Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 318

Annalise was always keenly aware that Kieran didn't approve of her chasing after Hayden. To him, Hayden was out of her league. And today, her meeting with Julien was, in truth, a scheme to get closer to Hayden. Yet, here she was...

During dinner, she was on her best behavior, nibbling on her food, wary of Kieran's watchful eye and the threat of him spilling the beans to her folks. It was such a shame; she'd finally managed to get Julien to meet, but it seemed like she'd have to let this golden opportunity slip through her fingers.

After the meal, fearing Kieran might pry into her reasons for meeting Julien, Annalise left quickly.

Julien, having been told that Julie had something important to discuss, stayed behind as the others dispersed.

Kieran had to catch up with Dr. Brice to discuss some matters regarding Kyle, so they headed off to the hospital, leaving Julien alone with Julie in the now quiet dining room.

Julien turned to Julie and asked, “What did you want to talk about?”

“I tried calling you before, but you didn’t pick up,” Julie reminded her, certain that would jog her memory.

Sure enough, Julien nodded, “I was busy at the time.”

A few days ago when Julie had called, Julien was enraptured by Hayden’s storytelling. It never crossed her mind that Hayden, the seemingly favored son of Miles, would have such a tumultuous childhood. His story was long, and even the highlights filled an entire night.

By the time Julien had looked at her phone, Julie’s call had been missed for over a dozen hours. If it had been urgent, Kieran would probably have come storming over by now.

As it turned out, Kieran hadn’t come looking for Miles, which meant it probably wasn't something critical. Since time had already passed, Julien didn't see the need to call back and probe into the matter. So, she had completely forgotten about the call.

Julie, trying to keep the conversation light, asked, “What were you and Hayden up to that day? Neither of you answered your phones!”

Julien clearly didn’t want to dwell on that topic and smoothly shifted gears, “What did you want to talk about that day?”

Julie’s expression turned serious as she said, “Simon came to me a few days ago. He showed up at my restaurant, booked the entire place out just to warn me. He said that there was a mishap with Sansa’s donor and asked me to tell you not to dig any further. But from his tone, it seemed like he wasn’t just there to give me that message. So, what I want to know is… are you investigating other things related to Simon, aside from that donation?”

Julien nodded, “Yes.”

She didn’t divulge to Julie what she was investigating about Simon but asked, “When you were kidnapped by Simon and Kleist at Sycamore Village, did you notice who was chasing them?”

Julie shook her head, unsure of why Julien was asking, “I was trying to find Kieran at the time. I thought the kidnapping was just a fluke, and I mistook them for criminals until recently when I learned about Rowan…”

“Who’s Rowan?”

“That’s Simon’s real name,” Julie explained.

Julien nodded for her to continue.

“Not knowing Rowan’s true identity, I assumed he was a criminal, which is why they kidnapped me, probably to prevent me from calling the cops. But after I found out who Rowan really was, it clicked. Rowan was being pursued by someone, and I had appeared at that place out of the blue, I was an unknown factor, so they had to take precautions and bring me along.”

Julie went on, “Later, Kleist decided to maroon Rowan on a deserted island and face the pursuers alone. They didn’t knock me out as well because they worried about leaving Rowan, who was injured, without any help. By the time Kleist decided to leave me with Rowan on the island, they must have realized I wasn’t an enemy. After all, Rowan had a gun, and I was no match for them.”

She analyzed, “I think the reason they left me on the island with a gun was that they knew I wasn’t a threat. Kleist probably wanted me to fend for myself. From start to finish, I never saw who was chasing them.”

She added, “And, Rowan’s background is just too powerful. He is the heir apparent, with a distinguished mother like Margaret, Joseph’s lawfully-wedded wife and the favored one. With such a powerful background, it’s not surprising he has enemies.”

Julien agreed, “Right, I couldn’t find out his identity, but that doesn’t mean others couldn’t.”

Julie then revealed, “Actually… we met with Kyle today.”

She recounted the entire meeting with Kyle, including the revelations about Zenith, Rowan, and Kyle’s identities.

Even Julien was taken aback by the fact that Kyle and Rowan were brothers.