Chapter 25 He Doesn’t Believe Me


    <b>Aubrey’s </b>POV


    +8 Pearls


    Alpha Henry turned his head slightly. His deep eyes were sharp and piercing, and that handsome face looked <b>as </b>impatient as ever–but the hand that had been gripping the doorknob slowly dropped.


    I didn’t know why, but realizing he was actually willing to stay and listen made something bitter stir deep inside me.


    “First.” I said, “the thing you probably hate me most for… is what happened five months ago, when you were drugged. Am I right?”


    I sat by the desk, my voice calm. I was facing him, but I didn’t look at him directly.


    The moment I brought up that stain on his record, Henry frowned again. Before he could speak, I suddenly looked up.


    “That night… wasn’t me.”


    I said it one word at a time, clear and firm. I didn’t look away. I stared him right in the eye.


    His pupils shrank a little. It looked like something about thatnded.


    But in the next second, he snapped, “If it wasn’t you, then who?”


    Of course. I shook my head. I never thought just one sentence would make him believe me. He hasn’t hated me for just a day or two.


    “That night, at the cruise party–you’re right, I was the one who handed you the drink. But I only wanted to start a conversation. I had no idea the drink had been spiked.”


    Before that, even though he wasn’t exactly warm toward me, his attitude had never been this openly disgusted. It was after that night that the hate became something real, something sharp.


    Henry let out a coldugh. “I must be insane to be standing here listening to this crap.”


    “It’s not crap.” I saw he was about to leave and quickly kept talking. “Last night, I hit one of those two bastards in the head with my phone. He threw it out the window. If you go back now and have the staff search the grounds, you should be able to find it. Since I study medicine, I get random shes of inspiration sometimes, so I keep a little voice recorder on my phone strap.”


    His expression started to shift–he was listening now.


    Henry wasn’t stupid. He knew I wouldn’t bring something like that up for no reason. I kept going.


    “Before the party, Mariana came to me. She asked me to make her a type of aphrodisiac that wouldn’t harm werewolf physiology.”


    Mariana was someone who grew up with both me and Henry. She awakened her wolf at seventeen and had Beta–level strength. She was beautiful and had fans all over–not just in Shadowmoon Pack, but in the surrounding ones too. Back when I was getting bullied at school or at home, she’d always stand up for me, as long as she was around.


    I used to think she was my best friend. Better than Bailey.


    <b>13:50 </b><b>Sat</b>, 9 AUG


    Chapter 35 He Doesn’t Believe Me


    But…


    <b>282 </b>


    →


    <b>A </b>Pearls


    Henry’s face was starting to look off. Before he could say anything, Ljumped in.


    “I’d never had anyone ask ine to do something like that before. I was scared. So I hit record.”


    I gave a bitter smile. In myst life,st night was the moment everything in my world shattered.


    That broken phone and lost recorder were never recovered. But this time, I’m still in time. Originally, I hadn’t nned to bring any of this up. I didn’t want to get dragged into anything else with Henry. But just now, I changed my mind.


    It doesn’t matter how Henry sees me. But why should I have to carry thebel of shameless slut my whole life?


    “That night, the drink I gave you? Mariana gave it to me. I knew something was wrong and brought you to a room. I could tell you were drugged and didn’t want you to embarrass yourself, so I got rid of the others. I knew the antidote, since I’d made the stuff. But you suddenly lost it and threw away my needles. You looked like you were in pain, so I gave myself to you. Willingly.”


    Even now, when I talk about that night, my voice stays calm. Just like I’m stating a fact.


    “Afterwards, you investigated. You found out I’d been working on that kind of drug recently and jumped to the conclusion that it was all a setup. But why did you investigate in the first ce? Mariana must’ve said something to you. If you go back and find the recorder, you’ll figure it out yourself.”


    I felt like I’d made things clear. But Henry’s face was full of fury. His fists were clenched tight, and the Alpha pressure rolling off him made the whole room feel suffocating.


    “So what, you’re trying to pin all this on Mariana now?”


    He scoffed. “She’s such a good girl–and you’ve got the nerve to nder her?”


    A good girl…?


    Iughed.


    Bitter, angry, hurt–and still, Iughed, even brighter than before.


    “So that’s it? You just assume I’m ndering her? Even when I tell you there’s proof, you still won’t believe me?<b>” </b>


    This cramped little space between us felt like a battlefield–two people on opposite ends, locked in a war with no retreat.


    匪


    30


    (