Love's Cunning Ruse novel Chapter 350

Julie's heart raced with disbelief, her hand trembling as she clutched her phone. She swiveled her head to look at Camilla, her face a picture of shock. "You guys haven't...done it?"

The moment the words left her mouth, Julie clammed up, feeling like she'd just come off as some sort of nosy know-it-all...

Camilla, meanwhile, blushed a deep crimson, her head bowed in shyness, which only seemed to confirm Julie's newfound role as the daring one. Julie forced a smile, at a loss for words. She had always thought of Camilla as worldly, having been brought up overseas, and coupled with the fact that her boyfriend was a true-blue Brit, she figured they'd have been intimate long ago, following the Western way of things. But Camilla was so...innocent. It was astonishing!

Embarrassed, Julie quickly deleted the message she had sent earlier and composed a new one, more of a threat this time, and sent it to Camilla's beau. Handing the phone back, she chuckled awkwardly, "He should be out soon, I guess..."

Since nothing had happened between them, Julie was relieved that Camilla's heartache wasn't as deep as it could have been.

Camilla waited by the door, clutching her phone with hope.

They had almost given up on Simonson showing up when, to everyone's surprise, Julie's forceful text seemed to do the trick. Soon after, they saw him sprinting towards the door.

Ignoring Julie and Kieran, he only had eyes for Camilla, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards his car.

Kieran watched from a distance, surprised at the man's brusqueness, especially after Camilla had described him as nothing but polite. Julie intervened, grabbing Simonson's arm, "What do you think you're doing?"

"What?" Simonson snapped, shrugging her off and sending Julie tumbling to the ground.

"Simonson, stop!" Camilla quickly embraced him.

Julie hit the ground hard, feeling like her backside was no longer her own. She wished she hadn't intervened...

As she looked up at the brute, he was already walking away with Camilla in his grip.

However, Kieran caught hold of his other arm, an interruption Simonson hadn't anticipated. Swiveling around, he found himself face to face with a tall man glaring at him. His face clouded over with rage, he blurted out, "And just who the hell do you think you are—"

Before he could finish, he was kicked to the ground, face up.

Julie, still seated on the ground, couldn't help but admire her husband's takedown. It was cool, to say the least.

Kieran helped Julie up, his brow furrowed with concern, "Did you hurt yourself?"

Julie knew if she admitted her backside was sore, Kieran might very well offer to massage it right then and there. So she quickly shook her head, "No, no, he got it worse than me!"

Simonson certainly did take a hard fall, ending up looking like he might have knocked his tailbone out of commission. As he finally stood up, ready to unleash his fury on Kieran, Julie stepped closer, wrapping her arm around Kieran's.

"Honey, don't get too heated," she said in a soothing tone. "Sure, you're good at fighting, but let's not forget hospital bills are expensive. Remember that guy you put in a coma for hitting his girlfriend? He is still unconscious in the hospital."

Simonson hesitated, remembering just how effortlessly he'd been floored, and decided to stand down. Fuming, he grabbed Camilla's wrist, "You're coming with me!"

Julie moved to intercept him, but Camilla, with tear-filled eyes, turned to her and said, "Joyce, I'm fine. I just want to hear what he has to say. He won't hurt me. Right, Simonson?"

Her voice was filled with desperate hope, and even Julie felt a pang of sympathy.

Relying on Kieran's presence and knowing that Simonson's fear of Christine finding out about Camilla, Julie boldly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Right?"

"What could I possibly do to her?" Simonson retorted, his impatience evident. He yanked Camilla into the car, and they sped away. Kieran winked at Eric, "Follow her."

Without hesitation, Eric revved up the engine and took off after Camilla.

Julie furrowed her brow, a tinge of worry in her voice, "Do you think Camilla will be alright? That jerk seemed a bit violent!"

Kieran reassured her with a confident pat on the back, "Eric's on it, she'll be fine."

"Hmm," she scoffed, and then, still using the wet wipe, she took his hand.

At that moment, the hand Camilla grasped was trembling, "Miss, Christine is pregnant, and I..."

"Are you scared?" Camilla's smile was angelic.

To anyone else, her innocent features would seem the epitome of purity, but to Simonson, they sent a chill down his spine.

She patted his hand gently, "How about I give you a chance to even the score?"

"No, no, no... I couldn't possibly."

Hearing the fear in his voice, Camilla took his hand and softly tapped it against her face, "Hit me just as I hit you. Eye for an eye, fair enough?"

Simonson's face, still stinging from her earlier slap, knew the force she used was no joke. To return the slap with the same strength would surely leave half of Camilla's face swollen—a prospect he wouldn't dare entertain even if he had a million opportunities to do so.

So he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Or let's do this instead." Camilla released Simonson's hand and smiled at him, her demeanor as gentle as a spring breeze, "Choose between slapping me back and the child in Christine's womb. It shouldn't be too hard, right?"

He was silent. The choice was more torturous than death itself. Although he'd long wanted to hit her, he couldn't.

"Seems you can't bear to hit me," Camilla said, folding the used wet wipe into a neat square.

Desperate, Simonson made a rash decision. His hand flew toward Camilla's face with all his might...