It was another typical, sunny day. A perfectly clear sky, with not a cloud in sight. The deep, vivid blue filled his entire view. Seeing this, Dane prepared for work early.
That guy’s probably going to work today too.
He checked if his shaving was done properly through the mirror, then thought to himself. If anything happens, he could just knock him out and leave. He felt bad for his team mbers, but it couldn’t be helped. First, he had to make sure he was safe.
He had never been caught revealing his identity before. When he used pheromones to knock out extre alphas, they usually didn’t rember what happened, and Dane always left right after.
But with that guy, he had already used it twice.
He acknowledged the fact nonchalantly. That bastard would probably want to kill him.
Preparing for any possible scenario, Dane pulled out the trunk to pack his things. He needed to be ready to throw in only what was necessary and leave at any ti.
"I'll be back soon, Darling."
After kissing the cat, Dane left the house and got in his car, which was over ten years old. He headed to work as usual, albeit with a hint of regret about leaving California.
After parking his car at the designated spot, Dane headed toward the fire station and paused when he saw a group of colleagues glaring at sothing. Following their gaze, he spotted Grayson Miller leaning against a fire truck, talking to soone.
"What’s going on there?"
Dane approached his colleagues and casually asked. One of them gritted his teeth and muttered.
"It’s exactly what it looks like. That bastard’s hitting on Valentina."
Valentina was the most popular female employee at the station. Beautiful and kind-hearted, many of the staff had feelings for her, and so even worked up the courage to ask her out, only to be gently rejected. This had led to an unspoken rule: "Let’s wait for Valentina to choose soone." They all maintained a good working relationship outwardly, but privately, there were still subtle attempts to get her attention.
But that bastard had the nerve to do this to Valentina.
Everyone was burning with jealousy and anger, watching them intently. "Reject him, Valentina. Be firm and cruel like you were with the others!"
However, their desperate wish didn’t reach her. The mont Valentina smiled and ran her hand down Grayson’s arm, half of them lost hope.
"We’re done for, we lost!"
"No, wait. Valentina’s kind. She’s probably just trying to soften the blow before rejecting him. I’m sure of it!"
"I didn’t even get a finger touch, though."
"Give up, if she’s touching his arm, it’s over!"
"Shut up! It's just his arm, and you're already giving up? You weaklings!"
Dane sighed involuntarily as he watched his colleagues, who were getting overly excited over sothing they weren’t even involved in. Shaking his head, he headed for the locker room. From behind, he heard gasps, groans, and short screams in alternating bursts. It was clear what had happened without even having to look.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
"He touched her thigh! He touched her thigh!"
"Wait, that bastard’s huge! Look, it’s just the spot where his hand naturally lands. Calm down!"
"He’s caressing her! We’re finished!"
"No, no way! My Valentina wouldn’t fall for such a bastard!"
"Who’s your Valentina? Stop spouting nonsense!"
Ignoring the uproar, Dane went inside. He didn’t care about the rest, but seeing Grayson Miller pulling that kind of stunt, it was clear that Grayson had absolutely no interest in him.
As expected, he doesn’t rember.
Dane shrugged off the last bit of worry and opened the cabinet leisurely. The travel bag he had packed in the morning had beco completely unnecessary. It would have been a tough journey for the cat, who was both blind and deaf, so it was a relief in a way.
Or maybe everyone’s expectations were wrong. Maybe the reason Grayson ca to find out who knocked him out wasn’t the real reason. There could be sothing else.
But that’s not my concern.
Dane stepped outside with light steps. His colleagues were still standing there, staring. When he turned his head, he saw that Grayson Miller and Valentina had already disappeared.
"They left together."
Soone muttered blankly, and another colleague added.
"They left us behind... Valentina actually fell for Grayson Miller...?"
"Did you see her face earlier? I think that was the first ti I’ve seen her smile like that... She’s never smiled like that at anyone before."
"No, no. Let’s be rational. They just happened to be going in the sa direction, right? Maybe it was just a coincidence!"
The guy who was still holding onto the last bit of hope was t with cold stares.
"You’re the most irrational one."
"Look at reality, huh? Going the sa direction? Sure, right."
"No, maybe this guy’s right. We’re being too pessimistic! It’s not entirely impossible, is it?"
"Yeah, I’ll bet on the idea that they just happened to be heading in the sa direction. Valentina wouldn’t just fall for any guy!"
"Right, none of us succeeded, but Grayson Miller managed to win her over in less than an hour? That’s totally unrealistic!"
Their argunts gained montum. Dane crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching the spectacle. To him, the situation was painfully obvious. The station’s Madonna, once the flower of the firehouse, had fallen for Grayson Miller’s face in less than an hour.
Fools.
But despite the coldness in Dane’s eyes, the ones still clinging to hope began to lose their strength as they were persuaded by the passionate argunts. They started to waver.
"That... could be true."
While so exchanged glances, one of them mumbled, and another quickly followed up.
"Well, we all know what kind of person Valentina is, no matter what Grayson Miller is like, right?"
There were nods of agreent from everywhere.
"Yeah, Valentina wouldn’t do that."
"I believe in Valentina!"
" too, too!"
Their spirits were lifted as they clung to hope. With fists raised, they cheered each other on. However, just a few hours later, when they saw Valentina return with a dazed expression, her hair disheveled, their hopes were rcilessly shattered. After a few hours, anyone with eyes could tell what had happened. To make matters worse, Valentina, as if to confirm the situation, pulled Grayson in for a kiss.
The news spread quickly throughout the station, thanks to a few employees who had been outside checking the fire truck. The employees who had been waiting in the operations room were in shock, and they had no choice but to give up on their futile hopes. Among them were several who had genuinely liked Valentina, and the mood in the operations room turned gloomy, almost as if mold had begun to grow.
"Anyway, Valentina was always too far out of our reach."
One of them spoke, and others soon chid in.
"Yeah, she never chose any of us."
"Maybe Grayson Miller’s not such a bad guy after # Nоvеlight # all."
"Anyway, it’s Valentina’s choice, and we should support her, as colleagues."
"Of course. We’re all in this together."
The mood lifted sowhat, partly because of the firefighters’ pride. Even though they were frustrated and angry, and Grayson Miller was insanely annoying, what could they do? Yeah, soone had said it—Grayson might be terrible with them, but maybe he’ll treat Valentina really well. They hid their bitter feelings and, in their own way, wished for the happiness of the couple. The situation wasn’t too bad, all things considered.
Until a few hours later, when they saw Grayson Miller, this ti holding another colleague, Liz, around the waist, heading in the sa direction as Valentina had earlier.
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