Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 285

"Want some more?" Daphne offered her ice cream to Julien like it was a prized possession.

Julien, without hesitation, took it from Daphne's hand and started eating it voraciously.

In all the years she had known Julien, Julie had never seen her indulge in a snack like this. It was truly a sight to see. But...

Wasn't her eating manner a bit too aggressive? It was less of eating and more of stuffing her mouth.

Was this binge eating a result of some traumatic experience, perhaps?

Julie gently patted Julien's back, concern lining her features. Julien, with a mouthful of ice cream, looked back at Julie with a confused expression, as if asking 'why are you patting my back?' through her gaze.

"You're going to get a brain freeze if you eat ice cream like that," Julie remarked, watching Julien's eating frenzies.

Julien then handed the now-empty ice cream tub back to Daphne.

Daphne tossed it into a nearby trash bin and chuckled, "I always thought you were too high and mighty to enjoy such earthly pleasures. Turns out you also love vanilla ice cream, just like me."

Julien looked perplexed, "What ice cream?"

"...So, you just ate half a tub of ice cream without even knowing what flavor it was?" Daphne asked, the disbelief evident on her face.

"That's vanilla, vanilla ice cream. The one you just ate," she said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"Ah," was the only response Julien gave.

Julie suddenly grabbed Julien's shoulder, "Who are you, and what have you done to my Julien?"

Julien swatted Julie's hand away, and turned to Daphne, "Give me the couch."

Daphne glanced at the couch beneath her, a grey piece of furniture that had been with her for a while now.

She patted the couch, speaking to it as if it were a pet, "My dear couch, the queen has taken a liking to you. It's an honor really. She wants to take you away, but don't miss me too much. I'll come visit you occasionally."

"I didn't mean your couch," Julien retorted, looking at Julie, "I meant, I'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"You're not going home tonight?" Julie asked, looking surprised, "Won't Hayden be looking for you?"

"Why would he be looking for me?" Julien countered, trying to play it cool, yet eagerly awaiting Julie's answer.

Daphne chimed in, "My God, are you pretending to be cute? Hayden adores you; how could he not miss you?"

"I think Hayden's feelings for Julien go beyond mere fondness," Julie pondered.

After a moment, Daphne nodded, "Yes, I think it's love. How else could he put up with our queen?"

Upon hearing this, Julien abruptly stood up and headed towards Daphne's bedroom.

"Julien, where are you going?" Julie called out.

"To make a bed on the floor," came Julien's aloof reply from the bedroom.

Daphne covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, leaning in to whisper to Julie, "Don't you find her attitude adorable? I've thought of a nickname for my baby."

"What is it?" Julie asked, merely curious, but not holding out much hope for Daphne's idea.

And rightly so, because Daphne, with a triumphant grin, revealed, "I've decided to name my baby 'Queen'!"

Julie looked at Daphne as if she had lost her mind, "What if it's a boy?"

"Oh... right," Daphne quickly apologized to her unborn child, "Sorry, baby. Your dumb mom didn't think that far."

Julie patted Daphne's shoulder sympathetically, "Don't worry, Daphne. Your child has a smart father."

"I've got it!" Daphne suddenly exclaimed, grabbing Julie's hand, "If it's a boy, we'll call him 'Prince'! Aren't I a genius?"

Watching Daphne, Julie mentally said a prayer for Mr. Lionel.

Meanwhile, an ecstatic Daphne ran off to the bedroom to share the news with Julien.

True to her word, Julien had made a makeshift bed on the floor using blankets from the wardrobe.

"My dear queen," Daphne began, brimming with excitement, "I've thought of two nicknames for my baby. If it's a boy, we'll call him 'Prince', and if it's a girl, 'Queen'. What do you think? Genius, right?"

Julien, with an air of aloofness, withdrew her hand and pointed at the bed. "Sit there."

Daphne obediently climbed onto the bed and sat on its edge.

"Do you want me to dig up some dirt on Lionel's series of ex-girlfriends?" Julien asked.

Julie couldn't help but laugh. "This is the first time I've heard someone describe ex-girlfriends as series."

"Let's not go down that road," Daphne said, chuckling. "We might end up unearthing another series."

"Have some faith," Julie said, patting Daphne's shoulder. Then, a thought crossed her mind, and she turned to Julien. "By the way, isn't your sister close friends with Ms. Albertine? Lionel was mentored by Ms. Albertine herself, so she should know him well. Instead of investigating his past relationships, why not ask someone reliable?"

Julien agreed with Julie's suggestion and nodded. "I'll ask her."

"Actually…" Daphne paused, "I've been thinking about this. If Lionel can win over my parents, I probably won't have any issues. I mean, I can't deny Lionel's personal charm."

"Has Lionel ever confessed his feelings to you?" Julie asked, her curiosity piqued.

Daphne looked at Julie, puzzled. "Confessed? Like 'I love you'?"

The next moment, Julien's head bumped against the bedside table.

Alarmed, Daphne and Julie peered over the edge of the bed, asking in unison, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Sleep now!" Julien said, switching off the light. The authoritative tone left no room for argument.

"Julien, you're acting a bit strange tonight," Julie whispered, lying on the edge of the bed.

"When am I not strange?" Julien shot back.

As Daphne was about to say something to Julie, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. The phone kept ringing, not the typical behavior of a spam call.

She picked up the phone.

A cool, deep voice came over the line, "Put Julien on the phone."