Chapter 967:
“Exactly what did you promise me?”
“We’ve got plenty of time, what’s the rush?” Kendra chuckled lightly, then laid out her vision. “We’ll travel the world in a few years.”
Caldwell was stunned. Not a year or two. But a few years?
“Ellis and Freya will get married and start a family,” Kendra said matter-of-factly. “All that will keep Ellis busy. He can’t afford to be distracted. He needs you to keep the company running for now.”
“Kendra!” Caldwell growled.
“Any objections?”
“Yes.”
“Objection overruled.”
Caldwell narrowed his eyes, still staring at her.
“I’ll cook for you tonight.”
“You swear?” His stern expression finally cracked.
Kendra’s smile turned warm, her elegance unwavering. “I swear.”
“Then I guess I’ll grudgingly keep things afloat for a few more years,” Caldwell grumbled, secretly pleased. “But once their child can walk, Ellis takes over.”
Kendra nodded at once. “Deal.”
But Caldwell knew full well—when it came to his wife, anything could change.
In the days that followed, Ellis and Freya slipped easily into a life of quiet comfort.
ga𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.k𝗈n – 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝓬𝗼𝗽𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒
Before they knew it, Saturday rolled around.
Ellis had planned a date, but a call from Gerard changed things. He and Kristian were dropping by that morning. So, their plans would have to wait.
At nine sharp, Kristian and Gerard showed up.
Kristian looked visibly out of sorts, his usual strikingly handsome features now pale and washed out with an almost sickly hue.
“Ms. Briggs, I’ll go ahead and pack Mr. Shaw’s things. You two can talk,” Gerard offered smoothly, already guessing that Kristian had something he needed to say to Freya, and stepped away with quiet tact.
Freya blinked. “Pack his things?”
Gerard instinctively turned his eyes toward Kristian. This was something only Kristian could explain.
“My memory’s come back,” Kristian said, his arms hanging loosely at his sides, his deep eyes fixed on Freya’s face as if he were trying to etch every detail into his soul. “I’m sorry for all the mess I made while I couldn’t remember.”
Freya looked at him, the realization slowly settling in—this was the same Kristian she had once known so well.
Her mind wandered back to that night downstairs. Had he remembered everything before that brief encounter?
“Why didn’t you tell me when you went looking for Lawrence?” she asked, her emotions twisting into something too layered to name.
“I didn’t know how to face you once it all came back,” Kristian admitted, speaking the thoughts of a man caught between two selves. “And I figured, if my memory never returned, you’d just end up blaming yourself and feeling miserable. So I went alone.”
Freya said nothing. Now that he remembered everything, there really was no reason for him to stay.
“Freya,” Kristian called her name softly.
.
.
.