No more.
Grayson instinctively knew that if he crossed the line, Dane would immediately rebel. It might even ruin their relationship beyond repair.
But even so, Grayson couldn’t back down easily. If he gave up here, he would never know Dane. What was that man hiding? What kind of past was hidden inside him? Grayson wanted to know. Even if it meant risking his life.
“Dane.”
Grayson softened his tone this time and called his name.
“We’re lovers, and there should be no secrets between us. Up until now, I’ve never heard anything about you. How many families do you have, what your childhood was like, or even what kind of donuts you like. Does that make sense? Lovers are supposed to tell each other every little thing.”
His words were somewhat true. Most people were in relationships like that. There was a catch to the word “most.”
Dane slowly got up. He straightened his back and his eyes were much higher than before.
“No, you idiot. Not only you, but no one in the world has that kind of right.”
Dane gritted his teeth and spat out. Grayson should have stopped at this point. His instincts were clearly telling him so. It wasn’t that hard. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut.
But unfortunately, Grayson didn’t stop.
“Dane, you keep trying to push me away. That’s not right. It would be better for you to tell me everything.......”
“Shut up!”
Dane shouted. Grayson came to his senses at the sudden shout. Dane continued to shout at him, who blinked in surprise.
“Don’t force me, I don’t want to interact with anyone! Don’t get the wrong idea that I’ve accepted you for a while, and don’t cross the line on your own! You fucking punk!”
“Dane, I.......”
“Insolent!”
Grayson tried to say something, but Dane didn’t stop.
“You’re nothing to my life, you’re nothing! And how dare you? Tell me everything? You need to know about me? Who are you! You crazy bastard!”
“Dane, don’t do that... I’ll help you with anything...”
“Help? What? How? How can you help me?”
Dane’s neck was bloodshot. He was really angry. He’d never seen him this angry before. He had to calm Dane down. What Dane wanted, what he could help. Grayson thought quickly.
“Should I kill that guy?”
“What?”
Dane paused for a moment. Grayson continued to speak passionately, looking at him in confusion.
“You wanted to kill that guy. I can kill him. Should I do it right now? How about that? Is that okay?”
Dane was speechless for a moment, dumbfounded. What are you talking about, you little punk... ... .
Grayson took his silence differently. He quickly continued.
“I’ll do it, Dane. How do I kill you? Tell me how you want, any way you want. Okay? Then I’m qualified to be your lover, right? Okay? We’re lovers, right?”
Grayson kept repeating the same words as if urging him on. The more he did, the more the color drained from Dane’s face. Grayson, who had been speaking urgently and hopefully, felt something unpleasant about his reaction.
Isn’t this it? Why aren’t you happy? Wasn’t this what Dane wanted? Then what should I do? How?
“Crazy....”
Dane muttered after a long time. His pale face was filled with contempt and disgust mixed with anger. It was the same face Ashley Miller had been looking at Grayson with.
Ah.
Only then did Grayson realize that he had made a mistake. Dane turned away without saying anything more as his face immediately became thoughtful.
“Dane!”
Grayson belatedly called his name and ran to him in a hurry. It wasn’t hard to grab Dane. He quickly grabbed his arm and stopped when he saw Dane’s angry face. But even so, he couldn’t let go. If he let go of his grip, Dane would just turn around and leave forever.
“What, what should I do?”
He was out of breath due to his impatience. He tried to smile as usual, but the corners of his mouth wouldn’t go up. He tried to lift his stiff lips and continued.
“We’re lovers. I’ll help you with anything. Tell me, I’ll do anything. Please, Dane. I was wrong, Dane!”
His trembling voice gradually grew louder. But the only answer he got was one word.
“Let go.”
Grayson froze at the cold face. Dane, who had been mercilessly holding his arm, spit it out through his teeth.
“You really ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ are annoying.”
His face was filled with hostility. Grayson thought, “Oh.” Dane’s tone and expression were back to when they first met. Suddenly, he felt a coldness that seemed to drain his blood from his body.
“Dane.”
Grayson called his name again, but that was the limit. He couldn’t move even as he watched Dane turn around. He couldn’t even take back the hand he had left floating in the air, and he just watched his back as he walked away.
I barely made it this far.
He barely remembered with his empty mind. Am I going back to square one again?
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. The sun was still hot, but under the pouring western sun, he felt a chill.
Why did he say that? What effect did it have?
In the end, it only thickened Dane's defenses. Now Dane would be even more reluctant to talk to him. Then, then.
Now what happens to us?
Grayson just stood there blankly, pale.
[I'm sorry, Dane. I was wrong.]
[Dane, talk to me.]
[What do you want me to do? I'll do anything, so just talk to me, please.]
[Dane, at least read the message.]
[Dane... ... .]
Grayson sighed deeply as he looked at the piled up messages. The numbers written in front of the messages showed no sign of being erased. Before, he had at least read the messages, but now he didn't even open them. He didn't even send them one by one.
After that, Dane treated Grayson as if he didn't exist at all. When he spoke to him, he just passed him by, when he caught him, he shook him off, and there were many days when he didn’t even bother to go to the fire station, saying things like he was going to training or being dispatched to another area. It was clear that Dane was intentionally avoiding him.
“You’ve been working really hard lately. Good, I really like that attitude.”
The chief patted Dane’s arm and seemed satisfied, but the more he did, the more Grayson’s mood dropped. Dane, who hated annoying tasks and always ran away from work as much as possible, volunteered to take on the work. Doesn’t that mean he hates Grayson more than the ‘work’ he hated so much?
What should I do?
Grayson covered his face with one hand and sighed deeply. He couldn’t think of a solution. If he could kill someone to change Dane’s mind, he would have done it. But when he thought about the expression Dane had on his face when he said that, he knew that it was something he absolutely shouldn’t have done.
Then what else should I do?
I bought Darling’s stuff and left it in front of her room, but it was back in front of Grayson’s room the next day. Grayson realized then that Dane’s vulgarity was limited to those who had broken down the wall in his heart.
The only reason Dane didn’t leave Grayson’s mansion was probably because of that damn promise. In any case, he had to be thankful that he had fulfilled the three months. That was enough to buy him time, but he couldn’t come up with a solution. That was when he let out a deep sigh again.
A loud siren blared and the waiting staff hurriedly ran out. Grayson followed them immediately after seeing Dane among them.
“Huh, what’s going on?”
When he pushed the guy who was about to get into the car and got in, the other person blinked in disbelief and then headed to another car. Grayson didn’t care and closed the door. Dane was inside the car. It was the first time they had been in such a small space together since that day. Grayson's nervous pheromone scent grew stronger, but Dane just stared out the window and didn't react at all. The car drove toward the scene with Grayson's insides burning.
