Chapter 183:
Kristian closed the distance between them, his presence looming over her. “Can’t you just get them for me?” he implored, looking down into her eyes.
“That’s just it, I can’t,” Freya blurted out, her gaze unwavering and sincere. “My computer has developed its own kind of grudge against anything to do with Ashley Bradley. It seems to think her files are a virus and deletes them automatically.”
Kristian was momentarily at a loss for words.
With a fluid motion, Freya grabbed the car keys from the table and flung them toward him. “There’s the door. Make sure it doesn’t smack you on the way out,” she quipped, a sharp edge to her voice.
Kristian caught the keys out of the air, a flicker of understanding crossing his features as he assumed she was still irate about the previous day’s matter.
“It was Ashley’s fault yesterday. Please, don’t be mad.”
Freya paused, a new thought crossing her mind. “What if it wasn’t Liam who brought me home last night, but Trent?” she asked abruptly, her curiosity piqued. “Would you still take her side then?”
As she concluded her words, a shadow seemed to fall over Kristian’s features, his gaze growing stormier by the second.
Freya read the shift in his demeanor like an open book. She pressed, her voice tinged with disbelief. “You’d believe her, right?”
“Why would you be with Trent?” The mere mention of that name sparked a flare of irritation in Kristian, a visceral reaction that tightened his jaw.
Freya painted a casual scene. “Just friends getting together. Grabbing dinner.”
His fingers curled tighter around the car keys, knuckles whitening.
𝒆𝓷𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓬𝓴 𝒄𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓱𝒆𝓻𝑒: 𝗀𝒶𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝓈.𝒸𝑜𝓂
Without a word, he stormed off, the heaviness of unanswered questions lingering in the air.
He was tormented by the possibility—if Ashley had insinuated Freya was with Trent, rage would have consumed him.
Though he was aware that Freya would never cross a line with Trent, the mere thought of their easy rapport and unspoken camaraderie sent waves of jealousy crashing through him, overwhelming his senses. Freya watched him evade her question, her heart sinking into an indifferent calm.
Turning away, she ascended the stairs, her mind refocusing on her pending tasks.
Later that afternoon, after diligently working through the stack of projects Hugh had piled on her desk, Freya was contemplating a well-deserved break. Just then, her phone buzzed—it was a call from Liam.
“Hey, Freya, want to go out and enjoy yourself for a bit?” Liam’s voice, ever relaxed and inviting, floated through the speaker. “I’ve organized a small gathering with a few friends. What do you say?”
Freya brushed him off with a quick, dismissive tone. “No, thanks. I’ve got many things to handle here.”
“Trent’s going to be there too,” Liam noted, his tone laden with implication.
Freya hesitated, biting her lip in thought, her response hanging in a tense silence.
Not one to let the moment slip, Liam pressed on, urgency edging his voice. “Look, just get ready, okay? I’ll swing by to pick you up in a bit. No more excuses,” he declared, cutting off any potential protest as he ended the call abruptly.
Around him, the villa’s occupants watched the scene unfold with a blend of amusement and intrigue. One of them couldn’t help but tease, “Aren’t you scared…”
“Kristian will have your head for this little stunt?” With a mischievous glint in his eye, Liam chuckled softly. “Oh, he wouldn’t dare. He’s too soft-hearted for that.”
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