Desire Me If You Can Novel - Chapter 119

The scene of the fire was no different from any they had seen before. Firefighters, seeing the surging flames, emerged from the truck and scattered to their designated tasks with swift efficiency.

Grayson urgently scanned the surroundings, then saw Dane gathering his gear and hurried over.

“Dane, what should I do?”

He spoke, hoping Dane would tell him what to do, just like last time, but Dane didn’t even look at him, much less answer. Grayson could only stare blankly at Dane’s back as he turned away, a helmet in one hand and an axe in the other.

Diandre, who saw them from a short distance, frowned and muttered, “What’s going on with them? Did those two fight or something?”

Ezra glanced their way, then immediately returned to his work. “Now is not the time to worry about that.”

“Oh? Oh… R-Right.”

Diandre was embarrassed by Ezra’s unusually cold tone and quickly helped him start the work. But even as he worked, an uneasy feeling remained in his heart.

Everyone present had witnessed Dane’s fury the last time. There had been several audits and even a police investigation. Reporters had eagerly spewed out trashy articles, and public opinion had soured. However, the situation quickly reversed. It was revealed that the man who was assaulted had actually murdered his wife and disposed of her body, then abused and killed his child, after which he set fire to the house to conceal the crime.

The reason the child’s body hadn’t been disposed of was because, unlike his adult wife, the child wasn’t old enough to leave the house of his own volition. The man felt a sense of crisis that a neighbor might report it if the child suddenly disappeared, forcing him to set the fire. He had intended to fake an accident, pretending the child had played with fire while he was at work, but the world was not as easy to manipulate as he thought.

Once the truth was revealed, people did a complete turnaround, praising Dane with remarks like, “That’s a firefighter for you—a fist of justice,” “Too bad he didn’t kill him then; he’s too kind because he’s a firefighter,” and “This deserves an award. Reward our hero.” Thanks to this, the audits and investigation faded away and were practically treated as if they had never happened. However, the Chief couldn’t simply let the matter drop.

<You must keep a tight leash on Dane so that something like this doesn’t happen again.>

The Chief’s instruction to Wilkins spread to the other staff. Everyone was now secretly anxious that Dane might pull another dangerous stunt. They were taking turns keeping an eye on him, and naturally, that led them to notice his relationship with Grayson, too.

Once again, Diandre glanced back and forth at the two, feeling perplexed, but Ezra’s urgency made him quickly refocus on his job.

They made such a big fuss about dating, so what the hell happened?

Since he didn’t have a good opinion of Grayson anyway, he might have been expected to welcome this situation, but the tense atmosphere around Dane made him uncomfortable. He was already feeling a degree of self-reproach for having been too harsh on Grayson Miller, which only made him think more.

Hoo, he sighed, then quickly composed himself and focused on the job at hand. This was a battle with fire. If he let his guard down, anything could happen.

Yes, just like now.

“Diandre, look out—!” someone yelled.

The next moment, Diandre saw a huge, towering tree trunk crashing down toward him and froze, unable to move.

What should I do? Grayson was burning with anxiety. No matter what he said or did, Dane wouldn’t look at him. Was everything going to end like this? Why did I do that back then? What made me so confident?

The distance between himself and Dane, which he thought had narrowed somewhat, was now farther than when they first met. It might be irreversible now. If that happened, if everything ended like this…

What will become of me?

Just the thought made his mind go blank. This wasn’t the sensation of ‘fear.’ It was something he was feeling for the first time, a feeling similar to the ground collapsing beneath him, sending him falling endlessly into the abyss. His fingertips tingled, and he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.

How… how can I…

It was right then. He saw a massive tree falling toward someone.

Grayson couldn’t tell who it was. The only thing he was sure of was that it wasn’t Dane. But in that moment, a sliver of hope flashed through his mind. If I save someone again, just like I saved Dane’s cat once… !

“Miller, look out!” he heard a frantic shout.

But Grayson had already thrown himself toward the danger.

It was not an altruistic act at all. It was far from saving someone or risking his own life for others. It was an action done solely to win back Dane’s heart, only for that purpose.

He gambled on the single hope that if I do this, Dane might look at me again.

A thunderous Kwar-reu-reung echoed all around. The burnt tree narrowly missed Grayson’s body and crashed onto the ground. Diandre, pale with shock, eyes wide, trembled all over. He couldn’t believe it. Miller saved me? Grayson Miller, really?

“Miller! Diandre!”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Oh my god, what happened…”

Colleagues rushed over, urgently chattering. But Diandre still hadn’t fully recovered. He was overwhelmed by the double shock of almost being crushed by a burning tree and realizing the person who saved his life was Grayson Miller.

His colleagues forcibly helped the dazed, speechless Diandre up, then turned to lavish praise on Grayson.

“Miller, that was incredible. You did something amazing!”

“I completely misjudged you. You truly are one of us.”

“Miller—no, Grayson! You’re a hero. You’ve saved a life twice now…!”

They praised him lavishly from all sides, but not a single word registered in Grayson’s ears. The reason he risked his life was not to receive this kind of fleeting, bandwagon-fueled praise. His sole desire was for Dane to look at him, and that was all.

Dane wasn’t among the people who gathered. He wasn’t even among the guys who patted Grayson’s shoulder and left. Of course. He hadn’t given Grayson the slightest bit of attention from the start.

“Ha…” Grayson let out a sigh that was close to a lament.

In the distance, he could see Dane shooting water at the flames. Even though such a huge commotion had erupted, he didn’t even glance over. He was simply repeating the task assigned to him, as if nothing had happened.

It was then that Grayson finally understood the nature of the emotion he was feeling.

“Good job, Dane.”

“Bye, everyone worked hard today.”

After exchanging routine greetings, Dane left the locker room and headed to the parking lot. As he walked by habit, he suddenly saw someone standing next to his car. He didn’t need to check. A man that tall could only be one person in the entire area.

Tsk, Dane silently clicked his tongue, then took out his car key and pressed the button. The car’s headlights briefly flashed with a short beep.

“Dane.” Grayson spoke to Dane, who was about to pass him and open the door.

And Grayson Miller repeated the words he had been repeating endlessly. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Dane sat in the driver’s seat without any reaction. As he was about to close the door, Grayson suddenly said something unexpected.

“I know you’ll never love me.”

Dane froze for a moment. He raised his gaze, and Grayson smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth as he always did.

“This is despair, isn’t it?”

He didn’t ask what it felt like. A man who was even delighted by the feeling of despair. Dane silently looked up at him, then quietly shut the car door. The car then left the parking lot and drove onto the road. Leaving Grayson, who was standing still as if he would be there forever, Dane quickly drove away.