Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth by Aurora Starling

Chapter 0189

Hannah

6

+25 BONUS

The second I entered the private restaurant, my eyes were already scanning the room critically. Everything had to be perfect for Drake and Zoe’s date–everything. Not even saying a word to the hostess, I moved swiftly to the table in the corner and began nervously smoothing out the white tablecloth, rearranging the candles, and primping the flowers.

“Hannah?” Drake’s voice startled me as he entered. “You got here early.”

I didn’t even bother to look up, keeping my gaze focused on preening the pretty pink rose petals in the vase. “Just making sure everything’s ready,” I replied. “You’re early too.”

Drake nodded as he stopped in front of me, and upon a brief glance I could see his eyes darting around nervously despite his handsome appearance. “Yeah, I… I wanted to thank you again for setting this up. I know it wasn’t easy.”

A pang of guilt twisted in my stomach. “So, um… About that,” I began, biting my lip. “I sort of had to tell Zoe that I had a business proposition for her. It was the only way to get her here.”

Drake’s eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “She’s been looking for a job, I guess. I don’t know… it was the only thing I could think of that would guarantee she would show up.” It was true; I had considered everything. Unless Noah was in the picture, which he obviously couldn’t be for something like this, I was certain that Zoe would have said no to an invitation to meet me for dinner.

“Hannah,” Drake groaned rubbing his hand over his face, “that’s… that’s not good. She’s going to be furious.”

“I know, I know,” I said quickly. “I feel terrible about it. But I promised I’d help you, and… well, this was the best I could do in the amount of time I had.”

Drake was quiet for a moment, then he nodded and smoothed down the front of his suit. “Okay. Well, if she gets angry, I won’t let you take the blame. I’ll tell her it was all my idea.”

much better. If one of us went down, then both of us surely would. I doubted that Zoe would discriminate with her ire when it came

tense silence for a while for Zoe to arrive. I kept myself busy by unnecessarily rearranging things, while Drake paced back and forth, clutching a single rose in his hand and repeatedly smoothing his hair in the window’s reflection.

bringing her to us. Stopping a few feet away, Zoe looked confused for a moment, her eyes darting back

going on?” she asked haltingly,

offering Zoe the rose. “Zoe,” he

Chapter 0189

+25 BONUS

slits. She looked from Drake to me, her face

at me. “You lied to me,

my hands out in a placating gesture. “Zoe, Drake has been dying for a date

have to stay if you don’t want

talk of understanding my situation? After promising me that you would stay out

no words would come out. Not that Zoe waited for an answer, anyway; she was already turning back to Drake

up between them. “I told you that I’m not interested, time and time again. Who the hell do you think you are?” She paused, her

the rose to the ground and stomped on it, grinding it beneath her heel. Drake

but she was already storming out of the

before I nodded at him and he bolted after her. “Zoe,

their dining, their eyes turning to me. I sank into the nearest chair,

that went spectacularly,” I muttered under my

a while, replaying the disaster in my mind. Eventually, I pulled myself together and left, climbing back into my waiting car and instructing the driver to take me home–home, where I could finally, blissfully, sink into a hot bath and shut myself off from the

and quiet. I kicked off my shoes with a sigh of relief, my aching from the heels

feet

after helping Noah the night before and spending the day curating the perfect blind date for Drake