Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever novel Chapter 342

Chapter 342: Chapter 342 - Her having my last name changes everything

The helicopter touched down and Voren was already out the door before the blades even slowed, his driver right there waiting exactly like he’d been told.

He’d double-checked before landing that Desmond and Nessa were home. He didn’t pull surprise visits, especially not for something this heavy.

The Stone mansion sat there like old money always does, quiet, rock-solid, completely unbothered by the chaos of the city swirling around it.

Voren had been in places like this his whole life and never once felt the need to impress them. But walking up to that door tonight felt completely different. He wasn’t showing up as some alpha throwing his weight around. He was coming as a man who owed them something real.

He rang the bell and waited, heart pounding harder than he wanted to admit.

Desmond answered the door himself, looking at Voren like he was trying to figure out what category this guy even fell into, not hostile, but definitely guarded, sizing him up.

"Alpha Voren." His voice stayed even, revealing nothing. "What brings you here?"

Voren had the gifts ready. He had everything planned, and he wasn’t skipping any steps. Desmond took them without a word, stepped back, and let him inside.

Nessa came out from the sitting room, her face carrying that same careful, neutral mask as her husband’s. Whatever storm was going on in their heads, they weren’t letting it show yet.

Voren didn’t sit down right away. He stood right there in the middle of the room and let out a long breath, chest tight.

"First off, I need to apologize." He looked Desmond dead in the eyes, because this kind of thing only worked face-to-face with no bullshit.

"I turned investors against you and used my position to make everything harder for you and your business, and I did it all for Ravyn." His jaw clenched hard at his own words. Saying Ravyn’s name out loud here made the whole mess taste even more bitter.

"I let someone who never deserved my loyalty use me. And you two paid the price. I can’t fix that by pretending it never happened, so I’m here to own it straight to your faces."

The whole room went dead quiet, tension thick enough to choke on.

Desmond and Nessa shot each other one quick look, the kind of glance couples give after years together when they can have entire conversations without saying a word.

Then Desmond turned back to Voren, and some of the stiffness in his shoulders finally eased up.

"No need for all that." His voice softened, losing some of that formal edge. "Seraphine had our backs the whole time. We actually came out stronger than before."

The corner of his mouth twitched with something almost like dark amusement. "Truth is, that hit forced us to fix things we’d been dragging our feet on for years. It ended up being a good thing."

He glanced toward the door like he half-expected someone to walk in. "Didn’t see Seraphine this morning though. These kids are always too busy." The warmth in his voice was clear, the affection of a man who’d accepted her as his own.

That one hit Voren like a punch straight to the chest. Guilt sliced through him, sharp and clean, twisting deep.

"Actually," Voren coughed, voice low, "that’s the other reason I’m here."

He finally sat down because what he had to say next wasn’t the kind of thing you dropped while standing. Desmond dropped into the chair across from him. Nessa stayed on her feet a second longer, reading the heavy vibe in the room, then settled right beside her husband.

Voren started from the very beginning.

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