?Chapter 1016:


    Freya smiled warmly as she clinked her ss against theirs, the crystal producing a delicate chime.


    Trent observed the interaction with keen interest, adjusting his gold-rimmed spectacles before turning to Ellis with calcted precision. “Shouldn’t you, as Freya’s devoted boyfriend, assist her with these numerous drinks?” he suggested, his voice dripping with implication.


    “It’s her celebration today; a few drinks won’t cause any harm,” Ellis responded,pletely oblivious to Trent’s underlying motives. “Even if she bes slightly intoxicated, I’ll personally ensure her safe return home.”


    “We’re not talking about merely a few drinks,” Trent countered, his strategy unfolding with remarkable subtlety. “After Frederick finishes, the others will undoubtedly take their turns toasting her as well. Freya’s tolerance for alcohol isn’t particrly high. As her boyfriend, don’t you feel obligated to intervene?”


    Ellis paused, contemting this unexpected perspective. The role of a caring boyfriend certainly seemed to require protecting his girlfriend from excessive drinking, he reasoned silently.


    Following a meaningful nce exchanged with Trent, Ellis swiftly intercepted the ss when Cade and Moss approached to toast Freya.


    “I’ll consume this on her behalf,” he announced, his voice resonating with confidence and protectiveness. “Would that be appropriate?”


    “It’s Freya’s birthday celebration today,” said Cade.


    “Indeed, she should partake herself,” Moss insisted.


    Frederick stepped smoothly into his assigned role, speaking with earnest conviction. “Perhaps it wouldn’t have been eptable previously, but now that our captain has assumed the role of Freya’s boyfriend, isn’t it perfectly natural for him to drink in her ce?”


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    “Absolutely,” Trent affirmed with refined eloquence.


    Cade and Moss exchanged nces, ultimately conceding to this logic, and clinked their sses against Ellis’s with newfound enthusiasm. Several roundster, Riley and Greta understood the borate scheme unfolding before them.


    They nced toward the four conspirators, genuinely impressed by Freya’s apparent influence. How had she orchestrated this masterful n to intoxicate Ellis?


    More impressively, she had somehow enlisted the cunning Trent in this borate deception.


    Freya caught their curious stares, then whispered urgently, “Well? Aren’t you nning to make a toast?”


    Riley shed her an approving thumbs-up before rising to join the festivities, clinking sses with Ellis enthusiastically.


    Once the drinkingmenced in earnest, momentum carried them forward inexorably.


    Initially, they had merely intended for Ellis to consume a couple of obligatory drinks, but as the evening progressed, their ambitions grew bolder, and they devised increasingly creative reasons to encourage Ellis’s continued participation.


    In normal circumstances, he would have firmly declined such persistent offers.


    However, this clever group continuously referenced Freya in their toasts, leaving him little opportunity to refuse without appearing discourteous.


    “May you and Freya enjoy a lifetime of happiness together,” one of them proimed warmly.


    “We hope wedding bells ring for you and Freya in the near future!”


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