?Chapter 428:


    What had happenedst night? Why would Toby let a woman take him home? How would she even know where he lived? Or worse—had he brought her himself, in a drunken haze?


    The more he thought, the deeper he sank into panic.


    He prided himself on keeping a clean reputation, and this situation was like a stain he couldn’t scrub out.


    Outside, Freya waited patiently, though nearly half an hour had passed. Still no sign of n. Frowning, she approached the bathroom door. The water was still running, but there was no other sound. Worry crept in.


    Had he fainted? Slipped and fallen?


    “n?” she called, concern sharpening her tone.


    The moment her voice filtered through the music, n nearly jumped out of his skin. He screamed, startled by the sudden female voice.


    Freya blinked in confusion. What in the world was that about? Fearing he had cked out again, she pressed gently, “Are you okay?”


    n froze.


    That voice—it sounded like Freya’s. Could it be?


    He called out hesitantly, “Mina?”


    “Yes, I’m here,” Freya answered clearly, choosing precision over assumption.


    n exhaled with relief, the weight lifting from his chest.


    Thank goodness. It was Freya!


    For a moment, he’d feared he had brought a stranger home and sealed his fate in drunken disgrace.


    With that crisis averted, he finished his shower with a spring in his step, the questions still lingering but no longer urgent.


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    Five minutester, he emerged from the bathroom, fresh-faced and dressed in casual clothes.


    Breakfast had arrived. Freya divided the food neatly, setting a ss of milk before him. She began to eat quietly.


    But something weighed on her. She watched n carefully, trying to find the right moment to speak.


    Telling him what had happened at Kristian’s wasn’t going to be easy. n’s pride had a long fuse—but once lit, the explosion could be dramatic.


    Still, the truth had toe out.


    n noticed her gaze mid-sip. His hand paused, cup halfway to his lips. “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, tension creeping into his voice.


    A dreadful thought crossed his mind—had he done something embarrassing in front of her?


    Wait a second.


    His expression shifted as rity dawned. Something crucial clicked into ce.


    Last night, he was quite drunk.


    “You’ve figured it out,” Freya said softly, relieved that he was putting two and two together.


    n lowered his ss slowly, as if time itself had slowed. “Was I… drunkst night?”


    Freya nodded. “Yes.”


    “Really drunk?”


    “Yes,” she confirmed again.


    n pressed both hands to his head, teetering on the edge of a breakdown. Why was the universe conspiring against him?


    “Did I… get too energetic? Likest time?” He couldn’t bring himself to say “drunk disaster.” “Please tell me no.”


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