Chapter 5 Gossip

Ella POV I stared at Alexander in shock, but I didn’t pull away from him. I knew he was trying to intimidate me, and I refused to let him succeed. He released his hold, seemingly amused by my reaction. "I accept your proposal to collaborate," he said, his tone casual. "It’s a good idea. After all, you’re the only female heir of a highly prestigious pack. Making you my Luna would boost my campaign significantly. And besides, being married will make me seem more trustworthy to the older generations." "That’s true," his Beta commented. "And it’ll hurt David," Alexander added with a smirk. "Losing his fiancée to me will make him look pathetic. But don’t worry—this is all strategy. Once the campaign ends, so will our deal." "So you agree, just like that?" I asked, surprised. "Weren’t you suspicious of me just a moment ago?" He pulled his phone from his pocket and held the screen up to show me. "Everything’s been recorded," he said, leaning close to my face. "If this is a scam, this is your last chance to back out." I smiled. It was no wonder he was such a successful businessman—he was always prepared and never suffered a loss. "I’m not backing out," I said, still smiling. "I accept the contract. But like I said, I will never give up my pack's Alpha inheritance rights." "We can make that clear before the wedding." Alexander straightened and put his phone back in his pocket. He looked me up and down slowly, then grinned. "I think you’ll find that being my fake wife was a good choice. You’ll soon realize there are more benefits than you could guess." "I’m curious," I said, tilting my head. "Why would you agree so quickly? Don’t you have any interest in marrying someone you genuinely like or trying to find your fated mate?" Alexander’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, his expression looked almost haunted. Then he shook his head slightly. "I never intend to settle down with anyone," he said flatly. "Well, since we’re going to be working together to bring David down, I want you to help me expose the truth about him. I need to get out of my wedding with David first, and I need to do it without embarrassing my father." "And how are we going to do that?" Alexander asked, intrigued. "Simple," I said with confidence in my voice. "I’m going to show everyone that David and Amanda are not only fated mates but that they’re having an affair. Once he’s exposed, he will be the one that has to apologize, pay, and cancel the wedding. He will be shamed in front of the entire kingdom." "Amanda and David?" Alexander was clearly surprised. "You told me it was not just a lover's spat. But it still sounds like jealous revenge." "No," I stated firmly. "David and Amanda are supposedly my best friends. If this was just about them falling in love, I wouldn’t want to take them down. " Alexander looked into my eyes, and suddenly smiled. "Ok, then. That will be easy enough,I know a Gamma who’s a great private investigator. I’m sure they can get us all the evidence we need," Alexander said confidently. I was relieved to hear this. I should have guessed that it would be a simple matter for him. "Since this is a deal," Alexander said, "and I'm the one who's helping you first, how are you going to pay me back? Obviously, it’s going to take a while for us to get married. You have to do something for me in the meantime." "I know just the thing," I said. "Tonight, rumors are going to start. There will be news reports saying that your shopping center is selling counterfeit goods." I recalled the news as soon as I stepped into the shopping center. I remembered hearing David and his supporters talking about the news right after this event. Thinking about it, they were probably the ones behind the fake news. Alexander found his ways to prove the quality of his products, but that was three days later and the news already went viral. Alexander and his beta exchanged shocked looks. "How do you know that?" his beta demanded. "I heard that from David by chance," I replied. "But I suggest that you make a plan now to deal with the rumors. If you can get ahead of it, then it shouldn’t be too bad." Even if I wasn't 100% sure the fake news came from David, I don't mind Alexander believing so. It would just help me bond with Alexander. "She’s right," Alexander said. "I’ll handle it." I turned and started to walk away, but Alexander grabbed my wrist. "Hold on. It’s fine, but we need to figure out a way to contact one another. We need to be able to exchange information." I looked down at his hand on my wrist. I reached into my purse and retrieved my eyeliner pencil, then turned his hand so that I could write on his palm. "Here’s my number," I said, returning his smile. Then I turned and walked away. As I was approaching the exit, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, seeing a text from an unknown number. I opened it, and my heart fluttered slightly as I saw the words: Your fiancé. I felt confident now that Alexander had agreed to work with me. There was no way I was going to lose my pack to David. There was no way I was going to lose my family to him. I would make sure that he and Amanda paid for everything they had done to me. The first time I had lived through all of this, I trusted them completely. I thought they had my best interests at heart, but now I knew the truth. I knew that I had to watch my back when they were around. I made my way back toward the audience. I could see the crowd was growing. I spotted David and Amanda and reluctantly made my way toward them. It would look strange if I didn’t stand with the rest of them during the speech. Most of the crowd was made up of women, including Lunas and their daughters, which wasn’t surprising considering a shopping center like this would likely be more popular with women. As I approached, I could hear bits of conversation. I heard a woman complimenting Amanda on her outfit. “You’re so poised and mature,” the woman said. “Different from your best friend. It’s odd to see the two of you together.” “I agree,” another woman said. I recognized her; we had met before, and she seemed nice. “Ella is so strange,” the first woman said. “She’s so naive it would almost be cute if she didn’t have so much responsibility as the only heir of her pack.” “And she’s always wearing such inappropriate clothing,” the other woman agreed. “It’s like she has no idea that her demeanor and her dress make an impression that reflects on the whole pack.” I felt my face heating with embarrassment. From where I was standing, I could see David’s face. He was nodding in agreement with the women, and his gaze was fixed adoringly on Amanda. Amanda always encouraged me to dress brightly and flamboyantly. She said it made me stand out, made me unique. I thought she was just supporting my style, but clearly she was just trying to make herself look better in front of all the Alphas. I learned to dress more like a mature and trustworthy luna later, but at that time, I already left the wrong impression on many people. Thank goddess, I had the chance to change that impression before many started to know me through public events. I forced a smile on my face and walked up to them. David saw me first, and he actually did a double take as if he didn’t recognize me at first glance. Then I saw his eyes travel up my body. He was staring so obviously that the others turned to see what he was looking at. I saw Amanda’s eyes land on me, and anger flashed in her eyes. She elbowed David hard in the side. I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction. I was no longer the naive and trusting girl she had taken advantage of and mocked. She would learn soon enough exactly what I’m capable of.