bChapter /bb96 /b

bSkr /bsoothed Adam, a mix of amusement and exasperation in her voice as she exined, “He just called me Mommy, that’s all.”

ke nodded. “As long as you’re okay with it.”

He remembered Yosef had only publicly acknowledged one fiancée, and it wasn’t his sister.

‘If Skr had really married him and even had his child,‘ ke thought grimly, ‘yet he kept their marriage a secret while messing around with bother /bwomen… I’d make Yosef pay, even if it meant mutual destruction.‘

“Don’t mix business with family,” Yana chided, shooting

ake a

a re. “Wipe that scowl off your face. What if you scare Adam?”

She then scooped Adam into her arms, cooing softly. “Don’t be scared, Adam. Your Uncle ke just has a stern face; he didn’t mean to be harsh with you.”

Comforted, Adam peeked out from his grandmother’s embrace and looked at his uncle: “Uncle ke,” he said timidly, “you already told off Daddyb, /bso you can’t tell me off too.”

He hadn’t had enough time with his mommy yet and didn’t want his uncle to send him back to his daddy.

ke chuckled. “Adam, you should read more books and spend less time on your phone, or you’ll turn into a dummy.”

Hearing he might be a dummy, Adam’s lip quivered, and he looked ready to cry.

Yana’s heart ached for the boy. She shot ke a sharp look. “ke!”

‘Adam is nothing like his father,‘ she thought. ‘Cries at the drop of a hat. So sensitive. I wonder how that brute Yosef even raised him.‘

ke had his assistant, Yale, distribute the remaining gifts. Victor, still recovering from his injury, mostly stayed in his room. Yale set Victor’s gift asideb, /bdelivered it upstairs after handing out the rest, and then left.

Skr ced the ruby ne in her room.

Yana asked if she needed a safe for her jewelry.

“The security here is so tight, no thief could get in,” Skr reasoned. “And even if someone in the house had the guts to take something, they wouldn’t be able to smuggle it out.”

Yana considered it and agreed it probably wasn’t necessary.

Skr’sck of precaution gave Freya an opening.

Freya snuck into Skr’s room and stole the ruby ne.

The more she looked at it, the angrier she became.

The imore /ishe looked at it, the angrier she became. ‘This beautiful ruby ne should be mine!‘ she fumed internally. ‘Skr doesn’t deserve bit /bat all!‘

Losing control, she mmed the ne onto the table. It cracked instantly. Panic seized her.

“What do I do?” she whispered, her mind racing

She stared at the damaged ne for a long moment, then a new resolve hardened her expression. She snatched bit /bup and headed bstraight /bbfor /bbke’s /bstudy.

“ke, something terrible has happened” Freya burst out.

Chapter b96 /b

ke was bin /bba /bvirtual meeting and was annoyed by the interruption.

He messaged Yale bto /btake over, then closed hisptop, his face cold as he looked at Freya. b“/bPanicking like this. You bhave /bbno /bmanners,

b“/bke, I was bjust /bso worried, I didn’t mean to barge in,” Freya said, trying to sound contrite.

“What is it?” he asked curtly.

Freya carefully ced the ruby ne before him. “I just went into Skr’s room, and I found the ruby ne on her deskb./bb” /b

Several cracks marred its beauty.

She sighed dramatically. “Skr is so careless with your gifts, ke. Doesn’t she realize you spent a fortune on this for herb?/bb” /b

ke picked up the ne, examining it closely. “Freya,” he said, his voice dangerously low, “you’ve got some nerve.”

Startled by his sharp tone, Freya’s eyes welled up with tears. “ke…”

ke fixed Freya with a cold stare. “Don’t think I don’t know you broke this ne on purpose.”

G