Eric exhaled sharply and looked at his friend. There was certainly truth in his friend's question but Eric wasn't bothered about it.
"That doesn't disturb me. I know that she doesn't love that man. I think she feels somewhat grateful to him from my assumptions; That man must have helped her in achieving everything that she presently has" Eric replied with certainty.
Beta Fred stared at Eric and shook his head in disbelief.
"I mean no harm but don't you think that you're being overconfident because just like you've said, that man has been with her for a long time. He had been supporting her…"
"Enough!" Eric shunned him and his eyes darkened.
"I'll not listen to any of your words. They aren't helping but discouraging my future attempts to gain that woman back. I think from today, I shall conceal a lot of things from you" Eric frowned.
He knew that his friend was sent by his father and he didn't want him in a dilemma of choosing sides.
"Why would you do such a thing?" Beta Fred challenged him.
Eric smirked, it was a deceptive and cunning smirk. Without answering the latter, he walked to the door and opened it.
"This future Alpha needs his beauty or should I say handsome sleep" Eric chuckled and rubbed his beardless chin, proudly.
Eric was certain one of the most handsome men would come across a cross which might be one of the reasons why he was so irresistible to Maya.
"You look ridiculous with that look on your face and why should we continue this friendship, if you're going to be hiding every secret from me" Beta Fred frowned his lips, his feelings were truly hurt.
Eric sighed exasperatedly and sauntered back to his friend.
"You're my best friend and I'm to protect you from anyone including my father. Telling you so much of my secrets will only cause me damage and tear us apart. I'm doing this for our good, it's nothing personal" Eric clarified and smiled gently at him.
Beta Fred nodded and understood him.
"I will leave but anytime you have a problem, never forget that someone is here for you" He smiled.
Eric nodded repeatedly, glad about his friend's words. It was nice to have someone who still supported him.
"Tell Father that your advice touched my hardened heart and I've agreed to bring her down but would elude her like a plague and find a befitting Luna" Eric muttered, for him to lie.
Beta Fred shook his head and laughed before heading out of his room. Eric headed towards the door, closed it, and dashed back to his bed.
He grabbed his phone again and clicked on the sex video, watching it.
*
The next morning, Maya woke up with more guilt than she felt last night. She thought sleeping would help her but she was wrong.
It made her feel worse that she would've to face Johnny and pretend to his face like she was a saint. She hated herself for cheating on him because he didn't deserve that.
He had been a kind man to her and she was thankful to him. She loathed herself for the betrayal. Remorse stuck to her soul like a magnet.
She sluggishly left her bed and went to the shower. While bathing, the moments she spent with Eric kept haunting her mind.
She recalled how His claws slowly trailed on her skin and how his lips tasted more than good. His scent couldn't be compared with any that she had inhaled.
Everything he had done to her was clinging to her mind. Each drop of water that touched her skin reminded her of the sweat that dripped from his body down to hers.
She was thinking of her evil deed a few minutes ago but presently thinking of it, made it seem like the best moments of her life.
"Knock it off!" Maya suddenly screamed and shook her head.
She threw the soapy sponge in her hand straight to the floor.
"I shouldn't be thinking about him, I should only hate him because he caused me so much pain and hurt. Those feelings are the only things that I should remember. Nothing more than that" She told herself these words repeatedly.
"Eric is a bastard while Johnny is the angel that came to save me. Whatever happened in the past must not reoccur. That rubbish will never happen again!" Maya said, trying to convince herself.
She was internally conflicted but deep inside, she was aware that Johnny wasn't the one she truly loved. The mate bond aside, with or without it, she would still love Eric but she had refused to allow that feeling to fully surface.
Maya took another sponge and finished bathing, she blocked all other thoughts from her mind because they were driving her insane.
Maya dressed up in something nice and tied her hair into a bun, she wasn't in the mood to dress in a luxurious and expensive or rather uncomfortable manner.
"I hope some work would distract me from thinking more of that nonsense," Maya said under her breath and walked down the stairs to meet Johnny.
He was sitting on the same couch where she had sex with Eric. The feeling of guilt became unbearable because this man was staring at her with a smile on his face.
'What sort of a bitch are you?' Maya condemned herself inwardly and fought back the tears that threatened to drop.
Johnny was looking at her and noticed how lost she was. He wondered what she was thinking of.
He frowned inwardly but outwardly he had a smile on his face. It was strange that what he was feeling inside was completely different from how he acted or spoke. It was uncanny.
"Darling" Johnny forced another smile and stood up to his feet. He walked to her and held her arms.
"Are you alright? You seem so lost or are you too overwhelmed by the thought of our marriage?" Johnny asked.
Maya shook her head and replied sadly; "Johnny, I'm sorry."
Johnny looked at her frantically like he was concerned but rolled his eyes inwardly.
"What are you sorry about? Is there something you want to tell me?" Johnny asked and squinted at her. "Maya, if you're troubled about anything then I should be the first to know, remember that I'll always be here for you."
Maya wanted to tell him the truth but she couldn't handle the pain, her truth could cause him. It was better to lie and act like it never happened.
She promised herself that whatever transpired between Eric and her would never repeat itself. She wouldn't care about her wolf or allow her to influence her decision.
Lust, desire, or some fucking mate bond should never be permitted to influence any of her actions or choices.
'You're deceiving yourself because we can never stay away from our mate' her wolf argued.
"Keep quiet please!"
Johnny was a bit startled by her remark and stepped away from her. He misunderstood who those words were directed to.
Maya realized that she had spoken her thoughts aloud and quickly apologized to him. Johnny still gazed at her strangely.
"We got engaged last night and you ain't looking too happy about it.."
She immediately cut in; "Don't say that, I'm happy that you've finally proposed to me. I'm just distracted by some things in the company."
"You should be elated instead of bothered because the new launching of the car is coming in a few days and you seemed so excited about it on our way home, last night," Johnny said and cupped her face.
Johnny wanted to speak but Maya kissed his lips. Her lies were catching up with her and if she kept talking then she would spill the beans.
While kissing him, she couldn't stop herself from comparing his taste to that of Eric. Eric beat him in everything.
'Stop thinking of that traitor' Maya screams internally.
Maya was bothered about Eric but unaware of the greater battles ahead of her.
There were certain men in an office, they were all CEOs of different automobile companies and had invested in Maya's company forming a partnership with her but wouldn't be blamed for anything that happened in her company.
They were gathered together not in her favor but towards her destruction.
The CEOs were Beta Bryan Holmes, Mr Adams Kingsley, Mr Lucas Huntsman, and Alpha Leo Bush, these were among the many who detested Maya for her upliftment but only these few had been able to gather themselves against her.
Beta Bryan Holmes was their leader and he was eager to ruin Maya because of her rudeness and it seemed to be an affront that such a young woman would be so disrespectful and wealthy.
She surpassed their company in great ways and this stung their pride and also bruised their ego.
"She keeps soaring higher while we keep eating dust! It's so mortifying that such a young company of less than a decade had surpassed our company of over three decades with more potential than hers!" Mr Lucas ranted and slammed his hand angrily on the table.
" I would have loved to agree with you Lucas but this woman has more potential than our company put together, her methods and ideas are far beyond what any of us had ever thought of or discovered. Her cars had pleased a lot of buyers and they've abandoned us
If her work was of bad quality then she would have lost a long time ago, without our efforts " Mr Adams said logically but still feeling resentment against Maya.
" I just want to tear her to shreds just not without fucking her curvy ass first, "Alpha Leo said, lewdly.
Beta Bryan listened to them carefully and the words of Mr Adams gave him an idea.
"She has been making good cars but the launch of this new car would be the biggest and most global launch of her company. What would happen, if we hired– someone to sabotage the car?" Beta Bryan asked, his expression was filled with wickedness.
The others looked at themselves and nodded, liking the idea.
" Someone has to die for another to fall, am I wrong gentlemen?" Bryan cackled.
They glanced at each other again and laughed sinisterly among themselves.