She Took The House The Car And My Heart

Chapter 156

Chapter 156 Stopped Trying To Dictate Hugh's...

Now, Freya understood everything. It was no surprise her mother had never urged her or her sister to seek of a

man like their father-after all, that mariage had been forged not in love, but in dary, holon waliot

together for appearances, not affection.

It was all theater-smiles painted on like masks at a masquerade.

"What does Cheryl mean to you?" Freya asked, her voice gentler than a breeze before a storm, carefully mag her

emotions in check.

At her question, Hugh said nothing. He simply lowered himself beside her, the silence hanging like fog between

them.

For the next half hour, he peeled back the layers of the past-recounting how he cto marry Freya's mother

and the tangled history he shared with Cheryl.

When he finally fell silent, Freya felt as though a boulder had taken residence on her chest, pressing her down

with every breath

She rose, emotions still glistening in her eyes. "I'm going upstairs."

"Mina," Hugh called softly.

"If you intend to make that woman your wife, then do it. But know this-Shella and | have only ever bad one

mother." With those words, she left the living room, each step a quiet thunderclap as she retreated to her room

Now, the picture was clear.

Cheryl had been Hugh's first love-two young hearts ablaze, only to be torn apart by Hugh's father during the

fervor of their romance. Duty overruled desire, he was bound to Freya's mother in a loveless match

Likewise, Freya's mother had once carried a torch for someone else-but she, too, had been no match for the iron

grip of her father's authority.

In those days, marriage was rarely born of love. It was a chess game, orchestrated by elders, leaving little space

for choice-or joy.

Though both parents had their own loves, they surrendered to the weight of tradition, their resistance merely a

whisper against the storm.

And so they married-two strangers beneath the sroof, learning to coexist while longing for someone else.

They had hoped to endure until they could part ways quietly.

But fate, ever capricious, had other plans. Divorce eluded them, and three years into their forced

companionship, Freya was born.

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With her arrival, something shifted. They resolved to raise her with care, determined not to let history write her

fate as it had theirs. They wanted her to know a childhood where love, even if feigned, felt real

And in that, they succeeded.

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As for Hugh and Cheryl...

Three years prior, Cheryl had found herself in a nightmare-trapped in a marriage poisoned by violence. In her

darkest hour, she reached for Hugh, a flicker of her past she hoped might save her.

Hugh helped her find a lawyer, but he kept his distance.

He had a family now, and the embers of their old love had long gone cold. What

he offered was not romance it was restitution for a youth lost to fate.

Cheryl eventually divorced. And then, Freya's mother fell gravely ill. Two years ago, she passed away.

Just three days after the funeral, Hugh-drowning in grief-sought comfort in drink, only to wake up beside Cheryl.

Freya had seen it with her own eyes. A cruel setup by Cheryl's family, who believed Hugh still carried a torch for

Cheryl after helping her escape her abusive past.

Freya had once asked, "Why did you turn to alcohol?"

Hugh had answered, "Your mom and | spent decades together. Though love may not have lived between us,

companionship did. And over time, that becomes its own kind of bond."

In that moment, something quietly shifted within Freya.

She realized that being together didn't always bloom from love.

She couldn't recall how she managed to shower or crawl into bed afterward. Everything felt like a blur.

Staring at the ceiling, her mind reeled with memories of her parents-moments wrapped in warmth that had, to

her, always looked like love.

Her father's tenderness, his worry when her mother was ill... that couldn't have been an illusion.

But how could it not be love?

"Mina?" Ethel's voice cwith a knock at the door. "Are you asleep?"

Freya pulled herself together, rose, and stood before the mirror, smoothing her face into calm before opening the

door.

"What's up?" she asked, her tone warm and steady as always.

"What did you and Dad talk about?" Ethel stood at the threshold, picking up on the subtle shift in Freya's mood.

"He toldto ccheck on you, maybe have a heart-to-heart."

"Nothing serious."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

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"lI don't buy it." Ethel tried to coax a smile out of her. "Unless you prove it-with an actual smile,"

Freya smiled despite herself and tousled Ethel's hair affectionately.

Then, recalling the earlier conversation, she added, "If Dad wants to marry her, let him. It's his life. We shouldn't

interfere."

Ethel blinked, stunned. Her eyes widened with disbelief.

She stammered, "You-You..."

"Hmm?" Freya remained gentle.

“You just said... Dad?” Ethel stammered. Ever since their fallout two years ago, Freya refused to utter that word

once in reference to Hugh.

Yet now, she had.

It felt almost unreal.

Freya's world had fallen apart and, somehow, through the wreckage, she had cto see things more clearly.

She had grown-shed the need to draw strength from old ideas of family.

Reaching out, she gently ran her fingers through Ethel's still-damp hair. Her touch was soft, reassuring. "Yes. He's

my dad."

"Can you tellwhy you were so upset with him before?" Ethel asked cautiously. "Now that things seem

better?"

"I didn't understand everything back then," Freya said. "Now | see-ssituations aren't about right or wrong."

She had no desire to untangle the past any longer, nor did she feel it was her burden to carry.

From where she stood, Hugh moving on so soon after her mother's passing had felt like a betrayal-like he'd

traded love for convenience.

But now, she saw another side. Two people denied their first loves, cornered by tradition. Surely, regret weighed

heavily on them both.

Ethel scratched her head, visibly confused.

She didn't push further, but asked the one thing on her mind, "What did you mean earlier when you said Dad

should marry Ms. Newman if he wants to? Does that mean you're okay with her now?"

That didn't sound like the sister she knew.

"I haven't accepted her," Freya clarified, her usual calm returning. "But I've

stopped trying to dictate Dad's happiness."

Over two decades ago, Hugh had no control over his own marriage.

Now, even if Cheryl wasn't someone Freya liked, she wanted her father to choose

for himself this time. "You're saying things | can't wrap my head around. You two must've talked about something

serious behind my back." Ethel pouted and stepped into the room uninvited. "To protest this betrayal, I've

decided-I'm

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21.04

Chapter 156 Stopped Trying To Dictate Hugh's Happiness

sleeping on your bed tonight."

Freya sighed.

What a child!

"I'm claiming your bed, your blanket," Ethel announced, flopping onto the mattress

like a small whirlwind of joy, "and | shall jokingly compete with Charlie for your

love."

Freya moved her stuffed pillow to the sofa before sliding under the covers beside

her.

Once the lights were off, Ethel curled close to her, resting her head against Freya's arm, murmuring, "Mina..."

“Hmm?” Freya turned slightly toward her.

"You've still got me," Ethel whispered, her breath warm, her words sweet as she

drifted off. "I will always stand by you."

"Sleep well," Freya said softly, tucking the blanket around her little sister.

Both of them had grown-no longer children clinging to the past. It was tto live their own lives, to stop trying

to steer their father's.

So long as it didn't concern the Briggs Group, Freya would no longer interfere.

After all, the very roots of Briggs Group's success had been planted in the soil of

an arranged marriage.

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