?Chapter 712:


    After leaving the club, Ellis took a slow stroll with Freya through the quiet streets. She tried to walk on her own at first, but after every few steps, she’d pause for ten seconds, swaying gently like a leaf caught in a breeze. Eventually, Ellis scooped her up in a piggyback without a word.


    “Captain,” Freya murmured against his back, her eyes closed, her voice small but persistent. “You still haven’t answered me.”


    “When did I ever say I held a grudge over the past?” Ellis replied, his voice smooth as flowing water—easy, steady, andced with warmth.


    Surrounded by the sound of his voice, Freya felt as though she were being wrapped in a nket of warmth, like a soft wind brushing against her skin. For a moment, everything else faded.


    She didn’t think—she just spoke from the heart. “Then why do you keep bringing me breakfast? Why do you invite me for meals?”


    “You could say…” Ellis’s voice trailed off.


    In his heart, he whispered, “I have my reasons—none of them pure.” Though the alcohol dulled her edges, Freya wasn’t so far gone that she wouldn’t understand the implication. If he revealed the truth now, she might run the next day, iming work as a shield. Still, Freya waited. “What?”


    “I’m just looking out for a team member going through a divorce,” Ellis said, slipping on a mask of nonchnce. “Or maybe I’m being kind to my boss—it mighte in handy for my future.”


    “I don’t think so,” Freya replied firmly, even in her haze, conviction anchoring her words.


    Ellis raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”


    “You’re not that kind of person,” she insisted, confident in his character.


    Ellis gave a quiet smile and kept walking.


    Additional chapters at g ??ln ov els .???? ??


    Freya’s thoughts spiraled. Her mind was a tangled mess—Kristian’s injury, Ellis’s strange behavior—all knotted like a ball of string wed by a curious cat.


    When they finally got home, Ellis made her a ss of honey water, worried she’d wake up with a pounding headache. It wouldn’t erase the hangover, but it would take the edge off.


    After making sure everything was in order, he messaged in the group chat to let their friends know they were back safely.


    Greta suggested, “Make sure Mina drinks some honey water, so she won’t have a headache tomorrow.”


    Ellis replied, “Already done.”


    Greta paused halfway through her typing, fingers hovering above the keys, then decided it wasn’t worth the worry anymore.


    Since Ellis was so naturally good at looking after Freya, they might as well stop worrying too much.


    Once she finished her honey water, Freya settled onto the spotless carpet. Her eyes shimmered with silent unease, her face shaded with quiet sorrow.


    Night was never ideal for making serious decisions—or for drinking too much.


    Even someone asposed and level-headed as Freya found her thoughts spinning under the weight of alcohol.


    She didn’t know why, but visions of Kristian’s injuries, with his nervous system in serious jeopardy, kept reying in her mind, growingrger until they were impossible to ignore.


    “Captain.” Her voice was barely a whisper, uncertain and small, like a child who’d lost her bearings. To her, Ellis could do anything.


    No matter the problem, whether practical or emotional, he always managed to talk them through it, guiding them forward, earning their trust without them even realizing it.


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