Chapter 232:
“I genuinely believed he was in peril.”
Kristian, however, didn’t respond immediately. He scrutinized the phone screen, his eyes narrowing slightly as they landed on the name “Mina.”
A flicker of suspicion crossed his features. Was “Mina” a secret endearment shared between them?
Breaking the brief silence, Freya continued, her tone a mix of frustration and relief,
“It was only when I arrived that I realized it was a setup. I was attacked, but thankfully, I managed to defend myself.”
Her eyes met Kristian’s, earnest and determined.
“I can find people to vouch for me, if that’s what you need.”
She took a deep breath before adding,
“As for Trent, he was lured there under a different pretense. Someone knocked on his door, handed him a note claiming a girl had been kidnapped and needed his help. He rushed over, only to find the ‘kidnapped girl’ was me.”
Kristian lifted his gaze, locking eyes with her serene expression.
He almost snapped, demanding to know if she thought he was some kind of idiot. Did she think he was gullible enough to accept such a pathetic excuse?
“Is there anything else you’d like to ask?” Freya’s voice sliced through the tension, prompting him to speak.
A frosty chuckle escaped Kristian’s lips, his eyes brewing a tempest.
“You’ve really gone the extra mile,” he said, his tone sharp as shards of ice. “Fabricating a whole narrative just to play me for a fool.”
Freya blinked, momentarily unsettled by his accusation.
gⱯ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝗈n – 𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖛𝓲𝖊𝖗𝓽
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, a hint of confusion lacing her words.
“You’ve crafted your story too well, laying it all out from the start to seem credible,” Kristian replied, his stare piercing through her, reading every flicker of emotion across her face.
“But you overlooked one crucial detail.”
“And what exactly would that be?” Freya shot back, almost on reflex.
“Did I ever indicate that I came here for this reason?” Kristian’s question hung in the air, setting the stage for his subtle accusation. Having been duped twice in one day, he pondered bitterly about their underestimation of him.
“Do spontaneous confessions like this seem credible?”
A laugh, edged with frustration, threatened to burst from Freya. His talent for conjuring conspiracies was truly unparalleled.
“Freya, you’re intelligent, and so is Trent,” Kristian began, his voice strained as he grappled with his rising emotions at the mere thought of them together.
“But remember, there’s such a thing as being too clever by half.”
They had preempted any questions with a well-rehearsed explanation of their day. It was indeed a convincing narrative.
But if things were truly innocent, as she claimed, why would someone like Freya, with her fiercely independent streak, feel compelled to justify herself to him?
He vividly remembered how she had coldly brushed him off in the past when he had wronged her. And now, here she was, casually detailing every moment.
“What exactly are you implying?” Freya’s tone was laced with a growing impatience.
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