Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

Chapter 371 - I’m not stupid enough to throw it away

Oriana smiled, a sharp, satisfied little grin that lit up her whole face. For the first time since she’d stepped into the cabin, she felt like she’d finally gotten under Seraphine’s skin, and damn did it feel good. Why stop now when she was winning?

"Sera, you’re upset because you know I’m telling the truth," she said, leaning in like she’d already won the argument.

"No," Seraphine shot back instantly, her voice calm on the surface but carrying a dangerous edge that hadn’t been there before.

She’d been holding back this whole time purely out of respect for Voren, because this woman was his mother. But that patience was wearing razor-thin.

She rose slowly from her chair, ignoring the dull ache still throbbing through her body, and locked eyes with Oriana.

"Out of respect for Voren, I’ve been choosing my words so carefully. But you need to leave. Right now." The smile on Oriana’s face vanished. "Because if you keep pushing me like this, I might just forget that you’re about to be my mother-in-law."

For the first time, Oriana looked genuinely thrown off balance. The words hit her harder than she’d expected. "Mother-in-law?" Her brows knitted together in confusion. "Wait. You’re not actually planning to leave him?"

Seraphine almost told her the truth right then, about Esperanza, about all the things Oriana had no clue about, but she stopped herself. This woman was too bitter, too determined to get what she wanted.

a loaded weapon to someone already

she said, her voice softening just a touch with the memory. "But even before that spell broke, I fell in love with him all

tongue." Her voice dropped colder than ice. "Remember who

a heavy silence. "I already gave you a chance to walk out of here peacefully.

so hard Seraphine could see the muscle jump. Vladimir already warned her about Seraphine, that the woman was too clever, but Oriana thought she could break

you respect. But being older doesn’t give you the right to insult me

the movement full of defiance. "You don’t approve of my relationship with your son? That’s your problem, not mine. I don’t have any agreement with you,

that told women their worth

into us that our value depends on being chosen, that we need a man’s approval to feel like we matter. I

us. I don’t need love to survive... but

Seraphine said, simple, direct, and full of unshakable certainty. "If a powerful spell couldn’t keep us apart, then honestly..." She tilted her head, her gaze steady

perfect posture slipped for a second. Her irritation

play this, then I’ll make sure Athaliah spends plenty of time with Voren." A nasty, victorious smile spread across her face. "Let’s see how long he keeps pretending to love you once he

out laughing. Real, genuine laughter that echoed through the

her head. "Like how you tossed Jasmine

actually care about Voren’s happiness. You care about how it looks. You care about prestige and having the perfect Luna on his arm so you can parade her in front of