CHAPTER 532: SILAS? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Darcy stood behind the corner of the hallway wall, his back pressed against the cold plaster. His breathing grew shallow, quiet enough not to give himself away. He shouldn’t have been listening. He knew that. But as the voices of Micah and Clyde’s conversation reached him, he couldn’t tear himself away.

Every word struck him with disbelief.

From the memories that didn’t belong entirely to him, the fragments of the Darcy of this world, he knew Micah had treated him really well with kindness, concern, and patience. But he never imagined that Micah would place him above Clyde.

Something inside Darcy stirred, something he didn’t expect. It was not gloating. It wasn’t satisfaction either.

No, it was as if a hole he hadn’t realised existed in his heart had been filled.

For so long, he had lived with suspicion. He had convinced himself Micah’s kindness was a facade, or a calculated move. But hearing that trembling honesty in Micah’s tone now... it made him waver.

Darcy had no idea why this Micah was hell-bent on protecting him. So determined to help him, even at his own expense. Or declaring he would make him happy. But for the first time, he believed it. Now he could see the sincerity in Micah’s words and actions. It was real.

And now he realised the truth: maybe all of his past misfortune had been the work of someone else, and Micah had never been malicious at all. That thought broke the last barrier in his heart against Micah.

He straightened slowly, his breath steadying. He no longer felt like the lost, bitter man he had been in his past life. His fingers brushed against the wall as he pushed himself forward, stepping out from behind the corner.

The soft sound of his shoes against the floor drew their attention immediately.

Micah flinched the instant he saw him, his body jerking away from Clyde as though caught doing something scandalous. He pushed Clyde away. His eyes widened before he forced a nervous laugh. "Why are you here? Sorry, we took a bit long, didn’t we?"

Darcy looked at him, then his gaze flickered to Clyde, whose expression had turned stormy seeing him here.

"I want to talk to you about something..." Darcy said quietly, looking at both of them.

Micah straightened instinctively, seeing Darcy’s serious expression. "Alright. Let’s talk in your room."

He stepped forward and gently grabbed Darcy’s arm, leading him toward the direction they had come from.

Behind them, Clyde ran a hand through his hair, a faint mocking smile on his face. Darcy...

He had underestimated him.

Well, it didn’t matter what Darcy wanted to say; he would watch him like a hawk, not letting him hurt Micah. He pushed himself to follow them, expression unreadable.

Meanwhile, Micah led Darcy to sit on the bed.

"So, what was so important that you had to wander around?" Micah asked, already forgetting his embarrassment at being caught by Darcy.

Darcy didn’t answer right away. Instead, he patted the space beside him. "Sit down."

Micah raised an eyebrow but still complied, lowering himself beside Darcy.

Clyde leaned on the wall, watching them. His jaw tight, arms crossed, eyes never left Darcy.

Darcy clasped his hands together in his lap. His knuckles were pale, his fingers restless. He looked down at his hands. He wet his dry lips before speaking. "I had a dream... or maybe flashes... when I blacked out."

He began, voice uncertain. "I am not sure if you’ll believe me, but it felt too real to be nonsense..."

Micah tilted his head, studying him with a faint worry. "What was it?"

"I saw things that didn’t make sense. I saw myself being used by someone to hurt you..." Darcy said, watching Micah’s expression.

Micah searched the content of the novel, but there was nothing like that. It was more like him being used by those four scums while they exploited Darcy.

Micah’s heart came back to his place, the initial spike of alarm fading. For a second, he had thought Darcy had also dreamed about the novel. That would have been unbearable. He didn’t wish for him to know about it. Because that novel had been nothing but pure torture for Darcy.

"That’s fine," Micah said gently after a moment. "I told you before, the Ramsy family made a lot of enemies. If they find out about the switch, they surely try to exploit you. That’s why I insisted on you joining Ramsy Empire early..."

"That’s not it!" Darcy interrupted. "It wasn’t just me... I saw others too... people who should have no connection to you, but they were your admirers or lovers even..." Darcy said, looking at Clyde.

Micah paused. "What... do you mean?" he stammered.

"I saw you were on friendly terms with that doctor...Silas," Darcy forced himself to utter. He still couldn’t tell the truth. That Micah had been officially with Silas.

Micah shot to his feet, yelling. "No fucking way!" he burst out, the words echoing through the room.

The blood drained from his face. What had Darcy dreamed? Was his subconscious so shaken that he made up this bizarre combo?

He could never with that freak! Micah could taste bile in his mouth even from thinking about the possibility. Not even if hell froze over would he ever be with Silas!

Clyde’s eyes narrowed, stepping forward. "I think this is enough," he said sharply. "You had just had a nightmare. Best to forget..."

"You shut up!" Darcy snapped, fury flashing across his face. "Stay out of it if you’re just going to keep hiding like a coward!"

Micah froze, looking at the two, baffled. What hiding? What coward?

Darcy’s chest rose and fell quickly. He took a deep breath. "What am I saying is... Micah, you are in danger. Not just you, even this man beside you... and me. I saw it." His voice cracked, full of desperation. "Someone killed me and Clyde right in front of your eyes."

Micah’s eyes widened, not understanding what Darcy was saying. It wasn’t anything like that in the novel.

Had the switch trauma been too much for Darcy? To his mind fabricate this scene? Or had it been because he could not return his feelings?

In the novel, there was no mention of Clyde. And the only one who had died was him.

Why would the protagonist die?