Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 295

Glancing at the woman satisfied on the bed, half her arm peeking out from the cover, Kieran gently pulled the covers over her before slipping out of the room.

Just as he closed the door, there was a knock. Kieran beckoned the visitor in with a soft-spoken, "Come in."

Karl entered and handed Kieran a photo album, "Pictures from Sycamore Village."

Kieran flipped through the hefty album. It was filled with pictures of Karl and Ivan frolicking in the fields of Sycamore Village, their laughter captured in vibrant colors. Tucked at the end were two special photos of Julie, her radiant smile framed by blooming flowers. The photos were perfectly wallet-sized.

He replaced the old photo of toddler Julie in his wallet with one of the new photos. He placed a loving kiss on a new photo of smiling Julie before putting it to his wallet. Suddenly, the ringtone of his phone interrupted his momentary reminiscence. He glanced at the caller ID and answered the call with a furrowed brow.

By the time Julie woke up, more than an hour had passed. Realizing she had fallen into Kieran's trap, she sighed, wishing she had just called him 'honey'. She changed into a fresh dress and carefully opened the door, only stepping out when she was certain there were no voices in the office.

Kieran, seated at his desk, heard her soft footfalls and asked, "Awake now?"

"Thanks to you," Julie replied, settling down on the couch across from Kieran. "Did you see my phone?"

Instead of answering, Kieran pointed to a cupcake on the coffee table, "Hungry?"

The irresistible treat made Julie forget about her phone. She picked up the spoon, took a big bite from the cupcake, and asked, "Are you busy?"

"Why?" Kieran put down his pen and looked at her.

She hesitated before asking, "From a man's perspective, do you think Kyle..." Julie then shook her head, "Never mind, should I call Kyle or meet him in person?"

"Honey..." Kieran suddenly put on an apologetic look.

Julie paused, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"Kyle called me," he confessed.

Julie didn't see anything wrong with this. She placed her cupcake down and asked, "And? Did he agree?"

"I didn't ask him about cooperating with Sansa's treatment."

Julie's anticipation deflated, she picked up the dessert again and asked, "So you discussed work?"

"I asked him the question you were curious about."

Julie almost choked on her cupcake, her eyes wide as she waited for his response.

He handed her his phone, "I recorded the call."

Kyle's first words on the recording were, "I heard about Sansa's treatment. I'll cooperate as much as I can."

"Who told you?" Kieran asked.

Kyle's reply was a cryptic, "Sometimes, it's not good to dig too deep."

Kieran retorted, "Even so, there are things we need to understand, right?"

"Like kidnapping Emily?" Kyle anticipated Kieran's question.

There was a pause before Kyle asked, "Mr. Hernandez, have you ever knowingly done something wrong, but stubbornly persisted?"

"So?" Kieran countered. Of course he knew, since he had almost lost Julie because of what he had done.

Kyle chuckled on the recording, "Sometimes, you do wrong things because you're afraid of threats to her life. But the deepest wounds are those of the heart. So you realized, to protect her, you must not avoid wars, but win them." He added after a long silence, "That's why you returned to Joyce, to fight for her. And I, I did the same."

The recording ended there. Julie listened in silence. Did Kyle mean he also made mistakes because his love for Sansa? Is that why he used her and Kieran's past as an analogy? He seemed to know their history very well.

Julie leaned against the table and looked at Kieran, "I feel like I understand Kyle less and less. There must be more secrets between him and my sister..."