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."

a split second, disappointment flickered across Leon’s face before he covered it with

it clearly

quiet unease. Leon had always had this switch, this unsettling ability to slide from composed, professional doctor to something else entirely something more reckless, wrapped in charm that felt just a

when Leon was not in his typical professional mood. The bad boy vibe. That version of him was the one she

herself time to overthink it. "Okay, next week,"

where Corvine was already waiting, his presence

the hospital felt like a distant

physical exhaustion, but the

her form without trying too hard, paired with matching accessories that caught the light just

but Corvine hadn’t even entertained the idea.

the time she arrived at the venue, the city lights had deepened into something richer, and Augustine was already there, standing as she entered the private room

space with an ease that

white shirt beneath it sharp against his skin, and there was something

pulling out her chair with a quiet, practiced gesture that spoke of

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