Chapter 216
Love’s Cunning Ruse ( Mr.Kieran And Julie )
Chapter 216
Adeline and Julien, both bombshells, showed up wearing the exact same outfit. Julie was having a hard time telling who looked better. Everyone knew Adeline had a thing for red, but for some reason, Julien also showed up in an all-red outfit today.
Kieran turned to greet Mr. Watson and Harding. Adeline glanced at Julie, looking a bit guilty.
But Julie took the initiative to walk up and gave Adeline a hug, âNext time you want to talk, just hit me up. No need to kidnap me anymore.â
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The atmosphere lightened up. It was like they found their old groove.
Adeline nodded seriously at Julie, âNext time I want to kidnap someone, itâll be Mr. Hernandez, not you.â
âYou might as well kidnap meâ¦â Julie rubbed her forehead.
Almost everyone had arrived. Everyone started to head inside.
In the living room, Ivan was showing Julien a puzzle he had completed. The puzzle was a picture of Julien, he got it from god knows where. Even though Julien was poker-faced, Ivan was still excitedly chatting her up.
Payne obviously still wanted to get close to Julien, but Hayden occupied the seat next to her.
Annalise came up to Hayden with a rose, âEven if youâre trying to avoid me, you didnât have to fly all the way back from abroad, did you? This is for you. I havenât seen you in a while.â
Julien glanced at Hayden and Annalise, gave Ivan a hug and moved away a bit.
Ivan was over the moon because Julien hugged him.
Seeing the gap between Julien and Hayden, Payne quickly slid in between them.
Hayden gave Payne a cold stare, full of murderous intent. Payne felt like he could be killed by Hayden any second. He just wanted to compete with him! He didnât want to die!
âJulien, what do you want to eat? Iâll grab some snacks for you.â With that, Payne stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Hayden shifted towards Julien, avoiding Annalise.
Annalise moved closer again, still holding the rose, âWhy? You canât even accept my flower?â
âWho are you?â Hayden asked.
Dylan burst out laughing and said to Hayden, âThis is Annalise, Kerryâs aunt.â
âOh, Hello Ms. Annalise.â Hayden replied, then turned to Julien, âKerry and I are like brothers, so sheâs my aunt too.â
Julien replied, âWhat does that have to do with me?â
The relationships between these people were too complicated, Julien didnât want to get involved.
Dylan quietly analyzed. In this room, the only woman who could stand up to Hayden was Julien.
Unexpectedly, Hayden didnât get angry, he calmly said to Julien, âOf course it involves you. Since sheâs my aunt, sheâs your aunt too. Say hello to your aunt.â
When Hayden spoke to her in that tone, it always took her back to their childhood. Julien suddenly felt that he was still the boy from her past, and she was still the little girl he protected.
Julien didnât want to prolong the conversation with him, so she emotionlessly said to Annalise, âHello Ms. Annalise.â
Annaliseâs face turned red because of her suppressed anger, âIf Iâm your aunt, then Hayden is your uncle!â
Without hesitation, Julien turned to Hayden and respectfully said, âHello, dear uncle.â
Haydenâs eyes suddenly turned cold. He squinted at Julien, with a hint of threat.
Annalise had heard of Julien, but she didnât expect Julien to go along with her game!
âYouâre surprisingly well-behaved!â Annalise said, bypassing Hayden, trying to pat Julienâs shoulder, but Hayden suddenly stopped her.
âWhy? Who is she to you? I canât even touch her?â Annalise looked displeased at Julien, then at Hayden. Her lips tightened, clearly unsatisfied.
Just then, Julie came in with Adeline and Elliot.
In the living room, everyoneâs gaze shifted to Julie. They all looked at Adeline, then their gaze bounced between Adeline and Julien.
âWhat a coincidence with so few people?â Dylan looked at Hayden and Julien.
Julien just glanced at Adeline, seemingly indifferent. She looked down again, silently watching Ivan play with the puzzle.
As soon as Adeline walked in, she saw Julien. The red chiffon jumpsuit looked flirty and elegant on her, but it looked mysterious and competent on Julien. That style was actually what Adeline preferred.
âMiss, we are wearing the same outfit!â Adeline walked straight to Julien and sat next to her, elbowing Hayden aside.
Dylan retracted his previous analysis. It seemed that there was another woman who dared to confront Hayden head-onâ¦
Julien ignored Adeline completely, but Adeline seemed particularly interested in Julien. She waved her hand in front of Julien, then repeated, âMiss, weâre wearing the same outfit! Donât you have any comments?â
Julien glanced at Adeline, âYou look beautiful.â
Adeline immediately brightened up. She turned to Julie and asked, âDear, is this your friend?â
Julie really admired Adeline. She just straight-up split Hayden and Julien apart, and boldly showed her curiosity towards Julien, totally ignoring Hayden right there⦠Elliot stepped up and pulled Adeline away, saying, âThere are plenty of empty seats. Why did you have to sit in between them?â He kept his voice low, so only Adeline could hear.
Adeline picked up on Elliotâs tone, as if he knew the two. She remembered having met the beautiful woman once when Julie was kidnapped. At that time, the beauty seemed to hold some grudge against her, probably because Julieâs kidnap was due to her fault. She could feel that the woman cared a lot about Julie.
Turning her head towards Elliot, Adeline nodded, âGot it.â
With that, she enthusiastically extended her hand towards Hayden, âSir, Iâm sorry for accidentally separating you and your girlfriend! Your girlfriend is so gorgeous, I couldnât control myself!â
âGirlfriend?â Annaliseâs eyes widened. She immediately stood up, pointing at Hayden, I am his girlfriend!â
Adeline was taken aback, then she looked at Hayden and said, âSir, youâre not doing it right! Youâre supposed to enjoy two womenâ¦â
Before she could finish, Elliot covered her mouth. He apologized to Hayden, âMy sister can be a bit cheeky. Mr. Simson, donât mind her.â
Julie stepped forward and introduced Adeline, âThis is my friend Julien. This is Kieranâs good friend, Hayden. And this is Annalise.â
âMs. Annalise from the Hansen family?â Adeline asked, suddenly realizing.
Annalise raised an eyebrow, âThatâs me.â
âSo youâre the one who plays with mud?â Adeline asked curiously.
Elliot frowned and tugged at Adelineâs sleeve, âSheâs a pottery master!â
âA pottery master is a mud player, right?â Adeline retorted.
Dylan, who was standing by, couldnât help but laugh, âYou got that right!â
Adeline then asked, âSo whatâs your relationship with this gentlemanâ¦â
âHeâs my boss.â Julien took over without hesitation.
Adeline nodded, âSo your relationship is pure?â
Elliot tugged at Adeline again. It seemed like she came specifically to stir up trouble.
Kieran came in with Marion Watson and Harding. He noticed the awkward atmosphere in the living room, frowned, then wrapped his arm around Julieâs waist and asked her, âWhat happened?â
âNothing. Julie replied with a smile. She knew that with such a large crowd, there were bound to be some minor conflicts.
Adeline was chatting with Julien, and Mr. Watson was giving Julien flirty looks, âWhy are you two wearing the same clothes?â
To prevent the situation from escalating, Kieran said straight away, âTodayâs plan is a barbecue in the garden. The food is all prepared, but⦠we didnât hire any chefs or waiters today. My son said everyone should serve themselves, so if you donât want to starve, get grilling.â
Dylan immediately got up from the sofa, âYouâre such a lousy host!â
âAnd youâre no great guest.â Kieran patted Dylan on the shoulder, then led Julie towards the garden.
Ivan happily took Julienâs hand and ran towards the garden. Payne followed with a piece of brownie cake, âJulien, wait for me!â
Marlon stepped forward, wrapping his arm around Daphneâs shoulder, âCome on, if you get drunk later, Iâll take you to a hotel.â
Lionel looked at Harding with a frown, âArenât you going to do anything?â
âIâm a doctor. If Mr. Watson gets sick, Iâll treat him.â Harding said with a laugh, patting Lionel on the shoulder, âLetâs go, my friend.â
To avoid any further trouble from Adeline, Elliot quickly pulled her away.
Dylan approached Hayden, âHayden, you know I can only cut up corpses. I donât know how to grill!â
âAnd all I know is how to play with mud!â Annalise shot Adeline a glare, then clung to Haydenâs other arm.
Hayden glanced at her, âI only know how to slap women.â
Annalise weakly let go of him, pouting unhappily, âWhen Julien was so close to you just now, why didnât you slap her?â
âBecause sheâs my woman, and youâre not.â He turned around coldly, without a second glance.
Hayden just took off, leaving Dylan and Annalise behind.
Annalise stood there, unsure whether to stay or go.