Chapter 537:
His tone, his choices—none of it added up.
“Why would we investigate Melvin?” Gerard cut in, visibly confused.
Freya took note of his reaction. So Gerard was out of the loop?
“I’m not investigating him,” Kristian replied. “If you don’t believe me, check it out yourself. With your skills, it won’t be hard.”
“Normally, it wouldn’t be,” Freya said, her voice tinged with doubt. “But if you’re using your hidden resources, I might not be able to find anything.”
She had always known that Kristian had access to power and connections far beyond the public eye. Some trails simply couldn’t be followed through ordinary channels.
Kristian’s expression darkened. “Am I really that untrustworthy in your eyes?”
“Trust?” Freya scoffed. “From a man who lies without blinking? What gives you the nerve to even ask?”
Even though Kristian knew he was lying, hearing her say it so plainly made his chest ache.
“I don’t care why you’re investigating Melvin. Just stay out of my business with him,” Freya said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She didn’t want her plans derailed again. And she sure as hell didn’t want more ties to Kristian.
She wasn’t concerned about Kristian targeting Melvin either. If push came to shove, Melvin had the full weight of Anita International behind him.
Kristian’s temper flared. Hearing Freya speak up for another man with such conviction, something inside him snapped. “You care about him that much?”
“Yes, I do.”
𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 → g⍶𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀ꞏⅽ𝗼𝗺
“Do you love him?” The words tumbled out of Kristian’s mouth before he could stop them.
Freya stared at him, incredulous. “That’s none of your business.”
Noticing that Kristian was on the verge of saying something wildly inappropriate again, Gerard jumped in with a well-timed distraction. “Anyway, Ms. Briggs—why was Melvin with you there?”
Freya replied coolly, “Putting on a show.”
With those few words, Gerard pieced it all together. Earlier, Freya had only explained things to Kristian in a hushed tone, leaving Gerard completely out of the loop. Now that he understood, he didn’t press any further. “So, whose place are we headed to now?”
“My place,” Kristian and Freya spoke in unison.
Gerard pressed his lips together, unsure who to follow.
“According to your script, you’re currently unconscious,” Kristian pointed out, clearly angling to take her home. “Since I brought you out, I’ll take you to my place to keep an eye on you.”
“You should take me to my place,” Freya countered flatly. “I don’t have access to your home.” Freya had no immediate comeback for that.
She furrowed her brows, her usual calm demeanor giving way to something more unsettled. She didn’t want to go to Kristian’s place, but if she left now and was seen on surveillance, the person orchestrating this would know that she and Melvin were faking it. And without her laptop, there was no way to hack the system.
“Then I’ll head to Mr. Shaw’s place,” Gerard said, directing the comment to Freya.
When she gave a small nod, Gerard started the car and drove off.
.
.
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