Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth

No angle, I thought bitterly, fighting the sting of shameful tears burning at the backs of my eyes. No, not an angle at all, except an attempted coverup, For one fleeting, foolish instant, I had actually allowed myself to believe that Noah was trying. That maybe, just maybe, he wanted to rekindle whatever spark had burned so bright between us once upon time. That the fiery passion in his eyes when he had kissed me might have been real. But of course it wasn't. Of course not. I was a fool.

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It was nothing more than a desperate ploy to sweep our marital problems back under the rug, to preserve a unified front for the sake of appearances. Politics and posturing, as always.

And I had fallen for it, dangling helplessly from the gossamer threads of hope like a lovesick moron.

"1 see," I finally muttered, the words feeling like shards of broken glass in my throat. I shifted my gaze to straight ahead, unable to even look at the man beside me any longer. "Well, thank you for the dress and the lovely evening out, Noah, I appreciate you taking the time to put on such a convincing act, even it was just for show." Out of my peripheral vision, I saw Noah flinch almost imperceptibly at that.

Tell me one thing, though?" I asked, swiveling my head to pin him with a level stare. "That promise you made on our wedding night about always loving me was that a lie, too? Or were you just a better actor back then?"

Noah's expression went utterly, painfully blank at that. For an endless moment, the car was utterly silent not even the engine seemed to make a sound. I was grateful for the partition keeping our conversation private from the driver, because he probably would have been holding his breath, too. Then, Noah swallowed.

"Hannah.." His voice was low, scratchy, almost pained

But I didn't let him finish.

"Never mind," I said, waving a hand dismissively as I turned to look back out the window. "I don't want to

know."

We spent the rest of the drive in uneasy silence, neither of us daring to speak. Although, I don't think either of us had anything to say at all.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the wrought iron gates of the mansion came into view. I let out a small breath of relief when I saw the familiar rusty red cupolas and the thick green ivy climbing the bricksContent is © by NôvelDrama.Org.

Goddess, when we got divorced, I would miss this house. It was always quite pretty.

The car rolled to a stop at the top of the pebbled driveway, and I reached for the door handle without hesitation.

"I think you should stay in your office tonight," I stated flatly, not even bothering to look in Noah's direction as I shoved the door open and stepped out onto the driveway. "I want the house to myself."

Noah didn't respond, not that I expected him to.

Only once Noah had given the brusque order for the driver to pull away did I turn on my heel, heading for the front door. But I stopped when I heard his voice call after me. "Hannah."

I froze, feeling my hands clench at my sides. My eyes closed almost involuntarily, and for a moment-just a moment-l almost imagined him jumping out of the car and running to me, taking me into his arms and kissing me there, I imagined him telling me that he always loved me, that he always would, that his promise had been true.

But he didn't.

I turned, slowly, and opened my eyes. He was holding my clutch out the window with a stony expression on his face. 1

"You forgot this."