Chapter 528: I Hope She Can Explain to Me
Hayley’s POV
Benjamin had always been respectful toward my grandparents, so I couldn’t understand why they suddenly seemed to dislike him so much. He was a remarkable man, the Alpha of the Midnight Pack, and all the other leaders would have been thrilled to have him as a son-in-law. Why were Grandpa and Grandma against him now? Wasn’t it Grandpa who had suggested I pick a mate from the Southwells in the first place? And Benjamin was my destined mate. Why was Grandpa now pushing for us to separate?
Grandpa stayed quiet. I looked at Grandma in confusion, hoping she’d explain. She tried to appear relaxed and said, “It’s nothing. We’re just worried about you.” But I could tell from her expression that there was more to it.
I sighed, placing my hand on Grandpa’s back, and said patiently, “Grandpa, you know I’ll find out eventually. Just tell me what’s going on.”
After a pause, he finally told me about the photos and videos sent by Irving. Holding my hand, he said gravely, “Hayley, it’s because you two are destined mates that you can’t be with any other man before becoming Benjamin’s Luna. If you do, the Moon Goddess will punish you.”
I understood what he meant. Grandpa said the videos sent by Irving seemed real. Unfortunately, I was unconscious at that time and couldn’t remember what happened. If I had been intimate with Irving, the Moon Goddess would see that as me betraying my destined mate. If I became Benjamin’s Luna under those circumstances, I would be punished. Grandpa and Grandma had been trying to protect me. I felt upset, but I needed to clarify things.
“Did you save those photos?” I asked Grandpa.
“Uh…” Grandpa looked embarrassed. After a moment, he seemed to realize what I was getting at and asked carefully, “Are you saying you two didn’t…”
“I’m not sure either,” I replied, shaking my head. “Like you said, those photos and videos were taken when I was unconscious. I was unconscious for a while because of the wolfsbane, so I couldn’t tell if Irving did anything to me.”
“Didn’t keep any evidence.”
Without clear proof, there was no way to show that Irving hadn’t done anything to me, and I couldn’t officially become Benjamin’s Luna. I needed to get to the truth and prove that Irving was lying to ease Grandpa and Grandma’s worries. I didn’t want to break up with Benjamin just because of Irving.
Seeing Grandpa blame himself, I quickly turned to comfort him. “It’s okay, Grandpa. I’m the Alpha you trained. I’ll handle this. It won’t defeat me.”
Grandpa patted my head lovingly. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve had to go through.”
Later that afternoon, I took a long, relaxing bath and slept soundly at home. While Hayley was peacefully sleeping in her bed, unaware of anything amiss, Irving had already started his next round of malicious actions.
Just as Hayley and Benjamin arrived at the Carsons, major gossip accounts online received photos of a man and a woman lying naked in bed, their upper bodies exposed. Though their faces were obscured, the accompanying information identified them. The photos hit the internet like a bombshell, quickly going viral.
“Benjamin’s fiancée is having an affair with his brother!”
The scandalous story took the number one spot on the trending news.