Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 308

Julie scrolled through her social media feed and chuckled as she saw Daphne’s selfie had gone viral, along with a snarky caption, “Looks like Lionel’s lost his touch. Tired of supermodels, so now he’s settled for some low-rent chick? A schemer who’s knocked up before the wedding, shamelessly replying to comments online. No shame, this parasite’s gotta have been orphaned early, that’s how she grew up with no proper upbringing.”

No wonder even Amanda thought the comment was out of line.

Daphne had clapped back in the comments, “Wishing you and yours all the happiness. parents, soon to be Mrs. Lionel.”

From the shameless, pregnant-before-marriage, schemer with very much alive

Julie gave Daphne a thumbs up and then logged onto her own social media to share Daphne’s response, “Here’s to the shameless, pregnant-before-marriage, schemer with very much alive parents, soon to be Mrs. Lionel. Wishing you happiness.”

As Kieran walked upstairs, he found the trio in high spirits. Wrapping his arms around his lady from behind, he asked, “What’s got you all laughing so much?” She waved her phone at him, “Wanna help out?”

Kieran read the post and immediately joined in, sharing it with his own addition, “To the man about to marry a shameless, pregnant-before-marriage, schemer with very much alive parents, Lionel, wishing you happiness.”

Daphne liked the post right away.

What started as a joke between Julie and Daphne soon sparked a wildfire of reactions. Even Flavia joined them. Surprisingly, Lionel’s supposed true love, Albertine, also shared the post.

Daphne covered her face, “Looks like I’m officially internet famous now!”

Kieran, phone in hand, turned to Julie, “Babe, mind explaining what’s going on here?”

Julie glanced at the phone and saw a paparazzi shot of Mr. Watson and Harding with handcuffs linking them together, magnified in the photo before they could get into their car. She recognized a blurry shadow in the photo as herself, and clearly, Kieran had already figured it out too, or he wouldn’t be asking.

She laughed nervously, “Well… it was a makeshift plan to get Daphne out of her apartment. Mr. Watson and Dr. Ladd were downstairs at Lionel’s request, so we used them as a distraction.”

“And the handcuffs?” he inquired.

“Looks like Mr. Watson wasn’t too keen on voluntarily helping with the diversion,” Julie said cryptically.

Only Julie could have come up with the handcuff idea.

Half an hour later, Lionel arrived to pick up Daphne. It was clear Amanda was fond of Daphne; despite being down all day, she personally saw Daphne to the door. Back in the bedroom, Julie sprawled out on the bed, exhausted.

“Kieran, something just occurred to me,” Julie sat up suddenly, a serious look on her face.

He stopped what he was doing and sat down beside her, attentive. “What’s up?”

“Rankin!” Julie grabbed his hand, “At the cemetery today, I was lost in the past, but just now I remembered something odd. Rankin’s tombstone only had his photo and name, -no-inscriptions, not

even a date. Isn’t it strange?”

“Where’s the grave?” he asked.

“North Cemetery,” she replied.

“It’s not mandatory to have inscriptions, but usually…”

“Doesn’t it strike you as odd?” Julie frowned, “In school, I never saw Rankin’s family. Some said he was an orphan, others claimed his mom visited once. The most widespread rumor was that he was raised by a wealthy single mom, always in designer clothes, yet so understated. And there were ugly rumors…”

She didn’t say it, but those rumors suggested Rankin’s mom was kept by a man. In Julie’s memory, Rankin was remarkably nonchalant.

Kieran could guess the nature of the ugly rumors.

Julie continued, “I once asked him if he didn’t care about what people said. He told me something like, we can’t control where we come from, but we can shape our destiny. We can talk about others all we want, just like people judge our background, but we can’t silence everyone. Something like that.”

Kieran admired Rankin’s perspective and promised to have Karl look into it the next day.

They cuddled, ready to turn in for the night, when a frantic knocking at the door startled them.

Julie sat up, “Come in.”

Shannon burst in, panic-stricken, “Sír, Ma’am, Madam Amanda… she’s fainted.”

“What?” Kieran sprang out of bed and dashed downstairs without even putting on shoes…

‘The butler’s already taken her to the car,” Shannon followed, explaining.

Kieran drove Amanda to Tranquil Care Hospital, the nearest medical facility.

Amanda had a bout of high blood pressure, plus the stress over Lucian’s situation, and her poor sleep had led to her fainting. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious; she just needed to be hospitalized for a couple of days of observation.

Julie wanted to stay and keep Amanda company, but Amanda shooed her away.

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“Shannon’s here to look after me. I don’t need many people around. Imagine the fuss if Ivan wakes up and can’t find either of you.” Amanda waved her hand, signaling for Julie and Kieran to head home. In the end, only Shannon remained to care for her, with two nurses assigned to look after the old lady especially.

The hospital was quiet in the dead of night.

Amanda, half-asleep, suddenly woke up feeling hungry. Being diabetic, she couldn’t afford to skip meals, so she sent Shannon out to grab something to eat.

Watching Shannon exit the hospital doors, a man clad in a black hoodie quietly pushed open Amanda’s room door.

“Do you forgot your wallet…” Amanda turned around to see a shadowy figure approaching her.

Her heart pounded with fear, and just as she was about to scream, the man pulled off his hood and stood by her bedside, speaking softly, “Grandma, it’s me, Lucian.”

swelled up in her eyes as she reached

“Luc… Lucian?” Amanda gazed at the tall, handsome man before her, her beloved grandson whom she had been longing to see. Tear?

qut to him, “Lucian… is it really you? Am I dreaming?”

09:57

Lucian stepped forward, gently taking Amanda’s hand and nodding, “It’s me, Grandma. Are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine.” Amanda’s words were slurred with emotion. She patted Lucian’s hand repeatedly, still unable to believe that her grandson was truly there.

“Your leg…” She glanced down at Lucian’s legs, which in her memory, were beyond repair.

Lucian took Amanda’s hand in his, saying, “It’s a long story, Grandma. I don’t have time to explain. I came because I was worried about you. Promise me you won’t tell anyone you saw me tonight, okay?”

“Why?” Amanda’s voice was hoarse with emotion, “Why avoid a good home, deny your kin? What on earth have you been…”

“Grandma, I really have to go. It was me who left the recording in your study. Promise me, don’t tell anyone about tonight. When the time is right, I’ll come back for you,” Lucian gently wiped away her tears and one by one, pried her fingers off his hand before he hurriedly left the room.

With his hood up, he walked to the car and got in.

Bruce, sitting in the driver’s seat, handed Lucian a phone, “Mr. Moore, you have a call.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow, winking at Lucian.

Lucian took the phone, listening to the icy voice on the other end, “Are you at the hospital entrance?” Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Lucian didn’t reply, and the voice continued, “Did you see Amanda? Or was it Sansa? I don’t care why you saved Emily from Kyle, but you’ve had countless opportunities to

act against Julie, and you’ve hesitated every time. You’re disappointing me. Or is it your grandmother Amanda who’s holding you back?”

“Amanda?” Lucian said her name with a cold indifference, “You mean the Amanda who left the country after my parents died, who didn’t care whether Kieran and I lived or died?”

His scornful tone seemed to please the person on the other end of the line.

“So why did you go to the hospital today?”

“To see what happens to someone heartless enough to abandon their family.” Lucian’s voice was filled with malice.

The person on the line laughed, “Don’t push me to take action. You know what I mean.”

“Of course, no need to dirty your hands.” Lucian ended the call, tossed the phone aside, and said to Bruce, “He didn’t go after Julie?”

“Are you referring to Simon, sir?” Bruce shook his head, “No, he didn’t.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly, “He’s patient. Let’s go back to the apartment.”