Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 322

They hadn’t expected that the person pushing open the classroom door would be their teacher Dr. Norwood. Back in the day, Julie was quite the troublemaker in his eyes, but it was no secret that Dr. Norwood had a soft spot for her, largely due to his admiration for Kieran.

At the last school anniversary, Dr. Norwood had hosted Kieran alongside the Dean. It was clear that neither of them had anticipated Kieran and Julie visiting the campus at this hour.

Necks craned in the classroom...

Dr. Norwood beckoned Julie and Kieran with a wave, "Ms. Abraham, Mr. Hernandez?"

The usually vivacious Julie suddenly became quiet.

An energetic student shouted at Dr. Norwood, "Sir, who are you talking to?"

"Our pride and joy from past years, the current Chairman and CEO of Simpo Co., Kieran, and the star of our Law School, Julie, Mrs. Hernandez," Dr. Norwood replied with the same affable charm he had always been known for, instantly connecting with the students.

The students buzzed with excitement, ready to jump to their feet. Only freshmen attended evening study sessions at West City Law School, and though they were new, they had already heard the legends of Julie and Kieran. They had only seen the couple in the news, and now that they were standing right there in the flesh, the first-year students couldn't contain their enthusiasm after hearing Dr. Norwood's introduction.

Seeing the excitement, Dr. Norwood opened the door wider and greeted Kieran and Julie with a warm smile, "What brings you to the school at this hour?"

Kieran, with a smile, pulled Julie into his arms, "Just taking a stroll."

"The kids seem thrilled. Care to come in and say hi?" Dr. Norwood always exuded a friendly demeanor. "We didn't really catch up at the last reunion."

The professor stood by the door, gesturing for them to come in – it would have been rude to refuse.

So Kieran, holding Julie's hand, led her inside.

Cheers and applause erupted in the classroom, with students clapping and banging their desks in excitement. Many pulled out their phones to snap pictures, thrilled by the moment.

Dr. Norwood pointed at Kieran and announced to the students, "This is one of our distinguished alumni, Mr. Hernandez. He never missed a class at our law school, aced the bar exam with a top score at just eighteen, and after gaining his legal credentials, came back to attend a class each week. I remember when Mr. Hernandez attended class; our auditorium was packed to the rafters, everyone eager to...oh, to listen to my lecture, of course! This is the pride of our Law School. Let's give him a round of applause!"

The applause was thunderous, and Julie felt a rush of humility standing by Kieran's side, especially as he smiled so tenderly.

After the applause, Dr. Norwood turned to Julie with a smile and simply introduced her, "And this is Joyce Abraham, the student who entered our Law School with the highest grades from high school."

In reality, she had changed her name...

"She's now Mrs. Hernandez. And the wishing tree on campus, I'm sure there's no one here who doesn't know about it, right?" The professor then playfully asked, "Anyone who doesn't know?"

The crowd unanimously shook their heads, "No!"

Dr. Norwood chuckled, "Exactly. Ms. Abraham is the one who made history with that tree. But on that note, I wouldn't advise following her lead, students!"

Feeling her face heat up at his words, Julie quickly agreed with a laugh, "Absolutely, confessing is risky, pursue love with caution."

Her humor instantly drew laughter from the students.

Then a bold student, looking at Kieran, exclaimed, "I read on Wikipedia that you graduated from Futuro Business College next door, and you aced the bar exam too? That's insanely cool!"

Another student chimed in, "Yeah, how did you decide to take the bar exam? You're such an unstoppable CEO now!"

Kieran smiled warmly, affectionately stroking Julie's hair, his voice resonating through the room, "Well, once there was a young girl who liked a young man. She thought he was aiming for Pinnacle University, so she worked her tail off to come out on top of her class and got into Pinnacle. But then she learned that the young man had gone to Futuro Business College and thought about redoing her senior year to try for another university..."

Before he could continue, Julie cut in, "And then that young man tricked that naive young girl, saying that if she went to Law School, he'd come to class every week..."

She couldn't let him tell the whole story alone!

Before Julie could finish, Kieran took up the tale again, "And the young man kept his word, didn't he? He came every week."

Julie couldn't deny it—he had come every week. But as Dr. Norwood said, the auditorium was always jam-packed, and she, being petite, was always squeezed out to the back, hardly catching a glimpse of him!

Kieran remembered the students' questions and seriously replied, "About that bar exam, I didn't really have to take it. It was just that Mrs. Hernandez here was a bit distracted back then, and I was worried she might not graduate. So I took the exam first, planning to help her study afterward."

Julie never denied that she owed a lot to Mr. Hernandez for her college graduation. After all, it was partly due to the fact that they had tied the knot halfway through her studies, thanks to a bizarre accident orchestrated by none other than Sansa Abraham.

They nodded and smiled as they watched Dr. Norwood return to the classroom to settle the students.

Kieran placed Julie's cap back on her head and, hand in hand, they made their discreet exit.

As they passed the dormitory, they witnessed a boy confessing to a girl, pledging earnestly, "Jane, I really like you. Trust me, I'll marry you someday, anytime, anywhere. I'll work hard and make sure you never want for anything, even if I'm no trust fund baby..."

The girl, moved to tears, threw herself into his arms.

Julie turned to Kieran, "Ah, the romance of courtship! If you'd said that to me back then, I'd have... no, wait, if you'd started with the first sentence, I would've dragged you straight to the courthouse. Who'd wait for 'someday'?"

"We weren't even of legal age to marry. The courthouse wouldn't have..." He stopped mid-sentence, catching the look on Mrs. Hernandez's face. Was she finding him unromantic?

Kieran tentatively turned to Julie, asking softly, "Jealous?"

He thought if she said 'yes,' he might do something utterly juvenile right there, like delivering a belated confession.

In fact, Kieran had rehearsed the words in his mind, ready to spill his heart out.

But he didn't expect Julie's next words to be, "I've never been jealous since I've been with you."

His prepared declaration of love was silenced right there.

Just as Kieran was feeling moved...

"I'm just envious of my husband. What did he do to deserve a wife like me? It's a stroke of ancestral fortune!"

Kieran was speechless. Indeed, his Joyce was even more shameless than he was!

Wrapping his arms around her, he replied, "Yes, it's the good karma of eighteen generations that led me to such a wife."

Was that a compliment or a dig? Julie pondered.