bChapter /bb97 /b

“I didn’t!” Freya protested, trying to defend herself. “ke, how could you think that of me? Am I really that kind of person in your eyes?b” /b

‘I made sure no servants were around before I went in,‘ she thought desperately, ‘and I even had someone temporarily disable the cameras. He bcan’t /bpossibly find out.‘

ke cut her off. “You know what I’m capable of. If I want to find something out, I will.”

He continued, “If you confess now, your punishment might be lighter. But if I find out you did this, don’t even think about staying in the Lambert family.”

Freya was stunned. She’d only meant to use the ne to drive a wedge between Skr and ke. She’d underestimated ke, and she hadn’t expected him to be so protective of Skr right after returning.

Now, not only had her n failed, but she was also about to be kicked out. She couldn’t leave the Lambert family. Without them, she had nothing.

Without a second thought, she dropped to her knees.

“ke, I was wrong,” she sobbed. “Before Skr came back, all the good things were mine. But ever since she returned, I’ve had nothing.

“The disappointment was too much, and it led me to do this awful thing. I know I was wrong, ke. Please, forgive me.”

ke looked down at her coldly. “Freya, if you just behaved yourself, no one would give you a hard time.

self, notother

“But if you insist on being clueless and resorting to these dirty tricks to hurt others, don’t me me for not showing any brotherly affection when I deal with you.”

ke hadid his cards on the table.

Tearfully, Freya promised she understood and would never do anything like it again, begging ke for another chance.

Her wailing was giving ke a headache. “Get the ruby ne repaired,” he said finally, “and I’ll let this go.”

Freya bit her lip. “ke, it’s so damaged. How can I possibly get it fixed?”

ke snorted. “Then why didn’t you think about that before you smashed it?”

ke was clearly making things difficult for Freya to vent Skr’s anger.

‘Some protective older brother he is,‘ Freya thought bitterly, biting the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood.

“Take the ne and get out,” ke ordered.

Freya scrambled to her feet, carefully picked up the ne, and left the study.

When Skr returned to her room, she noticed the ne was missing. She called a maid. “Did you see my ne when you were cleaning the

room?b” /b

The maid, aware of the ne’s valueb, /bquickly shook her head. “When I came in to tidy up, the ne was still on the table. bI /bbhaven’t /bbbeen /bbback /bsince. I don’t know where bit /bwent.”

“bDon’t /bworry, I was just asking,” Skr said gently. “Did you see bFreya /bbgo /bbinto /bbmy /broom?”

The maid shook her head again. “No, Ms. Lambert.”

b“/bbAlright/bb, /bthat’s all. bYou /bcan go bback /bbto /bbyour /bbwork/bb,/bb” /bSkr bdismissed /bher.

b1/2 /b

??

Skr was about to look for Freya when Freya herself appeared.

“Skr, I’m so sorry,” Freya began, her voiceced with feigned remorse.

“Why? Did you break my ne?” Skr asked, her tone even.

Freya’s heart skipped a beat. ‘How does she know?‘

Suppressing her shock, she put on a pitiful expression. “I just wanted to try it on, and I… I wasn’t holding it properly, and it fell.”

She sniffled. “ke already punished me. He said I have to get it fixed before I give it back to you, or he’ll kick me out. I’ll definitely bget /bbit /bbrepaired/b, bSkr/b. Please don’t be angry, okay?”

A ruby ne fit for royalty. The quality of those gems is extraordinary.

Finding recement rubies of that caliber would be nearly impossible.

Repairing it? Easier said than done for Freya.

G