Page 4 of Unbreak Me

As I walked, I exchanged glances with a few omegas from Section C, already sitting in their booths. They were all very elegantly dressed, probably in their best outfits. Clearly, I stood out with my appearance, but, as we already established, I couldn’t care less.

The air was filled with their nervousness and hope. Everyone wanted their contract to be purchased by someone they liked and who would be well-matched with them. So much silly hope—it sickened me.

Or maybe it wasn’t that silly? I had to admit, many omegas in this section still looked youthful, some very attractive. They might have a real chance with the kind of alphas who frequented such fairs.

Glaring at them, all dolled up and smiling, I could believe that probably close to a third of these guys would leave with a new contract husband—at least in theory. There were rumors circulating that on some days, at some fairs, especially those held in the countryside, even half of the contractees could secure a marriage deal! But… we were in a big city. People here were much pickier.

My booth was roughly in the middle of the third section. A pretty good spot, I must say—just around the corner from the main aisle, but not right at the corner, avoiding too many people staring at me. Nolan indeed chose a good place for me.

Next to my spot stood an informational board, but I decided not to look at it. It was way too embarrassing seeing my personal info out there for everyone to read.

Both my neighbors were already sitting in their glass cubes. The one on the left was in a wheelchair—it seemed like both of his legs had been amputated. The one on the right? Ridiculously attractive, with long black curls. I quickly looked away—no need to ruin my mood further.

Almost in a hurry, I entered my booth, half-expecting it to feel stuffy, but I was pleasantly surprised. The glass cubicle was small, but the ventilation ducts stuck up from the floor, keeping the air fresh. In the middle was a pretty comfortable armchair, so I slumped into it right away, rested my head on the headrest, and shot Nolan a challenging look.

"Well, what’s more to say? I’m ready! Let the freak show begin!"

Nolan locked his stupidly pretty eyes on my face and remained silent for a long moment, appearing as if he were pondering something way too seriously.

"Do you know why I was hired by this company?"

"I have no idea, and I couldn’t care less," I grumbled, averting my eyes and directing them at the main entrance, where I noticed the first group of visitors crowding near the security checkpoint, some already coming inside. My throat suddenly felt strangely dry.

Fuck, it was really starting. Humiliation alert!

"But I want to tell you anyway, Mr. Sanderson. I was hired because I had a very high rate of finding good pairings for my clients before. High Mate pairings."

Still uninterested in his spiel, I simply shrugged.

Visitors were heading toward the first section, though a few were getting closer and closer…

Since Nolan was silent, as if waiting for my reaction, so I sighed. "That’s all well and good, Mr. Nolan, but no matter how adept you are at scrutinizing the details of submitted forms and questionnaires from your clients, or how skilled you may be at psychoanalyzing their personality traits and preferences… you can’t control who walks into this hall. Two different cases."

He averted his gaze, also noticing the group of visitors, and cleared his throat before admitting, "I’ve never made these pairings based on a detailed analysis of my clients’ personalities."

Silence fell. What? I even felt a slight wave of curiosity.

Tilting my head, I asked, "So, on what basis? You’ve got my attention now!"

Nolan smiled enigmatically. "I have a certain gift, a very powerful intuition. Almost, one might say, supernatural. Sometimes, I just glance at people and sense who their ideal partner would be, and this has proven successful in many cases. I have every reason to believe that my intuition won’t let me down this time, either."

"Well, for now, I don’t see any candidates around!" I spread my arms and made a sour expression. "And I don’t know how you can even attempt this… magical intuitive matching, or whatever you want to call it!" My tone couldn’t stop being sarcastic. It just spilled out of me—my coping mechanism for feeling shitty.

Two alphas walked past my booth and barely glanced in my direction. They stopped by my neighbor’s cubicle, the pretty, black-haired omega with caramel skin and tight yoga pants. He was sending them sweet smiles. Perfect. But so… not me.

Nolan had a sly smile on his face. "My talent isn’t just about matching candidates. I think it has become something more. I can now sense the right circumstances when a person may meet their perfect match."

I snorted with laughter; the guy sounded downright delusional.

"Well, pardon my limited optimism until it’s proven otherwise, Mr. Nolan. For now, I’ll stick to being a skeptic of your ‘magical’ abilities. But hey, let’s see how things unfold! Today and tomorrow, right? You’ve got a two-day window to summon my ideal prince charming!"

I flashed my teeth and waved my hand in the air, as if conjuring up some mystical energy with an imaginary wand.

Nolan smiled with a hint of sadness. "That’s fair. I understand your skepticism. Truth be told, I would have big doubts myself because it does sound like magic bullshit. But… I have one request: if I send someone to you and personally insist that you consider them, will you try to trust me?"

We locked gazes for a moment. It seemed very important to him, so I hesitated. For once, I could rise above my usual attitude and try to be civil. Rolling my eyes as if giving up, I muttered, "We’ll see, but I make no promises."

He nodded and headed toward the exit of the booth.

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