From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 114: The Missing Puzzle Piece

Chapter 114: The Missing Puzzle Piece

Micah stood in the backyard of the old campus gym, staring at Archie and his brother in a daze. He replayed a half-forgotten line from the novel in his head. "Because of my brother..."

Archie’s younger brother barely appeared in the novel.

Back then, when Micah read the book in his dream, his mind automatically skimmed past the line. It had felt irrelevant then. Now, with Russell bouncing in place beside Archie, the missing puzzle piece clicked into place.

There was a time in the novel when Darcy had asked Archie, ’Why did you believe in me? Why track down the person who spread the gossip? Everyone else had treated it as a fact.’

Archie had answered, "Because of my brother. The one who hurt you hurt him first. I had my doubts, but when your case was also linked to him, I knew I should step forward."

Archie’s words had puzzled Micah. There was no mention of how he had hurt Archie’s brother in the novel or how Darcy’s predicament was connected to Archie’s brother. That didn’t make sense. So he had ignored it.

Now, seeing the two brothers together, one scene stuck with him.

It was from Archie’s point of view that the author wanted to show the second male lead’s growing affection for Darcy.

*They passed through the campus cherry blossom trees, Darcy chatting in his bright, sunny way about nothing in particular, then he stretched his hands and grabbed cherry blossom petals scattered in the air. Archie’s eyes softened as he watched him. Then, when Darcy turned back, smiling, calling him ’brother’, warmth flooded Archie’s chest.

’Yeah,’ Archie thought, ’I want to see him like this all the time. Looking at me with bright eyes full of trust...not like him, not the way he once did, as though I had betrayed him....’*

Micah’s mind clicked. Archie was looking at the back of his younger brother with eyes full of affection.

What if... what if he meant his younger brother? What if he did all that to Darcy because he had lost his brother’s trust? Archie had monopolised Darcy, not letting him have any friends in the university, staying with him in those difficult times when gossip was high, then revealing the culprit and gaining Darcy’s full trust and gratitude....

Micah’s gaze shifted to Russell. What would become of him in the original timeline? Russell looked like a bubbly, cute boy, full of energy and cheerful, far too easy to bruise.

Russell jogged toward them. "Ah, thanks for coming, really!"

The voice woke Micah up from his thoughts on the novel. He cleared his throat and stepped forward.

Russell shot a glance at Archie. "Brother, come here! Let’s do the introduction later. Time’s tight." his voice was full of nerves, and his cheeks, pink from running across campus, puffed when he spoke too fast. He scratched nervously at the side of his face, then turned to Micah and Darcy.

"Sorry, we found the guy behind the rumour. I asked him to come here. I want to confront him myself. You two can hide behind that door and listen."

"I’m still against it," came a deep voice. Archie stepped beside Russell and nodded to Micah and Darcy. "We could all just talk to him..."

"No!" Russell cut in, crossing his arms. His round face filled with a stubborn pout. "What if he denies everything? Or worse, blames me?"

Archie sighed. "We have proof, Kid. The IP addresses from that high school forum point straight to his house. That has to count for something."

"That covers the old posts. But what about campus? The new ones were posted by the gaming club. He can pin them on any of us! And right now, my college records matter more than some dusty forum fight in high school," Russell said with a huff.

"Fine, fine, we’ll do it your way," Archie said helplessly.

Micah’s head moved back and forth between them like he was watching ping pong. He had been on pins and needles all afternoon, dreading meeting Archie, the second male lead. But he was set aside. Russell hadn’t even let him greet anyone properly, the bubbly boy practically dragged them into his plan.

"So, is it cool with you?" Russell asked Micah while rocking on his military boots. Truthfully, he hadn’t known the culprit’s name until Archie told him a few minutes ago. He had hastily contacted him, asking him to come here at Archie’s order.

But after a few seconds of thinking, Russell decided to meet Ashley alone.

He usually had more contact with him than Archie did.

That boy fell silent around Archie, or more correctly, in front of intimidating people, he became as silent as a mouse. But when it was only Russell, Ashley had mumbled all kinds of inappropriate things. It made him uncomfortable, yet he never spoke to anyone about it.

Russell decided to be brave and handle Ashley himself. With his older brother and these two boys as backup, he was sure Ashley could not do anything to him.

Micah glanced at Darcy, silently asking for his opinions.

Darcy’s eyes flickered to Russell, reading the situation. He also felt this was not just about him and the rumour. He could drag Micah out of here, but he knew Micah like the back of his hand. Abandoning someone who asked for help would devastate him later. By how Russell behaved, it seemed this person was dangerous. So Darcy gave a small nod.

Seeing that, Micah hummed in agreement, still in a daze. This boy hadn’t let him utter a single word. He was jittery and hyperactive. Totally different from the two past encounters. Compared with the cheerful chatter he had shown Darcy yesterday and the shy nervousness he had shown Micah alone, this was more excessive.

Was it because the culprit was an unstable person? Was it fear of him?

Either way, the three grown boys were shoved behind the old gym’s door by Russell. "Wait here, Ashley will arrive in five minutes."

The storage room was barely big enough for them. Micah ended up sandwiched between Darcy and Archie, feeling uncomfortable. The small space smelled of old basketballs and damp cardboard.

"Well, this is awkward..." Archie mumbled.

He never thought saying Ashley’s name would act like a switch to his younger brother. It seemed there was more to Ashley’s creepiness than he knew.

His eyes flickered to the silver-haired boy in military uniform. It was a dim light, he couldn’t decipher what emotion the boy had on his face. But he could sense the glare from the one beside him. Archie smirked. They were the same type, territorial, protective, and fiercely possessive of what they called theirs.

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