?Chapter 1106:


    Ellis had told Freya he was away on business, but now he was calling it something else entirely. A web of lies.


    “Hmm.” Ellis noticed the shift in n’s tone but didn’t dwell on it.


    “What brings you here—work?”


    “Yeah.” n pulled out his phone, his tone sharp now. “But while I was here, I stumbled across something that’s left me wondering what the hell to do.”


    Ellis looked at him curiously. “What’s that?”


    “I saw a friend’s husband meeting another woman in secret—being all cozy and affectionate.” n unlocked his phone and set the stage. “Still debating if I should tell my friend or not.”


    “If it were me, as long as I was certain it was the truth, I’d tell my friend,” Ellis answered evenly.


    But that also depended on the kind of person the friend was and how they’d handle it.


    n pulled up the photo and held out his screen. “Then take a look at this. You tell me if it’s true.”


    As the words left n’s mouth, Ellis caught sight of the photo. One of the people in it was unmistakably him—and across from him sat the designer he’d just met.


    In a sh, he realized exactly what n had seen.


    “It’s not what it looks like,” he said steadily, his tone cool and controlled. His gaze swept briefly around them before one brow lifted. “I’ll exin everythingter. It’s a bitplicated.”


    “Alright.” This time, n didn’t act impulsively. Somewhere deep down, he still held onto the belief that Ellis was a good man—someone who wouldn’t fool around or break trust lightly. But the scene he’d just witnessed left enough doubt to make his stomach churn.


    Feel the thrill at gα?ησν????s﹒??o??


    Ellis had chosen a coffee shop.


    They had barely taken their seats when n, looking more serious than ever, was the first to speak.


    “Go ahead and exin. If I don’t like what I hear, I’m telling Mina.”


    “The woman in the photo is a designer,” Ellis said inly, not dodging anything. “We were talking about engagement rings and wedding rings. I’m nning to propose to Freya soon—wanted it to be a surprise.”


    n’s brows creased, ever so slightly. The exnation made sense. But he still couldn’t shake the difort of seeing Ellis sliding that ring onto the designer’s finger.


    As a man, Ellis should’ve known what a gesture like that could imply.


    “If you’ve got something to ask, just ask,” Ellis said, picking up on the tension.


    “If it was just a meeting about rings, why did she need to wear the ring meant for Mina?” n asked bluntly. “She looked like she was really enjoying it, too.”


    “There’s a misunderstanding,” Ellis said, keeping his voice level.


    He would never let anyone else wear Freya’s ring.


    n waited, arms crossed, for the full exnation.


    “The two rings you saw were just prototypes,” Ellis continued, his focus entirely on the proposal. “I had her try one on to check if the inner band felt ufortable.”


    Freya yed piano with grace, fought with precision, and did everything with a kind of poised ir. She was sensitive to the tiniest pressure on her hands. He couldn’t risk the ring interfering with her in any way.


    “As for theughing—she was just teasing me,” Ellis added honestly. “She said she didn’t expect someone like me to be so meticulous when ites to love.”


    He paused, then offered, “If you don’t believe me, we can go get the surveince footage.”


    “No need.” n was already convinced. As Ellis spoke, the images reyed in n’s head. Everything matched the expressions he had seen. Ellis wasn’t lying.


    “You believe me now?”


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