?Chapter 378:


    “The way he looked at her didn’t feel like a stranger’s gaze,” Kristian said, his eyes thoughtful, the gears turning. “More like someone seeing a face from the past.”


    “You good?” Mack looked genuinely confused by Kristian’s words. His dad had looked at Freya the same way he looked at any rising talent.


    Was Kristian seriously worried about Freya being recruited?


    Kristian kept his thoughts to himself. He’d ask moreter.


    Half an hour passed, and Brady returned.


    Mack nced behind him and, seeing no sign of Freya, asked, “Where’s Freya?”


    “Her assistant came and picked her up,” Brady replied, his tone strict as ever. “Once you’ve eaten, back to training. No more idling around.”


    “Got it.” Mack didn’t dare argue.


    His father was just about to leave when Kristian, now in a crisp suit and perfectly polite, stepped forward. He looked at Brady and asked, “Mr. Russell, have you met Freya before?”


    Brady was a man of high rank. If he knew Freya, it meant there was more to her than met the eye.


    But as he thought it over, Kristian frowned. Freya didn’t seem old enough to match that theory.


    “Not exactly,” Brady answered, his voice low and steady. “She just reminds me a great deal of her mother, whom I once knew well.”


    That one sentence put Kristian’s doubts to rest.


    Brady left the club not long after.


    Thinking back to Freya’s clever parting excuse, Kristian couldn’t help but smile, impressed by her quick thinking—and feeling a pang of regret. If he’d known her and recited her before that man did, maybe things would’ve yed out differently.


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    While Brady mulled it over, Freya was already gone, whisked away in Melvin’s car.


    Melvin flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror, catching the silence radiating from Freya like a heavy fog. “Is something troubling you?” he asked, his voice calm but curious.


    “No,” Freya murmured, easing back into her seat and pinching the bridge of her nose. “You don’t have to pretend to be my boyfriend anymore. I cleared things up with Kristianst night.”


    “All right,” Melvin responded without hesitation, epting her words with ease.


    Feeling drained, Freya let her eyes drift shut, hoping for a moment’s peace.


    Seeing Brady again had stirred long-buried memories.


    She was never officially enlisted in the military—just an ordinary civilian who could be summoned when needed, then allowed to return to a life that looked normal from the outside. It had been ages since she’dst gone on a mission.


    As the car continued on, Melvin couldn’t shake the sense that something was off about her today. Instead of heading to the office, he quietly redirected the car toward her home, where Hugh and Ethel lived.


    Freya said little.


    Once they arrived, she went upstairs without a word and went straight to bed.


    Today, it was only her and Hugh at home; Ethel had returned to campus for sses.


    After passing thepany’s reins to n, Hugh spent most of his time at home, asionally sneaking away to visit someone who clearly meant a great deal to him.


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