CHAPTER 537: OPERATION: MAKE HIM WAIT OUTSIDE

At the private hospital, Clyde stood near the wide glass windows, the pale morning light washing over his face. His phone screen glowed faintly in his palm, and he stared at it with a helpless expression that deepened the crease between his brows. He had felt comfortable too soon, too trusting, too quick to believe that things had finally calmed down.

Micah Ramsy was many things, but predictable wasn’t one of them.

Clyde could already imagine what had happened. Either Micah had recalled something Darcy had said after he left, or that damn dark-haired boy, Darcy himself, had accidentally spilled the truth.

Either way, he had to find that troublemaker.

He slipped his phone into his coat pocket, snatched the warm porridge box from the counter, and turned sharply toward the exit.

Outside, the wind carried a faint chill. He extended the porridge box to the bodyguard standing beside the car. "Here, it’s yours."

The man blinked, confused, but took it quickly, murmuring a polite "thank you, sir," before Clyde had already turned away, phone pressed to his ear.

"Find out where Micah went," he said curtly the moment his assistant picked up. "Check his phone location. Tell me the moment you know."

His tone was calm, but his fingers tapped restlessly against his thigh. He hated this feeling, being left behind, not knowing where Micah had gone.

After what happened with Aidan, Clyde had learned the hard way that comfort was dangerous. Those few hours when Micah had vanished without a trace, when Aidan had taken him, had been the worst of his life in this timeline. That helpless panic still lingered, along with the deeper fear of losing Micah again, as he had in every life.

So yes, Clyde had put a tracker on Micah’s phone. He didn’t even feel guilty about it.

And when he discovered Aidan had also secretly placed one on the device he had given Micah, Clyde decided it was better to do the same. It wasn’t about trust, but insurance.

Still, maybe he should convince Micah to wear something more reliable, a watch maybe, or a necklace. Something to make sure he could always be found, even if he left his phone behind again.

But now wasn’t the time. Micah was angry with him, furious probably. The kind of anger that no amount of flowery words could get him out of.

Clyde rubbed at his temple and sighed loudly, leaning back against the car door.

He climbed inside, started the engine, and began driving with no clear destination. The city blurred past the window as he wandered aimlessly.

The phone buzzed against the console. A text from Lin Heye.

Clyde was ready to ignore it. Lin Heye’s messages were often trivial, usually complaints about Dylon and Mason, or some half-baked gossip. But then, his eyes caught one word in the text. Micah.

He pulled the car to the curb, expression sharp.

He opened the message. As his eyes skimmed the short note, the corner of his lips twitched upward.

"Oh... so he has gone there," he murmured. His tone carried both exasperation and relief. "Good."

Honestly, he wasn’t that worried. Darcy was with him, after all. Especially now that he remembered their first life, Darcy would be on guard against any possible dangers.

Now, what worried Clyde wasn’t Micah’s safety; it was how to face him, how to coax that stubborn boy. He would surely throw a fit.

Clyde leaned back, exhaling slowly as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Another sigh slipped out before he turned the car around, heading straight for the Royal Dragon Pavilion.

*******

Micah was sitting by the window, chopsticks in one hand, a small porcelain bowl in the other. His cheeks puffed out slightly as he chews, savouring the warm taste of porridge and soft, chewy steamed buns. Every bite seemed to fill not just his stomach but his mood, the earlier tension on his face melting away into contentment.

Across from him, Darcy sat with perfect posture, eating slowly and elegantly. He neither slurped nor chewed loudly. He might as well have been the one who grew up in the Ramsy family and not Micah.

The third person at the table, Lin Heye, sat stiff as a board. He stared at the two of them with a mixture of curiosity and alarm, like a man watching a fuse burn toward a firecracker.

"So... how are you?" Lin Heye said, looking at Micah. "I heard you went sightseeing down south with your grandmother. That must’ve been nice, right? The holidays are usually crowded. How was it this time?"

Lin Heye needed to talk, anything to fill the silence and distract his mind. Otherwise, he was afraid his nerves would make him blurt out something about Clyde, and with him having no idea about their relationship, that would be a disaster.

Micah swallowed the last bit of bun, then reached for his glass of water. After gulping down a mouthful of water, he nodded. "Yeah. She needed a change of pace. So I accompanied her first, but it was too deserted. Too boring. Luckily, Darcy joined us halfway."

Lin Heye’s head snapped up. "Mmm? Are you from the Ramsy family too?"

"No," Darcy replied simply.

"Yes," Micah said at the same time.

Lin Heye’s eyes flickered between the two. "Huh?"

Micah locked eyes with Darcy, hating this stubborn bull who still refused to acknowledge being part of the Ramsy family.

"It’s complicated," Micah said finally, after losing their staring match. He dropped his head and resumed his eating.

Lin Heye’s expression turned into a question mark.

Complicated? How complicated could it be?

A hundred possibilities ran through his head.

They didn’t look alike, definitely not blood-related. But Darcy called him his brother earlier, didn’t he?

What was it? Stepbrother? Step-cousin? No, he never heard the Ramsy family had any scandal or any rumour about remarriage.

So was it really a romantic relationship?

Like was this dark-haired boy dating one of Micah’s sisters? A potential son-in-law?

Lin Heye peeked at Darcy. If that were the case, though, why was the boy sticking to Micah instead of his sister?

What was it? Don’t tell me his first assumption was correct? That Darcy was with Micah?

Love rival? But Clyde didn’t show any reaction to his text.

Lin Heye was biting the tablecloth in frustration. He wailed inwardly. Somebody just tell him the whole situation!

Just then, Uncle Lin arrived. "Well, if it isn’t our little guest!" he said with a warm smile.

Micah excitedly stood up. "Grandpa Lin!"

The older man chuckled. "Oh, look at you! You’ve grown even more handsome since I last saw you!" he said and stepped closer, patting Micah’s shoulder. He lowered his voice for just the two of them to hear. "Dating must agree with you."

Micah’s face turned red like a pig’s head, eyes flickering to Darcy. "Grandpa Lin!"

"Haha," Uncle Lin threw his head back and barked a laugh. "Alright, I don’t tease you anymore. How have you been?"

"Fine," Micah said quickly, eager to cover his embarrassment. "Where have you been? I came back a while ago but didn’t see you."

"Ah. Something came up back then. But here I am now. Come, sit." Uncle Lin sat beside them.

Micah helped pull out a chair as Lin Heye quickly placed another bowl on the table.

Uncle Lin turned his attention to the dark-haired boy sitting quietly nearby. "And who’s this young man? I’ve never seen you before."

Darcy bowed his head slightly. "Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Darcy Edwood."

"He is my little brother," Micah said smugly.

Darcy shot him a look, but Micah’s smile deepened instead.

The words made Lin Heye’s hand jerk slightly, spilling the porridge across the table. He froze, wide-eyed, and then quickly began dabbing at the spill with napkins, muttering apologies under his breath.

Uncle Lin raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask any more about it. "Welcome, young man," he said, his tone warm.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Darcy replied smoothly.

Micah leaned closer to Uncle Lin. "Grandpa Lin, do you have time after this? I wanted to talk to you about something."

Uncle Lin nodded. "Of course. For you, this old man is always free."

Micah smiled sweetly, then turned toward Lin Heye. "When that man comes, let him wait outside," he declared, a mischievous glint flickering in his eyes.

Lin Heye stiffened, scratching awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Ah, right... Sure."

"It’s okay, brother Heye," Micah added with a reassuring smile.

Darcy, without even lifting his eye from his teacup, spoke calmly. "Yeah. If he didn’t want him to know, he wouldn’t have come here."

Lin Heye looked at his father, totally baffled.

Uncle Lin laughed heartily, slapping his knee. "Good! Give him a bit of a hard time first. Then he will cherish you more, eh?" Then he rose from his seat. "Come, let’s take a walk. You can tell me what’s on your mind."

Micah quickly stood up and followed him out, leaving Darcy with Lin Heye at the table.