From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 179: The Past That Made Him Hesitate

Chapter 179: The Past That Made Him Hesitate

Lin Heye sat down on a cushion across from Clyde, a serious look on his face. He leaned forward, arms resting on the table, and stared hard at him.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Lin Heye said firmly. "Why does Micah think he is a stranger to you now? Why is he calling you Mister again? And who the hell is this woman he’s talking about?"

Clyde didn’t answer right away. His shoulders slumped as he sat back, rubbing his tired eyes with both hands. When he finally spoke, his voice came out low and strained. "I messed up."

"No shit?" Lin Heye shot back, eyebrows raised. "I know that already. And?"

Clyde exhaled slowly, like even breathing took effort. "I saw Micah...he was staring at that woman with this shy smile on his face. He looked a little embarrassed... like a boy talking to his crush..."

"That’s it? Just he was staring?" Lin Heye asked in disbelief.

"I don’t know... I kept thinking about when he asked about Georgina, how excited he was talking about her. The woman he was with...she reminded me of Georgina... they looked close. I just... I snapped."

"Oh, man... You are in deeper than I thought."

Clyde pressed his lips in a tight line. He didn’t argue. He just lowered his hands from his face and looked at Lin Heye. His eyes were red, tired, hollow, and full of emotion he couldn’t seem to hide anymore.

The look in them was so raw, so intense that Lin Heye froze for a second. His breath caught.

He wasn’t used to seeing Clyde like this. This wasn’t the cold, distant man who kept people at arm’s length. This was someone broken open, someone who finally let himself feel.

Clyde gave a small chuckle, the sound bitter. "If you are looking at me like that, terrified... I can’t imagine how Micah would feel if he knew the truth..."

"No, no, that’s not it!" Lin Heye said quickly, rubbing at his eyes. "I am not scared! I am shit...I’m just happy, okay?" His voice cracked, and he sniffled. "I thought... I would never see the day!"

Clyde just looked at him.

Lin Heye wiped his eyes. "Man, I thought you were gonna live your life alone like some monk in the mountains. Never falling for anyone. But now? You’ve gone and beaten Mason to it!" he let out a watery laugh.

Clyde shook his head with a soft sigh and leaned back, covering his face again with both hands. His fingers pressed into his temples like he was trying to hold his thoughts together.

He couldn’t believe it. He had fallen in love.

It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to him. After everything that happened to his family, after all the pain and secrets, he had sworn never to let himself feel this way.

Love, real love, was dangerous. Messy. Unpredictable.

He was the product of unspoken agony, an unrequited love. A love no one could admit, a love twisted by shame and regret. His uncle had loved his father. His mother had loved his uncle. And his father...

Clyde sighed.

He was not his father’s son. That was the truth. His biological father had been a distant relative, later adopted into the Du Pont family.

The man who raised him was never really his father, but the genes of madness still ran through his veins.

His pale blue eyes didn’t match the rest of the family. His blond hair came from his mother. But the bloodline, the truth, none of it mattered. Not when everyone was hurting.

Three lives had been destroyed by that tangle of love and regret. And he had grown up under the weight of all of it. He had been broken, knowing the truth.

That was why he never truly saw La Riviere as his. That was why he had trained Dean to take over, believing he was just a temporary guardian. A placeholder.

Now, he had fallen into the same trap. He was terrified. He didn’t want to repeat the past. Didn’t want to hurt Micah the way those three had hurt each other.

What if he ruined Micah, too? What if he ended up doing the same thing they did? What if he made Micah miserable without meaning to?

Micah probably had no feelings for him. Not that way. According to him, he was just some old man who kept bothering him, a jerk, a manipulative blackmailer!

Why should an eighteen-year-old boy fall in love with him? There were so many attractive girls and boys out there...He was rumoured to be a monster, a beast that had killed his parents. A jinx who shattered his own family.

Micah deserved better. So much better.

"Hey. Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Lin Heye shouted, waving a hand in front of his face.

Clyde snapped out of his thoughts. "What?" he said tiredly.

"I said, go apologise! Right now. Grab that food I packed and get your sorry ass to his dorm. Kneel if you have to! The boy was not into that woman. He was worried about you! The only reason he called me was because he thought you were falling for someone who might be playing you. Can’t you see he cares about you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He is just doing that because he feels indebted to me."

"Ah! Fine. Whatever! At least go say sorry! That boy thinks you were mad at him!" Lin Heye said, throwing his hands up.

Clyde still did not move. "If I go... he knew I was eavesdropping..."

"Fuck! Just say I told you!" Lin Heye yelled. "Use me as your excuse, I don’t care. Just stop overthinking and go."

Lin Heye ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Why does your brain stop working the second you realise you’re in love? You’re like a robot that short-circuits when it catches a feeling!"

Clyde frowned slightly.

Lin Heye reached out and grabbed Clyde’s shoulder. "Listen to me. You are not them. You are not your mother, your uncle, or your father. That boy has feelings for you. I am sure of it. So just go and talk to him. If he rejects you, fine. I promise we will all keep an eye on you, and make sure you don’t fall off the deep end, okay?"

Clyde’s lips twitched. "How would you know if I locked him in a black room?! You guys are so dense. I can easily outwit all of you."

"You wouldn’t. You’ve known you were in love with him for a while now, haven’t you? But you’ve never crossed a line." Lin Heye said. "And you’ll never dare. You’re too afraid he’ll think less of you."

Clyde took a breath, his voice quiet. "That was before I realised I could lose him. But now that it has come to light..."

"You are insane! You want to just step aside and let someone else have him? You couldn’t even handle the idea of him liking someone else!"

"That’s why I should distance myself from him..." Clyde mumbled.

"For the love of god! If you do something stupid like push him away, I’ll call him the second you leave and tell him everything!"

Clyde stayed quiet, his fingers curling around the wooden beads on his wrist. He touched the silver strand woven in. His thoughts drifted to Micah again. Micah’s voice, his bright hazel eyes, the way he pouted when annoyed... and the soft tremble in his tone when he admitted he was wrong.

He was at a loss for what to do. He didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t want to lose him either.