?Chapter 1136:


    Freya, not suspecting anything, leaned in. “What?”


    “Don’t you think it’s a shame you didn’t have me around all these years to look out for you?” Ellis quipped, his voiceced with teasing warmth and easy, yful charm.


    Freya shook her head with a determined smile. “No way, I’d have ruled the yground if you hadn’t been around stealing the spotlight.”


    As a kid, she couldn’t stand being looked after. She loved tackling things on her own.


    Depending on others felt shaky to her—only her skills gave her the confidence to stand tall.


    If Ellis had always been her shield, she might’ve grown up too soft, which wasn’t who she was.


    “You were that tough, huh?” Ellis teased, his eyes sparkling.


    “You bet,” Freya shot back with a grin.


    “Kind of wish I’d seen it,” Ellis said, his tone suddenly softer.


    Freya tilted her head, curious.


    Was he still hung up on their childhood days? What was there to miss now?


    “If we’d been promised to each other as kids, you’d have been my little shadow, trailing behind me,” Ellis said with a yful smirk. “I’d have loved leading the way for you every day.”


    Freya stayed quiet, her lips twitching into a smile. He was stuck on this childhood daydream, wasn’t he?


    Ellis leaned back, giving her azy look. “How about making my dreame true? Follow me around like you did back then.”


    “I’m heading to bed,” Freya said, closing the photo album with a soft thud, brushing off his idea with a yful eye-roll.


    “You sure? This is your shot,” Ellis teased, his voice light.


    “When we were kids, I bet tons of others followed you around,” Freya said, her tone serious but teasing.


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    “Like who?”


    “ire,” Freya replied, raising an eyebrow.


    Ellis froze for a second, caught off guard. Well, she was right. He hadn’t seen that oneing.


    “If you’re so eager to relive it, I can give her a call,” Freya said with a sly grin.


    “See if she’s still up for chasing you around.”


    “It’s not the same if it’s not you,” Ellis said, his voice low and warm, his eyes locked on hers.


    Freya mimicked a sweet, sing-song voice. “Ellis Lambert, where should we go?” Ellis blinked, momentarily speechless, his lips pressing together in surprise. She sure knew how to throw him off.


    “You’re not as sweet as you were back then,” he said, pretending to sulk. Freya caught the teasing glint in his eyes. With a mischievous smile, she leaned closer. “Want me to say it with sweetness? I’ll do it just for you.”


    “No one can match how sweet you were back then,” Ellis said smoothly, his voice calm but warm. “It’s okay if you can’t act sweet now. The right moment wille, and you’ll say it.”


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