She Took The House The Car And My Heart

Chapter 844:

The game ended, and Lionel wandered into the backyard.

Every step he took stirred up memories—Freya painting under the sun, sharing stories in the breeze, guiding his hand over the chessboard. Only now did he realize why this Christmas felt dimmer than years before. Freya wasn’t with them. Kristian had driven away the light in his winter.

Freya completely cut off contact with Kristian the moment the chess match came to an end.

She stared at the phone resting in her palm, torn between dialing Lionel or letting the impulse pass. After several long minutes of inner debate, she chose not to call. Reaching out now might make it seem like Kristian had urged her to do so, and that could stir guilt in Lionel. It was better to wait until tomorrow. A holiday greeting on Christmas wouldn’t seem suspicious.

With her thoughts finally in order, she set aside her worries, at least for the time being, and made her way downstairs.

The next day, Freya, Ethel, and Hugh joined Winslow for lunch. That evening, they headed back to Miguel’s for dinner.

this year. For once, the evening was warm, festive, and full of

up the phone and called Lionel to send her

with boyish excitement the moment he heard her. He was delighted beyond words, showering her with blessing after blessing, chatting on and on, unwilling to let the moment

to his room for the night. Ethel glanced over and saw Freya

what are you

???? ???????? ⓘ? gⱯ???ν???⧼???

Freya replied, her eyes still fixed on the stars

moment carried a bittersweet weight. The past two Christmases had been spent at the Shaw family’s residence—lively enough, yes, but they lacked the deep, aching nostalgia of tonight. Ethel gently linked arms with her. “You don’t need to

froze, caught off

and Mom,” Ethel said

again, her voice dipping just enough to

“Yes?” Freya murmured.

into a lighter rhythm. She had always remembered Freya’s