The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate (Jason and Laila) by Caroline Above Story novel Chapter 128

Laila’s POV

The article was relentless, attacking my character. It said that I wasn’t just cheating on William, but that I also was trying to break up other families at the same time

An enemy of happy households, Vanessa Harper would attempt to sink her teeth into any man, married or otherwise. Ladies, watch your husbands!

That was the lightest of the remarks. Some comments called me vile names, and others were forming groups to call my office and have me fired.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “How could they know…?”

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Riley looked at me in surprise. “Uh… know? Know what?”

I glanced around. William was out of the room, maybe finding coffee or breakfast. There were only a couple of other people in the room, but neither of them were looking at me.

Keeping my voice low all the same, I told Riley what happened with Jason.

Her eyes went wide. “You… and he…”

“I didn’t know he was drugged,” I admitted. “I thought he had figured me out. I thought he… wanted me, the way we used to be together.” I leaned back in my chair. “I should have known better.”

Riley gently placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s not your fault. And you can’t help it if you still have feelings…”

“I shouldn’t have any,” I said. “The only thing I should feel for him is contempt about what happened all those years ago. I hate that I still let him affect me, and now this.” I gestured to the phone.

“You can’t think Jason was responsible for this?” she asked me, surprised.

“How can I not?” I replied. “Who else would have said and done these things? Who else would have known? He hates me now, he’s made that clear. He won’t even speak to me. I can’t even ask him about Ava…”

Overwhelmed, I covered my face.

Gods, what was I going to do? Like things weren’t bad enough, now my reputation was being dragged through the mud. The board at my office wasn’t going to like this, and people might be less inclined to try to match with Ava if they hated ine. Gods only knew what Victor was going to say.

J

Everything was falling apart again, and I was being stretched so thin, it was difficult to keep being strong.

“Jason wants me to suffer,” I said, believing it.

Jason’s POV

I watched the news that morning. Then I went to my computer and searched Vanessa’s name. I read every article that popped up, taking in as much as I could.

All of it felt like bullshit.

I didn’t know how to explain it really. I had no evidence to counter anything that was said. Vanessa had cheated on William, hadn’t she? By sleeping with me.

But even so,

what was being said, and how she was being accused of such disgusting things…

None of it felt right.

Now that I’d had some time to sit with it, replaying not just the hookup but also the moments after. The moments of revelation

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Chapter

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when I woke up to find a mostly naked Vanessa in my arms.

She’d looked at me in wonder, until I’d accused her of things.

She’d denied it. She said she hadn’t drugged me.

I hadn’t believed it at the time. I had been drugged, else never would have acted on my attraction toward her. But, I supposed, that didn’t necessarily mean that Vanessa had been the one to do it.

Her denial had been earnest, even if I hadn’t believed it at the time.

Besides, I hadn’t seen her touch my coffee at all, and I wasn’t sure how else she could have drugged me.

But if it wasn’t her, then who…?

Leaving my office, I headed toward the kitchen to pour some fresh coffee. On the way there, I saw Brittany in one of the sitting rooms, lounging on the couch while the news segment featuring Vanessa was on the screen.

Brittany sipped at her mug, and from this angle, I swear she looked… smug.

Vanessa’s life was being publically torn apart, and Brittany seemed nothing but pleased about it.

I stopped in my tracks, a sense of realization washing over me. Slowly, I stepped into the room.

“Brittany,” I said.

She glanced up, her face going blank in a flash. But it was too late for her to hide things. I had already seen. I already knew. “You don’t have anything to do with this hit piece on Vanessa, do you?”

She shrugged. “I might have said a few things, but that’s all.”

“What kinds of things?”

“What does it matter?” she countered. “Don’t forget Vanessa was here asking for money. She wants everything from you, Jason. It’s not bad for your Luna to want to protect you.”

My wolf recoiled at the words your Luna.

“Did she tell you what she needed the money for?” I asked.

“What does that matter?” Brittany said.

“I don’t think this is right,” I replied.

On the television screen, the news switched to the live feed of a camera that burst into the hospital waiting room. It searched the room before zeroing in on Vanessa, who had been sitting with Riley in a pair of chairs.

“Vanessa! We would like a comment!” shouted the reporter, rushing forward with a microphone.

“You guys can’t come in here like this!” Riley shouted as she jumped to her feet. She immediately tried to get in the way of the cameraman and the reporter, but the cameraman was taller than her. The camera zoomed in, right on Vanessa’s face.

She looked so frail, her cheeks sallow, her face pale. Her eyes were distant, hollow, like she was mentally transporting herself somewhere else. But the worst was her demeanor. She was sitting there, but she was still and unmoving, staring vaguely ahead. Like she really was trying to be somewhere else.

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