Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 325: Esperanza answers questions on a full stomach

Voren was the first to snap out of the stunned silence. He hadn’t been around for the full story, so even though he was missing some of the bigger pieces, the little girl’s words still hit him like a truck.

"Espe, what are you talking about?" he asked, his voice staying as steady and calm as it always did. But the look in his eyes gave him away completely—he was totally thrown.

Esperanza studied him for a long moment with those big innocent blue eyes of hers. "Daddy, will you believe me?" she asked, her gaze locking onto his face, full of hope mixed with that little bit of uncertainty.

The question landed harder on Voren than he would’ve expected.

Just last night she’d shut down when he’d tried asking her stuff, but now here she was, ready to open up if she trusted them enough. How the hell was he supposed to say no to that?

He softened his expression and leaned in a little closer. "Let’s pretend for a second that everything you’re saying isn’t just some crazy dream," he said, his eyes flicking quickly over to Corvine before settling back on her. "Let’s say it’s all real. How do you know him?"

Esperanza immediately tightened her little arms around Corvine’s neck in this instinctive, protective way.

Her small fingers curled into his shirt as she kept looking back and forth between both of her parents. "He was supposed to kill me," she said simply.

The whole room went dead quiet. Even Seraphine held her breath for a second.

But Esperanza stayed perfectly calm and kept going. "But he gave me to that woman instead." Her brows pulled together a little, like she was digging through her memories to get every detail right. "And that woman gave him a goat to slaughter."

silence that dropped after that felt even heavier than before. Corvine’s chest tightened up, his heart hammering away as the pieces clicked into place.

a hand through his hair, trying to wrap his head around it all. "I remember it," he said, his voice sounding far away. "It was weird seeing

went back to Esperanza. The little girl looked way too sure of herself, way too

his throat because there was really

took a few deep breaths, her mind racing with about a hundred different

she actually remember from back then? And why did she seem so connected to things that happened long before she should’ve

on something normal and straightforward. "I’ll whip up those pancakes

making breakfast for you," he pointed out, watching her every move. "You really gotta cook

her, and the last thing he wanted was

his voice and kept gathering ingredients.

the issue, a pair of

staring

was carrying her on his hip, she had full access and wasn’t shy about using it. The whole thing was so unexpected he almost laughed out

at me,"

face stayed completely serious. "Esperanza answers questions on a

said anything. Then Corvine just stared at her like she’d just crowned herself queen of the whole house. The tiny girl didn’t look embarrassed or

How was anyone supposed to resist her?

for food," she said, leaning against the counter with a big grin. "Most days I have to practically beg her to eat

the house. Voren started heading toward the front door on instinct, but Jasmine stopped

she hurried out of the kitchen. The rest of