Alpha's Regret After Her Rebirth

Chapter 0048 Hannah

Viona and I stepped out of the nail salon, freshly manicured and ready to take on the world-or at the very least, a tedious dinner engagement with my soon-to-be ex-husband and his would-be mistress. "That color looks perfect on you," Viona said, admiring her glossy pink nails as we strolled down the street. "And they're so... long."

I hummed in agreement as I admired my own nails. I usually kept my nails clipped relatively short with nude or pink polish, but lately... that just didn't feel like me anymore. This time, I had gone for deep crimson, almond-shaped acrylics. And I was glad I did. As we passed by a shop window, something vibrant caught my eye, making me pause. It was a deep emerald green mini dress, not too short and not too long, with long sleeves and a square neckline and a fitted skirt. Perfect for dinner. "Oh, that's gorgeous," Viona breathed, immediately stopping in her tracks to admire the dress with me. You should try it on."

"You really think so?" I frowned, biting my lip as my eyes caught my reflection in the window-still skinny as hell, despite my recent attempts to eat more. "I doubt they'll even have it in the right size."

Viona shot me an incredulous look over her shoulder, already making her way toward the door. "There's no harm in trying it, right?" she asked. "And besides, the whole reason we went out today is so you can look your best tonight."

At the mention of tonight, a tiny tendril of dread unfurled in my chest. Tonight, I would be going out to dinner with Noah, Zoe, and Drake. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, but... Viona was right. I did want to look my best. "Alright. I'll try it on." Squaring my shoulders, I followed Viona into the boutique, the cheerful tinkling of the door chime ringing in my ears.

Once inside, Viona made a beeline for the emerald dress, plucking it off the rack and thrusting it toward me expectantly. I took it with a weary sigh, watching as she ran her hand through a rack of blue sundresses. She pulled one out and held it up to herself in the mirror, turning this way and that.

"That blue matches your eyes," I said with a smile, sidling up behind her. I caught another glimpse of myself, and let out a tiny huff of air. My own eyes had been looking a little less sunken lately, at least. That morning, I had had an entire slice of avocado toast and had even added cream to my coffee. It wasn't much, but it was something. Although, I had been mentally beating myself up ever since then, which wasn't healthy. Viona smiled and turned to face me. "I think I'll try it on Come on, let's go."

"Remind me again why I agreed to go to this at all?" I muttered as Viona herded me toward the dressing rooms.

She shrugged, one perfectly sculpted brow arching up. Because saying no would make Nightcrest look weak-and potentially ruin our chances of hosting the Lunar Festival this year?" Chapter 0048

I scowled as I stepped into the tiny fitting room, already shimmying out of my clothes. Why did I always somehow wind up wearing jeans and tight sweaters when I was trying on clothes? "Right. Because that's far more important than my own peace of mind, apparently," I said with a laugh. There was a humorless chuckle from the other side of the divider. "You'll be fine. It's just dinner, and besides-Drake and Zoe and Noah will do enough arguing for you to be able to just stay quiet and pretend you're not there."Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Gritting my teeth, I said nothing as I tugged the soft fabric over my hips. Already, I could feel the familiar tightness in my chest beginning to build. I shouldn't have eaten this morning, I thought to myself against my better judgment. I look... "Well, who knows?" Viona went on, blissfully ignorant to my inner turmoil. "Maybe this dinner will actually convince Zoe and Drake to get back together. Then at least you'd have one less thorn in your side to deal with, right?" Wrong.

With the dress zipped up all the way, the clingy material embraced every dip and curve of my body in a way that was... less than flattering, to say the least. I froze, staring at my reflection with a creeping sense of dread and shortness of breath. There was the slightest swell of my belly visible through the fabric, just a tiny hint of softness that shouldn't even be there-

"You about ready in there, Hannah?" Viona's voice jolted me out of my thoughts. "Let's see how it looks!"

"J-Just a second," I stammered, struggling to tear my gaze away from the mirror as I began tugging and adjusting the fabric, desperate to hide that one small imperfection-that tiny bulge in my lower belly, something that I always thought was normal and beautiful on everyone except myself.