Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 49

In the private room of the hotel.

It seemed like everyone was conspiring, despite so many available seats, they’d left the one next to Julie for Kieran. By the time Kieran came back from his call, the only spot left was next to Julie,

Daphne, worried, whispered to Julie, Julie, should we swap seats?”

Julie shook her head. Swapping seats now would only make things more awkward, wouldn’t it?

She tried to keep things lowkey. The first half of the dinner went smoothly until Porter, having had too much to drink, suddenly became melancholic and started reminiscing about the past. He even blurted out to Julie, Julie, you have no idea, I used to admire you so much, you were so head over heels in love! Why didn’t you end up with Mr. Hernandez? Here, Julie, I toast to you, for love, for youth!”

With that, Porter handed Julie a full glass of hard liquor

They were old classmates, and it had been long since they last saw each other. They always had so much to catch up on when they gathered. After a few drinks, everyone was a bit tipsy. They all stood up and egged Julie on, “Come on, Porcupine’s right, for love, for youth‘ Julie, you gotta drink this one.”

Julie knew she wouldn’t be able to leave without downing the drink.

Daphne, who just had an appendectomy, could not drink, otherwise, she would have stepped in and drunk it for Julie.

Knowing that she had to drink the liquor, Julie bravely picked up the glass and downed it in one go.

“Didn’t expect Julie to be so gutsy! Viviana, you should toast to Julie, weren’t you guys roommates?” Porter suggested.

Viviana, always up for a good time, raised her glass and smiled at Julie. “Julie, here’s to you.”

Julie, already blushing from the drinks she’d been sipping, shook her head and laughed. “I can’t hold my liquor well, I’ll make a fool of myself if I get drunk. How about I stick to juice?”

That’s no fun. How about we play Quarters? If you win, I drink. If you lose, you drink two?” Viviana was always up for a challenge.

Julie quickly waved her off. “No way, I don’t know how to play”

“How about Rock, Paper, Scissors then?” Kieran’s voice suddenly sounded from the side, suggesting it casually.

Julie couldn’t help but glance at Kieran, mentally chewing him out.

Viviana laughed. “Alright then, if you win, I drink, and you can pick the next challenger. If you lose, you keep challenging until you win. After we go around the table, we pick a new champion. Sound good?”

Everyone agreed to Viviana’s proposal. If Julie refused, she’d seem like a party pooper.

Porter said, “It’s a reunion, we’re here to have fun, Julie, don’t hesitate!”

With nowhere left to go, Julie was forced to play along. Surprisingly, she breezed through all the challenges and landed in front of Kieran without any

issues.

As she looked up at Kieran, their eyes met, and Julie froze. The room, which was bustling just a moment ago, suddenly fell quiet. You could hear a pin drop.