Alpha's Regret: Losing His True Mate-Chapter 186

Old Master Hall had guessed right. Apart from Professor Nolan, Elodie hadn’t faced anyone at this level in a while.

She wasn’t about to pass up the chance now.

To her, Dante was just another opponent. That’s it. Nothing more.

She wasn’t going to hold back just because of who he was.

Hearing her response, Dante didn’t push it. He made the first move.

From there, they played in complete silence. No words were said. No distractions.

But Old Master Hall and Old Master Fisher both noticed something strange as they watched.

There was a rhythm between the two of them. An unspoken understanding. Like they weren’t strangers at all, but people who’d known each other for years.

The older men glanced at Dante, then at Elodie, and finally at Sienna. Their brows furrowed slightly.

Then, in the middle of the silence, Dante spoke.

"It’s been a while since you played, hasn’t it?"

Elodie was in the middle of dismantling one of his setups. She didn’t look up.

"Yeah."

Since marrying him, she’d basically stopped playing altogether.

"I can tell," Dante said. "You’re a little rusty."

Elodie didn’t respond. She just kept her eyes on the board.

The position looked bad for her right now.

It seemed like Dante had a clear path to victory. But she could see it, she could see the the hidden traps he’d laid, waiting for her to step into them.

After thinking it through, she avoided the bait and placed her piece somewhere else entirely.

The board shifted. Suddenly, Dante was the one on the back foot.

Dante raised an eyebrow, a faint smile tugging at his lips. After a moment, he made his move.

The tension ratcheted back up.

A few more exchanges, and Elodie pulled slightly ahead.

But in the end, she still lost.

Old Master Hall let out a low whistle. "What a shame. But that game was even better than the first one. You didn’t have the advantage of going first, but you read part of his strategy anyway. You blocked his attacks with setups of your own. At your age, to have that kind of observation, memory, and control over the board? Truly impressive."

He turned to Old Master Fisher with a grin. "You couldn’t beat her."

Old Master Fisher grunted. "I know."

If he had been playing against Elodie earlier, he wouldn’t have lasted half as long.

Elodie started clearing the pieces off the board, preparing to stand.

Seeing that she wasn’t planning to continue, Dante spoke up again.

"Another round?"

Before she could answer, someone else chimed in.

"Yeah! The gap was so close, maybe one more game and you’ll win!"

"Exactly!" another voice agreed.

Elodie shook her head. "No. I’m good."

Sure, the gap looked small. And yeah, it seemed like she’d almost cracked his strategy.

But who’s to say she wasn’t just walking into another carefully laid trap?

With that thought, she stood up, turned, and walked away without looking back.

Old Master Lowe stepped up to take Elodie’s place at the board.

Johnny walked over. "Want to grab a drink?"

Elodie nodded. "Yeah."

Old Master Hall noticed how comfortable Johnny and Elodie seemed together and stopped mid-step. "That young man from the Gray family is a lucky one."

Old Master Fisher nodded. "He really is."

They’d thought Sienna was impressive earlier.

But after watching Elodie play two games? There was no comparison.

When it came to chess, they weren’t even in the same league.

Elodie was calm, sharp, her eyes clear and focused. She gave off this quiet intelligence that screamed good upbringing. The two old masters had been thinking about asking if she had a boyfriend, maybe even hinting at an introduction to Jimmy.

But Johnny had swooped in first.

Old Master Hall sighed. "They’re a good match."

He glanced over at Jimmy.

Jimmy caught the look and gave a small, helpless smile. His eyes drifted toward where Elodie and Johnny had walked off, lingering for just a few seconds before he looked away.

---

Elodie and Johnny had just settled into seats near Old Madam Miller when Lauren and Logan appeared.

From their perspective, Elodie had only played chess with Dante earlier to try and win back his attention. To make him reconsider the divorce.

And worse, Dante had seemed different with her. His attitude had softened compared to before.

That wasn’t good. Not for them.

So they’d come over to "talk."

Logan put on his best fatherly smile. "Elodie—"

Before he could finish, Johnny cut in smoothly. "Mr. Brown, are you here to publicly announce your relationship with Elodie?"

Logan’s smile faltered. He let out an awkward laugh. "Mr. Gray, I just need a quick word with Mag. If you could give us a moment—"

Johnny didn’t even let him finish. "If you want everyone here to know you’re her father, go right ahead. Say whatever you want. I’d actually welcome it."

Logan wasn’t stupid. He didn’t want to piss off Johnny.

He and Lauren exchanged a look, then turned to leave.

But before he walked away completely, Logan looked back at Elodie. "I’ll call you later. Make sure you pick up."

Elodie said nothing.

She couldn’t be bothered.

And when he did call? She definitely wasn’t answering.

Johnny let out a frustrated breath once they were gone. "Honestly, I’m this close to just saying screw it."

Elodie felt the same way.

But when it came to her and Dante, the lies, the accusations, the twisted version of events everyone believed, she’d never been able to find the proof she needed to clear her name.

_____________

Elodie’s POV~

If I openly went after the Brown family, Dante and Harry would probably come down on me hard to protect Sienna.

And I’d already seen what the Green family was capable of when their backs were against the wall.

My mother was still stuck in that rehabilitation center because of them.

After chatting with Johnny for a bit, I turned my head and realized Dante and the others had stopped playing chess.

It was getting late. Time to find Grandma and head out.

I found her just finishing up a conversation with Old Master Hall about some painting technique I didn’t quite catch. He had another friend arriving soon, so he excused himself to greet them.

Grandma didn’t want to overstay her welcome. When she saw me, she nodded. "Let’s go, dear."

But before we could leave, Old Master Hall came back out, holding a painting. He handed it to Grandma with a warm smile. It was a landscape of Pine Mountain, one she’d been admiring earlier.

After some polite thank-yous and goodbyes, we finally headed out.

On the way to the exit, I saw them.

Dante and Sienna, sitting together in the pavilion. Drinking tea. Talking. Looking completely comfortable.

They noticed us too.

Dante’s eyes flicked toward me for half a second, then went right back to Harry and Levi like I wasn’t even there.

Sienna saw the whole thing. She smiled, just a little, then turned away too.

Harry gave me a polite nod.

I nodded back. So did Johnny.

Then we left without looking back.

---

The next day, Johnny and I went to work like usual.

Cole’s new projects were ramping up, and there was a mountain of work to get through. I buried myself in it, grateful for the distraction.

The next few days were a blur of meetings, emails, and late nights.

Then one afternoon, I came back to my desk and found a bunch of apples sitting there.

I blinked at them, confused.

"Is it Christmas already?" I asked out loud. "That snuck up fast."

One of my coworkers stretched and grinned. "Yep. The whole city’s decked out. I’m heading out with friends after work to soak it all in. You got plans?"

I smiled and shook my head, setting the apples aside. "No. Just work."

After my shift ended, I remembered one of the plants at home was dying. Figured I’d swing by the mall and grab a replacement.

When I got there, the pedestrian street was completely transformed.

Christmas trees everywhere. Giant inflatable Santas. Lights strung up across every storefront. Music playing from hidden speakers.

It was festive. Overwhelming, almost. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The street was packed with families. Couples. Groups of friends laughing and taking pictures.

Everyone had someone.

I stood there for a second, frozen, unable to make myself move forward.

Liora loved Christmas.

Every year, we used to decorate the tree together. She’d insist on putting the star on top herself, even when she was too short and I had to lift her up.

We’d go out on Christmas Day, just the two of us, wandering the streets and soaking in the energy.

But ever since Dante took her abroad, we hadn’t done that.

Actually, I hadn’t celebrated Christmas at all.