Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 119

POV: Damian

The neutral city of Argentis was a gleaming jewel of glass and steel, a city built on the sacred tenets of impartiality and commerce. It was the perfect stage for the drama I had meticulously planned. I had arrived two days before the hearing was scheduled to begin, securing the most opulent suite at the Citadel Grand Hotel, ensuring my presence was known to everyone who mattered.

And, of course, I had brought Sylvie.

She was ecstatic, viewing this as our first official trip as a power couple. She was a whirlwind of excitement, flitting between wardrobe fittings and meetings with social planners. I encouraged it. I wanted her happy, radiant, and utterly convinced of her own importance. She was a crucial prop, and she needed to be polished to a high shine.

While she occupied herself with the trivialities, I prepared for the real battle. My legal team was the best money could buy, but I knew this hearing would not be won on legal merits. It would be won or lost before we ever entered the arbitration chamber. It would be won in a hallway, a restaurant, a chance encounter. It would be won the moment Seraphina laid eyes on me, happy and thriving with my new love, and was forced to confront the reality of what she had thrown away.

My plan was simple. Tonight, the night before the hearing, I would host an informal gathering for a few of our key alliance partners in the hotel's exclusive executive lounge. It was a perfectly plausible business event. It was also, not coincidentally, directly adjacent to the suites reserved for the Vance Capital delegation. Sooner or later, she would have to pass by.

I coached Sylvie meticulously. "Smile, but not too widely. Look at me with adoration, but not with desperation. You are the confident, cherished mate of an Alpha. You are her replacement. You are her superior. Let her see it in your every gesture."

She drank it all in, her eyes shining. She had no idea she was being positioned like a piece of artillery.

I looked towards the entrance.

And there she was.

She was walking beside Killian Vance, deep in conversation with a man who was clearly her lead counsel. She wasn't dressed for a gala, but in a sharply tailored black pantsuit that was more intimidating than any gown. Her silver hair was pulled back in a severe, elegant knot at the nape of her neck.

She looked up, her conversation ending as she took in the room. Her eyes, cool and grey as a winter sea, swept across the crowd, and for a heart-stopping second, they locked with mine.