?Chapter 1188:


    “Back from living off Freya?” Caldwell muttered, lowering his newspaper and taking a slow sip of water.


    Ellis raised a brow. “What, are you jealous?”


    “And what would I be jealous of?” Caldwell scoffed, casting him a sideways nce. “Heard it was Freya who proposed. Aren’t you the least bit embarrassed? Why wait for her to pop the question?”


    “Don’t go around telling people you’re a Lambert,” Caldwell said with a note of irritation. “And don’t show up at Lambert Group either. It’s humiliating.”


    “Alright,” Ellis replied with unexpected calm, his tone casual and unbothered.


    “From now on, I’m part of the Briggs family.”


    That wasn’t what Caldwell had meant at all.


    Kendra blinked, clearly thrown off. Both parents snapped in sync, “Are you enjoying all this pampering a little too much?”


    “Absolutely,” Ellis admitted without hesitation, his attitude light and easygoing. “Who wouldn’t enjoy being treated like royalty?”


    That answer earned him twin looks of disapproval from both parents.


    “Ellis, this is not okay,” Kendra said, trying to stayposed. She understood that some of it was just yful banter between young lovers, but even that had its boundaries. “We’re not going to nitpick the rest, but how could you let Freya be the one to propose to you?”


    A flicker passed through Ellis’s eyes. So, Ethan had only shared the first half of the story and conveniently left out the rest?


    “Freya proposing shows she doesn’t care what people think,” Kendra said sincerely. She’d always liked Freya. “But as her boyfriend, you should’ve thought better. Do you know what people will say when a girl proposes to a guy?”


    Ellis answered quietly, understanding her pointpletely. “They’ll think she’s desperate, that she’s throwing herself at him, and bound to lose in the end.”


    “And knowing that, you still let her go through with it?” Kendra snapped, the anger finally breaking through. Freya might have been indifferent to gossip, but they weren’t. They didn’t want some baseless rumors tarnishing such a brilliant girl.


    “Be honest with me—have you had a change of heart?” Kendra pressed, her worry growing. She hadn’t spent that much time with Freya, but in her eyes, Freya was a rare gem—independent, grounded, and thoughtful. A woman anyone would be lucky to know, let alone love.


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    Ellis pressed his lips into a tight line before unlocking his phone and handing it over. “Maybe watch this before asking me that.”


    Kendra and Caldwell exchanged a nce, wary of what he was about to show them. But they took the phone anyway.


    As they began watching the video, Ellis exined calmly, “We identally nned our proposals for the same day. Neither of us saw the other oneing.”


    Kendra watched the scene unfold on the screen, and the old romantic in her stirred. “Makes me wish I could be young again.” Caldwell scowled.


    Ellis picked up on it. “Dad didn’t do anything romantic when he proposed?” he asked, teasing deliberately.


    “Just a bunch of flowers. What’s so romantic about that?” Kendra huffed, suddenly finding herself a little dissatisfied inparison. “He even messed up the whole order of things.”


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