Chapter 6

Sylvia came to her senses and exploded. "Zoe Hale, what nonsense are you spouting?"

The next second, I posted high-definition surveillance screenshots of Sylvia entering the hotel with Director Grant on my social media account and pinned them in the livestream chat too.

The livestream blew up instantly.

The comments flooded in so fast the screen froze, and the viewer count shot past twenty million.

*WTF? Two-faced much? Stringing along the Hale Alpha heir while sleeping with a director?*

*She was just acting all devoted to the mate bond, and it was all an act?*

*She was always bragging about being an independent, clear-headed she-wolf. Turns out she uses wolves as stepping stones?*

#SylviaTwoFacedSheWolf#

#SylviaMateImageCollapse#

The two hashtags rocketed to number one on the trending list. There was no suppressing them.

Half the goodwill she'd built up with the general public collapsed overnight.

Sylvia screamed in a meltdown. "No, no, she's slandering me! I didn't do anything!"

*Not so fast. Want to take a look at the shopping links in your livestream? You really don't miss a single chance to cash in, do you? Even my brother announcing you as his fated mate is something you turn into a business?*

"No, that's not it! Zoe Hale, stop lying!"

Sylvia was completely flustered.

Seeing things going south, Janet Cross quickly grabbed Sylvia to stop her from saying any more.

"Sorry, everyone, something's come up here. We'll give you an explanation shortly."

With that, she shut down the livestream.

At the villa.

I gently set down my phone and looked up at Asher, whose face had gone deathly pale. I spoke with a certain restraint.

"Brother, that's the she-wolf you loved more than your own life. To her, a mate confession is just a business deal she can't lose on."

Asher's face went pale, then green.

Sylvia... why would she say those things on the livestream? Why point all the blame at him?

She had shopping links up in her mate confession livestream, and she was selling products from Skyline, Hale Enterprises' rival pack-owned brand.

If word of this got out, where would that leave the Hale bloodline? The pack's alliances? Hale Enterprises?

How was he supposed to explain it to the pack elders and shareholders?

Thinking of the possible fallout, a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Asher's back.

A moment ago he'd been feeling guilty for standing Sylvia up. Now there was nothing in his eyes but confusion.

Just then, his phone rang.

Asher looked at the name flashing on the screen and frowned.

The moment he answered, a wounded voice came through.

"Asher, I didn't put up those shopping links. I didn't know anything about it. Janet handles all of that."

As soon as Sylvia was off the livestream, she'd worked out a plan with Janet Cross.

First, push all the blame onto Janet Cross while she played dumb.

Once the storm blew over, they'd deal with everything else.

When Sylvia finished, she waited quietly for Asher to give her a way out.

Hmph. He'd better back down quickly and take the blame himself, or she really would get angry.

Before, Asher could never bear to let her suffer even the slightest grievance. All she had to do was make a little noise and he'd immediately rush to soothe her.

But this time, she waited and waited, and the other end stayed silent.

Sylvia was getting annoyed. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Finally Asher spoke, his voice low.

"Is that really how it was, Sylvia?"

Sylvia froze, a sudden panic rising in her chest. "Asher, don't you believe me? You know how it is. Nobodies like me in the industry have no rights at all. Every move we make is dictated by our agents."

Half true, half false, all heartfelt.

Sure enough, Asher began to waver.

Right. Sylvia was still just an obscure little she-wolf actress. Anyone at her company could interfere with her decisions.

She was soft-natured and naive, so of course her agent had her under her thumb.

"Sylvia, your agent isn't competent. I'll find you a new one."

He had money. As long as he could pay, he could get her a top-tier agent.

Sylvia laughed. "I'll do whatever you say. But... what about this mess today? Everyone's attacking me right now. If this keeps up, my reputation will be ruined."

After all, he was the one who'd stood her up at the mate announcement. He bore some responsibility too.

Asher said, "I'll take care of it for you."

"I knew you were the best."

Sylvia hung up happily and said smugly to Janet Cross, "He should take a good look at himself in the mirror. Does he really think he gets to swap out my agent whenever he likes? I'm the one who decides."

Janet Cross sneered. "That's simps for you. Always the same."

"But... what about the sales deal we agreed to? I just checked the back end. We only sold a little over a hundred orders. That's nowhere near enough."

Sylvia's face was full of displeasure.

Not only had she not made any money today, she'd been humiliated on her own mate confession livestream. It was all my fault for ruining everything.

It had taken a huge effort, sleeping with Director Grant for an entire week straight, to get him to give her a single audition.

As long as she reached five million followers and dominated the trending list for a full week, Director Grant would give her the female-lead script for his new drama.

What was so great about Asher Hale and his dirty Alpha money?

Director Grant was the guarantee of ratings in the industry.

Everyone who'd played a lead in front of Director Grant's camera was now an A-list star.

Come to think of it, this was Asher's fault too. He had some bad blood with Director Grant. Otherwise she wouldn't have had to sleep with him. She could have just had Asher throw some money at him.

That was why she'd pretended to accept the mate bond and taken the huge risk of staging this whole sensational event.

Who could have guessed I'd barge in at the last minute?

A flash of icy hatred burst in her eyes.

"Janet, do you have any good ideas for making her disappear from Aurora City for good? Just looking at her makes me sick. She actually dares to compete with me for his attention."

Janet Cross said dismissively, "She's just a reckless little pup. Next time, whisper a few words in Asher Hale's ear to drive a wedge between them. The siblings will turn on each other in no time."

"You're right. She's just a nineteen-year-old brat. She's not enough to throw me off balance. Let Asher Hale clean up this mess. Whatever the damages are, give me the bill. I'll get him over here later and use the chance to make him kick Zoe Hale out of the Hale family and the pack."

"Ask for more money. The fans need to be placated too. The paid promotions are wasted, and the trending spots are gone."

With that in mind, Janet Cross pulled out the contracts and began calculating how much they'd lost.

She'd already made up her mind: on top of the damages, she'd add an extra twenty percent as Asher's emotional compensation for standing Sylvia up at the mate announcement.

Great. Sylvia offers one throwaway apology, and he's off being moved by his own devotion again.

"What did you promise her this time?"

My chest was about to explode with rage.

"N-nothing. Zoe, you've opened my eyes. From now on I'll be more careful around her."

Under my clear, cool gaze, Asher actually felt a bit guilty.

Worried I'd keep going on about it, he quickly changed the subject.

"Now it's your turn. Time to explain to me what's going on between you and Kai Sterling."

I'd originally intended to come clean and tell him I'd tricked him into coming home.

After all, desperate times called for desperate measures.

I'd also wanted to tell him about how we'd both died horribly in our last lives.

But this lovesick idiot wouldn't listen. He'd probably think I was making up some story about being reborn.

Furious, I said carelessly, "I'm an adult. What's wrong with getting a mate? It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?"

Asher's temple throbbed. "Do you even hear what you're saying?"

I laughed. "Brother, isn't this a proud Hale family tradition?"

"What tradition?"

"The doormat tradition!"

"You!!"

Asher clutched his trembling chest and said earnestly, "Kai Sterling is not a good wolf! He's a ruthless Alpha who'll toy with you until there's nothing left of you!"

"Brother, I won't let you badmouth Brother Kai. You're just biased against him."

Asher froze.

Why did that sound so familiar... It seemed... that was exactly what he always said about Sylvia.

Asher sighed. "He's eccentric and ruthless... and most importantly, he's your brother's archenemy. The Alpha of the Sterling pack. He's definitely only with you to get revenge on me."

The feud between him and Kai Sterling went all the way back to kindergarten, when they were three.

Ever since then, the two of them had competed over everything... grades, height, wolf training... they'd even drop their pants in the bathroom to see who could pee farther.

It only got worse once they grew up and their wolves matured.

Any contract he wanted, Kai snatched.

Any project he had his eye on, Kai snatched.

Any pack alliance he tried to build, Kai undercut.

Any get-together he organized, Kai crashed.

And he'd only just come back to the country and was already going after me. He was definitely up to no good.

I clicked my tongue twice, the picture of not giving a damn.

"Brother, who said we're together? These days it's all about the body, not the heart. Strictly sleeping together."

"What?!"

Asher flew into a rage, snatched up the feather duster beside him, and jumped to his feet.

"Say that again if you dare?!"

His hand was trembling with anger. "That's not a mate bond, that's a hookup!"

Whoa!

I jumped and hurried to hide behind the sofa, but my mouth still refused to back down.

"He's so good-looking. What's wrong with a hookup? I'd be happy to hook up with the Alpha of the Sterling pack."

You want to be a doormat? Let's see if I don't make you die of rage!

"You... you're a she-wolf of the Hale bloodline! How can you say things like that?"

Asher held on to the arm of the sofa, his face pale, looking utterly devastated. His wolf was practically howling in distress inside him.

He couldn't believe it.

The little sister he'd spoiled since she was a pup.

Such a sweet, obedient girl, and now... every other word out of her mouth was "hookup"?

Where had it all gone wrong?

Was something wrong with the family graves?!

Asher's eyes went red. He looked like he was about to shatter.

"Zoe, you're lying to me, aren't you?"

"Tell me you're just saying this to make me mad!"

I'd never felt so satisfied. "You'll give Sylvia everything without expecting anything in return. Well, as long as Brother Kai needs it, I'll give him anything too! It's just sleeping with him. What's the big deal!"

"I..."

Asher pointed at me, his lips trembling.

"See? See? You've got nothing to say. That proves we really are siblings. We have the exact same attitude toward love."

The feather duster in Asher's hand trembled again.

I dodged it and taunted him, fearless. "Come on, come on. Tonight you'd better not go out to see Sylvia, or I'll go to the hotel to find Kai Sterling."

With that, I stopped paying attention to Asher.

Hands clasped behind my back, chin up and chest out, I marched upstairs.

Asher was in total emo mode.

Who was this bratty little demon?

Get out of my sister's body! Out, out, out!!