Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 67 – I have news

Seraphine had been carrying the idea quietly for months, maybe even years if she was honest with herself, nurturing it in the private corners of her mind like something fragile that could not survive careless exposure.

She had not shared it with anyone, not even with Corvine, who had become her right hand in almost everything else.

Some dreams felt safer when they remained unspoken, protected from doubt, ridicule, and from the narrowing expressions people wore when they did not understand vision.

And yet, sitting in Leon’s car with the late afternoon light filtering in through the windshield, she found herself saying it before she could second-guess the impulse.

"Eclipse Entertainment is the brand name," she began, her voice steady but carrying an undercurrent of excitement she rarely allowed to surface. "But I’m going to start with Phantom Games."

Leon glanced at her briefly before returning his attention to the road, clearly processing the words. "You?" he asked, a faint crease forming between his brows. "You want to start a gaming company?"

It was not mockery exactly, but surprise, the kind shaped by assumption. Gaming was loud and competitive and historically male-dominated, a world of consoles and tournaments and obsessive players glued to screens for hours.

It did not immediately align with the composed, strategic woman sitting beside him.

Seraphine noticed the tone, and instead of bristling, she leaned into explanation. "I’m imagining a future where games are used not just for leisure, but for recalibrating," she said, her gaze drifting slightly as if she could already see it unfolding. "How would you feel playing a game that actually relaxes your nervous system instead of overstimulating it?"

That made him look at her again, this time with curiosity instead of disbelief.

As she narrowed it down, her words became more precise, more intentional.

"Entertainment, at its core, is about escape and relaxation," she continued, her hands moving subtly as she spoke. "But what if we built triggers into the design, subtle cues that regulate breathing patterns, stabilize heart rate, guide cognitive resets without the player even realizing it consciously.

time and leaves them drained. I don’t want addiction. Fifteen to thirty minutes

it isn’t just for entertainment," he said slowly, beginning to see the

Something immersive

development at that level, neurological research integration, user

revealed this much on a first date already felt

on the cybersecurity connections she had been leveraging, or the trading capital she had been quietly growing, or the network of developers she had already begun consulting under

her house, the sky had begun deepening into evening hues, and the shift from public space to private ground carried its own weight. Leon stepped out first again, circling around to open her door with that

scent of dinner lingered faintly in the air, grounding the moment. Seraphine asked

us for dinner?"

sharp and immediate. He wanted to say no, but how

brief pause. "This is your house

who was almost at

conversation at the

described the children at the rehabilitation

initially hovered in the room slowly dissipated, replaced by

be starting part-time work with Leon at the

simple, but they

neutral even though something inside

on too, so three hours max. And we’re starting our company too, right?" she added,

way she said our. Not your, not

it too, and his smile faltered almost imperceptibly. Why couldn’t it be hers alone? Why did Corvine need to