Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0208

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Chapter 0208

Hannah

After my dance with Drake, | made my way back to where my friends were gathered. Amber, Emma, and Viona

were huddled together with their heads bent, giggling about something that they were holding between them.

“What's so funny?” | asked as | approached.

Amber turned to me, and it was then that | saw how much her eyes seemed to be sparkling. “Oh, Hannah! You'll

never guess what happened!” Before | could even attempt a guess, Amber thrust out her left hand, revealing a

glittering diamond ring on her finger. “I'm engaged!”

“What?” | gasped, grabbing her hand to get a closer look at the expensive stone. “Amber, that’s amazing! When

did this happen?”

“Just now!” Amber squealed. “Jake pulledaside and got down on one knee right in the middle of the festival!”

Emma clapped her hands together. “It was so romantic. You should have seen it, Hannah!”

| felt a pang in my chest, wishing that | could have been there for my friend’s engagement rather than having to

schover catching my own husband cheating. But | pushed the feeling aside and plastered on a smile for my

friend's sake-and truly, | was happy for her.

“I'm so happy for you, Amber,” | said, pulling her into a tight hug. “Congratulations!”

As we fawned over Amber's ring and discussed potential wedding plans, however, | couldn't help but notice the

way that Viona was growing increasingly uncomfortable. She kept glancing over her shoulder, her eyes darting

around the room.

“Viona?” | asked quietly. “Is everything okay?”

She bit her lip, hesitating before answering. “It's Andrew. He keeps trying to talk to me, and I just... | can’t deal

with it right now. He kind of grossesout.”

| followed her gaze and spotted Andrew’s lanky frhovering nearby, his eyes unabashedly fixed on Viona.

When we looked, he quickly grinned and waved at us, causing us to snap our heads around and pretend we

hadn't seen him.

“Do you wantto say something to him?” | whispered.

Viona shook her head. “No, it's fine. | just wish he would take the hint and leavealone. But it seems that he

thinks an arranged marriage means that | don’t need personal space.”

| placed a hand on her arm. “You know I'm here for you, right? If you need any help or support with this whole

arranged marriage thing, just say the word.”

She gavea small smile. “Thanks, Hannah. | appreciate that... Oh, Goddess, here he comes.”

Turning, | saw Andrew approaching. | took a protective step in front of her, although she placed her hand on my

arm to stop me. “Viona,” he said, his voice hopeful. “Would you like to dance with me? Or perhaps | could buy

you an ice cream.”

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Chapter 0208

Viona’s shoulders tensed, and she jutted her chin out at him. “Andrew, I've already told you-"

“If we're to be engaged, then we should at least spend a little ttogether,” he insisted.

| could see the frustration building in Viona’s eyes. She looked at me, then back at Andrew. “I'm sorry, but I'm

not interested in talking right now. Or ever, really. Please respect that.”

Andrew’s face fell, but he didn’t back down. Pushing a stray brown curl away from his forehead, he said, ” Your

parents think we would be a good match, you know. Do you not agree?”

That seemed to be the last straw for Viona. She straightened up, her voice firm. “No, Andrew. | don’t agree. I'm

not interested in an arranged marriage, and that’s final.”

Without another word, she turned to us. “I'm sorry, guys. | think I'm going to head home. This is all just... too

much right now.”

“Of course,” | said, giving her a quick hug. “Textwhen you get home, okay?”

Viona nodded and made her way toward the exit, leaving Andrew standing in her wake with a bewildered look on

his face. | watched her go before | turned back to Andrew to give him a piece of my mind, but he was already

gone.

As | turned back to Amber and Emma, movement near one of the side rooms caught my eye. My heart dropped

as | saw Noah and Zoe emerging together, their heads close as they spoke to each other softly.

Bastard, | thought to myself, gritting my teeth.

Noah's eyes snapped up, instantly meeting mine across the crowded room as though he could sense my gaze.

He started pushing his way through the crowd, clearly trying to reach me, his jaw clenched and his eyes

narrowed.

| couldn’t face him. Not now, not after everything that had happened tonight. Turning to my friends, | quickly

said, “Amber, congratulations on your engagement. We should have a girls night soon. But unfortunately, | have

to go.”

Amber and Emma widened their eyes slightly. “Oh... Okay, Hannah. Goodnight.”

“Night.”

With that, | turned and headed for the exit, weaving through the throng of people to avoid Noah.

As | neared the door, however, | couldn’t help but pause by the Moon Goddess altar. The incense had been relit,

filling the air with a sweet, heady scent that drewin. For a moment, my footsteps faltered, and | found myself

standing in front of the altar with pursed lips.

Why? Why had the Moon Goddess givena second chance at life if things still had to be so... difficult this time

around? 2

Of course, the tiny clay statuette of the Moon Goddess stared back at me, silent and impassive. Her marbled

eyes seemed empty, her long hair lackluster. She wasn't in that statue. She probably wasn’t even listening.

Maybe she didn’t even exist and | had just hallucinated everything.

“Hannah!” | heard Noah's voice calling after me, snappingout of my reverie. | looked up to see him still

pushing through the crowd, and so, with a sigh, | turned away and hurried out into the corridor leading to my

bedroom.

Chapter 0209

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| practically ran back to my room, the sounds of the festival fading rapidly behind me. Once | was safely inside, |

took care to lock the door tightly-just in case Noah got any ideas about trying to talk to me. Although, | didn’t

hear him knock or try the handle, so supposed he had given up.

It was getting late and the festival was winding down anyway, so | went through the motions of getting ready for

bed, my mind replaying the events of the night. Noah and Zoe emerging from that room together... what had

they been doing? What were they talking about?

No. It didn’t matter. It only mattered that | collect proof of his cheating so | could use it during the divorce

proceedings.

As | was brushing my teeth a while later, long after the last guests had gone hand the sounds of the festival

had faded into silence, a faint sound caught my attention. | paused, listening closely and straining my ears past

the lively crickets. There it was again-someone calling my name.

Frowning, | moved to the window and pushed it open. The cool night air rushed in, carrying with it the

unmistakable sound of Viona’s voice coming from below.

“Hannah! Hannah, down here!”

| leaned out the window, squinting into the darkness. There, standing in the hedges below, was Viona

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