She Took The House The Car And My Heart

Chapter 178

hapter 178 She Prefers Me Like This

Kristian pulled a crisp hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and passed it over with a casual flourish, saying coolly, "Keep the change."

"Damn you," Felipe snapped as he slipped the bill into his pocket.

Free money from Kristian? He wasn't about to say no.

The rest of the ride passed in complete silence, both men swallowed by their thoughts, burdened by whatever weighed on their minds.

Half an hour later, Felipe dropped Kristian off at the Shaw estate.

As Kristian stepped out of the car, the memory of what he'd witnessed at the hospital resurfaced. He paused, then said, "You might want to double-check what Farrah said about Jocelyn Watson."

"Wait a second," Felipe frowned, catching the odd note in Kristian's voice.

But Kristian kept that distant, unreadable air about him and responded coolly, "Is there something else?"

"What exactly did you mean by that?" Felipe asked.

"Nothing major. Just a word to the wise," Kristian said, his eyes unreadable. "Not everyone deserves your trust."

Something about that struck a nerve, and Felipe let out a sharp laugh.

Kristian arched a brow, confused by the reaction.

"So, let me guess. Because you misjudged Freya thanks to your first love, you think I'm misjudging Farrah because of Jocelyn?" Felipe said with a mischievous smirk.

Kristian's frown deepened slightly, clearly irritated by the jab.

But Felipe, hands resting easily on the steering wheel, seemed relaxed now. "Your problem was personal. Mine's professional. Whole different ball game."

"Is it really?" Kristian challenged.

"Of course."

"Then why did Farrah bring up Jocelyn right outside the hospital and look at you like you didn't have a clue?" Kristian pressed.

That wiped the smirk off Felipe's face.

Kristian really couldn't help himself-he always knew how to push just the right button.

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after a brief pause, he added, "If you

know?" Felipe shot back, a flicker of

eyes darkened, distant, cold. "Maybe I've just learned from

secretly rolled

with the conversation, he didn't

in his mind made his expression harden for a moment. He tamped

steps when he

stopped in his tracks, whatever emotion

Melinda said with a face full of relief, as though her son had just

gaze twinkled

hands hung loosely at his sides as he paused briefly before walking toward them with practiced

hold his hand. Her voice softened. "Failing once isn't the end of the world. What matters is learning from it and not repeating the same

second, Kristian couldn't find

his composure, he said simply, "I was

Melinda

but years of learning to keep a straight face helped him stay

shoulder a firm pat. "Owning up to your past is

take care of. I'll

weight of his father's words. "You two enjoy

turned and made his

puzzled. "What could he possibly have to

We struck a nerve, and now he needs an excuse

knowingly.

man now. We

"True."

faded behind him, but Kristian, overhearing it, felt a mix of

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of regret slipped in as he thought about how he'd once helped

his room, he showered, slipped into

him a kind of peace he never found in the

by countryside stillness, far from the noise and rush,

he picked up

text her-ask where she was, what she was doing-but every single time, he'd put the phone

next day came

attend the evening banquet, then left the hotel

to

show up unannounced, she called Lionel

time.

she grabbed