?Chapter 982:


    Ants? That was ridiculous—they weren’t ants!


    “Don’t try to drive a wedge between Freya and me,” Ellis went on, his voice steady and unbothered. “If any of you push your luck, I’ll just send you all off for some old-fashioned boot camp.” Instantly, they both went quiet.


    Riley finally found her voice, eyeing Freya with concern. “Mina, you shouldn’t be with him. I’m afraid he’ll run circles around you—you’ll end up caught in one of his traps.”


    Greta nodded with a sigh. “And if you fall for it, that’s on you. You know you can’t beat him.”


    “That’s right!” Riley echoed.


    “Break up now while you still can. Seriously.”


    “We can all move into a nursing home together when we are old,” Greta dered, feigning earnestness.


    “Yeah!” Riley chimed in, trying to keep a straight face.


    Ellis’s gaze drifted over them, his posture rxed andposed, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.


    Yet thezy look in his eyes sent a ripple of difort through Riley and Greta—defying Ellis rarely ended well.


    Turning to Freya, Ellis arched a brow. “So? Are you nning to join them in a nursing home?”


    Freya’s pulse hammered in her ears as she shook her head with conviction. “Absolutely not,” she dered.


    If she agreed, she might as well write her own obituary.


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    Ellis’s lips curved into an amused half-smile. “Are you thinking of breaking up with me?”


    She stiffened, her response immediate. “I wouldn’t dare.”


    He pressed, feigning surprise. “You wouldn’t dare?”


    Freya lifted her chin, stubborn but earnest. “I won’t.”


    Ellis’szy drawl carried over to Riley and Greta. “Hear that? She’s set on growing old with me. Looks like your n for the nursing home together just fell apart.”


    He recognized their teasing for what it was, and not a trace of annoyance crept into his voice.


    Looking back, he couldn’t help but think that if he hadn’t confessed his feelings early, Riley and Greta might have convinced Freya to end up in a nursing home with them.


    The rest of the evening slipped by in lively chatter. Freya caught up with Greta and Riley, while Trent and Frederick bonded with Alyssa over shared interests. Meanwhile, Ethan nursed his drink in a corner, his mood unmistakably sour as he watched Ellis from across the room. When Freya and Greta excused themselves to take care of a quick errand, Ethan seized the chance.


    He cut across the room, pausing in front of Ellis, his expression unusually grave. “Are Trent and Frederick really trustworthy?” he asked, his tone stripped of its usual teasing.


    Ellis met his eyes with steady calm. “They are.”


    Ethan shook his head, unconvinced. “Something feels off.”


    Ellis’s brow lifted just slightly. “What do you mean?”


    Ethan leaned in, lowering his voice. “Alyssa hasn’t moved on from Bruce. She’s still carrying a torch for him. Aren’t you worried that Trent and Frederick might take it badly when they find out?”


    “I’ve already spoken with them, and they don’t mind,” Ellis said without a flicker of emotion, his talent for sounding utterly convincing—even when he was inventing the whole story—truly remarkable. “They even said it’s perfectly all right to have feelings for someone. If they really fall for her, they’ll make sure she thinks of nothing else.”


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