Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 278 – She’s my sister now. That’s enough for me

"I already told her." Corvine’s voice was easy, unbothered, the tone of someone who had long since made their peace with a thing. "And she looked me in the eye and told me she doesn’t feel that way about me."

The corner of his mouth lifted, something almost fond in it. "And unlike somebody in this room, I actually listened, accepted it, and moved on." He smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. "She’s my sister now. That’s enough for me."

Something unknotted in Voren’s chest without permission.

He had been carrying that particular worry around for longer than he wanted to admit, turning it over, looking at it from different angles.

The way Corvine was always there. Always the first call, the first presence, the one Seraphine actually relaxed around. It had sat in him like a splinter, small, invisible, consistently irritating.

He kept his face completely still. "Then there’s nothing left to discuss."

He turned toward the door but Corvine didn’t let him. "Voren."

Voren stopped but didn’t turn around.

"Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have unlimited time." Corvine’s voice was measured, no heat in it, which somehow made it land harder.

"She’s not the kind of woman who waits around while someone figures out whether she’s worth the risk." He paused deliberately for close to ten seconds before letting out the rest. "You have my support. But only if you can promise me one thing. That you won’t turn into your best friend."

The words hit the back of Voren’s neck like cold water.

stood there for a second, completely still. Corvine didn’t know everything. If he knew the full picture, the parts Voren had never said out loud to anyone, would he still be

he intended. "She

✧༺♥༻✧

in, several pages turned, a pen in her hand that she had clearly been using to mark things. She didn’t look

tapped the page with the pen. "That’s a significant gap for a document

down, settling into it with the kind of ease that came naturally to someone who had

His eyes moved over her face briefly. "Have you

and clean, every edge of warmth carefully tucked away.

name landed like

in slowly through his nose and let the air back out the

was exactly who she had been before any of this. Composed. Distant. Cold. Professionally cordial in a way that left no room for

existed, but he just hadn’t expected it to continue

else you need to go over," he said, his voice even, "I’ll get out of your

stop him. Didn’t even glance up

three steps from the door when her voice came, crisp and matter of fact, like an afterthought that wasn’t really an afterthought. "You don’t need to bring things like this

pressed together hard. "Noted." He pulled

expression exactly where he needed it to be. Only when the doors closed and he was alone did he let out a long, controlled breath toward the

years being aware of his own sharp edges, the way he ran

Seraphine had him entirely beaten. The woman could sit across from him with tears still faintly dried on her face from twenty minutes ago and look

kind of discipline that was almost impressive if it wasn’t also so thoroughly