From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 714: A Loser’s Awakening (part two)

Leo blinked several times in quick succession, as though his eyes were struggling to focus. His pupils moved over Micah’s face, his shoulders, and the silver hair catching the light from the hallway. For a long moment, he simply stared, breathing unevenly.

"Jesus Christ..." Leo whispered hoarsely. His voice sounded raw, like someone who hadn’t spoken much in days. "You’re even appearing outside my dreams now."

Micah didn’t react. He stood in the doorway with his usual composed expression, his gaze calm and unreadable as he looked at the dishevelled man in front of him.

Leo rubbed his bloodshot eyes with the back of his hand as if trying to clear his vision. When he looked again, Micah was still there. Still standing calmly in the doorway. Still watching him.

Leo’s eyes roamed over the young man’s face and body. Then his gaze locked on something. His expression slowly shifted from disbelief to something softer. His shoulders trembled slightly, as though a sudden jolt of excitement ran through him.

Without thinking, he stepped forward. His hand lifted slowly, trying to touch the faint mark he believed he had left behind.

Micah’s eyes narrowed. Before Leo’s fingers could reach him, Micah lifted his leg and kicked him lightly in the stomach. Not hard enough to injure him. But certainly hard enough to wake him up.

"Hands off," Micah said flatly.

Leo staggered back two steps, clutching his stomach in shock.

"If you’re still not awake," Micah continued coolly, lowering his leg again, "I don’t mind hitting you a few more times to help you."

Leo’s eyes widened. The dull pain spreading across his stomach was very real. He looked at Micah again. Then at the small love mark on his neck. Then back at Micah.

"You... you’re really here!" he said in disbelief. His voice rose slightly with shock. "No..." His breath turned uneven. "Who? Was it one of them? No, it’s impossible. He would never let them... It’s a nightmare... right. It had to be a nightmare," he muttered to himself in a frantic whisper.

Micah ignored his rambling. Instead, he stepped forward and walked into the room as though he owned the place. The moment he entered the room, his eyes began scanning the surroundings.

The room itself was large but dim. The curtains were half drawn, allowing only a thin beam of afternoon light to slip inside. Dust floated lazily in the golden ray. Clothes were scattered carelessly over a chair. Several empty water bottles sat on the desk. The entire room carried the stale feeling of someone who had been isolating himself for far too long.

But that wasn’t what made Micah grimace. His gaze slowly travelled across the wall opposite the bed. Then his expression twisted. Photos. Several framed photos hung there. All of them were pictures of him. Micah stared at them silently for a moment. Then his lip curled. "Total nutjob," he muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Leo finally snapped out of his daze. The pain was real. He wasn’t dreaming. His complicated gaze turned toward Micah.

"Why are you here?" Leo asked as if he couldn’t believe it.

Micah folded his arms across his chest and turned toward Leo, raising one eyebrow. "What?" He said dryly. "Are you complaining that I came here?"

Leo shook his head so quickly his messy hair bounced. "No! No... of course not!" His voice sounded slightly panicked.

Micah looked without expression. "Good," he said shortly. He glanced down at his nails as though inspecting them. "Then explain something to me." His tone turned colder. "Why are you hiding in your room like a hermit?"

Leo swallowed. The movement of his throat was visible as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His eyes moved slowly toward Micah again. But this time the look in them was different. Hungry. Desperate. Like someone who had finally stumbled upon water after wandering through a desert for days.

Micah immediately felt a faint prickle run down his skin. "Keep staring like that," he said flatly, "and I might decide you don’t need those eyes anymore."

Leo immediately dropped his gaze. "Sorry," he muttered quickly. He shifted his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. "I’ve just... been having trouble sleeping," he said quietly. "That’s all."

Micah gave a sharp, mocking laugh. "Oh?" His eyes were icy. "So your solution was to waste my money and resources?"

Leo flinched slightly. He pressed his lips together tightly, clearly trying to control the chaotic emotions building inside his chest. "That wasn’t my intention," he said slowly. His voice sounded strained. "I didn’t cancel those projects to cause trouble." He ran a tired hand through his messy hair. "My current state..." he added quietly, "...isn’t exactly something the public should see. I look like a drug addict or alcoholic. If I appeared like this... the scandal would damage the company too much."

Micah walked deeper into the room while Leo spoke. His steps were slow. Eventually, he stopped directly in front of the wall covered in photographs. He studied them one by one. Then he spoke without turning around. "You’ve got some nerve," he said coolly.

Leo’s shoulders stiffened.

"Collecting my photos like this." Micah glanced sideways at him. "What?" His voice sharpened. "Did you pull the same disgusting stunt you did with Darcy? Did you imagine me?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Leo’s expression changed. His eyes darkened with guilt. That was all the confirmation Micah needed.

He gagged slightly in repulsion. "You’re a disgusting pig," he muttered.

Without warning, he stormed forward. His foot lashed out again. The kick landed squarely against Leo’s thigh this time.

Leo stumbled and fell to the ground with a dull thud. But he didn’t resist. He didn’t even try to block the attack.

"All of you make me sick!" Micah snapped. His voice echoed sharply in the room. "A bunch of lunatic bastards!"

Leo groaned softly from the floor. But he still didn’t move.

Micah’s chest rose and fell rapidly as anger surged through him. He ran a frustrated hand through his silver hair. "Fuck!" he snapped.

His eyes burned with fury. "You commit crimes like that and then have the nerve to throw a tantrum afterwards?"

His voice grew harsher with every word. "Instead of hiding here like a pathetic wreck, you should be dragging your sorry ass in front of Darcy and begging for forgiveness!"

Leo squeezed his eyes shut. Each word struck him like a whip.

"Why the hell were you chasing after me in the first place?" Micah continued angrily. "God, every single one of you is a narcissistic prick!"

Leo remained on the floor, silent. But his hands slowly clenched into fists. He nodded faintly. "I understand," he whispered. His voice was barely audible. "I’ll do what you say."

He swallowed with difficulty. "So... please calm down." His lips trembled slightly. "Getting this angry probably isn’t good for you."

Micah gritted his teeth. The words irritated him. But deep down he knew something uncomfortable. This entire mess...

Had originally started because of him. If he hadn’t switched places with Darcy back then...If he hadn’t interfered with the plot...None of those tragedies would have happened.

The guilt lingered quietly in the corner of his mind. Micah closed his eyes briefly. Then he forced himself to finish what he had come here to do. "I hope you mean that," he said coldly. His gaze sharpened. "Because if I catch you slacking off at work again... or touching Darcy..." His voice lowered dangerously. "You won’t like what happens next."

Leo nodded immediately.

Micah turned toward the door. "Oh," he added casually, pausing halfway across the room. "Tell the other three the same thing." His tone became colder again. "And before you go near Darcy, you run it by me first."

With that, he began walking toward the door.

Behind him, Leo slowly lifted his hand. For a moment, it looked like he wanted to stop him. But halfway through the motion, his hand froze. Then it slowly dropped. After the accident...

The four of them had finally understood something. Their existence in Micah’s life only brought disaster. Every time they tried to approach him, something terrible happened. So they had stepped back. They had decided to keep their distance. To live with their guilt and regret quietly for the rest of their lives. Not seeking Darcy earlier had also been deliberate.

They were afraid. Afraid that confronting him might trigger his memories of the past. Leo had always hoped Darcy didn’t remember. But the day Darcy punched Aidan...

The hatred in his eyes had destroyed that illusion. Darcy remembered everything. Leo had known it instantly. But he had done nothing. Because he was a coward. He couldn’t face the disgust in Darcy’s eyes. He couldn’t endure hearing those cutting words directed at him. So he had hidden here instead.

Leo slowly looked toward the door. It was slightly open now. Micah had already disappeared down the hallway. A bitter laugh escaped his throat. Even after everything...Even after Micah had pushed them out of his life... He had still come here today.

But not for them. For Darcy. Everything had always been about Darcy. They had never truly mattered to Micah the way Darcy did. That fact hurt more than anything.

Leo let out another hollow laugh. But the sound slowly broke apart. His eyes drifted toward the door again. And then he remembered something else. The faint mark on Micah’s neck. That hickey had been impossible to miss. Leo had noticed it immediately the moment Micah stepped into the room. He didn’t need to guess who had left it there. Of course, it was Clyde.

Leo’s laugh cracked. His chest tightened painfully. The laughter slowly turned into something else. A choking sound. His shoulders began to shake. Tears slid silently down his face.

He had lost. Completely. Truly. There was no longer any doubt.

He had lost to Clyde.