She Took The House The Car And My Heart novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170 Utter Mortification

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to.” Freya knew the words would land like a slap, but there was no gentler way to break it.

Alan had to face the weight of what he’d done.

Alan jerked to attention, yanking his hand away from his hair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

A ripple of unease crept through him. Had he made a spectacle of himself while drunk on the street?

No, that didn’t sound right. Freya would never let him make a fool of himself like that–she knew how much his image mattered to him.

“You were at…” Freya began.

“I know!” Alan cut her off, rushing to get ahead of it. Better to say it himself than hear it from someone else. “I must’ve made a scene at Toby’s, right? And he had no choice but to call you in?”

That had to be it! How was he supposed to give Toby proper instructions ever again? Toby probably thought he was a complete idiot now!

Freya silently weighed the shame of messing up in front of a close colleague versus someone he barely knew. She figured it was slightly less mortifying with a stranger.

At least Alan didn’t have to see Kristian every day.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Freya said gently, hoping to soften the blow.

Caught in a tug–of–war between panic and hope, Alan forced himself not to imagine anything worse.

He’d already pictured the most humiliating scenario. Since she said it wasn’t that bad, maybe he could live with it. “So where did I humiliate myself?”

“At Kristian’s place,” Freya said, cool and composed.

Alan froze like someone had hit pause on his entire system.

Kristian’s place?

Of all the godforsaken places–Kristian’s?

Alan’s face twisted in horror. “That’s what you call ‘not as bad as I think‘?”

Toby’s place would’ve been a blessing in comparison.

Kristian was Freya’s ex–husband, for god’s sakes!

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This was humiliation on another level.

“Hold on a second.” He stopped torturing his hair and finally started to think. “How the hell did I end up at Kristian’s? Even drunk, Toby should’ve taken me home.”

The whole point of that gathering was to suss out Kristian, to get a read on the guy and figure out what made him let Freya down.

It wasn’t the kind of party where Toby would’ve gotten drunk–or had any excuse not to take Alan home.

“Gerard said that when Kristian asked whether you wanted him or Toby to take you, you picked Kristian,” Freya relayed, still a little unsure of the details. “Since Kristian didn’t know where you lived, he brought you back to his place.”

Alan fell into stunned silence. No way. She had to be pulling some elaborate prank. Him? Choosing Kristian?

“Nice try, but you’re not fooling me,” Alan said, pretending to laugh it off with a forced chuckle. “Didn’t think you’d turn into a prankster overnight.”

Freya said nothing, just looked at him.

At first, he clung to the belief that she was joking.

But as he ate the rest of his breakfast and got no further explanation, doubt started gnawing at him.

“You’re being serious?” he asked at last.

“You can ask Toby,” Freya said, glancing at her watch. “He should be getting ready for the office right about now.” Alan scrambled for his phone, finally spotting it on the couch.

Just as he was about to dial, it rang.

It was Toby. “Sir, should I pick you up from Mr. Shaw’s place, or will you be heading to the office on your own?” Toby’s words hit like a thunderclap, snuffing out the last flicker of denial in Alan’s chest.

“I actually left with Kristian last night?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Alan was already spiraling, his mood sinking fast. “You’re my secretary–do you think it’s acceptable to let the partner company’s boss walk off with me?”

“It’s not acceptable,” Toby answered smoothly.

Alan pressed, “Then why let him take me?”

“I tried to bring you home, sir, but you refused. You picked him,” Toby answered plainly. “Both of you told me to leave, so I didn’t have a choice.”

Honestly, he was still trying to figure out why his boss would choose Kristian over him.

Their working relationship had only just begun to get close.

Alan ended the call in one swift motion.

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<Chapter 170 Utter Mortification

He slumped forward, staring at Freya like a man freshly defeated. “Mina, just put me out of my misery. I can’t

live with this.”

Utter mortification.

Complete, all–consuming shame.

“Don’t be so quick to surrender,” Freya said, twisting the knife just a little deeper. “You still need to apologize to Kristian and pay for the damages.”

Damages? There were damages involved?

Spinning in a storm of emotions, Alan forced himself to ask, “What exactly happened at his place last night?”

“I don’t know the full picture. When you called me, you thought you were a master fighter,” Freya recalled, though her memory was patchy. “You told me not to come because Kristian was plotting to kill me and be the strongest left in the world.”