?Chapter 1162:


    “Spill it. What did you talk about?” Ellis pressed.


    Freya felt trapped, like a deer in headlights. Her mind raced for an answer.


    “Nothing much.”


    “Really?”


    “Just small stuff,” she said, holding her ground.


    Ellis’s thoughts spun,nding on a bold guess. “Are you nning to propose to me on the 12th?”


    n’s “urgent” matter, the timing, no birthdays nearby, and n being single—it all pointed to Freya.


    Her heart raced. Staring at her te, Freya tried to hide her nerves, but Ellis caught her brief pause.


    His heart stirred with excitement and curiosity. Could it be true?


    “I knew you’d say that,” Freya said, faking a sigh, her acting skills shining.


    Ellis’s brow furrowed. He thought he had her figured out.


    “I’d love to propose, but you make it tough,” she said, easing the tension. “You won’t shop for rings with me or hint at what kind of proposal you’d like. I can’t just guess!”


    Ellis studied her, searching for a crack in her story.


    Freya kept her face earnest, selling her act.


    “Then why’ve you been so cagey?” he asked.


    “I didn’t want you thinking I was proposing and getting your hopes up for nothing,” she said, her voice soft and convincing.


    For once, Ellis questioned his instincts. Her reaction felt real, even if his logic screamed otherwise.


    “I’ve been helping n with his proposal,” Freya added, weaving truth and lies. “I went with him abroad to pick out custom rings and helped him figure out how his girl feels.”


    “n’s got a girlfriend?” Ellis asked, surprised.


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    “Yup,” Freya said, her years of learning from Ellis sharpening her bluff. “He had a secret rtionship that ended badly. He’s been single, waiting for her all this time. Now that he’s reunited with her, he wants to ask her to marry him.”


    “Then why the blind dates?” Ellis caught a snag.


    n didn’t strike him as someone who’d y the field. Freya’s story was starting to unravel, but she held her ground, her face steady and convincing.


    Freya let out a quiet sigh, her mood sinking deeper by the second. “He still hasn’t said a word to his parents about having a girlfriend. They think he’s still flying solo and keep pushing him into blind dates. He managed to dodge the others, but this time, he couldn’t get out of it.”


    “Why won’t he juste clean with them?”


    “It’splicated. I don’t know the whole story—he just told me to keep it quiet after filling me in,” Freya replied. “If the proposal flops this time, don’t bring it up to him. He told me to keep it under wraps.”


    Ellis could see the gravity in her eyes and took her words seriously.


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