Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever novel Chapter 260

Chapter 260: Chapter 260 – Is there any part of you that wants Seraphine back?

"How can you say that?" Ravyn’s voice came out harder than he intended, the hurt underneath it pushing through. "You’ve known me my whole life. You think I’d let someone manipulate me that badly?"

"I think," Voren said quietly, "that it’s a lot easier to miss when you love someone."

Ravyn turned away from him. A muscle in his jaw worked steadily, the way it did when he was holding something in by force. "I know she’s not perfect." His voice dropped.

"I know she lies. I know the jealousy is a problem. But she’s Bryan’s mother, Voren. She gave me my heir." He pulled in a slow breath. "She can be better. I’ll work with her on it."

Voren looked at him for a long moment. There was no argument left worth making, not today, not while Ravyn was standing inside it. Some things a person had to walk out of on their own. You couldn’t drag them.

He pushed off the railing and asked it anyway, the question he’d been turning over in the back of his mind since the moment he’d arrived at this packhouse and watched Ravyn’s eyes track across a room to find her.

"One last thing." He kept his voice even. "And I’m only asking this once." He looked at his oldest friend straight on. "Is there any part of you that wants Seraphine back?"

Ravyn was quiet for a moment. Not the uncomfortable kind of quiet, but the kind that meant he was actually thinking, turning the question over, looking at it from different angles.

And then something settled in his face. Like he’d found the answer right where it had always been sitting.

"Voren." His voice came out almost tired. "We’ve known each other since we were kids." He turned to look at him fully. "You really want to ask me that question?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Voren said nothing.

"You remember what you used to do for me?" The corner of Ravyn’s mouth moved, but it wasn’t quite a smile. "My parents would send me to check on her and I’d pull you aside and dress you up in my clothes, same colors, same everything, just so you’d be the one stuck playing with her while I disappeared."

Voren’s fingers curled slowly at his sides.

He remembered. He’d spent a long time actively choosing not to remember, but he remembered every single time. He also remembered that when it was all over, when the day ended and the adults came back, Seraphine would run to Ravyn.

Would talk about Ravyn. Would laugh about something Ravyn had supposedly said or done, not knowing, never knowing, that the boy she’d spent the whole afternoon with wasn’t Ravyn at all.

He’d never corrected her, and neither had Ravyn.

"What does that have to do with anything?" His voice came out flatter than he intended.

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