Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 133 – Can we give it a try?

Saturday night settled over the city like a slow exhale, and by the time Sera stepped out of the hospital, every muscle in her body carried the weight of a long shift that refused to loosen its grip.

She pushed through the glass doors with a quiet breath, already running through what she needed to do next, her mind fixed on the date waiting ahead, on Augustine, and the strange mix of anticipation and restraint tightening somewhere deep in her chest.

She barely made it halfway across the parking lot before Leon stepped into her path, cutting her off with a timing that felt a little too intentional to be coincidence.

"Sera," he said, his voice lighter than usual, almost casual, "I’m off duty too. How about we grab dinner together?"

She paused, and for a second, her expression softened into something polite but tired, the kind of smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

The agreement of their so-called fake date hovered between them, unspoken but very much alive, tangled up with everything that had gone down at Bohemian Groove. Neither of them had brought it up again, as if ignoring it would somehow erase the awkwardness, but the silence had only made it heavier.

Ending it outright had crossed her mind more than once, but every time she thought about it, something held her back.

It wasn’t about Leon, but the optics, about how easily people would connect the dots if she suddenly broke that agreement. Seraphine was not ready for how quickly whispers would spread that she had used him as a steppingstone to get into the sovereign circle.

That kind of attention was the last thing she needed. "I’m sorry," she said, her tone gentle but firm, "I’ve got plans tonight. Maybe another time."

disappointment flickered across Leon’s face before he covered it with a practiced smile that almost

he said, nodding like it didn’t bother him, even though it clearly

had this switch, this unsettling ability to slide from composed, professional doctor to something else entirely something more

not in his typical professional mood. The bad boy vibe. That version of him

didn’t question him, didn’t give herself time to overthink it. "Okay, next week," she agreed, her voice steady as she stepped around him, creating distance before he

after that, slipping into the car where Corvine was

hour later, the hospital felt like a distant

washed away the physical exhaustion, but the mental tension lingered, curling quietly at the edges of her thoughts as she

in design but striking in the way it hugged her form without trying too hard, paired

alone, if only to have a moment that felt entirely hers, but Corvine hadn’t even entertained the idea. He insisted on driving her, and staying close, like waiting in the car no

something richer, and Augustine was

immediately, his presence filling the space with an ease

and there was something about

hesitation, pulling out her chair with a quiet, practiced gesture

something, it told him this wasn’t just another casual outing, that she had put thought into it,