Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 213

Three times!!

“Stop looking at me like that!” Daphne covered her face with a pillow from the side.

Julie cautiously asked, “Can I ask when this happened…”

Daphne shot Julie a warning glance.

Julie made a zip-your-mouth gesture.

Exasperated, Daphne yelled at the ceiling, then said, “The first time was the night of the charity gala.

After you and Kieran left, Albertine started pouring me drinks. She was such a go-getter, kept pushing

me to drink, saying she wanted to catch up with Lord Lion. The baffling thing is, her hubby didn’t even

stop her! He actually let her go to Lord Lion’s place. But that’s not the point. The point is, why on earth

did they have to drag me into it?”

Fuming, Daphne said, “Then I was forced into their car!”

“Go on.” Julie sounded interested.

Daphne glared at Julie, “I texted you after I got in the car! Do you remember?”

Julie recalled the events of that night and suddenly remembered, “Oh right, I think I got a message

from you but I didn’t check it right away. You said Lord Lion was taking you to his place and you were

afraid you might not resist sleeping with him. Are you talking about that message”

“That’s the one! I even made up an excuse to use the restroom to call and text you, but you ignored

me!”

In Daphne’s second message, she did mention that she was in the restroom.

“Then, Ms. Albertine came to the bathroom to fetch me, so I had to bite the bullet and get back in Lord

Lion’s car. Then you texted me saying the fans had surrounded the gala. I told you I was in Lord Lion’s

car, asking if you were going to rescue me, but you ignored me again. Then I sent the last message,

saying I was ready to give up on myself!”

“I only saw those messages when I got home. Then I asked you if you needed rescuing and you said

no because Mr. Lionel would take you home soon. And then you didn’t reply anymore…” Julie said.

Daphne, “That message was sent by Ms. Albertine! She said it’s not good to be on the phone all the

time during the party. Let me tell you, I thought I had a decent tolerance for alcohol, but Ms. Albertine

got me drunk so easily…”

“So…”

“Apparently, I was the one who asked him to sleep with me. From what I can remember… that seems

to be the case… I was drunk, I thought I was dreaming, haha…”

Julie gave Daphne a thumbs-up, saying, “Respect!”

Daphne went silent.

“So, how did your second time happen? The first time could be an accident, but surely the second time

wasn’t?” Julie asked.

“Well, the second time naturally happened the next morning… I thought, he’s such a big shot, I better

not mess with him! So I proposed that we should deal with this situation rationally…”

“How are you going to handle this rationally?” asked Julie.

Daphne cornered her mouth, “That’s what Lord Lion asked at the time…”

All she remembered was waking up that morning with her body aching all over, only to find herself in an

unfamiliar environment. The deep-blue satin sheets under her had a familiar cologne scent.

This scent startled Daphne into opening her eyes, only to see Lionel in a bathrobe, drying his hair by

the bed. The bathroom was full of steam. Clearly, he had just come out of the shower.

A few seconds later, Daphne realized what might have happened the night before. She swallowed

hard. Lionel had just finished drying his hair, turned his head and saw Daphne wrapped in the blanket.

Her bright eyes were wide open, obviously trying to figure out something.

Daphne believed that playing dumb was her best option at the moment.

So, she took the initiative to say, “Good morning, Lord Lion! I had too much to drink last night. If I

offended you in any way, I hope you can forgive me!”

Afterwards, she tried to get out of bed wrapped in the blanket, but heard Lionel’s deep voice saying,

“It’s really hard for me to forgive what you did last night.”

Looking at his handsome face, Daphne momentarily forgot what she was going to say next. She closed

her lips, then said, “I don’t actually remember what happened last night, but I believe, as adults, we

should handle whatever happened rationally. What do you think?”

“So, how do you plan to handle this rationally?” Lionel said, suddenly undoing the belt of his bathrobe

and taking it off.

Daphne screamed in fright. Before she could close her eyes, she saw that Lionel was actually wearing

boxers. And most importantly… his body was covered with scratches, pinches, even bite marks…

Without a doubt, those were her “achievements” from last night.

So…

She exposed one arm from the blanket, forced a smile and said, “Or… you can pinch me too?”

“Take off the blanket. His body was as perfect as a Greek sculpture, making it impossible for Daphne to

take her eyes off him.

She knew she was naked, so she held the blanket tightly, “I’m not dressed…”

“You said let me pinch you in the same way, then we’re even. How can I pinch you if you’re covering

yourself with the blanket?” He said it as if it made perfect sense, with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Daphne extended her other arm and asked, “Aren’t two arms enough?”

She looked quite pitiful.

Lionel was quite straightforward, “Why don’t you try exposing your legs as well?”

Daphne had no choice but to expose one foot from the blanket, “We must agree first, you can only

pinch, no tickling.”

As soon as Lionel sat down by the bed, Daphne quickly pulled her foot back!

Lionel smiled and said, “Is this your idea of handling things rationally? Hiding in the blanket like a child?

Can you guarantee that you won’t fight back when I pinch you?”

“If I don’t fight back, will you forget about this?”

“Alright, wherever you pinched me last night, I’ll pinch you there now. As long as you don’t retaliate,

we’ll call it even, deal?” Lionel raised an eyebrow at Daphne.

Daphne simply closed her eyes, “…Okay! Once you’ve had your revenge, let’s never see each other

again…”

Before she could finish, Lionel suddenly pounced on her. The proximity and posture made Daphne

momentarily too scared to breathe.

“Then what happened?” Julie asked Daphne excitedly, “Did he really pinch you?”

“Pinch me? He said wherever I pinched him that night, he’d pinch me there. Do you know where I

pinched him that night? Haha, I pinched his inner thigh…”

Julie once again looked at Daphne with admiration.

Daphne didn’t feel like explaining anymore, “Long story short… I ended up pregnant.”

She looked down at her flat belly, then suddenly looked up at Julie, “If I told my mom this baby was

sent by an angel from God, do you think she’d believe me?”

“Do you think you’re carrying Jesus?”

Daphne instantly lowered her head…

After a while, she finally looked up and said, “Actually, I have some good news.”

“What?”

“The doctor said I don’t have any STDs! Hahaha…”

Julie was speechless.

Julie grabbed the computer next to her, “Let me book you an appointment with a psychiatrist, okay?”

As Julie was about to search for a reputable psychiatrist nearby, she noticed Daphne’s recent search

history. Each page clearly read “Painless Abortion”.

“You’re planning to just abort? Aren’t you going to tell Mr. Lionel?”

“Why should I tell him? The baby’s in my stomach, not his. It’s my blood the baby’s drinking, not his.”

Daphne argued.

Julie tried to reason with her, “But he is a partner…”

“You reminded me! As a partner, how could he not chip in? I’ll ask him for the operation fee tomorrow! I

can’t be the only one playing the villain, right?” Daphne seriously asked Julie.

Julie thought for a moment, then nodded, “You’re right! You must demand the money confidently! Don’t

back down when the time comes!”

She gently patted Daphne’s back.

Daphne nodded, “Right, I can’t back down! Julie, sleep with me tonight! I… I just watched a video of an

abortion procedure. Now every time I think about it, my… my legs turn to jelly…”

What happened to her bravado just now?

Julie hugged Daphne sympathetically and agreed to her request, completely forgetting her promise to

surprise Kieran tonight.

It wasn’t until Kieran called her that Julie remembered her promise. She apologized to Kieran on the

phone, “Daphne’s not in a good state, so I’m… planning to stay with her tonight…”

“Do you have a date with him?” Daphne, who was eating an orange, stuffed a slice into her mouth

before speaking to Julie, “I’m fine! You go back!”

“Sorry, honey…”

After a moment of silence, Kieran’s voice came from the phone, “It’s okay. I’ll pick you up first thing

tomorrow.”

Looking at the rose petals on the bed, Mr. Hernandez couldn’t help but smile helplessly.

Julie stayed with Daphne overnight. Early the next morning, she received a call from Kieran. Today was

Ivan’s birthday, and since Daphne was Ivan’s godmother, Kieran came to pick them up for the party.

Hearing the doorbell, Daphne kicked Julie who was on the couch, “Your hubby’s here!”

Julie gave Daphne a helpless look, then got up to open the door. However, the person standing outside

was not Kieran.