?Chapter 426:


    Seeing that she was set on it, Kristian didn’t push. He understood when 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?


    “Freya 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?”


    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?


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    “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.


    Kristian didn’t need words to know what Gerard was thinking—his face said it all. With a slight curl of his lips, Kristian offered a calm exnation, saying, “The phone identally slipped from n’s hand after he’d had a few drinks.”


    “That’s it?” Gerard raised an eyebrow, his disbelief evident in every feature of his face. The phone wasn’t just broken—it was demolished beyond all hope of repair. No ordinary fall could’ve caused that kind of damage. This was no ident. It reeked of a scuffle.


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