From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 735: What Must Be Given Up (part one)

The same night, several hours earlier, in a secluded and discreet restaurant tucked away from the noise and chaos of the city, four men gathered within a private room that had been reserved under a name that none of them particularly cared to remember. The establishment itself was known for its silence, its dim lighting, and its strict policy of non-interference, making it an ideal place for conversations that were never meant to be overheard.

It had been more than two months since the four of them had last seen each other in person. Two months that had stretched endlessly, filled with restless thoughts, lingering guilt, and the kind of silence that weighed heavier than any argument ever could.

Archie was the first to break that silence as he stepped into the room without so much as a greeting. He pulled back a chair with more force than necessary and dropped himself into it, his movements lacking the usual sharp confidence that once defined him. His eyes were bloodshot, his expression irritable, and there was a visible tension in the way his fingers tapped impatiently against the table. The version of Archie who once carried himself with effortless arrogance and charm seemed to have vanished, leaving behind someone far more worn and unsettled.

Silas was already seated by the time Archie arrived. His posture was straight, almost rigid, as if he had been placed there rather than choosing to sit. His hands rested calmly on his lap, untouched by the tea that had been served, untouched by anything in the room. His expression remained unreadable, his gaze steady and distant, as though he were present in body but not entirely in mind.

Aidan sat slightly apart from the others, leaning back in his chair with a cigarette held loosely between his fingers. The faint glow at its tip flickered in the dim light as he took a slow drag, exhaling without any visible urgency. His eyes were unfocused, lost somewhere deep within his own thoughts, as though the world around him had dulled into something insignificant compared to whatever storm was brewing inside him.

Leo was the last piece of the quiet tableau. Unlike the others, he appeared composed, almost unsettlingly so. His gaze moved from one man to another, carefully observing, weighing, and assessing. There was something complicated in his expression, something layered with emotions that he did not bother to conceal entirely, yet did not fully reveal either.

The silence lingered for a moment longer, heavy and suffocating, before Archie finally broke it with a scoff.

"What is this ridiculous gathering supposed to be?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as his voice carried a sharp edge of irritation.

No one answered immediately.

Leo reached for his teacup, lifting it with deliberate calm. He took a slow sip, as though savouring the moment, or perhaps simply buying himself time. When he finally spoke, his voice was even, measured, and entirely unbothered by the tension in the room.

"Micah came to see me."

The effect of those words was immediate and unmistakable.

The air in the room seemed to freeze, as though time itself had stuttered. Three heads turned toward Leo in perfect unison, their expressions shifting from indifference to sharp, unfiltered hostility.

Archie let out a harsh, incredulous laugh, the sound devoid of any real humour. "Nice try! Ha! What a pathetic joke," he said, his tone dripping with disbelief. "I am not buying that. There is no way in hell he would go looking for you."

Leo did not react to the insult. He simply set his teacup down with quiet precision before continuing. "Whether you believe it or not does not change the fact," he replied. "He came to my house. My family met him as well."

The room fell silent again, though this time it was not the same silence as before. This one was sharper, more volatile, filled with disbelief that bordered on anger.

Archie’s expression twisted as he leaned forward slightly, his frustration bubbling over. "Why you?" he demanded, his voice rising despite himself. "In our first life, the one he favoured the most was that emotionless sick bastard sitting right there." He gestured sharply toward Silas. "And now you are telling me it is you? What exactly is so special about you that he suddenly cares in this life? Why does he have a soft spot for you of all people? Why did he go to such lengths to open an entertainment company for you, to support you, and help you over and over again? Why?"

His voice cracked slightly toward the end, the anger giving way to something far more raw and difficult to mask.

Leo met his gaze without flinching. "Because I was not one of the people who ripped his back apart and left him there to die," he said quietly.

The words landed like a slap.

There was no immediate response. No argument, no denial, no attempt to deflect. Just a heavy, ringing silence that seemed to echo long after the words themselves had faded.

Archie’s shoulders slumped as though the strength had been drained from him in an instant. He leaned back into his chair, his earlier aggression dissolving into something far more subdued.

Leo shifted his attention toward the other two. The fire that had sparked in their eyes moments earlier had dimmed, replaced by something quieter, heavier.

"Well," Leo added after a brief pause, his tone almost casual, "if it makes you feel any better, he did not exactly treat me kindly either. I was more or less used as a punching bag."

That remark shifted the atmosphere slightly. The hostility did not disappear entirely, but it softened, settling into something more complex, something that could not be easily defined.

Aidan narrowed his eyes, studying Leo carefully, as though trying to determine whether he was telling the truth or not.

Silas, on the other hand, showed little outward reaction. His expression remained composed, though there was a subtle shift in his gaze.

"What did he say?" Silas asked, his voice calm and restrained.

Leo folded his hands together on the table. "He told me that we should get our acts together," he said. "And that we should apologise to Darcy."

"Fuck, it is Darcy again," Archie snapped, his frustration reigniting. "Everything always comes back to him. If it were not for him, none of this would have happened in the first place."

Leo did not respond to that statement. He shared Archie’s frustration, but there was no point in arguing about something that none of them could change.

Aidan exhaled slowly, the cigarette between his fingers burning down as ash gathered at its tip. "He will never forgive us," he said quietly. "What is the point? He hates our guts. Showing up in front of him now would only make things worse. It would stir the pot of shit again. There is no benefit to it."

Leo let out a soft chuckle, though there was no amusement in it. "I did not expect much from you," he said, shaking his head. "But... Haiz...That sounds totally like you. Blaming the victim for not forgiving you."

Archie clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tsk," he muttered. "Half of this mess was because of his excessive crazy actions. Otherwise, we would not be this doomed."

Aidan did not argue with them. His gaze remained fixed on the cigarette in his hand as the ash finally broke away and fell onto the tray below. He watched it for a moment, his expression distant. "Was it something inherent in us?" he murmured, almost to himself. "Why were we capable of being that cruel?"

Silas, who sat closest to him, stiffened almost imperceptibly. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes before it was gone again. Aidan’s words were like a knife stabbing his core.

Leo leaned back slightly in his chair. "We were not good people even before we met him," he said. "If anything, he was the one who made us better. Without him..." He paused, his gaze lowering slightly. "You have seen what we became in those other lives. We were worse than animals."

The room grew quiet again, though this time the silence carried a different weight. It was no longer sharp or volatile. It was heavy, reflective, filled with a quiet understanding that none of them could easily escape.

There was, at the very least, one small comfort. In this lifetime, none of them had crossed that line. None of them had committed the same unforgivable acts. They had not destroyed themselves completely. They had not become the worst versions of who they could be.

Yet the price they had to pay was steep. Staying away from Micah. That alone was enough to leave a hollow space that none of them knew how to fill.

Leo broke the silence once more, his voice steady. "I have been thinking about why he came to see me," he said. "And I believe I understand his intention."

The others looked at him, their attention sharpening.

"He wants us to move forward," Leo continued. "Whatever happened between Darcy and us... It is not something that can be ignored forever. At some point, we will have to face it."

Archie frowned. "And you think simply walking up to him and apologising will fix anything?" he asked sceptically.

"No," Leo replied. "That would only make things worse."

He paused for a moment, as though choosing his words carefully. "That is why I thought of another approach," he said.

Aidan lifted his gaze slightly, interest flickering in his eyes. "What kind of approach?" he asked.

Leo’s expression remained calm, though there was something resolute beneath it. "We show our remorse," he said slowly. "But we do it without forcing him into a situation he does not want to face."

Archie leaned forward again, his curiosity overcoming his earlier irritation. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Leo met his gaze directly. "By giving up what matters most to us," he said.

The words settled into the room like a weight. No one spoke. No one moved. The silence that followed was absolute.