Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 293

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At a fine-dining restaurant, Zenith and Kyle sat at opposite ends of a well-polished mahogany table, a bartender pouring a generous amount of red wine into their glasses.

Zenith broke the silence first, “So, you’ve decided to stick around?”

Kyle lifted his glass, clinking it lightly against Zenith’s. “I told you I’d be back. I’m surprised you’re here though, seems like you’ve been planning this.” Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

Zenith took a small sip of his wine, a smile playing on his lips. “Going through all this for a woman in a coma, is it worth it?”

”

Despite his seemingly light-hearted tone, his words were dripping with sarcasm. But Kyle seemed unfazed, a mask-like smile remained on his face as he replied, “I thought you’d be too busy looking after yourself these days, but here you are interested in my affairs.”

“Busy with myself?” Zenith set down his wine glass, eyeing Kyle. “What do you mean?”

Kyle adopted a 1-accidentally-spilled-the-beans’ expression. “I thought you knew about Kieran bringing your blood sample to Dylan for testing…”

It was only then that Zenith remembered how he injured his elbow when he was trying to save Julie. Yet, Kyle wasn’t done, his smile never leaving his face as he added, “Any guess what the results might be?”

“You’ll know when the time comes.” Zenith replied calmly, his face expressionless.

Seemingly reminded of something, Kyle leaned in towards Zenith, “I discovered something interesting. Last time, Hayden’s men broke into my house, kidnapped Emily and even took the surveillance tapes. But I found a few footprints by the lake opposite my villa which were belong to à man. You immediately came to mind, isn’t it a coincidence?”

“Ah, so you were the one who kidnapped Emily?” Zenith’s face was unreadable as he countered, “You fell out with your family over a woman in a coma, and when there was a chance to wake her up, you kidnapped the professor’s daughter to prevent it. I can’t fathom why.”

Zenith cut him off before he could reply, his cold smile never leaving his face, “Is there a reason that you can’t let her wake up?”

Lisa, standing behind Kyle and just staring at Kyle’s back, felt the anger that Kyle was repressing now. But Zenith continued the provocative talks “Do you think Hayden’s men found Emily because you can’t hide a woman, or did you intentionally leave clues for them?”

Zenith propped his chin on his hand, “Why would you do that? Do you suddenly wish for your ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to wake up?”

Ignoring Kyle’s attempt to interrupt, Zenith continued, “Or maybe the reason she can’t wake up doesn’t hold anymore?”

Kyle finally got a chance to interject, “Did I ever tell you something?” Zenith gestured for him to continue. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

Kyle got up, leaving the room with his assistant Lisa. Bruce, Zenith’s bodyguard, approached him once the room was quiet again, “Was it necessary to provoke Mr. Kyle like that?”

“Do you think you can stop Dylan from getting the test results?” Zenith asked Bruce.

Bruce fell silent, after all, Dylan was the heir of the Pierson family. He didn’t have confidence in stopping Dylan, all he could say was, “We can only try.”

“And what if we can’t stop Dylan?” Zenith pressed on.

Bruce frowned, but he replied honestly, “Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez… would find out you are…”

“I am Lucian.” Zenith finished the sentence for him.

Bruce fell silent again, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. Zenith picked up his glass and drained it, “Arrange a meeting with Julie and Kieran tomorrow.”

**

Karl came to the hospital for Kieran’s signature on an urgent document. Julie sat on a bench in the corridor, her mind filled with Dr. Brice’s words. He had said, “Professor Fred hopes that Mr. Kyle can assist with the patient’s treatment. If Mr. Kyle can help, the chances of waking the patient are higher. So, consider arranging for Kyle to come over.”

Dr. Brice had heard about Emily’s kidnapping from Harding, so he understood Julie’s reluctance. He added, “Mr. Kyle just needs to chat with Sansa, share some common memories. If you’re worried about him, we can install a small camera in Sansa’s room. I can monitor it whenever Kyle is with her, just in case something happens.”

Dr. Brice explained everything clearly, and Julie understood his point.

In a nutshell, the professor’s point was that if they could get Kyle and Sansa to communicate more, there would be a higher chance of Sansa waking up. Without a doubt, he would do anything to awaken

Sansa. But as Dr. Brice pointed out, because Kyle had once done something that broke trust, Julie had a mental hurdle, fearing that Kyle might hurt Sansa again.

She sat on the bench, her thoughts so engrossed that she didn’t even register the noise at the end of the hall.

It was only when Kieran finished handling the contract and came to her side that she snapped back to reality. He looked at her with a somewhat strained smile.

“She’ll understand, no matter what you decide,” Kieran glanced at Sansa in the room and comfortingly said to Julie.

!

Only then did Julie notice the noise at the end of the hall growing louder. The hospital, usually quiet, was now filled with a cacophony of sounds…

Julie turned to Kieran, her brow furrowed in confusion and curiosity, “Is there something going on down there?”

Kieran shook his head, about to respond, when he saw two figures running towards them.

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Upon closer inspection, it was Daphne, bundled up tightly, and Lionel, with a baseball cap and mask.

Daphne was more than four months pregnant, but because of her petite frame, her pregnancy wasn’t visible under her puffer jacket.

Julie stood up as she saw Daphne approaching, “Why are you bundled up like a burrito coming to the hospital?”

anymore!”

Daphne touched her belly, “I came for a prenatal check-up. I remembered that Sansa was in the hospital, so I came to see her after my check-up.”

After saying this, Daphne turned to Lionel with a face full of pity, crying out dramatically, “It’s over, I’m totally exposed. I can’t show my face

“What happened?” Juke asked, concern in her voice as she steadied Daphne.

Daphne turned to Vionel and glared at him.

Today was the day Daphne had scheduled a prenatal check-up at Hope Hospital, but Lionel spent the entire night at her apartment and claimed he was taking her to Hope Hospital the next morning However, he sneakily took her, who had fallen asleep in the car, to Tranquil Care Hospital instead. Moreover, he threatened her that if she didn’t get out of the car, he would remove his baseball cap and mask and announce their relationship.

Daphne was a paper tiger, acting tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Once her weakness was exposed, she was more docile than a kitten at home.

So she put the hood of her puffer jacket over her head and followed Lionel into the hospital.

Considering Lionel was also bundled up, Daphne didn’t believe anyone could recognize him. However, reality proved… she was too naive.

While she was having her ultrasound, Lionel was waiting outside. Everything was going according to plan until…

There was no problem when Daphne went in, but when she came out… she found Lionel surrounded by people, both men and women, clearly recognizing him and asking for photos and autographs.

Who would’ve thought a retired celebrity would be more popular than the struggling starlets in the entertainment industry?

Daphne’s first instinct was to pretend she didn’t know him and run. But plans always fail to keep up with changes. In the crowded crowd, someone accidentally pushed her

At that time, there was a wall of people between her and Lionel. But Lionel managed to hold her waist to prevent her from falling, crossing the human wall to her side.

Afterwards, they didn’t even have time to show the doctor the test results and fled from the hospital building.

Daphne remembered Sansa was in the hospital, so she decided to visit, but they were photographed all the way…

So it was easy to guess how her rela

with Lionel would be interpreted when these photos were uploaded online. That’s why Daphne said she was exposed.

After hearing the whole story, Julie laughed and patted Daphne’s shoulder, comforting her, “Don’t take it too seriously. There is a way to solve it.”

“A solution? What solution?” Daphne asked with a curious look, grabbing Julie’s hand.