Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 228

"No worries." Kieran took Julie's hand, suddenly pulled her into his arms, then lowered his head to look into her beautiful eyes. "There's something I need to confirm."

"What is it?" She pushed against his chest. "Put me down and we can talk properly."

"I'll tell you tonight." With that, he took advantage of her distraction, leaned down to kiss her forehead lightly, then stood up. "I have work to deal with. Need to take a trip to the office."

Just as Julie was waving Kieran goodbye, she received a call from Ivan's teacher. The last time she picked Ivan up from school, she’d left her number with his teacher. As soon as she got the call from his teacher, Julie rushed to the school.

Half an hour later, in Ivan's homeroom teacher Andie's office.

Ivan was sitting in a chair across from Andie, who looked at the test paper in his hand, then at Ivan. "Did you complete this test paper on your own?"

Ivan shot Andie a cold look, replied, "I didn't do it, my pen did."

Andie was speechless.

There was no mistake in this answer. Just as Andie was about to speak, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Hearing Andie's voice, Julie pushed the door open and walked in.

As soon as Ivan saw Julie, he sat much more upright. He looked at Julie with a big smile. "Mom!" Andie naturally knew about the stir caused by Julie and Kieran's wedding news. Seeing Julie, he immediately stood up to greet her. "You must be Mrs. Hernandez?"

Julie nodded with a smile.

"Here's the thing." Andie handed two test papers to Julie. "This one is from the last exam, and this one is from the most recent exam. Last time, Ivan scored only eight points, but this time, he scored full marks. Ivan has always been one of the lowest scorers in the class since he started school. His sudden improvement…"

"Do you suspect Ivan cheated?" Julie instantly grasped Andie's implication.

Even though that was indeed what Andie was hinting at, seeing Julie's expression, he chuckled awkwardly. "I was just wondering, did you recently hire a tutor for Ivan? Of course, a child's grades are important, but the most important thing is character. Ivan may not always score well, but he's very smart and sharp. I believe as long as he studies hard, he can certainly achieve such results."

Clearly, Andie doubted the authenticity of Ivan's progress. Julie could understand. This was his sense of responsibility showing.

Just as Julie was about to speak, Ivan suddenly stood up. "Yes! My mom is my tutor. Andie, look, isn't my mom both smart and beautiful?"

This was typical braggadocio! Andie glanced at Julie and immediately nodded in agreement, "Yes, maybe I was overthinking."

"Thank you, Andie." Julie nodded at him, then patted Ivan's shoulder. "Wait for me outside, okay?"

Having such a gentle and beautiful mom was indeed better than having a strict father like Kerry. Ivan strutted out of the office with hands behind his back, pride plastered on his face.

Julie stayed behind to chat with Andie for a while and exchanged WhatsApp contacts with him so she could keep up with Ivan's progress. Only then did she leave the office.

Andie looked at his phone, couldn't help but comment to his fellow teacher Carmel. "See, mothers are generally more attentive than fathers."

Carmel couldn't help but laugh. "Did you really expect Mr. Hernandez to add you on WhatsApp?"

Andie also laughed. "Good point. But look at Ivan! He did so well in this exam. If he's got the talent, why did he play dumb before?"

"You probably don't know, do you? Apparently, Mrs. Hernandez has been pursuing Mr. Hernandez since high school, but then Mr. Hernandez had an affair with a woman named Bertha Stewart. After Mr. Hernandez and Mrs. Hernandez divorced, Ivan has been living with his father. Maybe the reason why this child from a single-parent family pretended to be a poor student was to get his father's attention! Bertha committed suicide a while ago, so Mr. Hernandez and Mrs. Hernandez got back together. Maybe they announced their marriage for the sake of the child!" Carmel seemed to know it all.

Andie was enlightened. "So, Ivan's sudden progress was to make his mom like him?"

Carmel looked out of the window. Julie was sitting next to Ivan, appearing to be patiently teaching him something. Carmel shook her head and sighed, "Possibly! There might not be much love between the couple, otherwise why wouldn't they ever pick up their child from school together? Even if they are busy with work, they can't…"

"Carmel…"

"What? Everything I said has a basis. No matter how busy, parents can't be absent from their child's growth! Every family has its issues. Seems like the lives of the rich aren't easy either!"

"No! Carmel, look outside." Andie pointed out of the window.

Carmel followed his finger and saw the infamous Mr. Hernandez who had somehow appeared on the school playground. He was holding Ivan's hand with one hand and gently tucking Julie's loose hair behind her ear with the other.

Julie caught his hand and smiled at him, saying something. They looked natural together.

Andie's temple twitched. He looked at Carmel, "Seems like we can't believe everything we read on the internet…"

Carmel was speechless.

Outside of the door.