?Chapter 578:


    To her, Freya had always seemed aloof and indifferent—certainly not someone who would pry, even if she knew something.


    Yet now, face-to-face with that question, Cheryl found herself at a loss. Freya asked, “Is the question too hard?”


    “Not exactly,” Cheryl replied, opting to take a more measured route. “It’s just that my rtionship with your father isplicated. It’s not as simple as what you saw back then.”


    “Byplicated, do you mean you and my dad were in love once?” Freya asked without hesitation.


    Cheryl froze,pletely thrown by how much Freya already knew.


    Freya exined, “I know about it. My dad told me everything.”


    “If you already know, then you should understand why I’m with him…” Cheryl tried to hold onto herposure, but her heart was anything but steady.


    Freya gave her a look—subtle, but piercing enough to make Cheryl’s pulse skip.


    Cheryl couldn’t quite understand how a woman so young could exude such calm authority.


    She hurried to wrap things up, “Is there anything else you want to ask?”


    “You’ve been apart from my dad for over two decades, and you had a daughter with another man,” Freya said, clearly unconvinced. “Do you honestly expect me to…”


    “Do you really believe that your feelings from back then are what brought you back to him?” Freya asked.


    Cheryl responded, “You don’t believe me?”


    “Ms. Newman, I’m asking you to be honest with me,” Freya said, holding her gaze.


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    “Believe it or not, I’m with your father because I care about him,” Cheryl said, keeping her toneposed. “Seeing him again stirred feelings I never truly got over.”


    When Freya heard this, she knew Cheryl had no intention of dropping the act. To convince others, one must first convince oneself.


    Freya didn’t give her the chance to continue. “Is it really about old feelings, or are you drawn to his position as chairman of Briggs Group? You should know better than anyone.”


    “What… are you implying?” Cheryl’s heart began to pound, though she kept her face unreadable.


    “I know what you’re after,” Freya said, piecing everything together from Cheryl’s expression and behavior. “You want to join the Briggs family by marrying my dad. If that happens, Vivien bes family too. As his stepdaughter, finding a well-matched marriage prospect wouldn’t be hard.”


    As Freya spoke, Cheryl’s hands curled into fists in herp. She had never imagined that Freya—someone she had barely met twice—would see through her so effortlessly.


    “Am I right?” Freya said coolly.


    “I know you don’t like me, but that doesn’t mean you have to go around making nasty assumptions about me and Vivien,” Cheryl replied, her voiceced with anger, though she controlled her temper—likely out of fear for Freya’s status. “I’m simply in a rtionship with your father, and there’s nothing shady about it.”


    “Is that so?” Freya replied, her tone unreadable.


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