Chapter 168 She Couldn''t Figure Out Kristian''s...


    Facing the gentle Kristian, Freya couldn''t bring herself to get angry or confront him outright.


    She slowly withdrew her hand and sank down beside him. "Go ahead," she murmured.


    Kristian''s lips pressed into a hard line.


    His deep, shadowed eyes stayed locked on Freya, weighing each word in his head, determined not to say anything that might push her away.


    "Didn''t you have something to say?" Freya asked, her lips parting just slightly when she noticed his silence.


    "It''s nothing." Kristian lingered in hesitation, unable to bring himself to speak. After a long pause, he finally stood up from the sofa and said, "You take care of him. I''ll clean up."


    "I''ll handle it. He''s my cousin-his mess, my responsibility," Freya replied, sensing something off about him but choosing not to press.


    This time, Kristian didn''t try to stop her.


    Together, they quietly busied themselves, putting things back in order piece by piece.


    Knowing all too well how particr Kristian was about cleanliness, Freya asked where the spare bed sheets and nket were. After he pointed them out, she reced the ones in the master bedroom that n had ruined.


    By the time Kristian had finished tidying the rest of the ce, he looked up to see Freya still moving around, her silhouette weaving gently through the room.


    He walked over and took the nket from her hands, his voiceposed and even. "The guest room''s ready. Go wash up and get some sleep."


    He hadn''t forgotten how religiously Freya stuck to her sleep schedule.


    "No..." Freya began, but before the words could fully leave her lips, Kristian was already standing beside her.


    His shoulder brushed lightly against hers, and she caught that familiar, crisp scent that clung to him.


    Just as she moved to step away, Kristian reached out and took the nket from her hands, starting to make the bed himself.


    Sensing the change in atmosphere, Freya shifted slightly to the side and let him finish.


    She wasn''t one to get swept up in sentimentality, but right then, something about Kristian''s quiet gestures


    reminded her of warmth once shared.


    When he was distant, he was impossible to approach. But when he was gentle, he was impossible to resist.


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    ...


    With his striking features, polished manners, and athletic frame, Kristian carried himself with an air of refinement. And that scent-clean, subtle-always seemed to sneak up on her, lodging itself somewhere between memory and emotion. From afar, it was manageable. Up close, it left her heart skipping.


    It was indeed true that desire could be dangerous.


    Freya was just about to leave and break whatever moment had begun to form when Kristian called her name.


    "Freya."


    "What is it?" Her expression remained asposed as ever, untouched by the tension in the air.


    "Are you and Melvin actually together?" he asked suddenly, his voice softer, touched with something almost intimate.


    Freya couldn''t exin why, but whenever Kristian spoke to her in that quiet, gentle tone, her gaze would instinctively drift to his face, and her defenses would drop.


    Just like now.


    Without giving it much thought, she answered, "No."


    "That''s good," Kristian said, the corners of his lips lifting into the faintest smile.


    He started to lift his hand, as if to tousle her hair, but stopped midway, remembering the distance that still existed between them. After a second''s pause, he let his hand fall away.


    Freya had already prepared herself to swat him off-she wasn''t fond of casual affection from those she wasn''t close to but when he stopped, it left her momentarily thrown.


    People were strange that way.


    When something didn''t go as expected, it somehow left a deeper impression.


    It was apletely ordinary moment, and yet Freya, who''d been ready to reject his gesture, now found herself giving silent credit to Kristian for knowing when to draw the line.


    "You should go clean up and rest," Kristian said, his voice calm and clear on the boundaries. "I''ll move n to the bed."


    But Freya had no ns to stay the night. "No need. I''ll just take him home directly."


    Seeing that she was set on it, Kristian didn''t push. He understood where to stop.


    He had originally intended to escort them home himself, knowing it wasn''t safe for


    a woman to be outte. But recalling the drinks he''d had, he borrowed Freya''s phone to call Gerard.


    Freya didn''t question it, assuming he needed Gerard to bring him a recement phone.


    Not long after, Gerard arrived.


    Kristian had arranged for Gerard to live in the same building for ease of work.


    The moment Gerard stepped through the door and saw Freya, he froze. "Ms. Briggs?"


    What in the world was happening? Had Kristian patched things up with her?


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    Chapter 168 She Couldn''t Figure Out Kristian''s Behavior


    "Treya came to pick up her cousin," Kristian exined, his deep voiceced with a rare warmth. "Help me send


    them home."


    Gerard caught on quickly. "Of course."


    Freya opened her mouth to decline, but neither of them gave her the chance.


    Gerard got n settled in the back seat, and Freya climbed in beside him


    As the car pulled away, she turned to look back at Kristian, who stood silently watching them leave. Her usual sense of rity slowly crept back in.


    She turned to Gerard, her tone light. "Why was n even at Kristian''s ce?" Her cousin had more than one secretary.


    Normally, if he''d invited Kristian to dinner, he would''ve had a secretary tag along. How had things ended up like this?


    "He was already drunk by the time the dinner ended," Gerard said, honest but slightly amused at Kristian''s cunning. "My boss asked whether Mr. Briggs wanted his secretary to take him home or if he preferred my boss to do it. Mr. Briggs chose thetter."


    Freya was speechless. How drunk was n to choose that?


    "My boss didn''t know where Mr. Briggs lived, so he didn''t have much of a choice-


    he brought him back here," Gerard added, trying to defend Kristian. "Sorry to trouble you, especially thiste."


    "It''s no trouble," Freya replied, though her thoughts were a tangled mess.


    Truth be told, she couldn''t figure out Kristian''s behavior tonight.


    Thest time she''d tried to leave, he''d locked the door and refused to let her go.


    But tonight, he not only let her go-he''d even arranged for Gerard to take her


    home.


    Had he drunk too much again?


    Unable to make sense of it all, Freya decided to stop wondering.


    When Gerard dropped her off at n''s ce, he waited until they were inside before driving off.


    Freya unlocked the door with n''s fingerprint and left him slumped on the sofa without a second nce.


    Meanwhile, Kristian stayed behind in his living room, waiting for Gerard''s return.


    It was close to midnight when Gerard finally got back and told him Freya and n were home safe.


    "Good," Kristian said, then added, "Get me a new phone first thing in the morning."


    "Understood. Any preferences?" Gerard asked.


    "Just something I can use," Kristian said tly.


    Gerard paused, his eyes drifting to the shattered phone on the table.


    For a moment, he couldn''t help but picture a dramatic blowout between Freya and his boss.


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