Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Seraphine let out a slow breath, the weight of everything she had been holding in settling over her as she leaned back slightly. There was no hesitation in her anymore when it came to Corvine. At this point, she trusted him with more than just her plans. She trusted him with her survival, and that wasn’t something she gave lightly.

"Ravyn keeps insisting he never forced himself on me," she said, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of restrained frustration. "According to him, I was the one who wanted it. I need proof to shut that down completely, because if I don’t, he’s going to use that claim against me the moment I refuse to go back."

Corvine’s lips curved faintly, not out of amusement but out of recognition. She wasn’t guessing, she was anticipating, staying three steps ahead the way she always did. Seraphine understood her opponents better than they understood themselves, and that was exactly why she was still standing.

If Ravyn ever uncovered the truth about Bryan, there was no doubt he would try to pull her back into his life using every angle he could find, twisting facts, rewriting history, and refusing to let go. Corvine found a certain relief in the fact that she wasn’t giving him that opportunity, at least not yet.

Also, he could not remember much about that night. Just like everyone, he was engrossed in the celebration and never picked up anything suspicious.

He was about to ask another question when she spoke again, and this time, her tone softened just enough to carry something deeper.

"If I find my daughter," she said quietly, her gaze drifting for a moment as if she could already see that future playing out, "I’m disappearing completely. Somewhere he’ll never be able to track me down."

Then she looked at him, holding his gaze with calm certainty. "That’s why I made you CEO."

The words landed harder than anything else she had said.

Corvine went still, his expression tightening in a way he couldn’t quite control. The implication was clear, even if she hadn’t said it outright. That future she was planning didn’t include him. It wasn’t something she was trying to hide, it was simply a fact she had already accepted.

And for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely, that realization didn’t sit well with him at all.

Before he could respond, his phone buzzed with a message from Voren. He glanced at it, his brows drawing together slightly. "He just sent the location," he said, confusion slipping into his voice. "But... it’s his office."

He looked back at her. "He said the training would happen at his place, so why send me there when I already know where it is?"

Seraphine’s lips curved with quiet understanding, as if she had expected this exact move. "You really think he’s going to trust you to keep me away after I made it clear I wanted to come with you?" she asked, the question settled over Corvine like a calm realization, simple but precise.

He let out a small breath, shaking his head slightly. "Why do I get the feeling you two think exactly the same way?"

Seraphine didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled her laptop closer and opened it, her attention drifting seamlessly as she began trading, her fingers moving across the keyboard with practiced ease.

"Can you set up interviews for top-tier tech candidates after we finish handling Santiago?" she asked without looking up, her tone all business again.

"Already ahead of you," Corvine replied. "I’ve scheduled a few interviews, and for now, I’m working with a recruitment agency until I find a solid HR manager to take over the process."

That earned him a brief smile from her, one that carried approval. "Good. That’s exactly what we need."

By the time their car pulled into the underground parking lot of Ashkael Holdings, both of them had already loosened into a more focused mindset. What they didn’t expect, however, was to find Voren already there, standing near the parking area as if he had been waiting.

Corvine stepped out first, but the moment Voren’s eyes landed on Seraphine as she followed, his expression darkened instantly.

"I knew you couldn’t be trusted," Voren said flatly, his gaze fixed on Corvine. This was the first time anyone disobeyed his order, and it made him feel powerless.

Before Corvine could respond, Seraphine stepped forward, closing the distance between them with quiet confidence. "This has nothing to do with him," she said. "I made the decision to come. Waiting around and relying on secondhand training isn’t an option for me right now."

She paused briefly, then added, her tone firm and unapologetic, "I’m the one who asked you for help, not him."

Voren’s jaw tightened, clearly not pleased, but he didn’t argue that point. Instead, he changed the conversation to something else. "When is this so-called date?"

The irritation in his voice was obvious, but Seraphine didn’t react to it. She knew he would not have agreed if she had insisted on coming and coming without his knowledge had also made him upset for whatever reason she could not pinpoint.

"Five days," she said, then corrected herself with a slight tilt of her head. "Actually, four now. We already lost one."

Voren drew in a slow breath, his expression turning thoughtful, as if recalculating everything in his head. After a moment, he spoke again. "I’ll assign someone else to train both of you."

That response didn’t go unnoticed. It was as if he was getting back at them for disobeying his order.

Both Seraphine and Corvine caught it instantly. He wasn’t just delegating, he was distancing himself, and there was a clear intention to avoid direct involvement, which raised questions.

Corvine studied him for a second, then spoke, his tone calm but probing. "Why do I feel like you’re avoiding something?" he asked. "Or more specifically... avoiding her?"

His words weren’t confrontational, just precise, but they landed exactly where they needed to when he noticed the quick change in Voren’s calm expression.