Chapter 212

“Ms. Dawson, please have a seat,” Preston extended a hand toward Freya, a gesture of courteous invitation.

Freya glanced at the dining table before her, where a T-bone steak sat, its juices oozing out, leaving her with no appetite. “Mr. Tyler, I’m not hungry. To be precise, she didn’t feel the need for dinner. Save for the occasional social engagement, she preferred not to eat in the evenings.

Preston sat across from her, his slender fingers resting on the table, casually swirling his wine glass as he spoke, “Do you know what became of the last person who tried to pry into my thoughts?”

Freya remained silent.

“I don’t take kindly to people who try to outsmart me and think they can see through me. I chose to collaborate with you, Ms. Dawson, instead of eliminating you. You should consider yourself lucky.”

“Well then, I’m… overwhelmingly grateful,” Freya said, her smile forced and unconvincing. She had good intentions, attempting to broker a partnership between Preston and Eloise. But Preston had dragged her into a mess. What did Preston see in her, anyway?

In terms of background, even though Eloise was the sole heiress to the Harwood family, the connections and wealth she inherited were considerable. Audrey might have picked Eloise as her granddaughter-in-law if not for the bad blood between the Harwood and Sutton families. In terms of looks, Eloise was notably attractive, a celebrated beauty in Echo City, wasn’t she? In a past life, Preston had fallen for Eloise at first sight. And in terms of sincerity, Eloise had offered a piece of land worth a billion for free. And Preston turned her down?

Freya felt everything was off-kilter in this life except for Johanna and her foolish son. Freya rubbed her temples wearily. “Mr. Tyler, I hope you’ll reconsider…”

“We’ve signed the contract. There’s nothing to reconsider,” Preston interjected, raising an eyebrow. “Or are you scared?”

Freya hesitated, “I… I…”

“You should have known better than to cross me if you were afraid.”

SY SES Yels of Preston's reprimands. He was from the underworld, ruthless, lawless, and unreasonable. Dealing with someone like him was fraught with danger. But at that moment, Freya had no other choice. She couldn’t watch Preston, this big fish, slip through her fingers and into Eloise’s hands. Otherwise, history would repeat itself, and she’d be doomed.

“Mr. Tyler, you’re kidding, right? How could I possibly be afraid of someone as friendly as you?” Freya said, while internally rolling her eyes at herself. ‘Freya, oh Freya, you didn’t learn much from your past life, but you’ve become an expert in flattery.’ ‘To survive, you’ve thrown caution to the wind. How easily lies come to you now.’

Preston’s expression remained neutral as he spoke, “Glad to hear you’re not afraid. We’ll see a lot of each other. If every meeting sees you this anxious, I fear you might not last a year without me scaring you to death.”

Freya found nothing amusing about the situation. Then, Preston gestured to a waiter and said, “Let’s change this to a medium-rare. Ms. Dawson isn’t fond of rare meat.”

“Right away, sir.” The waiter promptly removed the steak from before her.