?Chapter 625:


    If not for sheer willpower, tears might have welled in his eyes and blurred the world again.


    “Happy birthday,” Freya said, her voice soft,yered withplicated feelings. His expression clearly took her by surprise.


    Her words sent a flicker of warmth through the chill in his chest. He looked at her intently, as though he was trying to memorize every detail of her face.


    After a long, weighted pause, he murmured, his voice rough and low, “Thank you.”


    Their eyes stayed locked, the world around them momentarily dissolving into silence.


    Eventually, Kristian stepped out of the car.


    The soft thud of the door closing felt like the end of something. Like a curtain falling. Freya drove forward.


    As she pulled out of the parking lot, she rolled down the window. The rush of cold air grounded her, helping her gather herself.


    So this was what it felt like—when someone who once meant everything finally said sorry.


    But when the worst had already passed, apologies started to lose their power. Life pushed forward. As for the past, Freya had already made her peace with it.


    From this moment on, she let it gopletely.


    Freya might have let go, but Kristian couldn’t.


    He sat quietly in the back seat, eyes closed, mind reying every moment that had just unfolded.


    She had said “I forgive you” and “Happy birthday.”


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    And her eyes—eyes that once held warmth—now only held a calm, final kind of goodbye.


    Gerard had no idea what had happened. All he knew was that Kristian was in a dark ce. He wasn’t joking like usual, nor did he say anything cutting.


    The silencested about half an hour before Gerard’s phone rang.


    He nced at the screen. Liam was calling.


    He picked up. “Hello.”


    “Is my brother still at work?” Liam asked. Gerard nced at Kristian in the back seat and answered in his usual tone, “There’s ast-minute issue—something urgent came up. He might need another hour.”


    “Alright,” Liam replied. “Tell him to hurry up. We’re all waiting.”


    “Okay.”


    “By the way.”


    “Yes?”


    “Is something going on with him?” Liam’s voice held a rare note of concern. No matter the teasing, Kristian was still his older brother. “When I called earlier, he didn’t sound like himself.”


    “He’s probably just worn out,” Gerard covered for his boss without blinking. “He’s been swamped since morning and hasn’t eaten a thing.”


    “Then I won’t keep you. Let him finish up and get home,” Liam said. He knew Gerard well—always the one reminding Kristian to eat, to rest, to take care of himself. So what could be tying him up like this?


    After hanging up, Gerard silenced his phone.


    He nced at Kristian, who looked as though he were silently bleeding inside, and said, “Mr. Shaw, you’ve only got one more hour.”


    “Drive,” Kristian rasped.


    If it were just Liam, he might’ve kept him waiting. But his parents were waiting. He couldn’t keep them all waiting for him.


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