She Took The House The Car And My Heart

Chapter 250

Chapter 250 Happy Birthday

Kristian's voice was scratchy, laced with a hollow kind of sorrow. "What day is it today?" he muttered.

"What's going on with you?" Liam asked, picking up on the shift in his demeanor. "You sick or something?" "No,"

Kristian replied flatly.

Still, Liam couldn't shake the sense that something wasn't quite right. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Kristian looked worn thin-his voice steady, but devoid of strength. "Let's talk business."

"You do realize today's your birthday, right?" Liam blurted it out, his voice tinged with earnestness. "Happy 28th-

you're creeping up on thirty,"

Kristian froze. Freya, having overheard, paused too. Her eyes shimmered with an unreadable blend of emotion.

Was it really the 14th already?

"| figured you'd forget," Liam continued. "For the past few years, with your wife around, | didn't have to worry.

But now that she's divorced you, someone's gotta step up."

That landed like a sucker punch, slamming into Kristian's already bruised heart and leaving it cold and numb.

"You still at the office?"

"Yeah."

"Hurry back. Mom and Dad are outside your home. We've got a cake and everything."

The emotions Kristian had fought so hard to lock away began to rise again, pressing against his throat.

He forced out a muffled, "Okay."

After ending the call, he silenced his phone and sent Liam the door code. It was the date of his wedding to

Freya.

Once he managed to pull himself together, he looked over at Freya.

The moment their eyes met, it was like something inside him cracked wide open. Emotion surged and tangled

in his chest.

He parted his lips, trying to speak, but no words seemed fitting. Nothing would do justice to the storm in his

heart.

If not for sheer willpower, tears might have welled in his eyes and blurred the world again.

"Happy birthday," Freya said, her voice soft, layered with complicated feelings. His expression clearly took her

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Chapter 250 Happy Birthday

by surprise.

Her words sent a flicker of warmth through the chill in his chest. He looked at her intently, as though he was

trying to memorize every detail of her face.

After a long, weighted pause, he murmured, voice rough and low, "Thank you.

Their eyes stayed locked, the world around them momentarily dissolving into silence.

Eventually, Kristian stepped out of the car.

The soft thud of the door closing felt like the end of something. Like a curtain falling

Freya drove forward.

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she rolled down the window. The rush of cold

air grounded her, helped her gather herself.

So this was what it felt like-when someone who once meant everything finally said sorry.

But when the worst had already passed, apologies started to lose their power. Life pushed forward. As for the

past, Freya had already made her peace with it.

From this moment on, she let it go completely.

Freya might have let go, but Kristian couldn't.

He sat quietly in the back seat, eyes closed, mind replaying every moment that had just unfolded.

She had said "I forgive you." and "Happy birthday."

And her eyes-eyes that once held warmth-now only held a calm, final kind of goodbye.

Gerard had no idea what had happened. All he knew was that Kristian was in a dark place. He wasn't joking like

usual, nor did he say anything cutting.

The silence lasted about half an hour before Gerard's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen. Liam was calling.

He picked up. "Hello."

"Is my brother still at work?" Liam asked.

Gerard glanced at Kristian in the back seat and answered in his usual tone,

"There's a last-minute issue- something urgent cup. He might need another hour."

"Alright," Liam replied. "Tell him to hurry up. We're all waiting."

"Okay."

"By the way."

"Yes?"

"Is something going on with him?" Liam's voice held a rare note of concern. No matter the teasing, Kristian was

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Chapter 250 Happy Birthday

still his older brother. "When | called earlier, he didn't sound like himself."

"He's probably just worn out," Gerard covered for his boss without blinking. "He's been swamped since morning

and hasn't eaten a thing"

"Then | won't keep you. Let him finish up and get home," Liam said.

He knew Gerard well-always the one reminding Kristian to eat, to rest, to take

care of himself. So what could be tying him up like this?

After hanging up, Gerard silenced his phone.

He glanced at Kristian, who looked as though he were silently bleeding inside,

and said, "Mr. Shaw, you've only got one more hour."

"Drive," Kristian rasped.

If it were just Liam, he might've kept him waiting. But his parents were waiting. He couldn't keep them all waiting

for him.

Gerard pressed his lips together and started the engine, weighed down by a heaviness in his chest.

A pang of guilt surfaced.

Why hadn't he pushed harder back then-insisted they sit down and talk things

through?

Kristian never even liked Ashley. And yet he still divorced Freya for her. Wasn't that utterly senseless?

Lost in thought, Gerard pulled into the parking lot.

When Kristian stepped out of the car, Gerard called out and handed him something. "Mr. Shaw."

Kristian paused. Even in his suit, looking every bit the man of prestige, his mood gave him away. He looked less

aloof and more like someone burdened by quiet

SOIToW.

"Happy birthday." Gerard offered the item with a faint smile. "Hope this year brings you everything you've been

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hoping for."

Kristian accepted the gift box, his voice low and hoarse. "Thank you."

"Go on up." Gerard tried to lift the mood with a bit of warmth. "Your family is

waiting for you."

"Cwith me."

"No, thank you."

"Con. Just come." Kristian's eyes were layered with something unreadable, something aching. For the last

two years, it had always been Freya and Gerard who planned his birthday surprises.

Freya wasn't here this time. But Gerard should be.

After a pause, Gerard nodded. "Alright."

His reason was simple.

Kristian was in no state to hide how he felt, and his forced smiles might give him

away. Gerard could help soften the edges.

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But he underestimated Kristian. From the the was young, unless it was love,

Kristian never let his family see him fall apart.

By the tthey reached the door, he'd pulled himself together,

All the emotions were buried deep beneath the surface. He looked like a man

coming hfrom a regular day at work, like nothing in the world was weighing

him down.

Watching him, Gerard felt something twist inside.

So even someone like Kristian masked his pain to keep from worrying his parents.

Maybe that's just what

adults do.

Kristian stared at the door, hesitated for a breath, then lifted his hand and opened

it, stepping inside as if it were just another ordinary night.