Alpha Hunter - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Ashlyn Knight:
“Calm down! Nothing happened,” Polline had been soothing me, rubbing my back ever since Ian left. I could hardly talk to Samuel, and thankfully, he got it and headed home. I wasn’t in the mood to chat with anyone at the moment.
Turner had also been in his room. I felt sorry for Polline for looking after everyone and trying to feed us. It wasn’t her responsibility but she did take the role seriously.
“You should’ve seen the look in his eyes. He called me horrible in a million different expressions,” I whispered, shutting my eyes to erase his face.
“But you’re not horrible,” Polline held my hand, encouraging me to open my eyes and look at her.
“You don’t know that. Do you know the only reason I was upset with him is now gone too?” As I asked that question, she frowned in bewilderment.
“All this time, I thought, why didn’t he check the mobile data. Guess what? he did, and I was seen as a liar once again. Do you think any of us would have trusted our mate if we had seen them in a compromised situation? Do you think we wouldn’t have hated on the person if we had found out that they lied about everything and tried to accuse us of cheating on them after getting caught?” I began to sob and then hiccupped, receiving a water offer from her.
“That all happened in my case,” I took a sip from the water, closed my eyes, and leaned my head back on the sofa.
“Ashlyn! It was all in the past. And you know you were innocent. Just because you didn’t have evidence to prove your innocence doesn’t make you guilty either,” I felt her hand rubbing my elbow, giving me a feeling of ease.
“But he doesn’t know that,” I uttered with my eyes closed. I remembered the day he found me in the hotel room and the look on his face when, in front of everyone, I called him out for sleeping with someone. I claimed loudly that the unknown Caller ID told me he was cheating on me.
“But what can be done now?” she replied.
And then a brief silence took over us until she nudged my arm to wake me up. “I think you should think about Samuel now. He’s been there for you, and you two have been doing so well lately. Don’t let your past taint your present happiness.”
I knew she was right, but the thought of leaving Ian behind really ached my soul. He had suffered because of me, and it isn’t like I hate him or anything. If anything, seeing him again reminded me of our past, the love we once shared. It wouldn’t be easy for me to move on from him, but I could always try.
“You are right. But I don’t think I can carry on with this job for too long. I don’t want to face Ian every day,” I told Polline, holding her hand and looking into her eyes.
“But you have worked so hard for it,” she pouted sadly.
“I can always work from home. I’ve done that before too. It won’t be easy for me to face Ian and see the pain of betrayal in his eyes, knowing that I cannot do anything to ease his pain,” I almost sounded like I was requesting her to encourage me to leave the job.
“You are right. Your mental health is way more important than working in that office. Besides, you now have Samuel. Speak to him and let him know you will be working from home,” she gave me a smile at the mention of Samuel.
After nodding to her, I picked up my phone and retreated to my room. Polline had taken care of Turner, so I was good to sit and have a conversation with him.
“Wow! Since when did you start calling me unannounced?” I heard the cheerful tone from the other side, and my muscles relaxed.
“Have you been thinking about me?” he continued to ask in a comforting tone.
“About everything,” I replied, approaching the balcony and looking at the road ahead.
“Oh! That’s not good,” he clicked his tongue.
“Are you not worried that you might lose your friend for accepting me into your life?” I inquired in a soft tone, taking a deep breath and keeping my eyes dry. No more tears left to cry for today.
“Ashlyn! Do you think anyone would leave their fated mate for someone? I wouldn’t either. I am happy that I have found you as my mate. Why the hell would I care about what my friends think? If he truly is a friend, he would understand. It’s not like you are still mated to him, dammit!” The agitation in his voice after speaking every word was evident.
“You are right,” I lowered my eyes.
“You shouldn’t think about him either. What you two had is over. He did this to himself anyway,” he scoffed.
“You were innocent, he should gave known,” Samuel continued.
“Actually, I didn’t have evidence to prove my innocence,” I quickly corrected him because it felt wrong to accuse Ian when he was just a victim of betrayal, lies, and isolation. I’m not saying I didn’t face anything either. I was treated in the worst way, but in his eyes, that was the right punishment for me.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he was so nonchalant about his friend’s feelings.
“Anyway, are you coming to the office tomorrow? I was thinking about it and couldn’t help but wonder if he will make it difficult for you to continue the job. So I will come to the office every day with you from now on,” before I could even suggest working from home, he offered me leniency. However, I was still not sure if I wanted to face Ian every day.
“Actually, I had been thinking about it myself. I don’t think it is appropriate for me to work with him anymore. I don’t find it comforting,” I excused, hearing him silently breathe on the other side.
“This is your job, the projects you have worked on,” I knew he would be against the idea, but he should understand that it is very awkward to be in the same office as him.
“I can work from home, can’t I? And why do I need to work with him on the projects? Why can’t I work with you?” I asked as I decided to be his copywriter and always work on the projects with him. He went silent for a minute before answering, “I don’t mind that idea.”
“Great. Does that mean I can stop going to the office from tomorrow?” I was thrilled to hear I could skip facing Ian now.
“Yeah! And since I was the one who hired you, I can transfer you to me easily,” he must be smiling on the other side because of how cheerful he sounded. At least that went well. I had been worried about my job lately. It had become so hard to face Ian. Our every meeting ended with arguments or making faces at each other. Now that I have finished working on the main project, I could be transfered.
After Samuel and I spoke for hours, we fell asleep on the phone call. I woke up to a dark room and little hands pulling my phone away from my hand.
“Mom! You had fallen asleep with the phone in your hand,” Turner whispered, turning on the side lamp and attempting to fix the pillow under me.
“You haven’t slept yet?” I asked, getting up in the bed and watching my little hero as he fixed my blanket to make me comfortable.
“No! I have been thinking a lot,” he sighed.
“Come!” I left a space for him, and he crawled into bed beside me.
“What is my hero thinking about?” I inquired, resting my head on his tiny shoulder. He was such a good kid. No wonder Ian couldn’t resist coming and apologizing to him. I have no clue how I turned out to be so lucky to have Turner myself. But if anything, I could think of, maybe it was the Moon Goddess’ way to give me the best after taking away my rest from me.
“Daddy seemed genuinely sorry,” he uttered, and my body flinched a little.
“Do you want to accept this apology?” Without wanting to put any pressure on him, I asked him calmly.
“I don’t know. I am still pretty upset with him, but when he teared up today, I didn’t like it,” he spoke open-heartedly with me.
That’s why I didn’t interrupt him because I didn’t want my son to be cautious about what he says in front of me. He should be able to pour his heart out in front of me in every way he wants to.
“Do you want to speak to him?” I asked, and he turned his head to me.
“Can I?” he looked so hopeful. I gave him a nod and handed him my phone. The smile on his lips comforted me. I wouldn’t ever want my son to be torn between us. I know I hid the truth from Ian for so long, but I only did it because I was afraid of him taking my son away from me. Turner walked away with my phone, waving his hand, saying goodbye to me. Since I trusted him, I let him use my phone and speak to his father.