The few people waiting in the lounge stared in shock, unsure of what to do, watching them. Meanwhile, Dein tried to make sense of this unexpected situation, but of course, it was impossible. The only thing he could do was to make his position clear.
"I’m just here because Sabrina asked me to come. What about you?"
The woman glared at him without backing down.
"Me? I’m the sperm donor for this woman’s child!"
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"Oh my!"
Dein, along with the others who were watching, was shocked and gasped. But Larien didn’t care and continued to shout.
"How dare you tell my woman what to do? Do you want to die, huh?"
Dein stared at Sabrina with a bewildered expression, as if asking, "What’s going on?"
Sabrina, unsure of what to do, looked around. Seeing this, Dein sighed. He glanced at the ceiling, and suddenly, an unpleasant memory resurfaced.
"I clearly warned you not to make a mess out of things."
Suddenly furrowing his brows, Sabrina spoke.
"Larien, you’re misunderstanding. This child is not yours."
At those words, Larien’s attention immediately shifted to Sabrina.
"Is that true? Are you sure it’s not my child? Tell me the truth, Sabrina. If you’re honest with me, I’ll forgive you."
With a voice much softer than how he had spoken to Dein, everyone watching couldn’t help but blink in surprise. Larien even gently stroked Sabrina’s cheek, looking as if he were deeply in love. Sabrina, too, seemed to have forgotten everyone around her, gazing up at Larien with passionate eyes.
"I’m not sure, Larien. I’m sorry."
Finally, she confessed. Sabrina, her eyes filled with tears, bowed her head and whispered.
"It might have been my ex-boyfriend. I’m not sure."
"It could be my child!"
Larien again insisted. It was clear that she had been juggling between multiple men, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all.
Wasn’t it three guys?
When that thought crossed Dein’s mind, Larien suddenly grabbed Sabrina’s hand and said.
"Don’t worry, Sabrina. Marry me."
"Ha."
Dein stood there, stunned, watching their exchange.
Later...
It was time to leave.
Grayson stopped whistling and stood up. Slowly, he gathered his equipment and moved toward the office, planning to leave for the day. Someone needed to clean up the mess that would undoubtedly follow. Someone who knew all the details of this situation, someone like Grayson Miller.
With his hands in his pockets and humming a tune, he walked out the door.
Beep, beep.
The loud siren made him pause for a moment. It seemed there was a fire somewhere again. As expected, firefighters rushed out from all directions, donning their fire suits. Grayson, watching them hop into the trucks as if it were someone else’s business, turned back around. Just as he was about to leave...
"Where’s the location?"
"Snowflake Housing, next to Lincoln Park!"
Grayson froze as he heard the hurried exchange between the men rushing past him. He turned around, standing still for a moment.
What...?
"Hurry up and go, agh!"
When Diandre, the last to get into the truck, shouted while closing the door, he was startled to see Grayson standing there, holding the door.
"What, what are you doing? What is this?"
Diandre stammered in surprise, and Grayson, with a serious expression, asked.
"Where’s the fire?"
"Snowflake Housing, the quiet neighborhood next to Lincoln Park."
One of the men answered in Diandre’s place. Grayson stood still, processing the information.
No way, that can’t be. There are plenty of other houses, right?
It was a reasonable guess. Out of all the houses, there’s no way it would be his. Plus, there was only a blind cat at that house. Right now, Dein was supposed to be at the hospital with that damn woman.
No reason for a fire.
"Miller, what are you doing? If you're not going, move!"
Diandre yelled, but Grayson stood frozen, unable to move. He needed to go to the hospital, sort this situation out, send Larien away with that woman, and explain everything to Dein. Once that was done, Dein would realize he had made a mistake, and then he’d understand that Grayson’s warning was right...
The cat.
Grayson’s mind turned cold.
...That ugly cat.
"Miller, move!"
"Grayson Miller!"
Both Diandre and another voice yelled at him. He had to make a choice. There was no more time to hesitate. The direction was already set. He could turn around, walk to the office, and say he was leaving for the day...
"What? What’s going on?"
Before he could finish his thoughts, Grayson hopped into the fire truck. The others screamed in surprise, but he slammed the door shut from the inside, clearly making a statement.
"Start it!"
At Grayson’s command, Ezra, sitting in the driver’s seat, quickly started the truck. Everyone, still in shock, stared as Grayson sat with his arms crossed, his serious face on as he began to shake his leg.
Meanwhile...
"Marry me!"
Larien’s declaration filled the waiting room with a tense silence. The situation, more exciting than any drama they had seen recently, made everyone focus on the scene, their eyes wide. Sabrina, who had her eyes wide open, slowly spoke.
"Are... are you serious?"
Larien smiled with a raised brow, as if it were obvious.
"Of course, my dear Sabrina. How could I ever leave you?"
Larien, swearing to his words, cupped Sabrina’s cheek and kissed her lips. When their faces separated, he smiled brightly. Sabrina, looking up at him with fluttering eyes, cautiously asked.
"Then... what about April?"
"What?"
Larien’s smile instantly froze. Sabrina pointed out the crucial issue.
"You married April. You need to divorce her first."
"What? Married?"
"My God, cheating?"
"Two-timing, two-timing."
Whispers of shock and disbelief rippled through the room. After a brief commotion, silence fell as everyone waited anxiously for Larien’s response. Even Dein held his breath. Larien sighed.
"That can’t happen, Sabrina. April’s carrying my child."
"What? So you want me to be your second wife?"
Sabrina yelled out immediately. The whispers began again, and Larien scratched his cheek with his second finger, looking awkward.
"Well, actually, she’s my ninth."
"My God, my God!"
"My goodness, what is going on?"
"That wife, her turn is...?"
"Wait, please! This is a crucial moment!"
In the midst of the uproar, Sabrina twisted her face in horror.
"What? Is your religion polygamous?"
"Oh, no, Sabrina."
To everyone’s disbelief, Larien shrugged dramatically and spread his arms wide in a pious gesture.
"My religion is love."
What the hell, this fucking déjà vu.
Dein, stunned, had an ominous thought flicker across his mind. Suddenly, someone’s face overlapped with Larien’s glamorous one. Ah! Could it be...?
When Dein realized the source of his bad feeling, Sabrina screamed and charged at Larien.
"You liar, filthy bastard!"
"Sabrina, calm down. You have a child!"
"It’s not your child, no! I hate you, I hate you! Just die!"
"My sweet, making such lies. You’re so adorable. Hahaha!"
As Sabrina continued to hit him and Larien laughed in return, the people around them looked on with blank faces. Suddenly, someone, as if snapping to attention, shouted.
"Oh my, I think I saw that person on the wanted list."
"What? Really?"
"Definitely. I check the FBI wanted list every day. Hold on, here it is. Look."
"Oh my, it’s really him!"
"What crime did he commit? Fraud? Is it fraud?"
"It’s a romance scam! Oh my, there are victims popping up all over the country!"
"We need to report it! Hurry up! Oh, where did he go?"
Everyone frantically pulled out their phones, but it was too late. Larien had already disappeared, leaving only Sabrina and a dumbfounded Dein standing there.
Back to Dein...
"Damn, if I get involved in other people's business again, I’m not human."
Dein muttered a curse as he started the car. As he drove, his mind was filled with many questions. Was that woman a Miller too? Probably. There’s no other face that looks as similar to Grayson’s, and she’s an extreme alpha too.
The Millers have six kids. There’s a daughter in the mix as well. The only information that Dein knew about them was that much. At least he knew early on, thanks to Joshua, that Chase was one of them, but he never made the connection with Grayson until Joshua mentioned it. Despite the strong resemblance.
It had nothing to do with me, so of course I didn’t think much of it.
I thought I wouldn’t be involved with the Millers anymore, but now another Miller has appeared, and it’s a woman. I can’t even get mad properly. If it were a male brother, I would have grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside for a fight.
"Damn it!"
He slammed his fist onto the steering wheel. The only person who could make sense of this situation was Grayson Miller. The meaningful words he said back then... he definitely knows something.
He couldn’t have planned this, could he?
But knowing him, he might have. Just as that thought crossed his mind, black smoke appeared on the horizon, covering the sky.
...Huh?
An ominous feeling gripped his chest. As he kept driving, the smoke grew closer. There’s no way, right? It couldn’t be...
He kept denying it. But as he approached home, the bad feeling turned into reality.
"Dein!"
When he stopped the car some distance away, Ezra, who had spotted him, shouted. Dein froze in shock as he saw his precious home engulfed in bright red flames, roaring fiercely. For a moment, he stood there, dazed. His mind was still locked in the image of the flames, but slowly, reality began to push its way through. He let out a scream, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Darling!"