The Third Time My Alpha Accused Me Of Cheating I Left Chapter 03
Esme’s POV
Asher stood beside me and muttered under his breath: “It’s your fault for not letting go……”
I stared at him, eyes burning. “I told you—this was from my grandmother.”
“Do you even know whose fault it is that your grandmother is lying in that care facility?”
Asher blinked, stepping back.
“Grandmother? All I know is some old hag who keeps wasting the Vale family’s money and Ravenmaw Pack’s public resources!”
The blood rushed straight to my head.
“Auntie Naomi said it—said she’s in that fancy hospital room burning through Daddy’s money, and she can’t even be cured. She called her a disgrace to the pack!”
“Say that again.”
My wolf surged from the depths of my consciousness, her snarl nearly overlapping with my own voice.
Asher flinched at the sight of me. He bit his lip—then gathered his courage and said it again: “That damn old hag, why doesn’t she just—Ah!”
I shoved him.
His feet tangled and he landed hard on the floor.
He froze for one second. Then burst into wailing sobs.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
I stood rooted to the spot, my palms tingling.
I looked at my son kicking his legs on the ground, those words echoing over and over in my mind—”damn old hag.”
The jagged edge of the broken moonstone dug into my palm. The pain brought me back to myself.
Grayson burst in. Seeing his son crying on the floor, he bent down and scooped him up.
“Asher, what happened?”
Asher threw himself into his father’s arms, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. “Daddy, she pushed me! Make her go away! I want Auntie Naomi…”
Grayson held him and looked up at me.
Nothing in his eyes but icy displeasure. “Esme, have you lost your mind? Hitting a child!”
“I didn’t hit him.” My voice was quiet. “I only pushed him.”
“Is there a difference?”
I looked down at the moonstone fragments in my hand.
When Asher was born, my mother—despite being gravely ill—had dragged herself out of bed to help me care for him. She’d sewn him tiny clothes. She’d stayed up with him night after night.
“Yes.” I met Grayson’s gaze. “He was in the wrong. I was disciplining him.”
Grayson paused, then looked down at the boy in his arms.
Asher burrowed deeper into his chest, his sobs quieting slightly. “I didn’t do anything wrong… Auntie Naomi said that old hag keeps wasting Daddy’s money…”
Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You’re arguing with a child over this?” He swept a glance at me. “Naomi handles my personal finances now. She was merely stating a fact from a financial perspective. The kid overheard. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”
“You know how much she does for this family every day.”
His gaze dropped to the broken moonstone in my hand. Eventually, he softened his tone:
“I brought Asher here today on purpose—for you two to talk properly. But that matter—don’t let the child know for now. It might affect his development.”
I knew he was referring to the dissolution of our Mate Bond.
I said nothing.
What was left for me to say to Asher?
In four years, the total time he and Asher spent talking to me didn’t amount to half of what he spent talking to Naomi.
When I was pregnant, someone had laced my food with herbs that could cause a miscarriage. The agony had ripped through me. To bring Asher safely into this world, I’d refused all anesthesia—my wolf burned through an enormous amount of energy to heal me.
And this was how Asher treated me?
Thinking of all this, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the storage room.
In the living room, Naomi was crouched in front of Asher, cooing softly.
I passed them without expression.
Behind me, Asher burst into tears again: “Why won’t that bad woman look at me!”
He stomped his feet, outraged at being ignored.
He was used to me running over with red eyes to comfort him after every tantrum. Used to hearing me say, “Asher, don’t be upset—Mommy’s sorry.”
So when I didn’t spare him a single glance, he felt wronged.
Grayson said nothing, but I could feel his cold stare boring into my back.
I was about to push the door open when a furious voice erupted behind me: “Stop!”