Chapter 793 We're Even Now
Hayley's POV:
That man locked eyes with Truman’s crimson wolf eyes, sensed his Alpha aura, and bolted in fear.
Truman smiled teasingly, then softened as he looked at me, sounding confident. “I heard you had something for me, so I came over.”
I glanced at him, keeping my tone cool. “Yeah. I do.”
Then, I walked over to the stone-cutting table where Humbert stood, grabbed a regular-looking sapphire, and placed it in Truman’s hand.
“Thanks for saving me these past few days. We’re even now.”
“Even?” Truman looked at the gem, then at me. “That’s it?”
I frowned. “What more were you expecting?”
He tilted his head toward the rare, egg-sized sapphire Humbert was holding. “What about that one?”
I shot him a cold stare. “That one is for my fiancé.”
Truman gave me a complicated look. “So, even if I risk my life for you, I’ll never measure up to him?”
Seeing him jealous for no reason, I didn’t even know what to say.
“I think you need to understand something,” I said flatly. “You’re not the only one who’d go that far for me.”
Benjamin, my destined mate, would. So would my Beta, Thomas, and all the enforcers under me.
Their loyalty wasn’t in question.
I told him bluntly, “If you did all that expecting something in return, then you had the wrong idea. I never asked for it, and I don’t need it. I don’t want there to be any debts between us.”
Truman didn’t say a word. He just looked at me meaningfully, then tossed the sapphire back to Humbert and left.
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Humbert. “When you take Ms. Smith home, give this gem to her.”
Melody, who was just about to leave, paused and turned back. “Excuse me, Ms. Carson. Did I upset you somehow?”
I shook my head. “Why would you think that?”
She frowned in confusion. “Then why are you asking me to take something my boss turned down? Are you trying to get me fired?”
“Sorry,” I said with a shrug. “I thought you two were mates. I figured he wouldn’t be mad if you gave it to him. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Hold on.” Melody raised her hand to stop me. “Mates? Who told you that?”
I blinked. “Aren’t you?”
She looked kind of angry now. “Of course not!”
“Ah, okay. Got it.” I nodded, a little thrown off.
She finally walked away, but her words stuck with me.
Until Truman accepted something from me, that feeling of being in his debt wouldn’t go away.
I had just said I didn’t want to have any debts, yet here I was, caught in this weird back-and-forth.
It seemed I just couldn’t break free from him.
I bit my lip, feeling a little annoyed.
Still, I hadn’t expected that Truman and Melody weren’t mates.
Once Melody was gone, Humbert and Becky came over.
Becky said, “Ms. Carson, I can’t thank you enough. If it weren’t for you, the Hanovers would’ve ruined my life.”
“It’s nothing,” I replied, my mind still elsewhere.
But she still looked unsettled. “Ms. Carson, did the Hanovers truly cause my parents’ deaths?”
“There’s no reason for me to lie about it.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Becky said, looking down. “It’s just a shame that I don’t have solid proof. I can’t even get justice for them.”
“Don’t stress about that,” I told her, my eyes narrowing. “You’ll get your shot at revenge soon.”
In truth, I’d already arranged for the backup evidence to be delivered where it needed to go.