From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 195: A Safe Place to Land (part 1)

The commotion reached all the way to the lounge. Darcy turned his head, brow furrowed, eyes drifting toward the hallway where a group of people had gathered. Their voices echoed, murmurs, some curious, others uneasy. Something had clearly happened.

Micah still hadn’t come back. What if something happened to him? Darcy’s stomach twisted. He looked at the researcher, anxious to wrap up the appointment and go find Micah. He opened his mouth to make some excuses when the man in the white coat spoke first.

"Well, it appears something’s come up," he said, glancing toward the noise. "I believe we’ve covered everything important today. If you’ll excuse me, I’d better be on my way."

The man stood from his chair and gave a polite smile, though his posture had grown stiff.

Darcy stood as well and nodded. "Thanks," he muttered. His mind was on Micah. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Micah, pressing it to his ear, and waiting.

The ringing continued but no one responded. Darcy’s brow knitted together. He lowered the phone, checked the screen, then hit redial. It rang again, the sound feeling longer with each beat of silence. His fingers clutched around the device.

Still nothing.

Without hesitation, he grabbed his bag off the chair and slung it over his shoulder. His footsteps were brisk as he stepped out of the lounge. He needed to find the restroom. Maybe Micah had just gotten sick again.

As he walked, bits of conversation floated past him.

"Oh, man. That guy was so scary!"

"Seriously. I got goosebumps when he glared at me."

"Even the president was afraid of him."

"Yeah, you were lucky he didn’t fire you."

Darcy didn’t care about their conversation. He just needed to find Micah.

He walked toward the restroom, but it was blocked.

"Sorry, mate," a security guy said. "This one is out of order. You’ll have to use the other one, just down the hall, other side."

Darcy gave a stiff nod and turned away. His instincts told him something was really wrong. He called Micah again.

It rang. But Darcy had lost hope of being picked up.

Just as he was about to hang up and begin searching the whole floor for Micah, it clicked.

"Micah? Where are you?" Darcy asked quickly, pressing the phone tightly against his ear.

There was a pause, and then Micah’s voice came through, low and tired. "Sorry, something came up. I had to leave."

Darcy froze mid-step. "You...left already?"

The voice on the other end sounded nothing like the usual Micah, no irritation, no spark, no embarrassment for ditching him. Just tired. Worn out.

He wanted to ask what happened. Ask if Micah was sick again. Ask if he was okay. But his throat locked up, and he didn’t know how to force the words out without sounding like he was prying too much. But he was sure Micah would have never left him unless something major had happened. "Okay," he said quietly. "I was worried you disappeared suddenly."

A short silence.

"Sorry. I’ll make it up to you," Micah said. freeweɓnøvel~com

"Alright. I’ll see you at the dorm." Darcy said, ending the call. He stared at the phone screen for a few more seconds, still feeling like something wasn’t right.

Was he not reliable enough? Why didn’t Micah ever open up to him?

From the moment he had met Micah, the silver-haired boy was helping someone. First Nora. Then himself at the pharmacy. Even in the university, he had helped many students including Russell.

But who had helped Micah? Who was there when Micah needed someone to rely on?

Darcy wanted to be that person... but until now, Micah had never let anyone know his thoughts or troubles.

Darcy pursed his lips, his gaze dropping to the floor, his expression dimming.

*****

Inside a quiet parked car, Micah sat curled up in the passenger seat, Clyde’s coat wrapped loosely around his shoulders. His hair was slightly damp at the roots from sweat. His eyes stared blankly at the dashboard, barely blinking. His hands rested in his lap, fingers twitching slightly.

Clyde sat beside him, one hand still on the steering wheel, the other holding the phone to Micah’s ear.

Micah was too tired to move. His limbs felt like lead, and his muscles ached from the tension earlier.

So Clyde had fished out the phone out of Micah’s pants pocket when it wouldn’t stop ringing.

The screen had lit up with a name: Darcy.

Micah stiffened, suddenly remembering he had left Darcy behind in the lounge.

Before Clyde could ask what he wanted to do, Micah had spoken. "Quickly answer it."

He tried to move, stretching his hand. But his arms were trembling, too weak to move.

So Clyde had pressed the green button and held the phone up to Micah’s ear, not saying a word.

When the call ended, Micah lowered his head, his bangs falling forward to hide his face. "He is the friend I came here with," he murmured, his voice soft.

Clyde nodded slowly. He figured as much. The boy with the serious eyes and dark hair. So his name was Darcy.

Still holding the phone, Clyde turned it in his palm, resisting the urge to scroll. A flicker of curiosity passed in his eyes. He really wanted to know what name Micah had saved him under. Was it ’Big Jerk’? Or Mr Clyde? Or like his friend just a simple name?

But in the end, he didn’t scroll down the screen.

Micah watched Clyde, noticing his gaze. "You can put the phone away."

Clyde looked up and met his eyes for a second before tucking the phone into the seat-side compartment without protest.

The car went quiet again.

From the time Clyde found Micah in the restroom and carried him out until putting him into his car, one question kept circling in his mind. Why did Micah have a panic attack?

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask. Not because he didn’t care, or because he wanted to stay out of it, but because he was afraid. Afraid that asking would put Micah on the spot, making him feel exposed or uncomfortable.

Ever since he realised how he felt, Clyde had promised himself he wouldn’t cause Micah even the slightest distress.

His own needs didn’t matter right now. Micah’s well-being was his priority. Yes. Micah came first.

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