?Chapter 772:


    Freya faltered, the words tangling in her throat. No matter how she tried to respond, everything sounded absurd inside her head. That awkward exchange dulled the spark of her suspicion that he might actually be in love with her. If he really cared for her, wouldn’t he speak more sincerely instead of ying games at every turn? With this realization, a sense of relief washed over Freya.


    She looked over at Ellis, her eyes glinting with a yful challenge. She began, her voiceced with a teasing tone, “You know, if you ever fall for someone, you’d better not talk to her the way you talk to me.”


    “And why’s that?” Ellis asked, his brow arching inquisitively.


    “It’s a vibe killer, you know?” Freya shot back with a smirk.


    Ellis pressed his lips together, a silent acknowledgment of her point, choosing not to delve into exnations.


    At that moment, it wasn’t about the light-hearted jabs or the underlying tensions; it was about the weight of the question that hung between them, unanswerable and heavy.


    For the remainder of the drive, Ellis kept his eyes fixed on the winding road, while Freya, lost in thought and the soft glow of her phone screen, exchanged texts with her friends Greta and Riley.


    Freya typed, “Is it just me, or is Ellis kind of good-looking?”


    Greta replied, “Why, Freya, nning to make a move?”


    Riley chimed in, “Got a crush on him, huh?”


    Freya hesitated, her thumbs hovering over the keyboard. After a brief pause, she finally typed out her response, a mixture of revtion and casual curiosity coloring her words, “No, it just hit me that he is actually quite good-looking.”


    They were both quick to agree with her. They had always acknowledged that Ellis was strikingly handsome, but that was hardly the point. During his days as their captain, Ellis had been relentlessly tough on everyone, showing no favoritism.


    Greta teased, “So, you’ve got a soft spot for good looks, huh? Why not give dating Ellis a shot?”


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    Freya hurriedly responded, “No way.”


    Riley prodded her. “Why not?”


    Freya answered, “Because I could never beat him.”


    Greta and Riley were taken aback by her reasoning.


    Freya, thinking back on everything that had unfolded today, gave a quick, colorful recap—her hands waving animatedly as she spoke. After all, they weren’t just her childhood friends; they knew Ellis just as well as she did.


    Afterying everything out, her next text came through. “Be honest—am I just overthinking everything?”


    Upon receiving her message, Greta immediately called Riley.


    As Ellis’s unofficial advocates in matters of the heart, they knew they had to consider their response carefully. A careless word could easily disrupt Ellis’s romantic prospects.


    Minutester, Greta texted back, “Hard to say. We barely see him outside of training sessions. But hypothetically, if he did have feelings for you, what would your move be?”


    Freya answered honestly, “I don’t know.”


    She genuinely didn’t.


    Her suspicion about Ellis’s feelings for her lingered in the air, casting a shadow over her thoughts. The idea of dating him felt strangely off, like a mismatched puzzle piece.


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