Chapter 78
Be could feel her irritation rise as she continued listening to the man..
“Listen…” he was about to continue when, at that very moment, the door swung open and Ethan stood
there. Be ripped the phone from her ear immediately, her head snapping to the open door where
Ethan stood, a questioning look etched on his face.
He stepped into the room, and Be stood, attempting to appearposed, the phone clutched tightly
in her hands.
“You’re home early,” she stated almost breathlessly, her words carrying a hint of surprise attempting to
deflect any suspicion that might arise from the abrupt end to her secretive conversation.
“Yes,” he replied, his eyes searching her features with a discerning intensity.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, his brows furrowing suspiciously, as if sensing a disturbance in the
atmosphere.
“Huh?” she asked, looking up with wide, innocent eyes, a practiced guise of normalcy.
“No nothing,” she denied immediately, attempting to deflect any scrutiny.
You sure? You sounded like you were having an issue.” he queried, his gaze briefly flickering towards
her phone, catching the subtle unease in her demeanor as her grip around it tightened even more.
“It’s nothing, just one of the artists. He’s demanding to be paid more for the exhibition where we’re
Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org.
disying his paintings,” she exined,her attempt at casualness at odds with the tight grip on the
phone, casting shadows of secrecy in the room.
Ethan’s features rxed as he processed her exnation.
“You should arrive at a decision before starting; that’s not legal. Do you need my help? Need me to
step in?” he offered, disying a genuine concern for her predicament.
“It sounds serious,” he observed, his attention fully on her.
“No!” she replied immediately, her denial quick and almost defensive.
“What’s his name, the name of this artist?” Ethan probed, seeking more information to assess the
situation.
“No, don’t worry. I’ll handle it myself. It’s nothing,” sheughed anxiously, attempting to downy the
severity of the issue. Ethan, however, continued to stare at her, a lingering doubt apparent in his
in his gaze.
“It’s nothing serious, really,” she assured, maintaining her stance, knowing she had to sound.
convincing to dissuade Ethan from delving further into the matter.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ll take care of this myself,” she insisted, her wordsced with determination
as she tried to redirect Ethan’s attention away from the potentially troublesome situation.
She shifted ufortably under his piercing gaze, the room hanging heavy with unspoken tension, as
he studied her for what felt like an eternity.
“Okay, he replied finally, breaking the silence, his lingering gaze leaving a trail of unanswered
questions. With that, he turned and headed towards their bedroom, the atmosphere still carrying the
weight of his scrutinizing stare.
Be walked across the room, shutting the door he had left ajar. The click of the closing
door resonated, sealing the room off from prying eyes and curious ears. The call remained connected,
a lingering thread connecting her to the shadows of her ndestine dealings. “Oh, was that Mr. Wild?”
Gabriel sneered through the phone, his malicious tone cutting through the silence as he cackled,
reveling in Be’s difort and dilemma.
“He does sound like a dutiful husband, too bad.” he added, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Stop it,
Be said, her patience waning as she struggled to endure his mocking tone.
“Why did you lie? I thought you said you were done?” he sneered, reveling in the apparent
contradiction of her actions.
“You should have just told him, he continued, breaking intoughter that echoed through the phone.
“Enough!” she yelled angrily, the frustration evident in her voice as she tried to silence his
taunts.
He chuckled, seemingly finding amusement in her difort.
“I really thought for a moment, you were done with all the lies and tired of our little transactions and
wanted toe clean,” he chuckled more then broke into fullughter. Suddenly, he stoppedughing,
his tone turning cold and serious.
“Fifty thousand,” he ordered, his demand cutting through the remnants of their previous exchange.
“I can’t right now. I can’t use my regr ounts; I’ll use thepany’s own, so it doesn’t arouse
suspicion. But it has to be tomorrow,” she exined, attempting to reach an agreement and
“Fine, due to the dy, seventy thousand by tomorrow. Nothing less than that,” he ordered, his words
carrying an upromising weight. With that, he abruptly hung up, leaving Be to deal with the
thoughts of how to have the amount wired to his ount. She flung her phone away in frustration,
releasing an angry hiss. Then the realization dawned on her, she swiftly grabbed her phone and dialed
his number.
“Why seventy? You said fifty before!” she thundered the moment he picked up, her irritation evident in
every word.
“Well, you couldn’t give me the money today, so I borrowed it to you today, with an interest, of course,
twenty thousand,” he stated gleefully, his tone indicating a twisted satisfaction at theplications of
their arrangement.
“What nonsense are you spouting?” she asked, struggling toprehend the audacity of his demands.
“Well, this is how business works. I need the money you owe me, so what else do I do? I borrow. So
now you’ve got to pay me with interest,” he exined.
She didn’t even have the energy to argue. With a frustrated sigh, she hung up the phone, tossing it
away as if trying to distance herself from the infuriating conversation.
Stupid mutt, she muttered under her breath. The anger simmered within her, a turbulent brew
threatening to spill over. She felt an overwhelming urge to rip out her hair, to release the pent–up
frustration that coiled within.
Be bir her l*ps, her pacing around the room mirroring the turmoil in her mind.
This cannot continue.” She breathed angrily.
“I’m going to have to deal with this thing once and for all. She stated.
Ethan stood for a moment, deep in thought. Be’s recent discussions didn’t carry the usual air of
business; instead, they hinted at a sense of coercion, like she was being forced to
The anxious way she had abruptly ended the call upon his entrance raised suspicion. He realized he
hadn’t been paying enough attention, but now it seemed Be was bing increasingly sneaky.
This behavior had begun the previous night when the pack was intruded upon.
He sat in his study, lost in contemtion. Beyond the fact that she was his mate and wife, Ethan
realized he knew remarkably little about Be.
She said she had been orphaned, with every other family member deceased. His inquiries about her
past were met with vague responses. She imed to have scant recollection of events after an
ident she was involved in shortly before he found her. This exined,
The she said, why some of the details she shared had loopholes and didn’t quite add up. shroud of
mystery around her past:
to deepen with every conversation they had on the topic now he thought about it.
He had never thought of delving into Be’s past until Chris, his beta, raised suspicions. about her
promising to look into her. However, the night before their nned discussion, tragedy struck, and
Chris was murdered.
Ethan sighed. It seemed Be held secrets. He he had ignored it long enough, maybe it was time to
look into her past. Who was Be before she became Mrs Wild?”