Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0146

Hannah

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing on the nightstand. Squinting against the bright morning sunlight streaming through the window, I snatched it up and saw a text from Drake on the screen.

“Are you ready?”

A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I typed out a quick reply. “Of course. See you soon.”

I tossed back the covers and swung my legs over the side of the bed, suddenly filled with a renewed sense of energy. Despite the lingering morning sickness and exhaustion that plagued me these days, the prospect of our first day trying new foods was exciting to me.

This was just the next step in my eating disorder awareness campaign, anyway–which would boost my approval ratings greatly. Although, it was hard to think about that when I was just excited to try something

new.

A couple of hours later, I emerged from the bedroom, showered and dressed in a flowy dress that skimmed across my thighs. Noah was nowhere to be seen, likely still holed up and brooding over yesterday.

The thought of it made me smirk. Good; let him brood, Drake and I were just friends, but I didn’t mind making Noah squirm. 1

I grabbed my purse and headed for the front door. Sure enough, Drake was already waiting outside, leaning against his sleek sports car with a bright smile,

“Hey,” he said, pushing off the vehicle to greet me with a friendly hug. “You look lovely today.”

I felt my cheeks warm at the compliment. “Thank you, Drake. Shall we get going?”

With a sweeping gesture, Drake opened the passenger door for me before sliding behind the wheel. himself. As we pulled away from the house, he glanced over at me.

“So, I was thinking we could try that new experimental restaurant downtown today,” he said. “I checked. out the menu, and it looks fun.”

My stomach gave a little lurch at the mention of it, but plastered on a smile and nodded. “Sounds great.” The drive passed quickly, my mind racing with anxiety. Before I knew it, we were being shown to our table at the restaurant, right in the window. The other diners lifted their heads and murmured themselves at our entrance, which made me hold my chin a little higher.

amongst

at our table, I felt my shoulders beginning to slump. Each one was more bizarre and unappetizing than the last. Caviar, flavored foams, strange ingredients I couldn’t even begin to identify–it was all

comments whenever Drake’s expectant gaze landed on me. But by the time the final plate was cleared away, my stomach was roiling, and I was fighting back waves of

because he reached across

mine.

Chapter 040

+25 BONUS

are you alright?” he asked, his brow furrowed “You haven’t seemed to enjoy any of the

to reassure him, but the words caught in my throat. Instead, I simply shook my head, feeling tears of frustration prickling at

to love it all, but…”

in my voice.

squeezed my hand and offered

to apologize,” he said gently. “I should have realized that this kind of experimental food was too much to

me for a moment

“If you

one thing without

for a few seconds, and I found myself picturing it almost immediately: a big, juicy cheeseburger, the kind that made your fingers glisten with grease and left streaks of ketchup

one, with all the toppings and a heaping pile

the corners. “Say no

dip below the horizon. The place was so packed and bustling, the sounds of carnival games and laughter filling the air, that hardly anyone even

tucked away in a corner. Before I knew it, a greasy paper basket overflowing with food was being set in front

picked up the hefty burger, relishing the way the juice dribbled down my fingers.

an involuntary moan of pure

was messy, it was indulgent, it was everything

something so decadent in..

the only sounds were the crunch of fries and the occasional contented

boardwalk, and I barely even hesitated between bites. I wound up eating half of the burger, which was way