From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 631: A Protector with Rotten Motives

Archie shoved the man away with all the strength in his arms, sending him stumbling back across the smooth marble floor.

"Piece of shit! You crazy bastard!" he roared, stepping between him and the trembling silver-haired girl. "What the hell do you think you’re doing, forcing yourself on her?!"

His chest was heaving, blood rushing so loudly in his ears that it almost drowned out the stunned silence around them. His hands were still curled into fists, knuckles aching from the impact of that first punch, but he barely felt it. Rage burned through him, hot and blinding. He remembered his little brother, Russell. How that bastard, Ashley, had tried the same thing with him. He couldn’t stand these fucking bastards for even one second.

Just a few minutes earlier, Archie had been standing more than a hundred meters away, half-hidden behind a tall marble pillar near the edge of the elevator. His heart had been pounding so hard it felt like it might tear out of his chest.

Unlucky for Noas, Archie was standing in a range the system couldn’t detect.

He had seen everything.

At first, he hadn’t been watching the silver-haired girl at all.

He had spotted Emile, Micah’s roommate, arriving with a young man and a woman. From their mannerisms and closeness, Archie had assumed they were relatives. It hadn’t interested him much, not until his eyes drifted, almost by accident, to a figure with pale silver hair.

For a split second, he had thought it was Micah.

The resemblance was enough to make his breath catch. That shock alone had been enough to make him watch her more closely, even after realising she wasn’t the one he was looking for. Something about her presence tugged at him in a way he didn’t understand.

His interest was piqued, and he paid attention to her despite himself.

Then he saw her speaking with one of Emile’s companions, a young man with an ordinary face and a polite smile. Their hushed, tense conversation had immediately caught his attention. Then he heard Micah’s name. Darcy’s name. Ramsy. Engagement.

Each name hit him like a blow.

Every sentence he managed to catch felt like a blade slicing into the world he thought he knew. His grip tightened on the edge of the pillar as realisation dawned.

Micah wasn’t the Ramsy family’s real son. Darcy was.

The truth struck him so hard his vision went momentarily blank. It explained everything, the strange way Micah and Darcy were close in the game, the way Micah always seemed to protect him, hover around him, choose him. Archie had always thought it was some twisted affection, maybe even love.

But it wasn’t. It was guilt.

And instead of easing the knot in his chest, the revelation only made it tighten. His emotions spiralled, slipping out of control. The resentment he’d always felt toward Darcy sharpened into something far uglier, something poisonous.

If Darcy didn’t exist, Micah would still be the heir. Micah would still be at the top, untouchable, dazzling.

Then came the part about the engagement.

That blond man, Clyde.

Archie remembered the online scandal, the blurry photos of Micah with a tall blond man, and remembered Russell teasing him about it. Micah had laughed it off, said Clyde was "like family."

Archie’s fists clenched so tightly his nails bit into his palms. Had Micah really been engaged to him?

Was that a lie? Or was it the truth?

A vein throbbed in his temple as jealousy and panic twisted together, making it hard to breathe. But there was one small mercy.

The switched-at-birth scandal meant that any engagement tied to the Ramsy heir was meaningless now. Micah wasn’t officially the Ramsy heir anymore. So that engagement had no real foundation.

He swallowed, trying to steady himself as his mind raced.

That was when he noticed the silver-haired girl moving away from the group. Curiosity tugged at him. He wanted to ask her more, to know more. But then he noticed that the young man who had initiated a talk with him, Noas, had followed her too.

Something about the way he moved set off every alarm in Archie’s head.

The man’s steps were light, calculated. His eyes tracked her too intently, too sharply, like a predator watching prey. Archie’s sixth sense screamed that something was wrong.

So he stayed where he was, watching.

He wasn’t even sure why. Maybe it was instinct. Maybe it was because her hair was so similar to Micah’s that it stirred something in him. Or maybe it was because she might be the key to tearing Clyde out of Micah’s life.

If she could tell Micah how Clyde had played with her feelings, how he had lied and deceived her, then Micah’s opinion of that blond man would shatter. And if Clyde fell...

Archie’s lips had curved into a faint, dangerous smile as his thoughts raced ahead, weaving plans and possibilities.

The more he pieced together what he had learned tonight, the clearer his path became.

Coming to this event hadn’t been a waste after all. Earlier, not being able to find Micah had left him restless and irritated. He didn’t want Micah to see him as some desperate, pathetic man begging for scraps of attention or sponsorship, but the craving to see him was still there, gnawing at him.

But now, he found out there was another way to get his hands on Micah. And with the way Darcy had stepped into Micah’s life, sooner or later a crack would appear in their close relationship.

And when it did...Archie would be there, ready to slip inside.

He was still thinking when something changed.

From behind the pillar, he noticed the young man’s expression shift. One moment he looked polite and shy. The next, cold, sharp, almost cruel. And then he stepped closer to the silver-haired girl, invading her space.

Archie’s smile vanished.

A tight, uneasy feeling settled in his gut as he watched the man grab her. He saw her struggle, heard her cry out, and that sound pierced straight through him.

There was no more hesitation.

Archie sprinted toward the balcony, shoes skidding slightly against the polished floor as he closed the distance. His heart pounded, adrenaline flooding his veins.

And when he reached them, he didn’t stop to think. He swung.

His fist connected with Noas’s face in a brutal arc, snapping his head to the side. The man staggered, and Archie shoved him back, placing himself firmly between him and the shaken girl.

"Get away from her," Archie growled, eyes blazing. "Don’t touch her, motherfucker!"