1.10 Smiles and Shadows

Dorian glanced over his shoulder, sensing a presence. His gaze locked with Damian, who had just materialized. Dorian turned and paused his video. Damian moved his tablet aside before settling in front of him.

"How are you?" Damian inquired, his expression betraying heightened concern.

"I'm fine," Dorian responded, meeting Damian's gaze. Damian appeared even more troubled than before.

"Today must've been a lot," Damian remarked, reaching for Dorian's hand.

"It wasn't. I've always known what kind of people the Zenos were, so I'm not surprised. You and the rest of the galaxy probably are," Dorian remarked.

Damian tightened his grip on Dorian's hand. "I'll deal with them and make sure you never have to see them again."

Perplexed, Dorian questioned, "What do you mean?"

With a steely resolve in his dark eyes, Damian declared, "I'll make sure they get into a fatal accident."

Dorian's heart quickened. "You would kill them for me?"

Damian affirmed with sincerity, "Of course, I would do anything for you."

Dorian's heart skipped a beat. After a moment, he inquired, "What about your fiancée?"

Damian's gaze turned cold. "Luna isn't my fiancée, and she will never be. Once I end things with her, she'll suffer just as much as her family."

Unable to suppress a smile, Dorian looked down. It felt strange to have someone willing to go to such lengths for him. Despite Damian and Luna being together for two years, Damian's commitment to Dorian reached unexpected depths.

Damian's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Dorian's sweet smile. He pulled Dorian onto his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist. Dorian's cheeks flushed as their eyes met.

"I'll deal with them before the second trial," Damian declared.

Dorian responded, "There's no need."

Damian frowned. "Do you plan on letting them go?"

Dorian shook his head. "I want to torture them before they die."

Damian visibly relaxed upon hearing that. He had been concerned that Dorian might still harbor doubts. Damian reassured him, saying, "If you need help, let me know."

Dorian nodded, but annoyance flickered in his gaze as he stared into Damian's grey eyes. It irked him that he wasn't as angry at Damian anymore. Although he sensed Damian's genuine remorse, uncertainty lingered in Dorian's mind about the situation.

For the time being, he decided to see where things would lead. If he discovered that he and Damian were incompatible, he would search for the right person. Damian gently caressed Dorian's cheek when he saw his face. He asked, "What is it?"

Dorian pinched Damian's chin tightly, issuing a stern warning, "If you dare say those words to me again, I'll destroy you."

Damian swore, "I won't. Never again." Dorian loosened his grip and nodded. Damian tentatively asked, "Does that mean you have forgiven me?"

With pride, Dorian responded, "For now."

Damian smiled, his eyes flashing with amusement as he pulled Dorian closer, enveloping him in a reassuring hug. Dorian reciprocated the embrace, feeling his body relax as he caught a whiff of Damian's pheromones. It struck him as strange - he had traversed multiple worlds, but never before had someone's scent left such an impact on him.

Grinning uncontrollably, Damian found solace in Dorian's forgiveness. He hadn't realized the weight of his actions until he witnessed the hurt in Dorian's eyes. Determined, Damian vowed to never cause him pain again.

As Dorian pulled back, he inquired, "How did people react after seeing the truth?"

Damian explained, "Luna and Aries' Stellarnet accounts are riddled with insults. Now the entire galaxy knows they were playing the victims."

Dorian smiled, recognizing it was the quickest way to expose the Zenos' true nature. He knew they would have no choice but to bow before him, and they would pay a hefty price before facing their ultimate fate.

When Damian asked, "Do you still plan on living with them?" Dorian nodded, determined to establish his dominance.

Dorian noticed his frown and questioned, "What's wrong?"

Damian suggested, "You should stay elsewhere until the show is over."

Dorian countered, "This is my house. Why would I leave? Furthermore, how am I supposed to torture them if I'm not around them?"

Damian proposed, "I thought you could stay at the palace with me."

Between the trials, the candidates have a couple of days to rest, and Damian would have preferred Dorian to stay with him. Dorian was a little surprised to see how nervous Damian was.

Dorian glanced at Damian and then looked away. "It's best if I go home."

Damian couldn't help but feel disappointed. "I understand."

Dorian met his disappointed gaze and felt uncomfortable. "Maybe I could spend one night."

Damian, who had been looking down, immediately looked up with a gleam of excitement. "Really?"

Dorian nodded with a smile. Damian grinned. Dorian looked at his cute, excited face and felt his heartbeat speed up. Damian checked his watch when it vibrated, read the message, and sighed.

Damian looked up. "I have to go."

Dorian nodded, standing up, and Damian followed suit. He pulled Dorian into an embrace and said, "Good night."

"Good night," Dorian replied. Damian kissed his cheek and beamed away. As soon as he was gone, Dorian couldn't help but smile, covering his face with his hands.

In his office, Damian appeared with a smile and glanced at Aeron. Taking a seat behind his desk, he asked, "What was so urgent?"

Aeron tilted his head. "What happened to you?"

Damian looked happier than Aeron had ever seen him in the past couple of days when he had been feeling down. Damian shared, "I spoke with Dorian. He forgave me."

Aeron smiled and asked, "Does that mean you don't plan on asking Luna to marry you anymore?"

Damian's eyes turned cold. "I plan on ending our relationship and only being with Dorian."

Aeron remarked, "Here I thought her day couldn't get any worse."

"She deserves much more than that for the way she and her family treated Dorian," Damian added.

"I know, trust me, they'll pay one way or another," Aeron assured.

Damian nodded and asked, "What's going on?"

Aeron explained, "It's time for Luna's shift, but no one can find her. I put another guard on it. I'm pretty sure she is hiding now that everyone knows the truth."

Damian nodded determinedly. "I'll take care of it."

Meanwhile, Aries turned back abruptly when he heard a sound. He stood up, pointing his blaster, and was stunned to see Luna.

"What is wrong with you? Why would you beam here?" Aries questioned.

Luna approached him and stated, "We have a problem."

Aries sneered, "A bigger problem than people believing I only passed the trial because my sister helped me? There are cameras in this cave."

"I put the cameras on a loop and yes. The entire galaxy knows the way we treated Dorian."

Aries' heartbeat quickened, and he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Luna explained, "Our plan was successful, and Dorian froze when he saw the phobosian. Except his fear changed; he feared that we didn't really love him but that we were just using him. The phobosian projected all the pictures in his mind, and now everyone knows that we've been using his father to make him do whatever we want."

Aries' already rapid heartbeat sped up. He asked, "Did you see me in it?"

"Of course I did, we were all in it. There was the day you threatened him to sign up for the show and so many other incidents."

Aries swallowed, looking down. It took him so long to cultivate a perfect reputation as someone nice and sensitive, but now it's all gone because of Dorian. He looked at Luna. "Tell me at least he's dead."

Luna shook her head. "He isn't. He killed it, and turns out Dorian is much more powerful than he looks."

"What do you mean? My spiritual and physical forces are stronger than his," Aries argued.

Luna sneered, "Unless you're stronger than Damian, I doubt it."

Aries' eyes darkened. "He's just as strong as Damian."

Luna nodded. "He was able to protect himself from the phobosian by erecting a force field."

Aries felt his body tremble in rage. Luna continued, "I already talked to mother and father to take care of him for good."

Luna handed him a tiny vial. Aries looked inside and saw a tiny white pearl. Luna explained, "All you have to do is put it in Dorian's water bottle, and he'll die that very night. The drug is untraceable, and it'll look like a heart attack."

Aries frowned. "What's the point if everyone already knows the truth?"

"Everyone is saying that Dorian should forget us and never have anything to do with us anymore. They'll probably convince him to change his will too. That's why he needs to die now, at the very least we'll inherit his money. Once we're richer than everyone, no one will dare to say anything."

Aries nodded. "Just tell me where he is, and I'll go tomorrow." Luna explained the place and disappeared.

Aries took a seat and touched the vial in his pocket. Dorian has taken everything from him. He is even the strongest omega in the galaxy. Aries can't believe he never told him how powerful he was. Aries' eyes turned bloodthirsty. "I can't wait to watch you die."