Chapter 62:
Such knowledge would shatter her sister’s idealized image of their father and destroy her faith.
Since childhood, Hugh had embodied a superhero figure for Sheila, consistently fulfilling her every wish.
Freya desperately wanted her sister’s lifelong happiness preserved. Those painful matters should remain exclusively between herself and Hugh.
Freya exhaled wearily, about to purchase food for Sheila when her phone vibrated against her palm.
Kristian’s name illuminated the screen.
She swiped to answer. “Hello.”
“How is your family faring?” Kristian inquired.
“Nothing serious,” Freya assured him.
“Join me for dinner tomorrow evening,” Kristian stated directly, his voice resonating with depth and confidence. “Send me your address, and I’ll have Gerard collect you.”
Freya’s brows knitted together. “Dinner?”
“Indeed,” Kristian confirmed, his voice flowing pleasantly through the phone. “With the chairman of the Briggs Group.”
Freya fell silent, thinking Kristian had become a genuine nuisance.
Kristian sat in his hotel room chair, studying the computer screen before him, which displayed Freya’s previous email. As he absorbed its contents, his eyes gradually darkened. “Didn’t you claim your father to be the Briggs Group’s chairman?” he questioned. “Your presence would facilitate our discussion considerably.”
“I’m not going,” Freya refused with unwavering certainty.
𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: g⸮𝗮𝗅⸮𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀⸮ⅽ⸮𝗈𝗆
“If you don’t attend,” Kristian countered, determined to test her true identity, “the day after tomorrow, your missing person alert will appear on digital billboards outside every major mall in Alerith. Whoever locates you will receive a million.”
Freya fell silent, weighing her options carefully.
Kristian pressed his advantage. “I believe numerous individuals will eagerly pursue that reward.”
“Do I need to remind you that we’re in the midst of divorce proceedings?” Freya felt compelled to emphasize this point. “I have no interest in socializing with your circle. My previous claims were merely in jest.”
“Whether it was a joke will be verified tomorrow,” Kristian replied, no longer concealing his intentions.
Freya contemplated something briefly before responding. “Aren’t you concerned that Ashley in Jeucwell might discover us together in Alerith and dissolve into tears at the hospital?”
“She won’t,” Kristian stated with absolute conviction.
“So certain?” Freya questioned, skepticism evident in her voice.
“Yes,” Kristian affirmed simply.
Freya sighed. “Then you fundamentally misunderstand women. If you neglect to contact her for a month, promise to divorce me yet attend a dinner engagement with me, she’ll inevitably wonder whether your affections have waned or if you’ve developed feelings for me during our two-year marriage.”
Kristian dismissed her concerns. “She differs from you. Gerard has explained our arrangement to her, and she consented.”
.
.
.