Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Taking Responsibility for Her

"Sir, are you playing hide-and-seek?" Freya also noticed some people were standing outside. A dozen men in black suits stood in the shadows, clutching gleaming weapons.

She put on an innocent face and asked, "Freya wants to play hide-and-seek too! Would you like to play with Freya?"

The man furrowed his brows, surprised to find himself in the room of someone who seemed to be a fool.

As he tried to avoid drawing attention from the people downstairs, he clutched her tightly against the wall and threatened, "You'd better behave, or I will kill you."

Freya trembled with nervousness as she stared at the man.

She fought back fiercely, intending to escape the room and lure Bruce and his family here to let them face the danger.

She pushed the man away and stepped forward, but he quickly blocked her path and covered her mouth with his hand as if he could read her mind.

Outside was a knock on the door, followed by Sophie's voice saying, "Freya, I'm here to bring you dinner."

Because her mouth was covered, Freya could not speak clearly and could only make muffled noises.

Worried that someone might break in from the outside, the man leaned closer to Freya's ear and whispered, "Tell her you're going to sleep and ask her to leave."

"Mmm..."

Freya gazed at him helplessly as her eyes welled up with tears. She couldn't utter a sound because her lips were clamped together.

Fearing she would scream, the man wouldn't let go and even turned off the lights in the room.

Sophie stood at the door, expecting a response but was met with silence. "Freya, did you hear me talking?" she asked impatiently.

The silence was again the only response.

"All right, if you're sleeping, I'll leave now. There's food in the fridge if you get hungry."

The man let go of Freya as the sound of Sophie's footsteps outside became fainter.

To his surprise, Freya burst into tears and cried loudly the next second.

The man furrowed his brow, then grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her lips boldly to silence her.

Sophie, who had just walked away, was perplexed when she heard the crying. She returned back to the door and knocked.

"What's the matter, Freya? Please open the door and let me in."

She wouldn't have cared about her stepdaughter's well-being before, but everything was different now that Freya was the family's golden goose. It was her responsibility to see that Freya survived until the big day.

Freya had never expected to be kissed by a stranger!

In addition, she had no idea who this man was.

She stared at the man's face with wide eyes, trying to make out his features beneath his mask. All she could discern were a pair of deep and cold eyes that seemed bottomless.

Outside, the urgent knocking became louder. Sophie knew she couldn't wait any longer and dashed downstairs to find the keys.

The ten billion dollar contract and Lola's wedding gift would both be lost if anything were to happen to Freya. Plus, Bruce certainly wouldn't have let her off the hook.

When he heard someone coming down the stairs, he let go of Freya and took some time to savor the taste of her fresh, sugary lips.

Freya stared at the man as the kiss just now was her first kiss. Her cheeks flushed, and she bit her lip before raising her hand to hit his chest and yelling, "You're a bad guy! Don't you bully Freya!"

"Your name is Freya, right?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Humph! Bruce will beat you up if he finds out you kissed me."

"Bruce?" The man's eyes glowed with curiosity. After a brief moment of thought, he declared, "I'll take responsibility for you."

Just then, the sound of the door opening from outside reached their ears. Realizing he couldn't stay any longer, the man released Freya and swiftly leaped out the window.

"What are you doing hiding by the door, Freya?" Sophie asked in frustration as she opened the door and spotted Freya inside.

She hurriedly went to get the keys because she was afraid something terrible had happened to Freya. She was annoyed that Freya was ignoring her, not because she was asleep but because she was just standing still.

Sophie believed she had been duped.

Her rage rose, but she repressed it as she remembered Bruce's warning, as well as the billion-dollar contract and Lola's wedding gift.

She suggested, with a strained smile, "Why don't you go back to your bed and sleep? I'm afraid you'll catch a cold standing here."

Freya hadn't fully recovered from the kiss, so she just ignored Sophie. She pretended she was sleepwalking, then groped her way back to bed and quickly made the sound of even breathing.

Sophie couldn't stop herself from cursing, "You can't be cocky for long! You have no idea what waits for you if you marry into the Austin family.

After that, the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

Freya opened her eyes, rose from the bed, and made her way to the window. She couldn't see the figure of the man in black in the darkness, leading her to assume that he had managed to escape safely.

Lightly touching her moist lips, which still retained the lingering taste of mint from the man's kiss, Freya acknowledged that it had been an incredibly special moment.

She was left wondering what the man meant when he said he would take responsibility for her when he left. "What does he mean by being responsible for me?" she wondered.

Freya couldn't fully figure it out.

She put away the silver needle in the palm of her hand. If the man had insisted on staying, she would have stitched him with the needle to destroy his reproduction ability.

In the darkness of the night, a mysterious figure darted by swiftly.

The sound of a car engine echoed from a nearby intersection, and two pairs of headlights advanced directly toward the man. The car then came to a complete stop in front of him.

A man dressed in black emerged from the vehicle and respectfully inclined his head to the man, stating, "Sir, I'm sorry that I'm late. Please accept my apologies."

A hint of displeasure crept over the man's face as he waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright. I already got rid of them."

"But you're injured," the black-clad man furrowed his brows, hastily adding, "I'll bring you a doctor now."

"That's not necessary. It's merely a minor injury," the man responded.

After saying those words, he got into the car and quickly removed his mask, revealing an astonishingly handsome face.

His brows furrowed in concern as his gaze was fixed on the wound on his chest.

Fortunately, he had sought refuge in that fool's room. Otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble if those people had discovered him.

Bradley couldn't help but smile when he thought about that girl. She didn't seem clever, but she was endearing in some ways.

What was even more surprising was that he, who had always harbored an aversion towards women, didn't feel repulsed by being close to the girl, nor did his body react unusually.

If his memory served him correctly, the bride that Arthur had prepared for him was named Freya.

He had assumed the bride would be some young lady from a wealthy family, but he hadn't expected her to be Bruce's daughter and also intellectually challenged.

He felt that everything had taken an intriguing turn.