Chapter 167 A Strange, Nostalgic Feeling -


    Kristian''s brow tightened just a bit, a shadow of irritation crossing his face. Why was n so full of energy after getting drunk?


    He crouched and tugged the towel from n''s mouth, his every moveced with an arctic chill. "What is it now?*


    "I have to pee!" n burst out, desperation clinging to every syble.


    Kristian cast a nce at the rope he''d painstakingly tracked down earlier, inwardly groaning at the thought of untying it.


    After silently repeating to himself that this buffoon was Freya''s cousin, he finally gave in and loosened the knots, freeing n from the nket.


    n bolted toward the bathroom like a man possessed.


    Kristian remained standing there, his expression unreadable, brows drawn tightly together. He found it nearly impossible to align this disheveled mess of a man with the usually sharp, polished president of the Briggs Group. Was n always this childish?


    As those thoughts circled in Kristian''s mind, the sound of the doorbell pierced the silence.


    The tension in Kristian''s shoulders eased ever so slightly as he headed over, assuming it must be Freya.


    But the second he opened the door, a sharp voice,ced with irritation, cut through the night. "Seriously, what''s going on in there? It''s the middle of the night-"


    The words stopped dead the moment the man caught sight of Kristian''s face and the sheer,manding force he radiated.


    That presence-"intimidating" didn''t even begin to cover it.


    "Is there a problem?" Kristian asked coolly, voice low and detached, his lips barely moving.


    d in a tailored suit and standing like he owned the world, he looked every inch theposed, no-nonsense corporate giant.


    The man and woman at the door exchanged nervous nces, visibly rattled by the intensity in front of them. The man coughed awkwardly, eyes drifting past Kristian to the absolute chaos inside the apartment. After a beat of hesitation, he muttered, "Just... maybe try to keep it down? It''s been a little loud."


    "My apologies," Kristian said smoothly, voiceced with polite civility. "We''ll be more considerate."


    "Alright then," the couple mumbled hastily before making their retreat, still shaken for reasons they couldn''t quite exin.


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    < Chapter 167 A Strange, Nostalgic Feeling


    They were technically in the right, but somehow, standing in front of Kristian had made them feel like misbehaving schoolchildren.


    Just as the elevator dinged, Freya stepped out, her strides quick and purposeful.


    The couple lingered, assuming she was there to voice herints too.


    But to their surprise, Freya walked straight to the apartment door, and Krian, without a word, stepped aside and ushered her in before quietly shutting the door.


    The onlookers stood frozen, their minds working overtime.


    They tried to spin a story out of what they''d just seen, but nothing quite fit.


    If this had been a case of a secret lover caught red-handed, things wouldn''t have


    looked so civil. Yet if it wasn''t that, what the hell was it?


    Eventually, they gave up trying to decode the mystery and headed back downstairs.


    Inside, Freya took one look at the disaster zone that was now Kristian''s apartment and instinctively pinched the bridge of her nose. Her cousin really was something else. Did he even think before turning someone else''s ce into a battlefield?


    "Where is he?" she asked, trying to keep a lid on her frustration as she turned to Kristian.


    He gestured subtly toward the bedroom. "In there."


    Freya moved to go check, but Kristian gently stopped her, his eyes locking with hers. "No rush. He''s... using the bathroom."


    "No rush. He''s using the bathroom."


    Freya froze mid-step, and nodded slightly.


    "I''m sorry about everything today," Freya said, ncing around at the mess, genuine remorse in her voice. "I''ll have a cleaning servicee by first thing tomorrow. And if anything''s broken, I''ll cover it."


    "It''s alright," Kristian replied, his voice calm and even.


    Freya hesitated.


    She knew Kristian well-he had always been a bit of a germaphobe with a serious sense of personal space.


    Under normal circumstances, he would''ve been furious over the way her cousin had wrecked the ce, listing every minor offense like a detailed report. But tonight, he was brushing it off like it didn''t even matter.


    "Did n scare you?" Freya asked, trying to figure out what had caused this unusual shift in his attitude.


    "Not exactly," Kristian answered, his tone surprisingly soft, his demeanor towards her far more gentle than usual. "He''s out now. I''ll check on him first." Kristian didn''t trust what n might get up to in his current condition. Better to go see for himself before letting Freya anywhere near him.


    "I think I heard Mina''s voice," n said as he came stumbling out, now fully dressed, though still visibly drunk.


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    Chapter 167 A Strange, Nostalgic Feeling


    "What did you do to her?"


    Kristian turned to Freya and gave her a quiet nod, signaling that it was safe to enter.


    Freya stepped into the room, and the moment n saw her, he charged at her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Mina! Thank God you''re okay! I was terrified he''d killed you!"


    Both Freya and Kristian stood in silence, caught off guard by the bizarre disy.


    "I''ve already made peace with him," Freya said, humoring n''s drunken delusions, her voice calm and t. "Now sit down. I''ll whip up something to flush the poison out of your system."


    "Okay," n mumbled. He shuffled to the couch, slumped over, and promptly passed out.


    Freya frowned.


    Just as she was about to prepare some honey water, her eyesnded on a shattered phone lying on the floor.


    Her mind went into a spin. "Is that your phone?" she asked.


    "Yeah," Kristian said with a shrug, voice devoid of emotion.


    Freya made a silent vow to get her cousin off alcohol for good. He was nothing but a walking disaster.


    "I might need a favor from youter," Kristian said, his eyes on Freya, his voice unusually gentle.


    Still feeling guilty over everything, Freya nodded. "What is it?"


    "There were some important files on my phone-ones I didn''t back up. Now that


    it''s broken, I''ll need your help transferring them to a new one," he exined.


    "That''s the least I can do," Freya replied.


    Kristian didn''t add anything else.


    Freya took a cup from the kitchen, filled it halfway with hot water, and added a generous swirl of honey.


    As she moved through the space, she surveyed the full extent of the damage. The living room, the master bedroom, even the guest room-each looked like a war zone. Only the kitchen and the study, which was locked, had been spared. Ten minutester, she finally got n to drink the honey water. Kristian helped her in quiet, steady movements, his patience almost startling.


    Something about the way he acted stirred up a strange, nostalgic feeling in Freya, like she''d been transported back to the early days of their marriage. Back then, things had been warm and easy between them-no arguments, just quiet happiness.


    She set the cup aside and let n sleep where he was.


    "I''ll start cleaning," she said, unable to take the chaos any longer.


    Her cousin had made the mess. It only made sense for her to deal with it.


    But as she stood, Kristian gently reached out and took her wrist.


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