Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 167 – Unlike you, I have a conscience

Seraphine stilled the instant his words settled in, her body going tense for a brief moment before she slowly turned back to face him again, her expression tightening as something more complicated stirred within her.

Zane’s question lingered longer than she wanted it to, pressing against thoughts she usually kept locked away, because the truth was never as simple as she preferred it to be.

Everything he had done, the way he treated women, the pain he left behind without a second thought, it all stood clearly in her mind, and although some of those women had made choices that led them into those situations, it did not justify what he had done to them, and there had always been a quiet part of her, buried beneath discipline and control, that wanted justice on their behalf.

However, none of that had ever come before her profession, and it never would.

Her gaze hardened as it fixed on him, her voice cutting through the space between them with controlled intensity. "I knew from the very moment I walked in there that he was your father because the resemblance was obvious, and it was not something anyone in my position would overlook."

She took a slow step closer, not enough to invade his space but enough to make the weight of her presence more noticeable, her tone dropping just slightly as she continued.

"But unlike you, I have a conscience, and that is something you should be grateful for because it is the only reason I chose to remain professional in that situation."

There was no softness in her delivery, no attempt to ease the sharp edge of her words, as she made it clear that her decision had nothing to do with him and everything to do with who she was.

Without waiting for a response, she turned once more and began to walk away, each step steady and purposeful as she tried to put an end to the conversation entirely.

Before she could create enough distance, his voice came from behind her again, firm enough to make her pause even though she had no intention of entertaining him further.

am willing to return

but because something in his tone caught her attention, prompting her to turn back again

but carrying a level of scrutiny that made it clear she was already thinking beyond the surface

exactly what kind of man Zane was, not just reckless or cruel, but skilled, resourceful, and capable in ways that could either create chaos or be redirected into something useful depending on who guided him, and if she could gain his loyalty while forcing

I need time, because I want to wait until my father has

quiet firmness as he continued, making it

I will do anything you ask

with the severity of his condition, and when he first received the news, it felt as though everything around him had collapsed,

and although he understood that death was something no one could escape forever, he was not ready to face that reality yet, not when he still wanted more time with the man who had given him

observed him in silence for a moment, weighing his words and the conviction behind them before she finally spoke again, her tone returning to that calm, controlled

not work with criminals under any circumstances, and if you want this arrangement to happen, then you will have to clean up everything connected to

his firmly, making sure he understood the weight of what she was

"That means every trace."

you are willing to compensate me properly, provide a decent place for

only a straightforward acknowledgment of his value, as he spoke

she said without pause, her response immediate and final as if the decision

something more strategic settled into