Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 310

After hearing Julie’s account of what happened at the restaurant, Kieran decided to call Hayden. But the call rang and rang with no answer, which was strange. Hayden’s personal line usually didn’t ring more than three times before he picked up. This time, however, it went to voicemail, and Hayden did

not call back.

Startled, Julie whipped out her phone and said, “I’ll give Julien a ring, see what’s up.” She dialed Julien’s number, but after a moment, the call was abruptly- ended.

Julie looked up at Kieran in shock. “Julien… she hung up on me…” This had never happened before; Julien always answered her calls.

Just as Julie was about to try again, Kieran snatched the phone from her hands. Julie looked up, her brow furrowed and her pink lips pouted, “What are you doing?”

“No need to call,” Kieran said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her slender shoulder. “A guy and a girl, both adults, with some complicated history, in a bedroom, not answering their phones. Do you really think it’s a good idea to interrupt?”

Julie turned around, “How do you know they’re together? And more to the point, how do you know they’re in the bedroom?”

“I just called Hayden to ask about something with Simon. He said he was in his bedroom, and I happened to hear Julien’s voice in the background, so…”

“So we should definitely call,” Julie reached for her phone again, but Kieran lifted it over his head, out of her reach. Julie stood on the couch, stretching her arm towards his hand, but he easily scooped her

up from the couch, holding her like a child. To prevent herself from falling, Julie instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

“The Julien you know might answer calls no matter what, but the Hayden I know? He wouldn’t let anyone answer the phone if it interrupts… certain activities. So…”

“Fine, put me down,” she said, patting his shoulder to signal him to let her go.

He seemed to enjoy holding her a little too much, but finally offered a deal, “Give me a kiss, and I’ll let you down.”

Left with no choice, Julie hugged his head and pecked him on the forehead.

In Hayden’s bedroom.

Five minutes earlier, Julien had knocked and entered while Hayden was going for a nap. She stood before him and said, “Got a minute? I need to talk.” Hayden’s motion of pulling the cover slowed down for a few seconds before he looked up and asked, “About what?”

“Relationship issues,” Julien said. Then Hayden’s phone rang. He silenced it without a glance.

Shortly after, Julien’s phone started to ring. She was about to answer when Hayden snatched it from her hands and ended the call.

Silence fell between them. Hayden sat on the bed waiting for Julien to speak. After a while, Julien pulled out a bottle of pills from her pocket and placed it on the nightstand with a ‘click’.

It was the bottle she had thrown in a trash can outside the pharmacy, but somehow, after dropping Julie off at Simpo Co., she had picked it up again on her way back.

Hayden reached for the bottle. “You know what’s inside, right?”

“Something that would make you come to me,” he said, his face unreadable.

So it was indeed his doing, and he knew she would find out that the bottle contained vitamins, not birth control pills, and that he had orchestrated it all just to give her a legitimate reason to seek him out. It also meant he had anticipated her distrust.

“Stop playing dirty tricks,” she said, deciding to skip over the issue.

She had taken Julie’s advice to have a heart-to-heart with Hayden, but now that she was actually there, she couldn’t remember what to say. The speech she had rehearsed at the door had vanished from her mind.

She had so many questions for him, years of doubts, but now that he was sitting in front of her waiting, Julien couldn’t remember a single one.

“Forget it.” She picked up the bottle and turned to leave, realizing that this whole “conversation thing” was not her style.

Hayden grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Julien turned and fell into his embrace. His arms encircled her waist. “Lien, you can’t just walk away from me.”

His voice was mature and comforting. She remembered Dylan’s words: Choosing Hayden would make you a carefree princess. Without him, you’d be a strong, independent queen. Who wouldn’t want to be cherished like royalty?

Dylan was right. In front of others, Julien felt capable and independent, but with Hayden, she felt vulnerable and in need of protection. So whenever he spoke to her with that mature, indulgent tone that let her get away with anything, she was at a loss.

“Tell me, what do you want to talk about?” His tone was one of complete attention.

But Julien wasn’t used to being held like this…

“Is Adeline really your sister?” she managed to ask, trying to pry his fingers off her, but he held her close and tight.

‘Adeline is my sister by blood.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“She’s always been there, I just hadn’t found her until now,” he replied.

After a moment, Julien finally remembered what she wanted to ask. “That time… after I chased you to Finland and we… The next morning, you left without a word…”

“I went to Norway to seek out the sole kin I had left in this world. Before I left, I wanted to leave a message for you, asking you to wait for my return, to let

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me make things right between us. But Miles – he demanded loyalty, a partner willing to walk through fire for him, not someone whose heart might be swayed by other attachments…”

Julien understood Miles all too well, having grown under his wing. So, when Hayden confessed this much, the pieces fell into place for her.

“So, the text I never got to see… you deleted it yourself?” Julien queried.

Nodding, Hayden confirmed, “In the dead of night, I got the call from Miles for an urgent mission in Norway. Just so happened, Raines had found a lead on my sister, and it pointed to Norway too. Miles had come to pick me up right at my hotel door in Helsinki. I couldn’t wake you. After I left for the airport with him, I managed to send you a text while pretending to use the restroom. Then, Miles and I were airborne, en route to Oslo. I figured you’d have enough time to see the text during the flight from Helsinki.”

After a brief pause, Hayden continued, “Later on… Miles found out about the message.”

That’s why she never saw the text. Miles wouldn’t tolerate divided loyalties. So, in his typical ruthless fashion, he nipped their budding romance in the bud, ensuring the message never reached her. And all this time, she had thought it was he who had given up on her first.

In her mind, Hayden had been shaped into a man who’d abandoned her for another woman. But it was all a misunderstanding.

As Julien’s expression softened, Hayden spoke again, gently gazing at the woman in his arms, “I have a long story to tell. It’s about my past, my parents, and why Adeline is my sister. Lien, are you ready to listen?”

Tranquil Care Hospital.

Julie was startled by a call from Dr. Brice. Sansa had cried.

She and Kieran rushed to the hospital immediately.

Standing in Sansa’s room, Dr. Brice seemed pleased as he observed Sansa resting peacefully on the bed, “Professor Fred’s therapy seems promising. Kyle has been keeping vigil by Sansa’s side every night, often falling asleep holding her hand. Though we can’t be certain she’ll awaken, her crying today

is a positive sign. It means her subconscious is active; she might be able to hear us, which suggests that engaging with her could be beneficial.”

Julie, overwhelmed with emotion, clung to Kieran’s suit jacket.

Kieran comforted her with gentle pats on the back, whispering comforting words.

Dr. Brice smiled, “I need to consult with Professor Fred again. Kyle should be here shortly. Why don’t you two keep Sansa company and talk to her?”

With that, Dr. Brice took his leave.

Julie approached, taking Sansa’s hand into her own, feeling the fragility of her touch.

Then she remembered something and turned to Kieran, “Simon booked the restaurant today to donate money for Sansa, to stop Julien from digging into the matter. We never touched Simon’s donation; do we send it back or keep it?”

Before she could hear Kieran’s response, Kyle appeared at the door, his brows knit together in concern, “Simon?”

Kyle’s expression was puzzling, and Julie was not Dylan, so she couldn’t decipher it. She could only ask, confused, “What about him?”

“You mean… Simon from the Fitzgerald estate made a donation for Sansa?” Kyle pressed on, ignoring Kieran standing by his side.

“Yes. Is there a problem…” Before Julie could finish, Kyle suddenly turned and strode briskly towards the elevator…