?Chapter 505:


    “No wonder you had me look into whether Ethel had a sister,” Damon remarked, now eyeing him with piqued interest. “Wait—you actually married her without knowing who her family was?”


    Kristian shot him a look that was part re, part weary tolerance.


    “You’re something else,” Damon said with a half-smile, his tone walking a fine line between jest and sincerity. “If I were Freya’s kin, I’d have given you a hard time for making such a rash decision.”


    “If you keep running your mouth, I’ll turn around and walk out,” Kristian warned, clearly not in the mood for Damon’smentary.


    He had asked Freya about her family once they’d married, and he’d even suggested they pay them a visit. But Freya had declined, brushing the idea aside.


    She’d told him, inly and firmly, that she had married him for her own reasons—and that she preferred to keep her family far removed from it all.


    Damon noticed Kristian was genuinely upset, so he decided not to rub salt in the wound.


    They walked down the hallway. As they turned the corner toward the entertainment area, they spotted Freya and Trent sitting together in the lounge, chatting casually.


    Kristian came to a stop. His eyes locked on Freya. She looked calm and rxed, facing Trent.


    “What are you staring at?” Damon followed his gaze, then smirked.


    “Didn’t think Trent was the type to show up at a singles mixer.”


    “How did you manage to win over Patti?” Kristian asked out of nowhere.


    Damon had a feeling Kristian was just trying to push his buttons. Kristian said suddenly, “Oh right. You’re still hung up on her. My bad. Haven’t actually won her over yet.”


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    Damon clenched his fists. He felt like punching him.


    Just as he was about to fire back that Kristian was also still single, he saw him heading straight toward Trent.


    Damon frowned, unsure what Kristian was up to, but he followed anyway.


    Freya and Trent were still talking about nothing important when Freya sensed someone approaching. She turned slightly and saw Kristian standing right beside her.


    Her brows drew together the moment she saw him.


    Before she could speak, Kristian took her hand and started walking toward thewn.


    “What are you doing?” she asked, startled.


    Trent started to rise, but Damon caught Kristian’s subtle signal and quickly pulled Trent into conversation.


    Kristian didn’t say a word. He just held Freya’s hand tightly and led her through the room like the crowd didn’t exist. People turned to look. Whispers followed.


    Everyone knew who he was—even if they hadn’t met him, they had seen his photos.


    He had the reputation of being aloof and distant. Seeing him at a singles event, holding a woman’s hand and walking out? That shocked everyone.


    Freya thought about shaking him off. But with all those eyes on her, she didn’t want to make a scene.


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