5 1.5 The Unnoticed Approach

Aries glanced at the entrance, drawn by whispers. A smile lit up his face as he noticed Damian and Aeron grabbing food. When Damian finished, he stood up and called out, "Da-Ge?"

Damian met his gaze, smiled, then scanned the room, as if searching for something. Aries' smile faded as he watched Damian walking toward Dorian's table, unnoticed by Aries until now.

Startled, Aries stood and grabbed his tray, only to set it back down when his phone rang. Seeing his father's caller ID, he moved to a more private spot to take the call.

Aeron took a seat beside Darius, and Damian settled in next to Dorian. Aeron greeted Darius with a friendly "Hey."

Darius blushed, stammering out a shy "Hi."

Amused, Dorian observed the duo. His attention lingered on Aeron, noting the way he looked at Darius as if he were the only person in the room. Dorian wondered how Darius could doubt Aeron's interest in him.

Suddenly, Dorian's face was turned, meeting cold grey eyes.

"What are you looking at?"

"Whatever I want."

Damian squinted his eyes, and Dorian tilted his head. There's no way Damian is being jealous. Dorian brushed off the hand and continued eating.

Just as he was about to take a bite, his tray got nudged closer, followed by his chair. Dorian resumed eating in silence, glancing at Damian when he spoke, "Tell me what kind of person you are."

Dorian replied with a beautiful smile, "A villain."

Aeron and Darius exchanged smiles. Damian leaned in, smiling.

"Then let's be villains together."

Dorian raised an eyebrow, asking, "Are we talking 'you're already a villain' or 'you'd become one for me' kind of villains together?"

Damian clarified, "I'm already a villain."

Dorian grinned and inquired, "Why did you join the army?"

Damian answered, "I like to fight, and I enjoy seeing the last flicker of life leave its body when I kill."

Dorian chuckled, well aware that despite Damian being cast as a heavenly protagonist, he's truly a villain.

He just wanted to see if Damian would be honest, and he was. The fact that they're being filmed every second means some people are watching this, and others will soon see it.

Dorian, with a playful smile, commented before going back to eating, "You're cute."

Damian looked at his sweet smile, feeling his heartbeat quicken. He's never hidden his true nature, and he didn't plan to do so with Dorian.

As he started to eat, Damian asked after swallowing, "Is that all you are, a villain?"

Dorian replied, "En."

Damian inquired, "So, does that mean you wish for bad things to happen?"

Dorian met his eyes, saying, "I wish for bad things to happen to bad people and join the army."

Damian nodded and asked, "Don't you wish for a mate?"

"I do."

Curious, Damian probed, "What kind?"

Before Dorian could respond, their attention shifted left as Aries placed his tray on the table with a friendly smile.

"I thought I'd join you."

He gazed at Dorian, puzzled, "Why didn't you let me know when you arrived?"

Dorian explained, "You looked engrossed with those five alphas; I didn't want to disrupt."

Dorian had never encountered such an attention-whore as Aries. Aries' eyes flashed as he defended, "They're just my friends."

Noticing Dorian engrossed in his meal, Aries fetched a chair, positioning it at the table's end. Dorian deliberately picked a four-person table, anticipating Damian and Aeron's company, but Aries wasn't about to let that happen.

Damian turned Dorian's face, urging, "You haven't addressed my question."

Aries smiled and asked, "What question?"

Damian, gaze fixed on Dorian, clarified, "What kind of mate is he looking for?"

Dorian peered into Damian's grey eyes, and responded, "I want to be with someone who would cherish me above all else, willing to go to great lengths, even if it meant obliterating an entire planet upon my request."

Damian looked into Dorian's mesmerizing blue eyes, a warm smile playing on his lips. He had never encountered such a charming omega before. He used to believe he was unlike other alphas, but it seemed meeting Dorian was the missing piece that proved him wrong.

Curious, Damian inquired, "Would you do the same for your mate?"

Dorian's reply was immediate and unwavering, "Certainly."

Damian gently caressed Dorian's cheek, a tender smile adorning his face. Dorian's heart raced, witnessing the tenderness reflected in Damian's eyes—an unfamiliar sight after a lifetime of encountering only disdain and disgust, especially from a protagonist.

As Damian observed the blush on Dorian's cheeks, his eyes softened. Aries, on the other hand, confronted him, his gaze intense, questioning, "Aren't you asking for too much, Dorian?"

Dorian gently lowered Damian's hand, meeting Aries' gaze. He countered, "How is it asking too much?"

Aries asserted, "Someone shouldn't have to destroy a planet for you to believe they love you."

Darius frowned, correcting, "That's not what he said."

Aries had the urge to give Darius a good slap for interrupting again, but he restrained himself and commented, "That's pretty much what he's getting at."

Dorian responded, "If my mate loves me above all else, I'd be willing to go as far as destroying a planet for him. I wouldn't settle for anything less from him."

Aries looked at him skeptically, saying, "This is too extreme. You don't have to be obsessed with your mate."

Dorian asserted, "It's alright if you're okay with a dull relationship lacking intensity and passion, but that's not what I want."

Considering Aries' relationship with Damian in the original timeline, it's understandable why he feels that way.

Dorian dreams of a mate who can't resist being close, always keeping their hands on him and never staying too far away.

He longs to experience the depth of loving someone profoundly and having that love reciprocated. Dorian won't settle for anything less; he's determined to find the right person who fulfills these desires.

Finally, Dorian can pursue what he has always yearned for, and he won't cease the search until he discovers that special connection. All he wants is to be enough for that one person.

Damian tilted his head, studying Dorian. What Dorian yearns for is precisely what Damian has been avoiding his whole life. Having witnessed how such love led his uncle to tragedy, Damian vowed never to feel that intensely for someone.

Being an alpha who never experienced strong emotions or reacted strongly to omegas in heat or during a rut, Damian was convinced he'd never find someone he desired above all else.

Damian had never bought into the idea of alphas instantly knowing someone is meant to be their mate, feeling it deep in their hearts and bones. Yet, that's exactly how he felt when he locked eyes with Dorian.

Initially, when he was walking towards him earlier, Damian was angry at the way he spoke to Luna, but all that anger melted away the moment their eyes connected.

Damian gazed at Aries when he commented, "There's a middle ground between those extremes. That's where everyone should be."

Dorian grinned, saying, "You and Damian would make a great couple. He feels the same way."

A flush crept onto Aries' face. He couldn't understand why Dorian would say something so outlandish, especially with the live filming.

Glancing at Damian, he noticed the anger on his face, and Aries felt his heartbeat quicken. Deep down, he knew Damian liked him; they spent so much time together.

Damian turned Dorian's face and pinched his chin. Dorian met his angry gaze as he caught a whiff of Damian's dark pheromones.

"Did I ever say this is what I want?" Damian questioned.

Dorian replied, "You didn't have to. You're different from other alphas. You don't feel as deeply as them, which means you'll never experience intense emotions."

Even if Damian's newfound attraction is more physical, Dorian sees it as just that. Damian seems emotionally reserved, and he appears content with that. Dorian couldn't fathom why Damian would be upset with this honest assessment.

As Damian's dark pheromones subsided, he stated, "People change."

Dorian smiled, saying, "Perhaps, but not you."

Even if the protagonists in each world are unaware of heavenly support ensuring their success, they all have an innate belief that things will work out. This conviction leads them to pursue their desires without feeling the need to change or evolve.

Damian questioned, "How can you talk about me as if you know me when we just met?"

Dorian pushed his hand away, sneering, "Didn't you do the same earlier, setting off a wave of people attacking my stellarnet account?"

With Damian siding with Luna, the entire galaxy now believes that everything Dorian said was lies. They bombarded his stellarnet account, the most popular platform, with derogatory comments.

Dorian stood up and left. Damian pulled out his cell phone and searched Dorian's name on stellarnet. His eyes darkened as he read the comments on his wall.

Aeron inquired, "What are they saying?"

Damian looked up, replying, "That he's ungrateful and wouldn't have survived his father's death without the Zenos."

Darius frowned, glancing at Aries, who was smiling. He asked, "Do you find this amusing?"

Aries' smile quickly vanished as he remarked, "What did Dorian expect would happen after spreading lies?"

Familiar with Dorian's tendencies, Aries anticipates he won't reply. This way, when Dorian eventually passes away, everyone will assume his words are lies.

Fortunately, Aries sees it as a positive turn, as his father just informed him that Dorian consulted his lawyer to draft a permit allowing them to build on Dorian's land and house, even though the property is in Dorian's name. Instead of signing the secret deed.

Even if they face challenges transferring the house deed, at least Dorian's reputation is damaged, and people won't second-guess things once they inherit everything.

Darius countered, "Just because you, your family, and brother-in-law claim they're lies doesn't make it so."

Damian, correcting the relationship status, frowned, "I'm not his brother-in-law. Luna and I aren't married or engaged for that matter." He stood up and left, prompting Aries to look at him and then hurriedly follow.