Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Hiding out in the bathroom, Julie was shook to the core after watching the video recorded last night. She couldn’t believe the wild things she did. Finally, she emerged from the bathroom, face flushed with embarrassment.

The guy in last night’s video was clearly pooped. She sneakily researched about booze-induced sexual behavior. Studies show that men can still perform sexually after drinking, but usually, they suck at it. After a certain level of alcohol, though, they might last longer. Judging from the video….

Julie didn’t dare to reminisce that scene. After sprucing up her room a bit, she did another shocker and then… took off.

Ivan was already off to school. When Julie went downstairs, Shannon approached her, “Mrs. Hernandez, you’re up? Let me get you some lemon tea!”

Shannon could tell Julie was walking a bit stiff. Julie awkwardly told Shannon, “No need… I have to run an errand. If Kieran wakes up…”

She paused, then said, “Just tell him you have no idea where I went.”

With that, she took off with her virus-infected phone from last night.

Watching Julie’s retreating figure, Shannon hurried to Noah, “Honey, something has happened!”

“Why are you freaking out? What happened?” Noah frowned.

Shannon glanced at the direction Julie left in, then at Kieran’s master bedroom upstairs, and said to Noah, “Do you think Mr. Hernandez has been holding back for so long that he’s impotent? Mrs. Hernandez was fine when they went to the room last night, so why is she denying it this morning?”

“These things take time. Your panic won’t help, Noah quickly advised Shannon, “Mr. Hernandez might wake up soon. You better prepare some lemon water.”

Julie found a phone repair shop, handed her phone to the clerk and asked, “Sir, my phone’s been infected by a virus. Can you check it out?”

Borrowing the clerk’s phone, she called Daphne. It took a while for Daphne to pick up. Julie quickly asked, “Daphne, are you okay? I got hammered last night.”

“I’m good.” Daphne replied with a carefree tone, “You’re so concerned about me, wouldn’t Kieran mind?”

“He…” The thought of Kieran’s expression when he woke up was too much for Julie. She didn’t know how to explain to Daphne, so she took the easy way out, “Daphne, I have work to do. I gotta go!”

Just as she hung up, she heard the clerk say, “Miss, I’ve never seen this virus before and your phone is an old model. I can’t fix it. Your phone is outdated, how about getting a new one?”

This phone meant a lot to Julie and she couldn’t just toss it.

So, she thanked the clerk and took her phone to leave.

The clerk added, “If you know any hackers, perhaps they could help.”

Hearing this, Julie shot the clerk a grateful look, “Thanks!”

Julie hopped in a cab to Payne’s house.

She rang the doorbell a few times. The same nanny as last time opened the door. The nanny recognized her from the last time Julie came with Kieran, and let her

Julie thought Payne would be resting since he drank a lot last night. But he was already sitting at the computer, fingers flying over the keyboard.

“I thought you’d be sleeping in!” Julie said, looking at Payne’s back.

Payne would’ve lost his temper at anyone barging in, but it was Julie so he calmed down instantly. He turned to Julie, his face lighting up like he just struck gold,” “Julie, what brings you here?”

Payne’s enthusiasm was suspiciously exaggerated.

“I need your help,” Julie said, pulling out her phone.

But before she could say her next sentence, Payne cut her off, “Great! I need your help too.”

Julie couldn’t think of how she could help Payne, so she just blurted out her problem and handed him her phone.

Payne took the phone, had a look, and said confidently, “Leave it to me! I promise I’ll fix it.”

With that, he put Julie’s phone aside, looked at her excitedly, and said, “Now you help me with something, okay?”

That depends on what it is,” Julie was level-headed.

Payne nodded, certain, “You can! It’s a small thing. Do you know where Julien lives? Or her phone number would do. Even her email would work.”

Julie looked at Payne apologetically, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t help with that.”

She told Payne, “I only know Julien lives with Hayden, but I don’t know where. Julien is in a special situation, so I don’t actually know these things about her.”

“How do you guys keep in touch then?” Payne didn’t buy it.

Julie responded seriously, “If I tell you we communicate through telepathy, would you believe me?”

Actually, she and Julien didn’t contact each other that often. Some friends, even without regular contact, are like family. She and Julien were that kind of friends.

However, Payne obviously didn’t buy it. He pointed at his nose and asked Julie, “Do you think I look like an idiot?”

Julie was speechless.

Seeing Julie didn’t seem to be lying, Payne eventually picked up her phone with a sigh of resignation, “Don’t worry, I’ll fix your phone for you. But you better not tell Kieran I’ve been giving you a hard time.”

Pausing for a moment, he suddenly turned to Julie, “Hey, speaking of which, where’s Kieran? Why didn’t he come with you today? Isn’t he usually glued to your side?”

Mentioning Kieran, Julie didn’t dare to continue imagining the things she did before leaving….

“You didn’t leave him home alone, did you? You know, he may seem tough, but he’s a complete mess when he’s drunk.”

“I know all too well,” Julie muttered under her breath.

Not hearing her clearly, Payne looked at Julie, puzzled, “What did you just say?”

“Nothing!” Julie shook her head.

Payne continued, “He’s pretty solid, except… if he drinks too much, he’ll forget everything that happened the night before by the next morning. If he’s lucky, he might remember some bits and pieces.”

Julie was curious, looking up at Payne, “How do you know?”

“Thanks to you! If you hadn’t divorced him, he wouldn’t be drinking like a fish every day, and I wouldn’t have known.”

“Oh.” Julie didn’t ask any further, but just smiled at Payne.

Now, she could only hope that Mr. Hernandez wouldn’t remember a thing.

At the Noblewood Retreat…

Kieran never felt so tired after waking up. Blinking his sleepy eyes, it took him a while to fully wake up. He found himself alone in bed, with his hand… on his lower

half.

The side was empty. His phone and alarm clock were on the bedside table. The room was spotless, except for… the tissue balls on the carpet.

He lay there stark naked under the covers. Once he woke up, he quickly withdrew his hand.

He sat up and lifted the covers, looking at the marks on the sheets, his mind a blank slate!

What happened last night? His memory was like it was locked in a cage. He thought for a while, but couldn’t recall a thing. He remembered his position when he woke up. What had he done after getting drunk last night? Why was he in that position when he woke up?

Where was Mrs. Hemandez?

Who brought him home last night? Why couldn’t he remember anything? He shook his head hard, discarded the thoughts in his head, and got up to go to the bathroom. He splashed water on his face, and then some fragmented images suddenly flooded into his mind.

Why did he imagine himself wearing a bra?

He must be crazy!

Kieran grabbed a towel to dry his face, then quickly took a shower. After getting dressed, he rushed downstairs.

“Where’s Julie?” Kieran asked Shannon.

Shannon wasn’t sure what was going on between the two. She quickly replied, “Mrs. Hernandez left early this morning to run errands.”

Kieran took out his phone to call Julie, but couldn’t get through.

“Shannon, do you know how I got home last night?” Kieran slapped his forehead. Usually sharp as a tack, he looked quite clueless now.

Shannon replied, “Mr. Simson brought you home.”

Kieran immediately took out his phone to call Hayden, but no one answered. Finally, he gave up and turned to Noah, “Please bring up the surveillance footage from

the hall.”