From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 43: Just A Minor Villain

Chapter 43: Just A Minor Villain

The kitchen was filled with the comforting sizzle of bacon and the faint aroma of butter warming in the pan. Elina stood at the stove, her back perfectly straight, her hair neatly pinned into a loose bun. She moved, cracking eggs into the pan one by one.

Micah paused at the doorway, hesitant. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat softly, then stepped in.

"Morning, Mum," Micah said, his voice quieter than usual.

Elina ignored him, turning her back to him. The soft clatter of the spatula against the frying pan was the only answer he got.

Micah took a few steps forward and stood beside her, watching her cook.

"Mum," he tried again.

"I am sorry... would you please forgive me? I can’t take it anymore. I’ve missed talking to my Mum."

Micah leaned slightly to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. Elina gave no reaction.

"Mum, I am only here for one more week. I will be moving into the dorms when uni starts."

Still nothing.

Micah let out a shaky breath.

"If I tell you the truth, will you make up with me?" he asked softly.

Elina’s hands paused. The egg she was about to crack hovered mid-air for a second before she lowered it slowly onto the counter. She turned her head sharply, her eyes locking onto his.

Her gaze was full of scepticism. She scanned his face carefully, trying to tell if he was truly being honest or just trying to get out of trouble.

Micah didn’t flinch and held her gaze steadily.

"Fine. I am listening." Elina said, putting the eggs aside.

Micah felt a bit nervous. He stepped back, resting slightly against the kitchen counter.

"Do you remember when I was hospitalized, and you missed an important meeting?"

Micah spoke softly.

Over the past week, he had done a lot of thinking. Every sleepless night had been spent turning possibilities over his head, deciding what to say and what to do. He had come to one clear conclusion. His running away from answering his parents’ questions would only result in raising suspicion. And if he wanted his future plan to work, he needed his family to trust him.

So he decided to compromise. He wouldn’t lie, not exactly. He would give them a partial truth. Because yes, he had really gone there to see Darcy. But the actual reason was different.

Elina’s brows furrowed. She thought for a moment and nodded puzzledly.

"Yes, I was supposed to meet a promising student that day."

Micah swallowed.

"I was really upset about that. I didn’t mean to ruin it for you... I knew how excited you were to meet him, so I kind of dug out his address."

Micah said, lowering his gaze.

"No, you didn’t! Micah, how many times have I told you not to misuse your influence and money to do illegal deeds!" Elina said disapprovingly.

"I didn’t do anything wrong," Micah said quickly, holding up his hands.

"I just asked one of his high school classmates. I didn’t hire a private investigator or anything!"

Micah continued.

"Anyway, I only wanted to talk to him, asking him to come forward, not assuming you were ignoring him."

"So what happened? Why I didn’t hear anything from him?" Elina raised her eyebrow.

Micah glanced away, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Because I stumbled upon his sister...."

Micah’s voice faded.

Elina realised what had happened.

"Go on, tell me about the rest of it."

"I rescued her and met him too. But I couldn’t say anything. I was afraid he would think I had ulterior motives for helping his sister or, worse, that I had orchestrated the whole incident."

Micah said.

Elina sighed, the tension slowly draining from her shoulder.

"That’s why you kept it from me?"

"Yeah. I realised I might have made it worse for you...."

Micah nodded.

Without warning, Elina flicked her finger against Micah’s forehead with a small thwap.

"Ow...hey!" Micah winced, rubbing the spot.

"You Idiot!" Elina said, her voice finally warming.

"First of all, why would I need you to go after him when I just could call his professor?! Second, even if you told him the truth, why would he think of those messy reasons?! Couldn’t it just be a coincidence?! What is really in that head of yours?!"

Micah smiled awkwardly. If Darcy ever found out the full story, the case of the switched babies, the tangled web of connections, the real reason Micah had shown up in that alley, he wouldn’t just be sceptical. He would assume Micah had planned it all, manipulated events for some twisted motive. And honestly, Micah couldn’t blame him.

Anyone would think the same.

"So, have you forgiven me?" Micah asked.

Elina stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Of course. Can I not? You stupid kid."

Micah’s breath caught. He hadn’t expected the hug. For a moment he just stood there, frozen. Then he lifted his arms and wrapped them around Elina, burying His face into her shoulder, savouring the warmth and the scent of his mother.

Micah closed his eyes.

The dream he’d had, vivid, haunting, and far too real had shaken him more than he wanted to admit. It hadn’t been just a nightmare, but a warning.

He realised that he had been so caught up in playing these dangerous games with those psycho male leads, Leo, Aidan, Silas, and Archie, thinking he was untouchable, that he had forgotten he was just a minor villain in the book.

What if something went wrong? What if one of those men turned on him? What if they saw through him and decided to also involve his family to deal with him?

What if he ended up like in the novel?

He didn’t want to leave things like this, with tension, with silence, with that look in Elina’s eyes.

What if he couldn’t see them again?!

No before Friday came, before he appeared in that fan meeting, he had to mend his relationship with Elina. Not to mention, his information about his biological mother’s illness was shallow. Becoming a donor wouldn’t be just that simple. It needed preparation.

Micah exhaled softly and stepped back.

Elina turned back to the stove and waved a spatula at him.

"Aren’t you hungry? Come on, sit down. I’ll make your yolk runny, just the way you like it."

Elina said, her behaviour had changed 180 degrees.

Micah grinned silly and hopped up onto the kitchen counter, his legs swinging as he stared at his mother.