?Chapter 1174:


    Freya pressed her lips together.


    “You’ve gotten toofortabletely. Your guard’s down. That’s not my fault.”


    “Oh really?”


    “Yep.”


    “So I get to lie to you too, then?” Ellis asked, grinning.


    Freya shot back without missing a beat, “No, you can’t.”


    “So you’re allowed to lie, but I’m not?”


    “That’s not what I meant.”


    “Then what did you mean?”


    “Double standards,” Freya replied coolly, not missing a beat.


    “You do realize that makes you a hypocrite, right?” Ellisughed at her tone and pulled her into his arms. “So tell me—what else are you allowed to do that I’m not?”


    Freya went silent. Caught off guard, she had no answer. But she knew that when she didn’t know what to say, the best thing to do was always to change the subject. “I was the one with the question—how did we end up here?”


    “Still drawing a nk?” Ellis pressed.


    She didn’t reply.


    “Need me to give you a hint?”


    “I’m going to bed.” She sidestepped the conversation entirely, not even hesitating.


    Ellis rose to his feet and scooped her into his arms, chuckling as he said, “I’ll carry you upstairs.” Freya didn’t fight him.


    As they ascended the stairs, his confession of love earlier that day kept circling in her mind.


    Hadn’t their first meeting been when he trained and scolded them all into the ground? And the second? The third? More scolding. Could that even be called love?


    Ellis nced at her, immediately picking up on the direction of her thoughts. But he didn’t exin anything.


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    Except for that one encounter in childhood, those first, second, and third meetings were memories that only he still held onto—no matter how hard Freya tried, she’d never piece them together.


    “Want me to carry you to the shower too?” Ellis asked, looking down at her.


    Freya slipped out of his embrace in an instant. “Nope,” she replied crisply.


    With that, she bolted into the bathroom.


    “Freya,” Ellis called after her.


    “Hmm?”


    “Your outfit and makeup today really suit you.” His voice was warm, his eyes soft with admiration. “You look beautiful.”


    Freya paused in the doorway, then gave a small nod and slipped inside, trying to act unbothered.


    She never used to care aboutpliments. People had always told her she was pretty, and it had never meant much to her.


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