Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 65 – A birth mark

Seraphine had spent the entire drive quietly bracing herself for candlelight and polished silverware, for a romantic lunch tucked inside some quiet, expensive restaurant hidden in a sleek corner of Manhattan where conversations were low and intentional and waiters moved like shadows between tables.

She had imagined something soft and predictable, something that matched Leon’s polished image, something that would allow him to charm her properly over plated dishes and sparkling glasses.

Yeah, the was the usual way to woo a woman right? Just as the girls at the pack used to gist about. Except that, she wasn’t ready for any relationship either than friendship.

Leon surprised her by completely erasing her expectations when the car slowed in front of a wide open rehabilitation park, sunlight spilling across green lawns where movement looked different from what most people considered normal, yet just as powerful.

Children dotted the grounds in wheelchairs, some in braces, some guided carefully through exercises by therapists kneeling beside them on mats spread across the grass.

The air was alive with layered sound, laughter bursting out unexpectedly, the steady encouragement of professionals counting repetitions, parents murmuring reassurance with tired but hopeful voices that carried both exhaustion and faith.

Seraphine blinked, momentarily disoriented, her expectations dissolving in the face of something far more raw and real than white tablecloths.

"This is where I spend my free hours," Leon explained, his tone noticeably softer than it had been earlier, the playful edge smoothed away by something sincere.

He shifted the gear into park and looked at her properly, not performing now, not posturing. "I thought if we’re going to make an appearance together, you should know this side of me."

not expected this, not from him, not from someone who wore confidence so

mixed with the steady rhythm of therapists guiding limbs, counting steps, correcting posture, praising

to catch, always ready to encourage, their faces etched

her door, the gesture still present but quieter now, less about charm and more about

board," he said once she stood beside

I don’t mind how you structure it.

was not here to impress her with luxury, not here to parade her around like a trophy doctor, not here to toast her

had brought her somewhere that mattered to him. He wanted her to see his world not at its

small body working through recovery, each determined face pushing

chance to hold in her arms. The daughter whose face she had not even seen, and not knowing where she was, and not knowing who held her now, meant she

finally, though her voice was softer than usual. "I’ll think about

they walked deeper into the park, the children

spun slightly too fast across the pavement. "Are you getting us ice cream

genuine, dropping down into a squat so he was eye-level with them, pulling two of them into a quick embrace

brought a friend today." He turned slightly and gestured

so pretty," a boy with crutches blurted out without filter, his cheeks flushing the second

instead of towering over it. "What’s your name?" she asked gently, her tone already shifting into the steady warmth