?Chapter 1197:

    Ellis chuckled. “What?”

    “Want me to make it happen now?” he asked, tantly teasing her.

    Freya paused, suddenly uncertain. What was that supposed to mean?

    “How about a full day at the base tomorrow, as a reward?” Ellis’s tone shifted into that familiar drawl—the one he used when he was scheming. “Everything you’ve been imagining—we’ll do it all.”

    “No!” Freya dropped the act, rm shing in her eyes.

    Ellis looked at her, his eyes gleaming with mischief.

    Freya pressed her lips tightly together. “Keep this up and you’ll lose me.”

    “Don’t want to go back to the base?” he teased.

    “If you and my mom team up to kick me out again, I’ll throw you right back into training,” Ellis threatened, for the first time soundingpletely serious. “And after the drills, I’ll continue to wear you out in bed.”

    Freya froze. She stared at him, wide-eyed,pletely thrown by what had juste out of his mouth.

    Ellis, fully aware of her reaction, yanked the nket up and pulled her into his arms. “Staring won’t help. Sleep.”

    Freyay there silently, too spooked to move. It was painfully obvious that Ellis was in a dangerously tempting mood. But with Kendra just one room away, Freya wasn’t about to take any chances.

    Ellis held himself back, never crossing the line. He simply held her.

    “Ellis.”

    “Good night.”

    “Good night.”

    They fell asleep together, side by side.

    Over the next few days, Kendra spent hours chatting with Freya, soaking in the stories of her life—from childhood until now. By the end of it, she was genuinely impressed. She saw Freya as a truly remarkable young woman. Freya had a range of talents—music, chess, calligraphy, painting—and yet, in everyday life, she was asid-back as theye.

    “If I had your skills when I was younger, I’d have taken over every social scene I stepped into,” Kendra teased. “People like you, who keep a low profile, are rare.”

    Stay tuned at gα?ησν???s

    “Actually, it’sziness,” Freya replied. She just didn’t have the energy topete with others. She didn’t care enough to win or lose. She only got into hacking because it looked cool. Everything else, she picked up because she figured one day, if herpany ever tanked, she’d need something to fall back on—at least she could live off her skills.

    Kendra smiled indulgently and tucked a loose strand of hair behind Freya’s ear. “From now on, you’re family—solid gold. And in the Lamberts, we look out for our own. I’ve got your back.”

    “Thanks,” Freya said, her smile soft but sincere.

    The hardest rtionship to navigate was often between a mother-inw and daughter-inw. Freya was lucky. Every member of Ellis’s family she’d met had been genuinely kind. Their warmth made her instinctively want to stay close and feel cherished.

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