CHAPTER 529: ECHOES OF THE FIRST LIFE (PART ONE)

When the door closed, Clyde turned his gaze to Darcy, his expression suddenly sharper. He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. His stare was heavy, almost probing.

Darcy met his gaze. "What?"

Clyde’s tone dropped, edged with cold anger. "Are you playing games with him? Do you enjoy watching him suffer?"

Darcy was taken aback. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Then why were you rambling when you were supposed to be fainting?" Clyde asked, voice tight.

Darcy’s brows furrowed. "What? I told you I don’t remember! What have I said?" He sounded genuinely confused, frustration rising in his tone.

Clyde’s jaw clenched. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a slow breath before speaking again. "You pushed Micah away," he said quietly. "You said he was a liar when he told you he was worried about you."

Clyde paused. "I sent him to fetch water for you before it got worse... Then you said he had abandoned you... left you to die..."

Clyde’s fists curled at his sides as he spoke, nails digging into his palms. The memory of it still unsettled him. It felt like the door of hell had opened right in front of his eyes.

He had just finished making a grilled cheese sandwich for Micah when Darcy clutched his head all of a sudden, not responding when Micah called his name.

For a second, they thought Darcy had fainted. But then he opened his eyes, confusion morphing into fury, beginning to accuse Micah. He had looked at the silver-haired boy and said those words with a bitterness that didn’t belong to this lifetime.

At that moment, Clyde had panicked. He had separated them, sending Micah to get a glass of water for him. Luckily, Micah had not caught the full phrase. He had only seen the fury in Darcy’s eyes, thinking he was upset about the swapped heir incident or about his feelings being ignored.

But Clyde had understood what those words meant. Because in every lifetime they had lived, except for the first one, Micah was always the one to be abandoned by Darcy. Not the other way around.

But what had shaken Clyde was the last words Darcy had said before collapsing again: Left me to die.

Darcy had died once before Micah. And twice before Clyde.

He wasn’t sure whether those words at the end were directed to Micah or him.

Darcy had died in their first life right after kidnapping Micah.

And in his last life, when Darcy poisoned himself.

So was it possible Darcy had remembered something?

If what the temple master said about the chosen one was true.... Wouldn’t it mean that Darcy was the centre of their misfortune?

Then why could Micah remember but not Darcy?

Since when had Darcy begun to recall fragments? Was he toying with Micah now, or was he truly unaware?

Clyde’s mind buzzed with endless questions. He was just glad Micah had panicked so much, running around like a headless chicken, so he had missed Darcy’s words. Otherwise.... He couldn’t imagine the consequences.

The last time Micah had lost control, when Darcy had fallen ill, he had remembered his past life, but this time, it was Darcy who had recalled.

These two were connected more than he had thought.

But Clyde had been relieved that Darcy had quickly regained his consciousness before Micah fell into madness again.

Still, a question circled in his mind... which Darcy was he facing now? The first life? Or his last? Or neither of them?

He needed proof. So he set a bait. An intimidation. To see how Darcy would react to his words.

Because if he wanted to protect Micah, he needed to know which side Darcy would take on. Would he be a friend or a foe?

Clyde stared at the dark-haired young man, gauging his reaction.

Darcy looked at Clyde, confusion flickering across his pale face, then filled with rising panic that tightened his chest. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, staring at the blond man standing a few feet away.

Did he really say those words to Micah? That he was a liar? He pushed Micah away?

Left him to die, abandoned him...

Wasn’t that scene from that warehouse? The one where he had died alongside Clyde and...

Darcy’s pulse quickened. His breath hitched, chest rising and falling unevenly. He clenched the hospital blanket tightly until his knuckles turned white. The sterile room felt smaller by the second, the faint beeping of a heart monitor sounding louder, harsher.

What if Clyde had been reborn, too? The thought popped into his mind. No...no, he had checked. Clyde had never reacted to his harsh, insulting words, not the way someone who remembers would.

His gaze, his tone, the way he spoke to Micah and acted around him had been so different from his last life. Could someone really change that much?

Darcy had prided himself on his adaptability, his ability to hide his true emotions, to keep his real thoughts buried deep where no one could see them. Yet, even he hadn’t managed to mask how he felt about Micah in those first days after being reborn. The resentment, the betrayal, the hatred had all leaked through, no matter how hard he tried.

Then how could Clyde be so composed? So calm, so... detached?

Darcy’s mouth felt painfully dry. His lips parted slightly as he stared at Clyde, trying to find something, a clue to reassure himself.

But those pale blue eyes stared back at him with coldness, a flicker of madness whenever Micah was mentioned.

Who was this man? Was he really the Clyde from their past life? Did he remember it too? Was he here for revenge?

He had gone against Micah, the fake young master, on every chance he got after losing Flora and Nora. The resentment had clouded his judgement, and he had used everything to climb his way into the Ramsy Empire. Ironically, throughout the way, Clyde was the one he had clashed with the most.

Not those four men who had betrayed him.

Now if Clyde was also reborn, was he here to settle the score with him?