Chapter 127: Waiting for You

Benjamin’s POV

Hayley stood up swiftly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep here.”

I got to my feet and casually said, “It’s okay. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Hayley seemed to remember something and handed me a bag. “Here, Benjamin. This is the meal Grandpa Southwell had the maid prepare for you. You haven’t had your dinner yet, right? Hurry up and eat.”

I raised an eyebrow. I usually had to work late and eat at the company cafeteria, and my grandpa knew this. So why had he sent Hayley to deliver food?

It became clear to me almost instantly: my grandpa was intentionally creating an opportunity for me to spend time with Hayley. In his mind, my Luna could only be Hayley.

This was one of the reasons why I disliked her at first. I always felt that no one should go against the will of the Moon Goddess, marrying someone who wasn’t their destined mate just for the sake of personal gain.

Now, even though my wolf, Lawrence, hadn’t explicitly confirmed that Hayley was my destined mate, it wasn’t entirely out of the question based on his feelings toward her. And I found myself increasingly drawn to her. Yet Lawrence still couldn’t clearly smell her scent. Hayley held many secrets that I had yet to uncover.

I looked at her, a mix of complicated feelings swirling inside me, though I kept my expression neutral. “I happen to be hungry. Let’s eat together.”

Hayley was also hungry and didn’t hesitate. She took out the lunchbox, arranged the food neatly, and handed me the utensils. We sat across from each other, quietly enjoying our dinner.

Hayley was really hungry, eating her food with no concern for how a proper lady should behave. I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and chuckle as I teased, “Have you been starving for days?”

She shot back playfully, “It’s all because I was waiting for you. You’re in no position to complain.”

I chuckled. “Now you’re blaming me?” Only she would dare to speak so casually and disrespectfully to an alpha like me.

Hayley glared at me in response. “Isn’t it?” I quickly stopped talking and began cutting steak for her. “You’ve worked hard. Eat more.”

Hayley ignored my gesture completely.

At that moment, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to check the alarm I had set—today was Wednesday, my lesson day with Selena for Mornant Language.

“Um… I have something I need to attend to later, so I might be a bit late getting back. If you want to go home, I can have the driver take you home,” I said, making plans for her.

Hayley nodded. “That’s fine. You go ahead and do your thing. I can go back on my own.”

“Just be careful, and call me if you need anything,” I said before getting up and going back to my seat.

I opened my laptop and contacted Selena.

Hayley’s POV:

Just as I was about to leave Benjamin’s office, my phone started buzzing repeatedly in my pocket. I took it out and saw the message from Benjamin. It suddenly hit me—I was still his part-time translator and language teacher, Selena.

I cautiously glanced at Benjamin and quickly put my phone away. Standing up, I said, “I’ll go back now. You can continue with your work.”

Benjamin nodded and pressed the intercom. “Have James bring the car over to take Hayley home.”

“Thanks,” I said, then strode out of the office.

As soon as I stepped outside, I quickly messaged Benjamin: “Class will start half an hour late today. I’ll contact you later.”

Benjamin responded with a quick “OK.”

When I returned to Southwell’s Residence, the first thing I did was shut the door to my room and then open my laptop. During this time, Benjamin had learned some basic vocabulary in the Mornant language, and his learning efficiency was impressive—he could grasp most concepts with just a little guidance from me.

The hour-long lesson flew by, and just as I was about to log off, I received a message from Benjamin: “I got an email from Mornant that needs your help with translation.”

I typed back quickly: “Send it to my email.”

A minute later, Benjamin forwarded the email to my inbox. I logged in, quickly skimmed through it, and then relayed the main points to him.

“Mornant’s side said that the first phase of the project went well. They plan to send representatives to Astoria next week to discuss the tasks for the second phase and develop a corresponding plan.”

I texted Benjamin and then waited for his reply. When he didn’t text back right away, I wasn’t worried. I stretched and went downstairs for some milk.

As I walked out of the kitchen, I bumped into Christopher returning home. He appeared somewhat tired and worn out; normally, he was quite busy and rarely came home, but it was clear he had been returning more often these past few days.

“It’s late, and you’re still awake?” Christopher greeted me first.

I responded, “I was a bit thirsty, so I came down for some milk.”

Christopher didn’t say anything else and headed upstairs.

As I watched him leave, I recalled the sheet music I had found earlier. I checked my pocket and confirmed that the A4 sheets were still safely tucked inside. Then, I went upstairs and took a look at Benjamin’s reply.