Alpha's Regret: Losing His True Mate-Chapter 196

"Okay..." Yancy said, stepping into the elevator.

Elodie and Old Madam Miller walked out of the hospital. They’d just reached their car when Elodie spotted movement from the corner of her eye.

Sienna, stepping out of a car parked a few spots away.

Old Madam Miller glanced over, then quickly looked away. "So they haven’t left yet."

Elodie had thought Grandma hadn’t noticed Sienna earlier. Turns out she had. She’d just chosen not to say anything.

Elodie watched Dante walking toward Sienna and thought back to how long he’d been gone earlier. Half an hour, at least. He’d probably spent that whole time down here with her.

She let out a quiet breath but didn’t say anything and just helped Grandma into the car, buckled her seatbelt, and started the engine.

As they were pulling out, Elodie caught sight of Yancy bursting out of the hospital entrance. He looked surprised and then thrilled when he spotted Sienna. He took off running toward her.

Elodie glanced at him briefly, then turned her attention back to the road and drove off.

---

"Big brother!" Yancy called out to Dante, though his eyes were glued to Sienna. "Wait! You... You really are*CC! I... I thought I was seeing things!"

Sienna had heard about Dante’s younger brother but had never actually met him. Now, watching him practically vibrate with excitement, she couldn’t help but smile.

Before she could say anything, Yancy kept going, words tumbling out faster and faster.

"CC, hi! I’m your fan! I went to your match a few weeks ago, the one where you overtook that guy at 3:03 on the hairpin turn? That was insane! I’ve watched the video like a hundred times and I still can’t get over it!"

He was mid-sentence when he noticed Dante raising an eyebrow at him.

Yancy froze. Then his brain caught up.

"Wait, wait a minute... Big brother, do you know my goddess?"

Dante didn’t answer directly. Just asked, "Is that a problem?"

Yancy blinked. "Uh, no. No problem. None at all."

It wasn’t that surprising, really. Dante had connections everywhere. Of course he’d know someone as famous as CC.

Dante’s tone shifted. "Why are you still down here? It’s late."

Yancy smacked his forehead. "Oh crap, I forgot something! I almost left without it!"

He checked his phone and his eyes went wide. "Oh my God, it’s already this late?"

He started jogging back toward his car, still talking over his shoulder. "Big brother, goddess, I gotta go—"

Then he stopped. Spun around. His face flushed slightly as he looked at Sienna, eyes bright and hopeful.

"Uh, goddess... can I have your phone number?"

Before Sienna could respond, he rushed to add, "I swear I won’t bother you! I promise!"

Sienna laughed. "Sure."

Yancy practically jumped. He whipped out his phone and added her contact info with shaking hands.

Just as he was about to leave again, he remembered something else and turned back.

"Wait, wait! Can I get your autograph?"

"Of course, but you—"

Dante cut in smoothly. "Go on. I’ll bring the autograph to you at the old house later."

Yancy’s grin could’ve lit up the whole parking lot. "Thanks, big brother!"

He waved and took off running.

Dante rarely indulged Yancy’s fanboy tendencies. But he’d agreed so easily this time... probably because Sienna was someone he respected. Someone he thought was worth admiring.

Yancy had expected his brother to brush him off or tell him to grow up. But today? Dante had been surprisingly cool about it.

He hadn’t expected Dante to say yes so quickly.

But then again, CC was Dante’s friend. Someone he clearly thought highly of. Someone he believed was worthy of admiration.

That had to be why, right?

———————

Elodie’s POV ~

I’d barely left the hospital parking lot when Grandma suddenly spoke up.

"Dante came to the hospital. But where’s Liora? What did he do with her?"

Before I could answer, her expression darkened.

I could tell exactly what she was thinking. She was furious that Dante had left Liora somewhere so he could run off to the hospital with Sienna instead.

"He’ll handle it," I said quietly.

Grandma didn’t look convinced. "If he keeps this up, Mag, you need to file a lawsuit. I don’t care what it takes, you have to get custody of that child."

I paused, then answered calmly. "Alright, granny."

Grandma was still fuming.

When we got back to the house, she got out of the car first, practically stomping up the driveway.

That’s when my phone rang.

And I saw it was Liora. I stared at the screen but didn’t pick up.

Maybe it was because I’d spent so little time with her these past few months. Maybe it was because I’d ignored so many of her calls. But I could feel it, that she was clingier now than she’d ever been. Like she was trying to go back to the way things were when it was just the two of us.

When I was the only one taking care of her.

My phone rang again.

I glanced at it. Still didn’t answer.

Instead, I turned it off completely and headed inside to join everyone for dinner.

But the second I sat down at the table, the house phone rang.

I knew immediately who it was.

I stood up fast. "I’ll get it."

I hurried out of the dining room before anyone could say anything.

Sure enough, it was Liora.

"Mom!" she said, bright and happy the second she heard my voice.

"Hey, sweetheart. Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet," she said, her tone turning a little pouty. "Mom, are you at Grandma’s house? I wanna come over. Can we eat together?"

Grandma must’ve heard me talking because she got up from the table and walked over.

"Is that Liora?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Does she miss you?" Grandma set down her napkin. "If she wants to come, call Dante and have someone bring her over. We’ll save her a plate."

I sighed. "...Understood."

I turned back to the phone. "Alright, you can come over."

"Yay!"

Before she could hang up, I added quickly, "Make sure you tell your dad before you leave."

"Okay!"

---

The Miller family wanted to wait until Liora got there before finishing dinner.

I told them not to bother. They should just eat.

About an hour later, the doorbell rang.

I opened it, and there she was.

Liora practically launched herself at me. "Mom! I’m here!"

"Yeah." I crouched down and straightened her jacket. "Let me heat up your food."

"Okay!"

Liora set down her little backpack and tablet and followed me into the kitchen.

Uncle Jason and his wife had already left to take Xavier and the others to school. Grandma was still home, though.

Seeing Liora stick to me like a shadow, Grandma smiled, clearly delighted, and didn’t interrupt. Just let us have our moment.

I told Liora to wait outside.

She obediently sat down at the dining table while I reheated her food.

Liora was a picky eater. Always had been. And reheated food never tasted as good as something fresh. But today, she didn’t complain once. Just ate happily, like it was the best meal she’d had all week.

Between bites, she started telling me a story. "Mom, today I went out with Uncle Harry and Daisy."

"Mm."

She paused, like she suddenly realized I might not know who Daisy was. "Daisy’s my friend. She calls him Uncle Harry."

"Mm." I could tell she was excited to share, so I asked, "What did you guys do?"

"We went to this huge maze! It was so fun!"

"Mm."

I kept my tone neutral, just listening. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grandma’s expression darken. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I knew exactly what she was thinking.

When Dante had taken Liora back, Grandma had assumed he’d actually take care of her himself. But now it was clear—he wasn’t. He was too wrapped up with Sienna. So instead of letting *me* spend time with Liora, he was handing her off to other people.

Grandma’s jaw tightened.

Liora had no idea what was going through Grandma’s head. She just kept talking.

"Uncle Harry invited me to have dinner with them, but I wanted to come back and eat with you, so I called."

"Mm."

I asked gently, "Did you thank Uncle Harry?"

"I did!" she said proudly.

I didn’t ask anything else.

After she finished eating, Liora stayed in the living room with me and Grandma.

Grandma sat down next to her and smiled. "Would you like to stay at Grandma’s house a little longer?"

Before I could say anything, Liora’s face lit up. "Yeah!"

Grandma’s smile widened. "Good. Since you agreed, you can’t back out. You’ll stay at least a week."

"Okay!"

I frowned.

Grandma looked thrilled. She reached over and patted Liora’s hand affectionately.

While Liora was busy playing a game on her tablet, Grandma turned to me.

"A child you raised is different," she said quietly. "No matter what, Liora still clings to you."

I just smiled and didn’t say anything.

Liora looked up from her game and tugged on my sleeve. "Mom, play with me!"

I looked at her carefully. "Are you sure?"

I had a feeling she was agreeing too easily. That in two or three days, she’d regret it and want to go back to Dante and Sienna.

Liora didn’t catch on at first.

Then, two seconds later, it clicked. She understood what I meant.

"Of course I’m sure! I already promised Grandma."