Love’s Cunning Ruse

Chapter 154

MoMo was twirling the diamond ring, looking at Ivan with both surprise and guilt. “Really? So if I took Ms. Albertine’s ring, will she divorce Babur?”

Ivan, deep in thought, looked at MoMo. “I don’t know if Ms. Albertine would divorce Babur, but if you take her ring, she’s definitely going to scold you tonight.”

“What should I do then? Sillyvan, can I stay over at your house tonight?” MoMo looked at Ivan with a pitiful face.

Ivan eyed MoMo and replied coolly, “Boys can’t just bring girls home to spend the night.”

“I’m not a girl, I’m Cupid, the god of love, a little angel. You can take me home. I’ll shoot your parents with my little bow and arrow and I promise they’ll never divorce!”

Ivan looked at her, speechless.

She must have been watching too much TV!

Ivan ignored her, but he was still thinking about the ring.

After school, Ivan was the first to rush out.

Noah, who was waiting at the gate, hadn’t recovered before he saw Ivan get into the car. “To the mall!”

“But Mrs. Abraham said……”

Noah was interrupted by Ivan before he could finish. “If you don’t drive me to the mall, I’ll tell Shannon that you sneaked a smoke.”

Such a little kid, and he’s already threatening people!

Noah had been trying to quit smoking for ages, but decades of addiction weren’t so easily overcome. He had just said he was going to quit, and then Ivan caught him. If Shannon knew he hadn’t smoked again, wouldn’t he get a lecture when he got home?

So, ensuring Ivan’s safety, Noah took out his phone to call Julie. Because Julie just said she would personally pick up Ivan after school.

Unfortunately, before he could make the call, the phone was grabbed by Ivan. “What are you doing?”

“Mrs. Abraham said she would pick you up, where are you going? I need to inform Mrs. Abraham.” Noah replied.

Ivan quickly took Noah’s phone to his chest. “I’ll just send my mom a message. Let’s hurry to the mall! I want to buy a gift for my mom.”

Ivan took out his phone and sent Julie a message, then let Noah take him to the mall.

Julie received Ivan’s message: Mama Julie, don’t come to pick me up!

As playful as ever, Ivan’s tone made Julie somewhat uneasy.

She dialed Noah’s number, but no one picked up.

Julie, still worried, called Ivan, only to be directly hung up on.

Julie, still uneasy after a few moments of hesitation, decided to call Kieran.

Kieran was sitting in the main seat of the conference room, with the company’s department managers and general managers reporting on the latest quarterly situation.

His phone, set to silent on the table, suddenly lit up. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Kieran glanced down at his phone, a subtle move that drew everyone’s attention to Mr. Hernandez.

Because it was a call from Julie, Kieran handed the phone to Karl.

“Pick it up.” Then Kieran turned to the department manager calmly. “Continue.”

Three minutes later, Karl approached Kieran with his phone. “Mrs. Abraham said… she can’t reach Ivan or Noah.”

After a moment of silence, Kieran motioned for Karl to hand him his phone. He dialed Ivan’s number while pointing out flaws in the department manager’s report. Then he said, “Meeting adjourned.”

Kieran remained calm throughout the process.

When the company executives stood up, Ivan’s call connected.

Ivan’s childish voice came through the phone. “Kerry, you’ve got

a great son!”

“If my good son doesn’t behave, I can give him to someone else anytime.” Kieran’s tone was somewhat suppressed.

Ivan, who had always been good at reading moods, chuckled on the other end of the line. “Then please send me to Mama Julie!”

“Where are you?” Kieran cut to the chase.

Ivan thought for a moment, then replied, “Grand Emporium Plaza. But don’t tell Mama Julie, Kerry, you better hurry, or you might lose

lovely Julie.”

“Give the phone to Noah.” Kieran ordered. But…

Ivan, as usual, disobeyed. “If you don’t come, I’ll tell Mama Julie what’s hidden in your safe!”

The sly Kieran on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then said to Ivan, “How about I give you a bath tonight?”

Ivan pouted innocently. Why did he feel like Kieran was implying he was going to scrub a layer of skin off him tonight?

Feeling guilty, Ivan quickly hung up the phone. A rare act of boldness for him.

Looking at the disconnected call, Kieran smiled ruefully, then called Julie back.

Julie immediately apologized, “Sorry to disturb your meeting…”

“Ivan is with me, do you want to come over or should I pick you up?” Kieran asked Julie.

Once she confirmed Ivan was safe, Julie, wearing a hat and mask, responded crisply. “As long as Ivan is fine, I have other things to do, so see you tonight…”

With that, Julie quickly hung up the phone.

Kieran stared at his phone for a moment, then stood up and told Karl, “Go to Grand Emporium Plaza.”

In the jewelry store at Grand Emporium Plaza.

Kieran spotted Ivan sitting on a high stool in the jewelry store in a heartbeat.

Ivan was wearing a black-and-white striped shirt with a black knit sweater on top and a matching bow tie/around his neck. His head was resting on the glass display case, looking down at the rings inside, his chubby fingers pointing here and there, appearing quite conflicted.

Noah was standing respectfully nearby, his gaze fixed on Ivan’s other hand.

The little guy was holding Noah’s phone.

No wonder Noah couldn’t answer his calls. Ivan could be quite a handful when he wanted to be.

The store staff didn’t pay much attention to Ivan, assuming he was just some rich kid fooling around, not seriously considering buying a diamond ring, until Kieran suddenly sat down next to him.

Only then did the staff connect the dots, recognizing Ivan as the cute kid from yesterday’s press conference… So, he was Mr. Hernandez’s son.

The staff instantly asked, “What style are you looking for, Mr. Hernandez?”

“Kerry, what style do you think Mama Julie would like?” Ivan asked Kieran, pointing at the two largest diamonds.

Kieran brazenly replied, “Of course she likes my style.”

“Kerry, haven’t you noticed that Mama Julie doesn’t have a diamond ring?” Ivan asked seriously, his big eyes looking at Kieran intently.

Kieran nodded, indicating he understood, then asked Ivan, “So what?”

“Cupid’s dad, Babur, bought Ms. Albertine a big diamond ring, and I heard she was thrilled! Let’s get the biggest one, so Mama Julie can be happy too.” Ivan said excitedly.

Kieran finally understand, the little guy had deliberately distracted Julie to buy her a diamond ring.

Before Kieran could reply, Ivan tugged at his sleeve, “Kerry, you’re loaded, we can get her the biggest one, right?”

Before Kieran could respond, Ivan pointed at the largest diamond and asked the salesperson, “Miss, could you count how many zeros are in the price for me?”

Hearing the little guy call her ‘Miss’, the salesperson’s eyes lit up

Kieran glanced at the ring Ivan had picked and his forehead twitched. It was indeed ‘the biggest’.

The salesperson turned to Kieran with a smile, “This pigeon’s egg diamond ring is called Zero. It has 19.3 carats and is an aquamarine ring. There are twelve white diamonds around the gemstone, forming three butterflies. The twelve diamonds symbolize the twelve months, expressing the giver’s love and care for the recipient. There’s only one in the world and it’s here for exhibition. The name Zero is meant to express the idea of everything starting from zero, gathering little by little to form love and care.”

“But you still didn’t tell me how many zeros are in the price!” Ivan looked at the salesperson innocently.

The salesperson awkwardly replied, “Uhh… seven zeros.”

The little guy took out his bank card and placed it on the table, muttering, “… thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand… Kerry, you should pay! After all, Mama Julie is your wife!”

After saying this, Ivan glumly put his bank card back in his backpack.

11:16

Ivan couldn’t help but chuckle. He looked down at the ostentatious diamond ring and firmly said, “Julie doesn’t like anything this flashy.” Ivan nodded in agreement, “I think so too!”

So, he silently took out his bank card again, flashing a sweet smile that revealed two adorable little canines, “Miss, could you help me find a cheaper one? I’ll pay by card!”

The salesperson brought out a lovely pink diamond with a smile, “This is a 1.01 carat natural pink diamond, Eternal Heart, with a 18K gold band. The price is $21,000.”

Kieran grabbed the card from Ivan’s hand and handed his own to the salesperson, saying briskly, “We’ll take this one, wrap it up.”

From the moment he saw this ring, Kieran thought it was perfect for Julie. The thought of her delicate fingers adorned with this elegant pink diamond made him think she would look stunning.

Ivan looked at Kieran with a satisfied expression, then took his card back from him and handed it to Noah, “Noah, could you arrange a candlelit dinner for Julie and Kieran? I heard women love that.”