Alpha's Regret: The Seventh Time was Forever novel Chapter 582

Chapter 582: Chapter 582 – I think we’ve got an idea

With Voren standing right there in front of her, Athaliah figured it had to be Sera who’d shown up this time. But then Bryan and Esperanza came into view, and every bit of the fury and crushing disappointment she’d been carrying around just melted away on the spot.

"Bryan, Espe!" She rushed straight over and pulled both of them into her arms at once.

"Aunt Liah, we missed you," Bryan and Espe chorused together, their little voices full of pure relief.

Warmth flooded through Athaliah’s chest as she scooped them both up and held them tight. Her eyes drifted past them a second later and landed on the red-haired woman standing off to the side.

"Jasmine."

She barely got the name out before the one person she’d been aching to see pushed his way through everyone standing between them.

Athaliah’s eyes lit up the second she spotted him. "Corvine!"

Still holding both kids, she hurried straight toward him and practically crashed into his chest, burying her face against him like she’d been holding her breath for days.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

She couldn’t even pinpoint the exact moment Corvine had become this important to her, but just having him there filled up every empty, exhausted place inside her heart with the kind of steady warmth she’d been desperate for.

Seraphine and Voren stepped forward at the same time and gently took Bryan and Esperanza from her arms.

The second her hands were free, Athaliah pulled back just enough to look up at Corvine’s face, then wrapped her arms around him all over again, holding on even tighter this time.

Corvine’s own emotions were a complete mess. Liah had left in such high spirits, but looking at her now made it painfully clear that the last few days had worn her down hard.

Dark circles sat under her beautiful eyes, and the front of her shirt was still damp from the tears she hadn’t quite managed to stop.

"I thought I could handle everything on my own," she whispered, her voice cracking as she clung to him, "but I gave it all up. I just couldn’t accept their conditions."

Voren watched the two of them with growing curiosity before turning toward Elodie.

"Can you ask everyone to give us a minute?"

As Elodie started speaking to the crew in French, questions started flying from every direction.

"Is it really off?"

"Should we go?"

Voren didn’t understand enough French to follow the back-and-forth, so Elodie turned and filled him in.

"She already told them we’re calling the whole show off."

Voren’s brow furrowed. He knew exactly how much this show meant to Liah. He’d been one of her biggest patrons from the start, even if he’d always dealt with Elodie directly. For Corvine’s sake, he wanted to step in and help however he could.

"Why?"

"No agency will work with us anymore, and our latest designs got hijacked by the mafia."

Voren’s expression hardened instantly. Something about this whole situation was clearly off.

"Has anyone come to see her?" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Elodie. "I don’t know if you catch what I’m getting at."

"Of course, I brought it."

Athaliah’s eyes brightened. "Great. Instead of the show, I can launch the software. I’ve already got the designs on my phone, but can you transfer them into the program?"

That was the technical part Corvine couldn’t handle on his own. He was just about to turn to Seraphine for help when she beat him to it.

"I’m right here, Liah. I’ll take care of everything with the software."

Voren, though, still wasn’t happy about Athaliah calling off the fashion show. The guests were coming for a runway presentation, not a software launch.

Canceling at the last minute and swapping it out for something completely different would still leave her dealing with a wave of backlash.

"But Athaliah, you still can’t just cancel the fashion show. You need to host it if you want to keep the guests interested long enough to launch the software afterward."

Athaliah looked up at him, feeling completely stuck. "Mr—"

"Just call me Voren." His sharp tone cut right through her words. The formalities clearly rubbed him the wrong way.

Athaliah didn’t even think about arguing. There were far more important things on the table right now.

"Okay, Voren, but in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve only got five models on my payroll, and I need at least twenty."

Voren frowned and leaned in close to Seraphine, whispering something against her ear. Her eyes lit up immediately. She glanced over at Corvine, then at Jasmine, and a slow smile spread across her face.

"I think we’ve got an idea."