Haley regretted it. Why didn’t she delete the message immediately after sending it? And now, she found herself being questioned by Orion.
“Someone is blackmailing me, and I intentionally agreed, hoping to catch this person who wants to blackmail me…” she explained.
“Why did they choose to blackmail you instead of someone else?” Orion tightened his grip on her wrist, his force increasing. “Because you did something wrong, and someone caught you in the act, using it to blackmail you…”
“That’s not true,” Haley defended herself. “I haven’t done anything wrong. The reason I agreed to give money to the person blackmailing me was to catch them, not because I felt guilty and wanted to pay them off.”
Orion frowned. “You’re just twisting the truth!”
“I’m not!”
Haley had to deny it at all costs; otherwise, Orion would surely despise her. And she wouldn’t be able to hide Luna’s situation any longer.
“I can confront the person who sent me the message. I swear, I have never done anything wrong. If I have, let me be struck by lightning and have a miserable end.” Haley raised her hand, swearing solemnly.
Orion hesitated.
“We are already married. I don’t want you to harbor ill will towards Luna. Tell me, do you know where she is?”
Haley looked at him. “Yes, now that we’re married, why would I harm her?”
Orion was speechless.
“But…”
“If my word isn’t enough for you to believe me, then tell me, what do I have to do for you to trust me? I’m willing to do anything.” Haley now understood that the person who sent her the message was probably Orion. As for why he would send such a message as a test, he must have discovered something. But there wasn’t any concrete evidence.
If there were solid evidence, he would have already thrown it in her face instead of questioning her. So, she still had a chance to turn the situation around. For now, she needed to stay calm and composed. She looked at Orion with a pitiful expression. “Someone must be trying to frame me. If you have evidence, then present it.”
Orion fell silent.
“You replied to the message, that’s a fact…”
“Yes, I replied to the message and agreed to give money. What does that prove? As I’ve said, I only did it to catch the other person. I’m afraid more people might be subjected to such baseless threats…”
“Baseless?” Orion stared at Haley. “Although I don’t have evidence, I’m not foolish. Your agreement to pay proves that you feel guilty. Whether or not you’ve done something morally questionable, you know it deep down. If you want me to forgive you, just honestly tell me Luna’s whereabouts. Maybe then I’ll consider forgiving you.”
Haley wanted to deceive her way out of this, but Orion wasn’t completely clueless.
“You don’t believe me?” Haley feigned a hurt expression.
She knew that she absolutely couldn’t admit to knowing about Luna’s situation. If she did, it would be equal to admitting that she was the one behind the hanging scroll incident.
“Prove to me that I can trust you, tell me where Luna is,” Orion’s grip tightened, his voice filled with desperation. “Tell me, is she safe?”
“I really don’t know…” Haley firmly denied.
They were arguing about something. Orion’s mother heard the commotion from upstairs and came up. She was wearing a silk shawl over her shoulders and a dark dress, exuding an air of elegance.
Haley was Mrs Russo favorite, and seeing her was like finding a lifeline. She quickly hid behind her, pleading, “Mom, you have to help me. Orion says that I hung the scroll when we got married and that Luna is missing, that I hid her. But I really don’t know anything.”
In front of Mrs Russo, Haley pretended not to know about Luna’s situation. Because Luna’s situation was orchestrated by Orion’s mother and her parents. Haley had been pretending not to know all along, though Orion was questioning her, accusing her falsely.
Mrs Russo protected Haley and glared at her son. “Orion, have you gone mad? Don’t you know what kind of person Luna is by now?”
Before Orion could respond, Mrs Russo continued, “Haley’s child, or rather, your child, my grandchild, was ruined because of Luna. Isn’t it enough for you? What are you trying to accomplish by looking for her?”
“She’s missing, I’m worried about her safety…”
“You should worry about Haley’s well-being,” Mrs Russo scolded, her disappointment evident. “How can you be so spineless? You’ve abandoned your own wife for another woman? Are you being fair to Haley?”
Orion clenched his hand by his side into a tight fist. Without any evidence to prove that Haley knew Luna’s whereabouts, he couldn’t refute his mother’s accusations. But Evan had a point. Now, he could only turn to Elijah for help.
“Whether she’s done something or not, she knows it in her heart. Both of you have disappointed me.” With those words, he walked past Haley and left the room.
“Orion, where are you going?” Haley quickly caught up.
She chased after him but Orion ignored her. He was already disappointed and didn’t trust her anymore. He felt like his principles had been shattered. The person he trusted turned out to be someone who would deceive him without hesitation. It was so damn ridiculous.
“Mom, please talk some sense into Orion,” Haley pleaded desperately.
“Just let him calm down. He must have heard some gossip outside that drove him crazy. Don’t worry about it too much. Take care of yourself and try to conceive another child as soon as possible. That way, you can keep his heart tied to you and prevent him from obsessing over a woman who’s already dead.”
Haley had already learned from her parents that Luna had died. But in front of Mrs Russo, she pretended to be surprised.
“W-What? Luna is dead? What happened?”
“The less you ask about this matter, the better. Those who obstruct you and Orion, including your parents and myself, will help you get rid of them. I just hope that you can make Orion fall in love with you quickly, so that he won’t cause any trouble because of Luna.”
“I will do my best,” Haley said. As she spoke, she kept her eyes lowered.
It was she who had encouraged her parents to persuade Mrs Russo to get rid of Luna. Haley was the only child in her family. So, they wanted her to be happy.
But Luna’s presence was too much of a hindrance. Luckily, she had no background. Dealing with her would be clean and easy.
In front of Mrs Russo, Haley played the role of a pitiable person. “Mom, you said I was a child who was pampered by my parents since I was young, that I never suffered any grievances. But because of Luna, I lost the child I was going to have with Orion. How much does my heart ache? Yet Orion still accuses me, saying that I hung the scroll and harmed Luna…”
“Alright, don’t I have your back?” Mrs Russo patted Haley’s shoulder. “Stop overthinking.”
Haley obediently said, “I won’t overthink. I will take good care of Orion. My dad even said that he wants to hand over the company’s affairs to Orion.”
“Oh, that’s great. Your parents are getting old, so if you hand it over to Orion, they can finally take a break.”
“Yes, I think so too.” Haley was clever. She knew what Mrs Russo wanted.
So she would say the right things to please her.
“I had the maid cook some soup. Let’s go downstairs and have some. You should eat more,” Mrs Russo said, pulling Haley downstairs.
…
Later, Orion found Evan.