Kingsley's POV
I was engrossed in my paperwork when Freya burst into my office unannounced.
"Kingsley, why did you get my friend involved in what happened between us? Why did you instruct the bank to stop granting loans to Novia's family company?" she demanded.
Confronted by Freya's probing, I responded icily, "Why don't you ask your best friend what she did?"
"What did she do? She's just trying to help me!" Freya retorted, her voice seething with anger.
"Do you really think that's the reason?" I nonchalantly grabbed the file beside me and flung it in her direction. "I'm not that bored!"
Freya furrowed her brow, her expression tinged with confusion.
As she perused the contents of the documents, her brow furrowed even further.
The files consisted of numerous chat logs and screenshots, all constituting "evidence" of Tracy's dirt.
There were over a dozen accounts involved in these incidents, but all the IP addresses traced back to one location.
And that location happened to be Novia's apartment.
"Do you know that with this substantial evidence of malicious slander, Tracy can have her jailed for a year!" I glared at Freya and spoke coldly.
"So, you went through all this trouble just to help your true love?" Freya asked me, her eyes red with emotion.
"What on earth are you talking about?" I questioned, furrowing my brow, unable to fathom her thought process.
Through gritted teeth, Freya responded, "Malicious slander? That's what people usually call it only when someone fabricates facts and spreads nonsense. Is it not true that you visited her in the hospital after the stampede? Or that you ran off with her at the wedding three years ago, leaving me all alone? I've never heard of telling someone the truth about their actions being labeled as malicious slander!"
Stampede?
I winced. "And yet you still claim you didn't follow me. Then how did you know I was at the hospital that day?"
Freya sneered suddenly, "How do you know I went to the hospital to follow you and not for my own medical treatment?"
I furrowed my brow. "What ailment would lead you to visit the hospital, Freya?"
"Do you truly care?" Freya's eyes welled up with redness. "Kingsley, I couldn't care less about your desire to shield Tracy. However, if you ever lay a hand on my friend again, I will confront you with all my might!"
Her words left me astounded.
This marked the first occasion where Freya had spoken harshly to me, not even during our discussions of the vowing of the rejection.
In her eyes, a tempest of anger swirled, mingling with an undeniable loathing that sent an unsettling sensation through my heart.
After delivering her stern warning, Freya prepared to depart.
I glanced at her and responded with a stoic demeanor, "Grandma contacted me today, inquiring about any altercations between us and your departure from the house, Freya. We haven't finalized our vowing to reject each other yet. Do you wish to amplify the matter and expose it to the world?"
Freya chuckled, "Well, it is not a source of shame. Why should I conceal it?"
I scoffed, "Then call Theo and let's have a face-to-face conversation about that."
Freya locked her gaze onto me, her silence speaking volumes.
Nonchalantly, I added, "Until we did that, it would be best for you to move back in. Until then, if any rumors about our relationship reach Grandma's ears, you can forget about getting my rejection for the rest of your life."
The Shadowmoon Pack was embroiled in a fierce competition for the heir, and if news of that emerged during this time, it would undoubtedly influence the opinion of my grandma and the major shareholders of the Wright Group towards me.
Freya pursed her lips, remaining silent for what seemed like an eternity.
The atmosphere hung heavy, suffused with tension, and my gaze swept over Freya.
The woman who had previously displayed arrogance and defiance now sat quietly, her spirit seemingly drained away.
I found her excessive silence displeasing.
"Very well, I'll go along with your charade," Freya suddenly spoke after the protracted silence, her eyes turning resolute and icy. "But I, too, have a condition."
I raised my chin, urging her to continue.
Freya declared, "Once everything is settled, once we've agreed to reject each other, I want nothing to do with real estate, cars, or shares. Instead, I demand a billion from you."
Furrowing my brow, I retorted, "I permitted you to propose a condition, not to make a wish."
Freya tugged at the corner of her mouth, her voice tinged with a touch of mischief. "Kingsley, asking for a mere billion from you isn't asking for too much, is it?"
I gazed at her face for a prolonged moment, then responded with a casual tone. "Alright, I promise you."
Freya appeared stunned, clearly not anticipating such a swift agreement from me. However, she quickly regained her composure, reaching into her bag to retrieve a pen and a piece of paper. With swift movements, she scribbled an agreement.
She handed it to me and opened her phone's video camera. "I want to capture your signature as proof, so you can't back out later!"
My eye twitched at her demand.
[I, Kingsley Wright, on this day, regarding the matter of property division after we vow to reject each other, have reached the following agreement with Freya Yost: Upon our mutual decision to reject each other, the house, cars, and car-related assets will belong to the male party. The male party is required to pay the female party a deposit of one billion!]
I gritted my teeth and inquired, "Is this how the agreement should be written?"
"Why do you care about how I write it? Just hurry up and sign!" she snapped.
I tightened my face, forcefully signed the document with a sweeping stroke of the pen, and tossed it back to Freya. "I hope this agreement doesn't become a joke in the future!"
Freya grabbed my hand, pressed it against her crimson lips, and then onto the designated space for my signature. "Only the one who breaks agreements becomes a joke!"
The soft touch of my fingertips sent an electric jolt through my heart, causing it to skip a beat.
By the time I regained my senses, Freya had already folded the paper and stowed it away.
I glanced down at my right thumb, which bore a faint lipstick mark, akin to a tantalizing symbol. Curling my fingers, my heart fluttered in an irregular rhythm.
After that, Freya didn't bother to bid farewell; she simply flung the door open and departed.
I observed her temperament, which seemed to grow more unmanageable, and my eyebrows twitched in response.
Jeremy entered the office and whispered, "Alpha Kingsley, why didn't you tell Luna Freya that you've helped stop Tracy from suing Novia?"
I sighed and replied, "Look at her demeanor. What could she possibly listen to?"
Jeremy fell silent.
"By the way," I suddenly recalled something and said, "could you find out what she was doing at the hospital on the day of the stampede?"
"Of course," Jeremy replied.
When I returned to the villa in the evening, Sarah approached me to collect my clothes and shoes.
As I thought of the agreement with Freya, it occurred to me that Freya probably had moved back in.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I inquired of Sarah, "Where is she?"
Sarah replied, "As soon as Luna Freya returned, she went straight upstairs without uttering a word."
I cast a fleeting glance upstairs, gracefully loosening my tie, and remarked casually, "Prepare a meal, tidy up the room, and tell her to come downstairs."
An hour passed.
As I gazed at the table brimming with delicacies, my eyes swept upstairs. Sarah had gone up to call out to Freya, but she had yet to descend.
What did that woman was up to again?
After a brief pause, a commotion emerged from upstairs, instantly grabbing my attention.
Then, Sarah's voice reached me, "Alpha, Luna Freya says she's on a diet and won't eat."
I furrowed my brow, "She's already as thin as a rail. What's the point of losing more weight? Tell her to come down at once!"
Thump, thump, thump.
Sarah hurried upstairs again and returned shortly after, stuttering, "Alpha, Luna Freya said..."
Impatience consumed me, "What did she say?"
Sarah strained her voice and truthfully relayed, "She said she couldn't bear to have dinner with you..."
A twitch formed at the corners of my eyes.