Chapter 250
Love’s Cunning Ruse ( Mr.Kieran And Julie )
Chapter 250
The pot lid next to them started to make noises, and Julie immediately nudged Kieran away, turning around to lift the lid and check on the meat stewing inside.
âWhatâve you got stewing?â The man edged closer, looping his arms around her waist, and resting his head on her shoulder, planting a little kiss on her earlobe.
Julie felt ticklish and slightly craned her neck, looking at the food in the pot and telling Kieran, âItâs Mexican birria.â
She scooped up a spoonful of sauce, blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to his lips. âGive it a taste. Havenât cooked in a while, so not sure if thereâs enough
salt.â
Blowing on the sauce to cool it down, her puckered lips looked irresistibly cute. Kieran took a sip and slightly furrowed his brow.
Seeing his expression, Julie felt a bit nervous. She frowned slightly and cautiously asked, âDoes it taste bad?â
He shook his head. She asked again, âThen whatâs wrong? Spill itâ¦â
As she was about to turn around and give it a taste herself, Kieran grabbed her wrist. She turned around in surprise. âWhatâs up?â
âHoney, do we have any salt left at home?â he asked.
Julie glanced at the saltshaker and nodded. âYeah, we do. Whatâs up? Does it taste bland?â
The man glanced in the direction of the saltshaker and had a sudden realization. âOh So thereâs still salt left. I thought you dumped all of it in there!â
Julie looked at him with an embarrassed expression and asked uncertainly, âIs it really that salty? I didnât put that much salt inâ¦â
âYeah, itâs salty. Wanna give it a taste?â he asked.
Julie reluctantly turned around and picked up a spoon, ready to taste the food. But the moment she turned around, Kieran pulled her back. He lowered his head to kiss her lips, lightly biting her soft lips. After the passionate interlude, he gently wiped her lips with his fingertip, a tender smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
She playfully punched him and brushed his finger off her lips. But he just asked her with a smile, âDid you taste it? Isnât it super salty?â
Such a clever excuse to steal a kiss! Julie glared at him and snapped, âIt wasnât salty. It was sweet!â
He was pleasantly surprised by Julieâs sweet reaction. As she turned to serve the food, he embraced her from behind and lifted the pot lid. âSo sweet, I wonder if youâve put candied fruits in it.â
She slapped his hand away and said, âNo candied fruits, just arsenic.â
âIâd eat it even if you were the one who put it in.â
âActually, itâs witchâs brew. Hahaâ¦â her laughter filled the room,
Kieran was torn between laughter and tears. What on earth did he see in this silly wife of his in the first place?
âBy the way, I have a surprise for you tonight.â She turned around and draped her arms around his neck.
A surprise? The word âsurpriseâ already gave Kieran anxiety. Nevertheless, he had to maintain a smile and pretend to be excited, asking her, âWhat surprise?â
âIf I tell you, it wonât be a surprise anymore.â Her words were full of mystery.
Kieran could only feel a headache coming on. Now, every time he heard the word âsurprise, his reaction was almost like a conditioned reflex, immediately reminding him of that night, making him feel uncomfortable.
âHoney, I think I might be feeling a bit weak recentlyâ¦âKieranâs voice was very low, so Julie didnât hear him clearly.
She turned around to look at him. âWhere are you feeling weak?â
âWhy donât you try the dish and see if itâs too salty?â He suddenly interrupted Julie.
Julie didnât think much of it and started tasting the food, only to findâ¦.
âItâs not?â She turned around to explain to Kieran, only to find that he had already left, his speed even surpassing that of a rabbit.
Shannon came to help, and soon they had all the food on the table.
At the table, Ivan and Kieran were making eye contact.
âDad, you canât fight with me over mom, thatâs basic morality for you as my father!â The little guy said seriously.
Only to get a reply from Kieran, âYou canât fight with me over my wife. Thatâs a basic requirement for you as my son.â
Julie handed out the utensils to the father and son duo and laughed helplessly.
Shannon, pulling Noah, said, âA family should be like this, peaceful and happy. If only Mr. Lucian were hereâ¦â
Before she could finish her sentence, Noah quickly covered Shannonâs mouth, even though they knew that Kieran and Julie couldnât hear them from this distance.
Despite their banter, Kieran and Ivan finally managed to finish their meal peacefully.
After the meal, Shannon went to clean up the table. Ivan tugged at Julieâs arm, asking her to teach him to play the piano. Julie hadnât played the piano in a long time. She shook her head and said, âLet your dad teach you! Your dad used to be a gold medalist at the Chopin International Piano Competition.â
A big deal award?â Ivan turned to look at Kieran, who was reading the news on the sofa.
Julie nodded. âYeah, of course, itâs a big deal. He used to be my idol!â
Kieran, who had been engrossed in the news just a moment ago, heard this and immediately responded, even though he hadnât taken his eyes off the screen, âSo, Iâm not your idol anymore?â
âIâm now the pride of my mom!â The little guy stretched out two chubby fingers, making a heart shape, and winked at his mom. âMom, I love you!â Kieran put down his tablet, stood up, and walked towards Ivan. The little guy quickly hid behind Julie, hugging her leg with a defensive look on his face.
In one swift move, Kieran picked up Ivan from behind Julie. He looked down at his son with a smile, âYouâre my son, so I wonât treat you badly. If you want to learn piano, Iâll find you the best teacher. Whatever you want to do, Iâll fulfill it. Am I good to you?â
âYou liar. When I was little, I said I wanted to go to the moon, and you took me on an airplane at night. When I said I wanted to touch the sun during the day, you took me on a hot air balloon. Now I want to go to space, and I bet youâre going to lie to me again!â
Julie couldnât help laughing, looking at Kieran. âIs this how you fool your son?â
Ivan nodded his head seriously.
In the end, Julie sided with Kieran, saying, âI think itâs better for your dad to find you a professional teacher, and I agree with that.â
âWell thenâ¦â Ivan seemed to ponder for a while before reluctantly saying, âAlright, find me a teacher!â Having said that, Ivan got down from Kieranâs arms and obediently ran towards his room.
As Kieran carried Julie upstairs, he said, âI didnât expect the little guy to show interest in something, and it turns out he likes piano.â
âHe might have inherited it from you, Julie seriously replied, taking his hand, and examining it. His long fingers, with knuckles like carved ivory, were very beautiful Watching him play the piano was also a pleasure to others.
However, he held her hand and said, âHe probably got it from you.â
âI never won any gold medals,â she said.
âDidnât you say you like boys who play piano? You said boys who play piano are the most handsome, wearing white shirts and black tailcoats, their fingers tapping the keys, elegant and good-looking.â
Julie looked at Kieran in surprise. âDid I say that?â
âWhat do you think?â
âYou did start learning later than me!â Julie realized. âIâve been forced to learn piano since I was a child, but you started learning laterâ
âWhen I was young, I didnât understand whether I liked it or not. I only knew that every day when I saw your mom sitting behind you with a teaching stick supervising you, I thought, whatâs so hard about this piano, why is it so hard to learn. I also thought, why is the teacher so stupid that he canât even teach piano. So, later, I joined a school club, and after I learned to play the piano, I realized⦠itâs not that the teacher is stupid, itâs that youâre dumb.â
âWatch your mouth! That was because I wasnât putting my mind into learning the piano, I was focused on practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!â She shook off his hand and walked towards her room.
Kieran followed Julie and stood at the door. âHoney, letâs change to a three-meter wide bed tomorrow! Letâs get rid of this bed in your room.â
âMy room is so small. If you put a three-meter bed in it, we might as well live separately!â
Kieran glanced at Julieâs bedroom and then at his own. Even though the two rooms were no longer separated, the two beds gave the impression of living separately. Julie thought for a moment, lifted the quilt, and took out her pillow. She threw her pillow onto Kieranâs bed, and then patted the quilt, turning around to smile at him. The sweet smile on her face made the corners of Kieranâs mouth curve up.
âYou go take a shower,â she said.
Kieran didnât refuse and headed for the bathroom.
Julie quickly ran back to her room, then opened the suitcase she brought when she moved in and took out the camera hidden inside. Holding the heavy camera, she seemed to struggle for a long time in her heart, then, took a deep breath and lightly slapped her flushed face.
Then she took the camera back to Kieranâs bed and waited quietly. She turned on the camera, found the video from that night, and imagined what Mr. Hernandezâs
reaction would be if he saw this.
Kieran was taking a shower in the bathroom at that moment and didnât look relaxed at all. He turned on the showerhead, the sound of water echoed in the bathroom, but he stood far away from the showerhead and took out his phone.â
After a moment of silence, he unlocked his phone, opened WhatsApp, found his therapist Taylor, hesitated, and sent a message.
After waiting for three or four minutes, Taylor finally replied. Just as Kieran was about to read it, Julieâs voice came from outside. âHoney, are you done showering?â
Startled, Kieranâs hand slipped, and his phone fell straight into the toilet.