She Took The House The Car And My Heart

LeftWith Walls, Wheels, and Wounds 281

Chapter 281 Ellis's Phone Got A Virus

After shooting off the message, Ellis powered down his phone and tucked it away, resolute in his mission to avoid

any unnecessary distractions.

He'd finally coaxed Freya out for a breath of fresh air. No way was he about to let anyone mess that up.

The instructor stared blankly at the message lighting up his screen, completely at a loss.

Without wasting a second, he hit the call button and tried Ellis. But all he got was Ellis's voicemail

He was left speechless. He narrowed his eyes at the car that had just driven off, jaw tight with irritation. "Fine.

Let's see how long you last without turning your phone back on."

Ellis, on the other hand, couldn't care less about ruffling his friend's feathers. They'd been pulling tricks on each

other since childhood.

To be fair, they only ever reached out when it suited them.

By the tthey rolled into the city, the clock had already ticked past four in the afternoon.

Ellis drove Freya straight home.

There was no use heading to the office at this hour. Besides, he and Melvin had already squared away everything

that mattered. Freya had nothing left to stress about.

Once they arrived, Freya unlocked the door.

"Thank you for today," she said, glancing back with a rare flicker of sincerity in her eyes. "I'll give you a raise

next month."

Ellis replied in his usual nonchalant drawl, "Much appreciated, my dear boss." Freya was momentarily struck

dumb. She still wasn't used to being called that. "Go on in and rest up. I'll holler when dinners ready," Ellis said

in that familiar, protective tone, one that bordered on brotherly. "Especially after that raise you promised me."

"|..." Freya started, instinctively ready to decline.

But the look in Ellis's eyes stopped her short.

She swallowed her protest and changed her answer. "Alright."

After they parted ways, Freya reached out to Trent.

Compared to her, Trent probably knew Ellis even better. The two of them were like peas in a pod-sharp,

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cunning, and full of tricks

Once the video call connected, Freys made small talk for a bit before cutting to the dhe do you fore

down Ellis's dinner invitations

"Dinner invitations? Trent asked, dating his glasses

"He keeps invitingever to eat," Freya admitted, a tle uneasily Even though Ellis had said he didn't hold

grudges, she couldn't shake the worry. "With the way he's always opers, when he's nice to you, it usually means

you're in trouble"

Aside from that one embarrassing phone call, the couldn't think of any reason she'd gotten on his bad side

But hadn't they already moved past that?

Trent smiled faintly, quietly marveling at how rocky Ellis's journey to win her heart had become

Freya caught the look. "What's so funny?"

"Have you ever considered the fact that Ellis's retired?" Trent tried to shift the narrative.

Freya looked confused. Hadn't Ellis already said that?

Trent went on, "Since he's no longer that 'devil captain’, maybe it's tto stop seeing him through the same

lens."

"Huh?" Freya was puzzled.

"Maybe he's just trying to be nice," Trent explained, gently setting the stage. "Or maybe Irving in your place and

collecting that generous paycheck makes him feel like he owes you something"

"Would he really think like that?" Freya always felt unguarded around her teammates.

"He used to be our captain-always one step ahead of the rest of us," Trent continued, nudging her a little more.

"But now that we're all out in the real world, he's probably noticed that, compared to the rest of us, sfolks-

like you-cfrom pretty privileged backgrounds. That might make him feel a little.... out of place."

Freya frowned.

A bit out of place? That just didn't sound like Ellis.

"Look, Mina. Men have their pride. Especially Ellis," Trent said, his tone turning sincere as he wove the tale on

Ellis's behalf. "If he invites you to dinner, just go. It might ease that pride a little."

"Are you serious?" Freya still found it hard to believe.

Ellis didn't seem like that kind of person. But Trent's words held a strange sort of logic.

Trent nudged her one last time. "If you don't believe me, ask other guys. Just don't say it's about Ellis."

Freya nodded thoughtfully. After a bit more casual chatter, they ended the call.

She sat still, sifting through her thoughts, and cto one conclusion. Ellis really did have a whole lot of

But she didn't dwell on it.

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Remembering what Ellis had said about the group chat, she opened it-the one with all eight of them, Ellis

included-and typed, "I'm free these days. Any tworks for a get-together."

Freya had already handled what Gerard couldn't in the Shaw Group. As far as the company went, everything

was set. She really was free now.

Greta chimed in, "How about tomorrow night?"

Riley added, "No objections."

Trent echoed, too."

Frederick and the rest threw in their affirmatives as well. The only one who stayed quiet was Ellis.

Greta and Riley kept tagging him in the group, but he didn't respond.

Just then, there was a knock at Freya's door.

She opened it to find Ellis standing there, phone in hand, looking like he'd just

been the butt of sgrand cosmic joke. "Can you helpout?"

"Hmm?"

"My phone's got a virus."

Freya stepped aside and let him in, suddenly remembering-he'd gotten that phone after retiring, and she'd never

secured it for him.

"Don't turn it on," Ellis said quickly as he saw her hand move toward the power button.

But he was a second too late.

The moment she pressed it, the phone started vibrating like mad, blaring a painfully cheerful tune.

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"I'm Ellis Lambert, dancing like a chicken."

"I'm Ellis Lambert, dancing like a chicken."

"I'm Ellis Lambert, dancing like a chicken."

The line kept playing on repeat, the words dancing across the screen.

Even Freya was left momentarily dumbfounded.

Ellis, with his clean-cut hair and sharp, striking features, stood tall and unbothered. Not a flicker of

embarrassment on his face. Raising a brow slightly,

he asked, "Can you fix it?"

"| can," Freya replied.

She took the phone into her study.

This was child's play for her. She wiped out the virus with ease and even

reinforced the phone's security system.

When she was done, she handed it back and asked, "Did you piss someone off?"

"Yeah."

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< Chapter 281 Ellis's Phone Got A Virus

"Wantto help?"

Ellis paused, then a faint smirk played at his lips. "Then I'll trouble you to help me

out. Plant a message in Ethan Pearson's phone so that every the turns it on

or off, it plays '"Mom, cand givea good punch."

Freya was speechless. Was Ellis always this childish?

"Can't you do it?" Ellis's tone was teasing, almost boyish.

Freya hesitated a beat, then nodded. "I can do it."

"I'll call him first. Wait half an hour before you plant it," Ellis instructed. When Ellis

decided to prank someone, no one ever escaped.