?Chapter 789:


    “Tell me—why did you lie?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.


    Kristian nced at her, then averted his gaze with quiet defiance, unwilling to speak.


    His act was wless. Anyone watching would have given him top marks.


    “If you won’t tell me, I’ll leave,” Freya said, hoping he would finally offer an exnation. “I want to know the truth. Don’t lie to me.”


    “I lied because… if I didn’t, you wouldn’t notice me or care about me,” Kristian said atst, his voice low and muffled. “If you knew I’d eaten yesterday like I was supposed to, you wouldn’t have said much after bringing me home. You wouldn’t have cared.”


    Freya frowned. She couldn’t follow his reasoning.


    “I know you don’t want me. You think I’m a burden,” Kristian went on, his voice quivering. “But I’ll be good. I’ll listen to you. I’ll behave.”


    “Don’t overthink it,” Freya said, unsure of how else to respond. She could only speak inly. “I was the one who brought you back from Lawrence, and I’ll take care of you, no matter what. But you owe Ellis an apology. We’ll do that, okay?”


    “If I say sorry to him, will you promise to like me again?” Kristian asked, biting his lip.


    “You have to promise not to lie or deceive anyone anymore,” Freya replied, neatly dodging the question.


    Kristian gave a small nod. “I promise.”


    Freya gazed at Kristian, a weight pressing against her chest like a stone sinking in still water.


    Given his recent behavior, it was evident he’d grown increasingly paranoid. If no one stepped in to guide him, things might spiral out of control.


    It would be a relief if his memories returned swiftly—because the Kristian she once knew would never behave like this.


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    But reality offered no such grace; he had no recollection of who he used to be, and healing would onlye with patience and time.


    “Freya…” Kristian murmured, gently holding her hand, his face etched with sorrow and guilt. “Do you think I’m awful now?”


    Yes. That was Freya’s knee-jerk reaction.


    But as she mulled over her attitude from the past few days, it dawned on her that she wasn’t meless either. He was merely like a child—a boy lost in amnesia, mentally adrift and vulnerable. She should have shown more care.


    “So long as you own up to your mistakes and start changing from now on, then no, you’re not awful,” Freya replied, each word slow and weighted. “But if you keep acting like this, then you are.”


    “Will you still want me?”


    “Yes.”


    “Will you send me away?”


    “No.”


    Those words soothed Kristian’s anxious heart, offering him a sliver offort.


    He pushed himself upright on the bed, clung to her arm, and with an almost innocent sincerity, promised, “Freya, I’ll listen to you from now on—I won’t lie anymore.”


    “Alright.” Freya noticed the blood seeping from his IV site and quickly tended to it.


    After securing the drip again, she told him to rest, and once he felt well enough, he needed to apologize to Ellis.


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