?Chapter 876:


    Once that was done, she called Lawrence.


    He didn’t pick up. So she tried Jacob. She’d always known Jacob and Lawrence had something going on. When it came to Lawrence, Jacob usually knew everything. But she never dug into the details.


    Jacob had just gotten out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist, steam still clinging to the air. He picked up Freya’s call while drying his hair.


    “Hi, what’s up?” he said casually.


    “Do you know what Lawrence has been up totely?” Freya didn’t bother with small talk, not with him. “Kristian’s mental faculties seemed to have returned to normal. I need to speak to Lawrence about it.”


    Jacob nced toward the door, paused for a second, and asked, “Is it urgent?”


    “Yes,” Freya replied, thinking back to what Kristian had said before he walked out. Something about the way he’d acted felt off.


    “Hang on.” Jacob’s tone was light and pleasant.


    Freya gave a quiet okay and waited.


    Jacob opened the door and stepped into the living room, where a figure sat hunched over, looking utterly defeated. His brows creased ever so slightly.


    Lawrence had been racking his brain, trying toe up with a way to win Jacob back.


    The sudden sound of the door creaking open made him nce up—and freeze.


    There stood Jacob, in a mere towel!


    In that split second, Lawrence’s mind spun with wild thoughts. Was this Jacob’s way of showing a crack in the wall between them?


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    But whatever hope had dared to flicker died the moment Jacob spoke.


    “Freya’s on the line. Says it’s something urgent—just for you.” Jacob passed the phone to him, his voice and expression still carrying that sluggish, half-awake energy. “Go on, pick up.”


    Lawrence froze in ce, caught off guard. Freya was just as stunned. He didn’t reach for the phone right away. Instead, he looked at Jacob with a faint attempt at charm. “If I take this call, will you at least forgive me a little?”


    “Kristian’s your responsibility,” Jacob reminded him coolly, slipping back into his earlier aloofness. “Not mine.”


    Lawrence felt the pressure building. If he ignored the call, Jacob would think he was avoiding his duties. But if he answered, he’d have to face whatever mess Kristian was in now. Everything he’d done to settle into Jacob’s ce might be undone.


    After wrestling with the decision, he reluctantly took the phone, drew in a calming breath, and forced a pleasant tone. “Hello?”


    “Lawrence?”


    “Yeah, it’s me.”


    “Kristian’s made a full mental recovery,” Freya stated, then added with caution, “But there’s a psychological snag. His personality—it’s shifted dramatically.”


    Lawrence’s brow arched, visibly taken aback.


    Kristian had begged him before Christmas to keep his recovery under wraps. So why was Freya in the loop now?


    “What happened?” he asked.


    Freya walked him through the night’s events, carefully highlighting the unsettling changes in Kristian’s behavior.


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