By Zephyria 
Grayson visibly paused at the casually tossed remark. The gaze he slowly turned towards her held a mixture of surprise and bewilderment, unlike before. Naomi was surprised once again by his reaction.
“Oh my, really? You actually found him?”
“No.”
Before Naomi could get excited, Grayson stopped her.
“That guy hates me.”
Naomi was taken aback by the non sequitur and stared at him, bewildered. Did he think this was the right time to say that? I just asked if that man was his destiny!
“Hates you? Him?”
Suppressing the excitement of landing a big catch, Naomi asked innocently. Now was the time to unleash the acting skills that had won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Yes, Grayson replied.
“I haven’t particularly done anything to harm him, so it’s strange.”
Seeing him shrug one shoulder, Naomi said with as much sympathy as she could muster, “That’s really strange. You’re always trying to help others.”
“Yes, I am.”
Grayson gave a conceited smile as if it were obvious. Of course, Naomi was well aware that his ‘help’ was far from ordinary. But Grayson, with his selfish nature, never considered the other person’s position or thoughts; all that mattered was that he had acted for their sake. This time would probably be no different.
“Poor Grayson, they don’t understand your sincerity.”
Naomi stroked Grayson’s arm, wearing a look of pity. Of course, it was a build-up for what was to come.
“Why don’t you confide in me? Maybe I can help. All your friends are Dominant Alphas, so they don’t really understand the sensibilities of ordinary people…”
She gently cast her bait, but Grayson didn’t bite.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Besides, that guy isn’t my destined mate. I was just watching him because I was curious about what was going on.”
It was better not to say more. Naomi narrowed her eyes and smiled slyly.
“I see…”
He wouldn’t be interested in someone else’s affairs if they weren’t ‘destined,’ but he was curious.
“Sorry, I misunderstood.”
Naomi, retreating easily, changed her tactic and asked, “You’re just ‘simply’ curious about what those men are talking about? Okay, I’ll help you.”
She emphasized one word meaningfully, but it was unclear whether Grayson noticed. She stood up from her seat, looked down at him, and declared arrogantly, “Wait a moment, I’ll show you my skills.”
Naomi smiled sweetly and left the cafeteria with her characteristic airy gait.
Desire Me if you can
When she stepped outside the cafeteria, the handsome man with red hair was already far away. Naomi approached the man who was left alone without hesitation and gave him a bright smile when he turned around at the sound of her heels.
“Hello.”
The man’s eyes widened as if they would tear apart when he saw Naomi’s face. It was a familiar reaction, so she maintained her professional smile and continued, “Nice to meet you, I’m Naomi Parker.”
“Ah, a-ah, I know, I know you. P-Papa, Parker-ssi.”
Seeing that the man was so flustered that he couldn’t form a single proper sentence, Naomi teased him playfully.
“Not P-Papa, Parker-ssi, just Parker. You can call me Naomi.”
“Na, Naomi…”
At Naomi’s joke, he repeated her name with a flushed face and then lowered his head. Seeing the man shy and flustered was quite cute. Naomi’s pride, which had been hurt by Grayson Miller, was slightly restored.
“I have a question, may I ask? Your name is…?”
“Yes, yes, yes, anything is fine… I, I, I’m George.”
The man answered loudly, extremely nervous. Naomi called out his name once, “George,” and then glanced in the direction Dane had disappeared before asking, “The person you were talking to just now, could you tell me what your relationship is?”
Desire Me if you can
It was about ten minutes later that Naomi returned. She came back with her chin raised as confidently as when she had left, pulled out a chair, and sat across from Grayson. As he nonchalantly sipped his coffee, Naomi deliberately paused before speaking.
“That man’s name is George.”
“Really? Oh dear, I thought he was a Chupa Chups.”
At Grayson’s words, Naomi couldn’t help but burst out laughing, then quickly composed herself, pretending to drink her coffee. As he said, George had a very thin build and small shoulders, making him look like a lollipop. Feeling guilty for laughing at Grayson’s mean remark, Naomi put down her glass.
“Have you ever been on a Deployment because of a fire? I heard you saved that man’s dog, named Charles.”
After clearing her throat and changing the subject, Grayson frowned.
“Charles?”
It was a common name, but something about it grated on his ears. He reluctantly dredged up his memories.
“Yes, he was crying and begging me to save his dog. So that was the man.”
“Oh dear.”
Naomi blinked in surprise and then continued, “I heard that handsome man saved his dog? He came to thank him and offer a reward. The Station Chief gave him special permission to go to lunch with the handsome man. He seemed very excited.”
As she deliberately added the last part, Grayson’s brow furrowed deeply. Oh my, how amusing. Naomi suppressed a laugh that almost burst out and added as if it were nothing, “It’s just lunch. What could happen? It’s not like he’s your destiny anyway.”
As she deliberately scratched at his insides, Grayson noticed her intention. He smoothed out his brow and returned to his usual relaxed demeanor, raising the corners of his lips.
“Yes, I doubt the world will end? It’s just that I’ve been abandoned. Woe is me.”
Grayson, placing a hand on his chest and imitating a painful groan, then laughed out loud. As if he thought the joke he had just made was hilarious. Naomi realized that he was deliberately acting exaggeratedly to make light of the situation. Of course, he was wary of easily revealing his true feelings to Naomi.
Well, if he didn’t notice after being prodded this much, she would have to question his intelligence.
She decided to retreat for now, for the sake of the future. That didn’t mean she would disappear quietly.
“I’ll be going now, it was nice seeing you after a long time.”
She got up from her chair and greeted him with a smile. And Naomi leaned in and whispered to Grayson, who simply returned a smiling farewell, “Let me know as soon as you two connect.”
After giving another meaningful smile, she turned away. Her steps were as normal as ever, but the smile had already disappeared from her face, replaced by a cold chill.
-You have to distinguish between someone you have sex with and someone you marry.
The anger surged anew. Those words kept resurfacing in her mind, infuriating her, and this time was no different. Naomi resisted the urge to curse and opened the car door. Sitting in the driver’s seat, she took a deep breath to calm herself before starting the car.
I might fail again this time.
How many times had she gotten excited about meeting her destiny only to turn away coldly when it wasn’t?
But this time, something felt different. And she believed that her intuition was usually quite good. If Grayson really had his eye on that red-haired blonde, this time would be really difficult.