Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever

A man like him didn’t struggle for attention; if anything, women were the ones making the first move, trying to get his interest, trying to lock him down, yet none of that ever mattered to him because the only person he wanted had never once looked at him that way.

Then the little things started piling up.

Corvine had always been close to her, that much Leon could accept without overthinking it, but Voren stepping in so casually, bringing her coffee like he belonged in her space, that didn’t sit right with him at all.

And Leon wasn’t the type to sit back and watch something like that happen.

The flowers weren’t even part of the original plan. He had them ordered the moment things calmed down just enough for him to make a move.

Heads turned without hesitation, conversations paused for a second too long, and it wasn’t just the patients or visitors. Doctors, both junior and senior, had been stealing glances, their attention fixed on her in a way that was impossible to miss, including him.

”Sera,” he called out the moment she clocked out, just as she was about to leave with Corvine after all the emotional exchanges with the rescued victims.

She loved flowers, always had, even though there was a time when Santiago had taken it too far and practically filled her entire place with them.

He dropped down on one knee.

And everything froze. ”Sera,” Leon started, his voice steady but carrying an edge of urgency that hadn’t been there before.

Seraphine parted her lips like she was about to say something, but nothing came out.

Phones were raised, Cameras were on, and every second that passed made it worse.

Off to the side, Corvine’s expression had gone completely grim, his eyes locked on Seraphine like she already knew this wasn’t going to end smoothly.

All she could think about was how different things would have been if Leon had done this somewhere private, somewhere quiet where she could actually breathe and respond without a hundred eyes on her, without the weight of expectations pressing down on her from every direction.

Leon wasn’t just any man. He was her director, someone people respected, someone people looked up to, and rejecting him right here, in front of everyone, wasn’t just about the two of them. It would leave a mark, create whispers, turn into something bigger than it needed to be.

Something he couldn’t understand.

On the surface, sure, they could look perfect together, but underneath all of that, there was too much he didn’t know, too much he might never understand.

Just thinking about it made her chest tighten, the weight of everything pressing down on her all over again. That part of her life wasn’t something she could just ignore or hide forever, and if Leon ever found out, it would be overwhelming for him in ways she couldn’t even begin to measure.

And yet, standing there, surrounded by people, with cameras capturing every second and Leon waiting for an answer, there was one thing she couldn’t ignore.

What was she supposed to do?