Chapter 328: I Can’t Let Him Stay by My Side All the Time

Hayley’s POV:

After we got back to school, I said to Benjamin, “I’m fine now. You can go handle your work.”

Benjamin replied casually, “I’m not busy.”

I glanced at the time and quickly added, “But I still have class this afternoon. I need to head to class.”

Benjamin nodded. “Alright, go ahead. But make sure to finish early after school—I’ll come pick you up.”

I waved at him and turned to walk into the school. Hera, however, was reluctant to see him leave and complained to me, blaming me for sending him away so soon.

“Hera, he’s not just our fated mate; he’s also the Alpha of the Midnight Pack. He has responsibilities. I can’t let him stay by my side all the time,” I explained.

Only after I said this did Hera finally go quiet. Word about what happened had already spread through the school. The principal personally cleared my name, and many of the students now knew the truth about the rumors. One after another, they came to apologize to me.

“Hayley, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone around spreading things without knowing the facts. Will you forgive me?”

“Me too, Hayley. I didn’t mean to cause harm. It’s just… Belle told me those things, and I didn’t really believe her at first, but she sounded so convincing. That’s why I ended up trusting her.”

I knew they didn’t have bad intentions; they were just overly interested in gossip.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to hold it against you,” I said calmly.

“Hayley, you’re so kind!”

I smiled at them, then focused entirely on class once it started. Lately, I hadn’t been spending enough time on my studies. I needed to work harder and be more diligent.

After school in the afternoon, I packed my things quickly and walked toward the school gate. But as soon as I reached the gate, I saw a familiar figure get into Benjamin’s car—and take the passenger seat.

In that moment, my heart sank. It felt like something had been torn open, and it hurt faintly. Hera was restless inside me, pacing with unease.

Madeline’s POV:

After finally finding Alpha Benjamin, I wasn’t about to miss my chance. I gathered my courage and climbed straight into his car. Using a flirtatious tone, I greeted him, “Ben, what a coincidence! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Benjamin’s face was cold as ice, and he immediately barked, “Get out!”

Pretending not to hear him, I kept smiling and said, “Ben, why are you treating me like this now? Have you forgotten all the years of friendship between us?”

“Ms. Kilmer, if I recall correctly, there’s nothing for us to talk about. If you don’t get out of the car now, I’ll get out myself—and as for this car, I’ll drive it straight to the junkyard and have it scrapped,” he replied icily.

With that, Benjamin reached for the car door to open it. Seeing he was serious, I panicked and quickly grabbed the hem of his sleeve, pleading, “Ben, wait! I came to talk to you about something important.”

He turned to glare at me, his icy gaze sharp enough to freeze me in place. The oppressive, commanding presence of his Alpha aura made my heart race with fear.

I quickly pulled my hand back. “Ben, I really do have something to say. Please, just give me a few minutes, okay?”

When he didn’t reply, I knew this was my chance. I hurried to explain, “It’s like this: my cousin recently transferred to this school, and she’s in the same class as Hayley.”

“But it seems like there’s been some misunderstanding between them. My cousin is a simple-minded girl—she doesn’t mean any harm. She just doesn’t always think things through before acting, and that’s why all these issues came up.”

“Ben, why don’t we just let this matter between them go? I promise I’ll teach my cousin a lesson and make sure she never does anything like this again.” I cautiously tried to plead on Belle’s behalf.

But after I finished, he only responded with a cold, “Are you done?”

I nodded hesitantly, thinking I had made some progress. But then, without skipping a beat, he ordered with brutal indifference, “Then get lost.”

Though his words stung deeply, I pressed on, refusing to give up. “Ben, I know you don’t like me, but I also know someone like Hayley doesn’t deserve you. Do you really think she’s as perfect as she seems on the surface?”

I fixed him with a serious look and continued, “Ben, I have something I want to give you. It’s about Hayley. I know her secret.”

“If you’re interested, meet me tomorrow at 3 PM in room 502 of this hotel. I promise you won’t be disappointed.” As I spoke, I handed him a business card, my expression full of confidence.