My mom and dad both love the country, so they named me Patriot. My last name is Newell, but you can just call me Patriot.”

He looked at her with an expression that said ‘I’d be a fool to believe you.’

“Although I think the name is not pretty, it was given by my parents who gave birth to me and raised me. Everyone calls.me MoMo.”

It seemed like he didn’t care whether she was lying or not.

After doing the basic disinfection and care for his wound, Julie started to explore the island. She gave him a bottle of water to drink.

Although she wanted to ask who he was, she wisely kept her mouth shut. The less she knew, the safer it was.

She sat next to him, Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she asked casually, “Did you save me because you knew the snake wasn’t venomous?”

He didn’t answer her, so she took off her black coat and draped it over him to cover his bare body, which was making her uncomfortable.

He looked at her with a look of distaste, but Julie didn’t care. She looked at his blue-green eyes and said, “You won’t shoot me for giving you a coat, will you?”

In the end, he didn’t say anything, and of course, he didn’t answer Julie’s first question either.

“Kleist will come back to save you, right?” She asked, looking hopeful.

“I don’t know,” he replied unexpectedly.

She said, “This seems to be an uninhabited island. Although the snake we encountered was not venomous, there might be other creatures. How many bullets do you have left?”

“I’ll save one for you, he replied.

Julie turned her back to him, no longer wanting to talk to him.

The silence between them dragged on, stretching out for a good ten minutes.

Suddenly, a roar from some unidentified creature echoed through the dense forest. Julie instantly spun around, compelled to check if the man behind her was still there.

But he was leaning against a towering pine tree, eyes gently shut. He seemed to be dozing off, or maybe he was already asleep.

Julie waved her hand in front of the man’s face, but he didn’t seem to stir.

She turned her gaze to the gun gripped in the man’s strong and lean fingers, a wave of nervousness causing her to swallow hard. Then, ever so gently and slowly, she began to move her hand towards his.

Holding her breath, Julie attempted to make her movements as light as possible. It was a struggle to even touch the jet-black and gleaming gun. The man’s grip was so tight.

Carefully, Julie extended her thumb and index finger, trying to pry the man’s thumb away. The moment she brushed against his fingertip, she guiltily glanced back at him, fearing he would wake up. Only when she saw his eyes remained shut did she dare to exert more force.

It seemed the man truly was asleep. She finally managed to loosen his thumb.

She glanced back at the man leaning against the tree one more time, confirming he hadn’t opened his eyes, then quickly returned to her task. All she had to do was pry loose his index finger, take the gun, point it at his head, and she’d have a chance at survival.

With this thought in mind, Julie couldn’t help but feel a surge of fear.

Finally, after what seemed like herculean effort, she succeeded in prying his fingers loose. A triumphant smile spread across Julie’s face as she reached for the gun. But the moment her fingertips brushed the cold metal, the man suddenly tightened his grip on the weapon, his powerful arm snaking out to strangle her.

As the man’s arm constricted, Julie, who had been squatting on the ground, fell back onto the leaf- covered forest floor, her back against the man’s chest.

He didn’t even need the gun. He could easily strangle her with one arm. Julie struggled to breathe, her hands frantically beating against the man’s arm. She tried to bite him, but her efforts were in vain.

Her legs kicked out in desperation, but she couldn’t land a hit. There were no weapons nearby, and just as she thought she was going to suffocate, she gathered all her strength and grabbed the man’s hair, her face turning red as she pulled as hard as she could.

It felt like the woman was about to tear off his scalp.

The man switched the gun to his other hand, pressing it against Julie’s head, “Let go!”

“You let go!” Julie’s face was beet red, and she managed to push out a few words through her constricted throat. How could an injured man have so much strength?

With the gun pressed against her head, Julie had no choice but to let go of the man’s hair. Remembering his injury, the moment she let go, she quickly jabbed at the man’s side. Her fist was small, but thanks to the fact she had replaced his bandages before, her punch landed squarely on his wound.

Pain shot through him, and he released the woman trapped in his arm.

Julie fell forward, lying on the ground, gasping for air. She was sure her face was purple by now. Fearfully, she crawled a few steps forward.

Then, with a shudder of dread, she looked back at the man she had injured. Fresh blood was seeping through his white bandages. It was a terrifying sight.

The man’s face was pale, beads of sweat the size of peas trickling down his forehead. His gaze was icy as he raised the gun and pointed it at Julie, pulling the trigger.