Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 274

Julie nudged the man’s back, “How sure are you that Zenith is your brother?”

“Ninety percent,” he replied. The remaining ten percent was because he was still pondering why Lucian would intentionally forge his identity.

Julie nodded, “If that’s the case, let’s go eat! Even the most perfect lie has loopholes. Without interacting with them, how can we know if they are real or not? Besides, our original intention was to seek cooperation, right? Let’s not mention Lucian tonight, just talk about cooperation, and shamelessly eat at the Moore residence!*

The Moore Residence.

Zenith had anticipated that Kieran and Julie would come to Sycamore Village, and even visit Dahlia. But he did not expect them to have the audacity to visit for a second time.

So when Julie, Kieran, and Ivan appeared at the doorstep again, Zenith was left momentarily speechless.

Ivan cheerfully stuffed two bags of candies and snacks into Zenith’s arms, then cheekily said, “Have a peaceful Advent, Uncle!”

After saying this, the little guy darted into the house. Kieran pointed to Ivan’s back and said, “The kid is still young and doesn’t understand manners. He saw you look like my brother and called you uncle. Please bear with it, Mr. Moore.”

Before Zenith could finish his sentence, a lively voice echoed from inside the house, Hello, Grandma, my name is Ivan Hernandez.”

Zenith glared at Julie and Kieran, then quickly headed inside.

Julie gave Kieran a look, and followed Zenith into the house.

Ivan was a lively and cheerful child, and even though Dahlia was blind, she could feel his politeness and cuteness. Ivan sat next to Dahlia and asked, “Grandma, would you like some fruit? Shall I peel an apple for you?”

Dahlia, scared at the thought of the little boy handling a knife, quickly called out, “Zenith, quickly take the knife away from him.”

“Mr. Hernandez, why did you come back again?” Even though the old lady was blind, her hearing was exceptionally good.

Kieran, holding Ivan’s hand, replied, “We realized it’s almost the Advent after we left, and my wife said I was thoughtless. It’s the holiday season, so it was rude of us to just leave like that. So we brought snacks to apologize.”

He glanced at the snacks in Zenith’s hand, his expression flawless.

As they were guests bringing gifts, it would seem rude and suspicious to turn them away now.

So, eventually, Dahlia extended an invitation, “Mr. Hernandez, it’s thoughtful of you. Since you’re here, why not stay for dinner?”

Kieran and Julie, who had come for this exact reason, naturally agreed.

Julie volunteered, “I’ll help in the kitchen.”

+

Zenith, who had been giving Kieran unfriendly looks, became even more hostile after Julie and Ivan left.

But Kieran seemed unfazed. He sat down next to Dahlia, took her hand, and asked, “Would you mind if I called you Grandma? I felt an instant connection with Mr. Moore when I saw him, like seeing my own brother.”

Zenith was speechless.

Dahlia could not refuse, so she simply nodded.

Kieran asked her, heard you only have Zenith as your grandson, so you’re especially close, right?”

“Why don’t you just ask me directly, Mr. Hernandez?” Zenith took Kieran’s hand off Dahlia’s arm.

Following Zenith’s words, Kieran turned back, not to ask Zenith as he had anticipated, but to smile at him and say, “My grandmother always said to truly understand a person, you need to delve into the people around them. Mr. Moore, you know I am keen to work with you, so naturally, I want to get to know you better by chatting with Dahlia. Please don’t mind me.”

After saying this, Kieran turned back to Dahlia.

Zenith stepped forward and lifted Kieran from the sofa, “Mr. Hernandez, didn’t you want to discuss cooperation with me? Can we talk in private?”

Zenith had made his intentions clear. If Kieran continued to cling to Dahlia, it would be inappropriate.

Kieran followed Zenith out to the small garden, all the while admiring the landscape design and occasionally offering his opinion. He didn’t seem here to investigate any truth but more like a tourist who had come to visit.

They sat down on the wicker chairs in the garden, and Zenith asked with a placid expression, “Mr. Hernandez, are you having trouble understanding my words?”

“I get you alright, it’s just that I’ve been stubborn and a bit thick-skinned since I was a kid,” Kieran said thoughtfully, not considering his stubbornness and thick skin a flaw.

-Zenith chose not to comment on this.

Instead, he said to Kieran, “In that case, I’ll say it one more time, Mr. Hernandez. First, I’m the only grandson of the Moore family, not your long-dead brother. Second, Fred did not pass on any special skills to me, so I can’t possibly save your sister-in-law. Moreover, if your company has any crisis-related issues that need to be dealt with, my team can certainly provide assistance. And since you’re here today, we’ll treat you as a guest, so I hope you won’t mind having a meal with us. After eating, I hope you won’t disturb my family anymore. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, not at all,” he nodded, indicating his agreement.

Ivan appeared at the door and shouted, “Daddy, Uncle, dinner’s ready!”

Zenith started to feel a headache.

This kid was getting more comfortable with calling him uncle. Zenith and Kieran got up together and headed to the dining room, Dahlia had food brought to her room and Helga was taking care of Dahlia.

The entire dinner table was just Zenith and Julie’s family.

Ivan was already seated at the dining table, drooling over the food. Kieran and Zenith sat across the table, sizing each other up.

Julie served all the food and then turned to look at Zenith, “By the way Mr. Moore, I noticed you have oranges in your house, so I squeezed some orange juice for Ivan. You don’t mind, do you?”

“Feel free, Mrs. Hernandez.”

Julie turned around and went back into the kitchen, and Zenith hinted at Kieran, “Birds of a feather flock together, huh?”

This meant that Julie was as thick-skinned as Kieran.

Kieran shrugged, not minding at all, instead, he chuckled and said, “It’s fate! I owe my brother for sparing my life back then…”

At this point, Kieran hooked his lips and deliberately stopped, “Oh, sorry. That’s my family matters.”

Zenith, with a fake smile, picked up his fork and was about to eat when a startled scream came from behind him.

Before he could turn around, an icy sensation suddenly came from his back. He could feel his entire shirt getting wet.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Julie’s apologetic voice came from behind.

Predicting that Julie’s next move would be to lift his shirt, Zenith stood up pre-emptively, turned around, and faced Julie.

Julie’s hand, which was about to lift Zenith’s shirt, was left hanging in mid-air. Kieran was at a table’s distance. Just as Zenith was about to speak, a warm little hand, through the fabric, touched his back.

“Oh, my orange juice!” Ivan lamented.

Zenith dodged the little guy’s hand, fearing he would lift his shirt, but put on a face of calm, giving Julie a displeased look.

Julie was full of apologies, “I’m sorry, Mr. Moore. The kitchen floor is a bit lower than the tiles outside, so…”

Zenith gave Julie a glare and said, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll go take care of this.”

With that, he turned around and went upstairs.

Julie, with her back to Zenith, winked at Kieran. Kieran naturally knew what Julie meant. She wanted to confirm whether Zenith had the same birthmark on his back.

Because if Zenith wanted to remove the birthmark, there was no way it wouldn’t leave a scar.

Kieran abruptly stood up, following cautiously behind.

Noticing the two adopting a mysterious demeanor, Ivan lowered his voice, asking, “What’s Kerry up to?”

Julie gently ruffled the young boy’s hair, simplifying her response, “He probably needed to go to the restroom.”

“Oh,” Ivan decided to focus on his food.

A few minutes later, Kieran returned downstairs, slightly ahead of Zenith.

Julie promptly sat down next to Kieran, theatrically picking up a fork and eating from the plate. Then she looked expectantly at Kieran, “Well? Did you see? Is there

a birthmark?”.