The Mate He Hates

Amanda’s POV

Beta Matthew glanced at me for a moment while I shamefully looked away. “You were with him,” his word wasn’t a question but a statement. “I have been looking for you. Come with me.” He turned and began walking away, while I trailed behind him.

We entered his room, and I stood by the door, watching as he walked over to his dresser and picked up the hairdryer. “Come, have a seat,” he gestured, pointing at the chair for me. I was confused for a moment.

“Come, have a seat,” he urged, and I obeyed. I walked over to the dresser and took a seat. As I sat, I couldn’t help but glance at my reflection in the mirror, seeing a shadow of my former self tired, unkempt, and worn out.

I looked horrible; my once spotless skin looked unkempt, and my sea-blue eyes, once filled with life, now looked lifeless. My puffy cheeks had gone down, and my lips looked dry. Also, I had lost a huge amount of weight; my neck bone was visibly showing.

I was still glancing at myself in the mirror when I felt Beta Matthew’s hand on my hair as he began using the hairdryer. Impulsively, I moved away and turned to him. “What are you doing?” I asked, baffled by his action.

I never imagined he wanted to dry my hair himself; I was thinking he would hand me the hairdryer. “Why are you acting like I have done something wrong?” he raised his brow, and I frowned. “I will do it myself.” I tried taking the dryer from him, but he moved away.

“Sit, I’ll do it for you, and besides, you look so exhausted.”

“No, I can’t let you do it,” I protested and heard him chuckle. “And why is that, huh? Why won’t you let me dry your hair? I’m pretty good at it; I usually dry my mom’s hair; I also braid her hair, so don’t see me as a novice.” He chuckled, but I shook my head, refusing to allow him.

“I can do it myself; please let me,” I pleaded. I found it awkward that he would assist in drying my hair.

He glanced at me for a moment before he shrugged his shoulders and handed the dryer to me. “Thank you.” I took the dryer and began drying my hair with it.

Beta Matthew went over to the couch, sat on it, and began going through a paper in his hand.

As I dried my hair, I looked at him through the mirror. He was nothing like Alpha Edward; although Alpha Edward might look more handsome than him in the face and a well-structured body, But Beta Matthew was absolutely attractive. He had black, jet hair that he always neatly arranged. Just like me, he has gorgeous sea-blue eyes that carry warmth and, at the same time, power. Unlike Alpha Edward, Beta Matthew carries warmth around him; just by getting close to him, one would feel it. He was so different from Alpha Edward that I wondered how they turned out to be best friends; they were opposite in almost everything.

“Are you done staring?” he asked, his eyes still on the paper in his hand, snapping me out of my thoughts. I shamefully looked away, embarrassed that he caught me staring at him.

As I finished drying my hair, I turned off the hairdryer and set it aside before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m done,” I replied softly, avoiding his gaze as I moved to sit on the edge of the bed, feeling a bit self-conscious under his scrutiny.

Beta Matthew glanced up from his paper, his gaze lingering on me for a moment before he folded the paper and set it aside. “You know, Amanda, you don’t have to go through this again,” he said gently, his voice carrying a sincerity that caught me off guard.

I looked up, meeting his eyes, and for a moment, I saw something in them that I couldn’t quite place empathy, perhaps, or understanding. “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair before meeting my gaze again. “I mean, whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to let Alpha Edward have his way with you if you don’t want to…” He paused and took a deep breath before he continued. “He thinks you are my mate now, so why don’t you use that to your advantage? Whenever he comes for you, tell him you now belong to me. I believe he will let you go,” Beta Matthew suggested, and I sighed. If only he knew that Alpha Edward doesn’t care whether I am Beta Matthew’s mate.

Beta Matthew stared at me for a moment before he groaned. “You reminded him that you are my mate, and he still had sex with you?” Beta Matthew asked, and I nodded. It seems my facial expression passed the information to him.

Beta Matthew was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “I think the mate bond is pulling him towards you. If you weren’t his mate, Alpha Edward would never want anything to do with you once he realizes you are my mate, but he can’t fight it. The mate bond is pulling him towards you, and in no distance time, I think he will realize that you are his mate.”

“No!” I felt tears pricking at the corners of my eyes as I struggled to hold them back. “I… I don’t want him to know; I don’t want to be his mate anymore.” I admitted, my voice trembling slightly.

Beta Matthew’s expression softened, and he moved closer, reaching out to gently squeeze my hand. “You don’t have to worry about that right now,” he said softly. “But just know that I’m here for you.” He smiled at me before going back to his seat.

“Clean your tears; we have work on our hands,” he urged, and I nodded and wiped my tears.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Good girl,” he smiled and stretched the paper he was holding to me.

“My men got some findings last night; take a look.”

I stood up and collected the paper from him, and then I began going through it.

“It seems Elisa met with Anthony the night before the wedding; they met in a fast food restaurant, and according to the eyewitness, they had a series of heated arguments which made Elisa furiously walk out on him,” Beta Matthew explained while I read through the report.

“The report also states Elisa had an abortion a week before the wedding ceremony…” I gasped and looked at Beta Matthew, who nodded, confirming that my reading was accurate. “She did it at Olive Hospital, and your stepmother accompanied her; I believe you didn’t know about this.”

“I didn’t,” I shook my head in disbelief. “I never knew Elisa was pregnant, although I could remember a time she was sick, but I thought she was just under the weather,” I explained in disbelief.

Beta Matthew leaned back in his chair, watching me closely as I processed the information. “This is surprising,” I murmured, my mind racing with many questions.

He nodded gravely. “It does. Elisa was pregnant, and the pregnancy didn’t belong to Alpha Edward. He has never touched her and has never seen her physically for the past four years. They only talked on phone calls and video calls,” Beta Matthew explained, and he was damn right. Alpha Edward and Elisa never met, meaning the pregnancy was never his.

“The pregnancy belongs to Anthony,” Beta Matthew revealed, and I wasn’t surprised at it; that was the same thought I had in mind.

I scanned the report again, trying to piece together the puzzle. “Do you think Anthony was aware of the pregnancy?”

“It’s possible,” he admitted. “But we can’t jump to conclusions. We need more information.”