?Chapter 1187:


    “Dad, are you thinking about something?” Freya noticed the flicker of hesitation in his expression.


    “I used to,” Hugh admitted. “But not anymore.”


    Freya looked puzzled. She didn’t quite understand what he meant.


    Hugh hesitated, his lips pressed into a line. “Promise you won’t be mad if I say this?”


    “Okay, go ahead,” Freya nodded, curious.


    “I used to think that you chose Ellis just because he treated you well, because he seemed like a good fit—not because you loved him,” Hugh confessed, his voice a little strained, as if it hurt to say aloud.


    Freya paused.


    Before she could say anything, he went on. “But today, I finally get it. And I know now—you’re not going to regret this.”


    All this time, he’d feared she’d wake up one day and realize she’d settled. A one-sided love could onlyst so long. Real happiness came from two hearts moving together in step.


    “Don’t worry. We love each other,” Freya answered with certainty.


    She understood where her father’s fears came from.


    She had always been reserved—slow to warm up, emotionally even-keeled, not the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. To others, she might’ve seemed distant.


    But she knew her own heart. She loved Ellis.


    Meanwhile, on Ellis’s side, he and Freya had headed home separately. The moment he stepped onto the front porch, not even through the door yet, Kendra appeared, scanning around. “Where’s Freya?”


    “At home. I didn’t bring her along,” Ellis replied with a teasing grin.


    Kendra gave him a light p on the shoulder.


    Ellis blinked, unsure what that was for.


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    Kendra motioned for someone to shut the door. “Then you shouldn’te in either. Next time, bring Freya—and then you cane in.”


    “She’s with her dad and sister today,” Ellis said quickly, knowing Kendra was dead serious. He handed over the things Freya had packed. “Here—she sent these for you. Said she’d visit soon.”


    “The stuff stays. You go,” Kendra retorted.


    Ellis walked right in anyway. He knew if he really turned around, he wouldn’t be allowed back in today.


    “Did you bring anything for Freya’s dad and sister?” Kendra asked the moment they hit the living room.


    “Of course I did. I dropped her off after handing them over,” Ellis said casually.


    Did she really think he’d overlook something like that?


    “That’s more like it.” Kendra finally rxed a bit.


    But Caldwell? He shot Ellis a look of sheer disdain.


    That caught Ellis off guard. Hadn’t he just gotten back into their good graces a few months ago?


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