Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 92 – I dare you to open your mouth again

"I honestly must say that Seraphine Walker is a worthy contender, because I never expected her to last even a single second against me, yet she managed to stay in the game longer than almost anyone I have ever faced across a chessboard."

The statement rolled through the room in Voren’s calm, measured voice, and the moment his words settled into the heavy air of the gathering hall, applause erupted from several corners of the space, the sound spreading like a ripple across the polished marble floors and high vaulted ceilings where the wealthiest men in the room had been silently observing the match.

The applause did not please everyone. Ravyn felt irritation coil tightly inside his chest while the clapping continued around him, his jaw tightening as he stared toward Voren with a look that carried a mixture of disbelief and growing suspicion, because in that moment he genuinely could not tell whether Voren was still standing on his side or whether the man had somehow begun leaning toward Seraphine instead.

The sight that irritated him even further came from Seraphine herself, who stood there with that calm, composed smile resting on her lips as if none of the tension in the room had ever been directed toward her in the first place.

That smile grated on his nerves far more than the applause.

What truly made his blood burn with resentment had nothing to do with the chess match or the admiration spreading among the billionaires who had gathered to watch the spectacle unfold.

It had everything to do with the man standing beside her.

The fact that Seraphine, a former Luna whose status had once placed her among the most respected women of their kind, had chosen to involve herself romantically with a human being still felt like a deep insult that Ravyn could not easily swallow.

In his mind, if Seraphine had truly fallen so far after their separation, he might have expected her to attach herself to someone weaker or less influential within their world, someone who would remind everyone of how far she had fallen from the position she once held beside him.

Yet the man she had chosen was not weak, nor was he someone who could be dismissed easily.

Leon carried himself with intelligence that was difficult to ignore, his manners polished and refined in a way that made him respectable even among the ruthless businessmen who filled the room, and beyond that charm lay a financial rise that had begun attracting attention across powerful circles.

If Leon’s rapidly growing wealth ever merged with the immense fortune his father controlled, then the combined power of their assets would place him in a position where he could stand financially above Ravyn himself.

Ravyn more

toward Voren, his voice lowered so the surrounding men would not overhear the sharp edge of

are

turn his head fully toward him, although his teeth pressed together in a tight line while he responded in a voice so

am saving your

moments later, when Voren lifted his head and directed his attention toward Seraphine instead of continuing

gleam that

were smart," she

conversation was taking, and his gaze rested on Seraphine with a quiet tension as she continued speaking

in the amount of fifty billion, or you can allow me to move

through the

she had demanded a smaller sum without presenting any leverage, Ravyn might have simply paid the amount to silence the matter and prevent her from gaining the opportunity to showcase her work

if Ravyn proved foolish enough to agree to paying fifty billion in order to avoid her presentation, the loss would place a massive dent in his finances, one that would not go unnoticed by the very men who constantly measured each other’s wealth

curling along the edge of his mouth, the expression revealing that he

his sides as if he had to

clenched teeth, forcing the name out despite the humiliation building inside him, "isn’t that amount

smile vanishing as her voice dropped into a tone cold

with a cheap price tag?" she asked with biting sarcasm before continuing without softening her gaze. "If that is the case, perhaps I should demand

hearing that response, his warning voice barely above a whisper although

her, Ravyn, because if you do then

from Ravyn’s posture in a way that made him look as if he might collapse under the weight of humiliation pressing

mind as he realized