From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)-Chapter 729: The Tragic Tale of a Man Who Didn’t Even Get That Far (part one)

Chapter 729: The Tragic Tale of a Man Who Didn’t Even Get That Far (part one)

The sequence of events that followed unfolded exactly as Clyde had feared. No, if he was being completely honest with himself, it was far worse than anything he had anticipated.

At first, it began with something small. Subtle. Almost easy to overlook. Micah stopped letting him touch him.

Not abruptly enough to create a scene, not dramatically enough to invite confrontation, but deliberately enough that Clyde noticed immediately. A step back here. A turned shoulder there. A quiet but unmistakable withdrawal that made every attempt at closeness fall short.

And then came the second blow. Micah moved out of the penthouse.

There had been no long discussion. No negotiation. No room for compromise. He simply returned to his own apartment a few floors below, as though retreating to safer territory, and with a straight face declared that he intended to resume living with Darcy as roommates.

Just like that. Clyde could do nothing except stand there and watch as his own boyfriend fled from him.

It did not matter how many times he tried to coax him back. It did not matter how carefully he softened his voice, how deliberately he chose his words, or how many small gifts he prepared in an attempt to appease him. Every method he had ever relied upon, whether it was gentle persuasion, quiet affection, or even the more shameless tactics of charm, proved completely ineffective.

Micah remained firm. He insisted that he needed space.

Space... from Clyde. That single fact alone made something tight and unpleasant coil within Clyde’s chest. Regret followed soon after. He should not have let him leave so easily that day.

If he had just reached out, if he had simply taken Micah’s hand and refused to let go, perhaps things would not have escalated this far. He could have said it clearly, without pride, without hesitation. He could have admitted that he was the one asking, the one yielding, the one placing himself willingly in a lower position.

He could have made it obvious that in this relationship, Micah held the power. But he had hesitated. And now, the consequence of that hesitation stood before him in the form of an empty space where Micah used to be.

Still, something about the situation did not sit right with him.

Micah had behaved relatively normally during breakfast. Embarrassed, yes. Defensive, certainly. But not to the extent of completely withdrawing and moving out.

So what had changed? Clyde’s thoughts turned, almost instinctively, toward a single person. Darcy.

Micah had gone to see him after breakfast, no, after what had effectively become brunch. That alone was enough to raise suspicion.

Clyde watched silently as Micah packed. There had been no anger in his movements. No dramatic gestures. Just quiet determination. He gathered his belongings piece by piece, methodical and efficient, as though he had already made up his mind long before Clyde even realised what was happening.

Clyde had tried everything.

He had leaned in close, lowering his voice, attempting to coax a reaction out of him. He had brushed his fingers lightly against Micah’s wrist, testing the boundaries, only to be met with subtle avoidance. He had even gone as far as deliberately acting pitiful, softening his expression, letting vulnerability seep through in a way he rarely allowed others to see.

None of it worked. Micah did not waver. In the end, Clyde found himself doing something he had never expected, helping Micah move out. Helplessly.

He carried boxes. He followed him to the elevator. He stood by as the doors opened and closed, each floor they passed feeling heavier than the last.

And finally, they arrived. Micah stepped out first, walking toward the familiar door of his apartment. Clyde followed behind, slower, quieter, as though prolonging the inevitable.

Micah unlocked the door. And at that exact moment, Darcy appeared. The timing was almost too precise.

Darcy’s gaze landed on Clyde immediately, sharp and cold. There was no attempt to hide the hostility in his eyes. He waited until Micah had stepped inside, until the distance between them ensured that his words would not be overheard, and then he spoke. "How much did you bully him to make him move?"

The accusation landed without warning. Clyde stilled. For a brief moment, he simply stared at Darcy, the words not quite registering properly. Then, slowly, his expression flattened.

Wronged. That was the only word that came to mind.

He had not even had the opportunity to cross the final line. Everything that had happened between him and Micah had barely progressed beyond the threshold. And yet, here he was, being accused as though he had committed something unforgivable.

"This is between Micah and me," Clyde said, his voice calm but edged with something colder. "Stay out of our relationship."

Darcy’s expression darkened immediately. "I did not keep those four men away from him, protect him just for you to bully him," he replied sharply. "If he does not want something, then do not force it. I am watching you. You’d better behave." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Clyde opened his mouth, ready to respond. But then he stopped. A flicker of memory surfaced, fragmented, but persistent. Images of Darcy, repeated across different lifetimes. Pain. Helplessness. Situations that Clyde knew better than to dismiss lightly. This topic...

It was a sensitive point for Darcy.

Clyde exhaled slowly, forcing himself to let the argument die before it could escalate further. At the end of the day, whatever existed between him and Micah was theirs alone to define. Arguing with Darcy would not change that. If anything, it might complicate matters even further.

So he said nothing. He simply nodded once, turned, and walked away. His shoulders sagged as if he were defeated. The return to the penthouse felt longer than usual. Colder too.

****

Inside the apartment, Darcy stepped in quietly.

Micah was already moving about the room, changing the sheets, replacing the linens, his movements brisk and purposeful.

"He will not bother you for the time being," Darcy said.

Micah responded with a simple grunt, too focused on cleaning to say anything more.

Darcy watched him for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. Something was off. This was not the reaction he had expected.

Micah was... deflated. Not relieved. Not triumphant. Not even angry in the way Darcy had anticipated. Just... low.

"Tell me the truth," Darcy said finally, crossing his arms. "He did not do anything wrong, did he?"

Micah paused. The question lingered in the air.

Darcy had his reasons for asking. At first, he had not believed Aria. Everything he had observed about Clyde suggested a level of devotion that bordered on absolute. It did not align with the idea of coercion. But Aria’s description had been... vivid.

That Micah had been treated so intensely that not a single part of him was left untouched. And with the way he had complained about Clyde’s treatment during the lovemaking, it sounded as if Micah was coerced into it.

Darcy was surprised. The day Micah had come to their apartment, he had been deeply asleep, exhausted after a night of monitoring social media. So he hadn’t seen Micah with his own eyes. He had only heard from Nora that Micah had stopped by.

Later when he went to Ramsy’s mansion for dinner on Sunday night, he heard them speak about how Micah had met his match.

Micah had turned red and with his temper flaring, he had made sure no one talked about it again.

Elina also backed him up and the topic was swept under the rug.

But Darcy got worried. After pressing her repeatedly, Aria finally told him everything.

That triggered Darcy’s trauma. He hated it when he heard about manipulation, coercion and bullying in bed. So he had snapped.

He found Micah that night and suggested he moved out because he thought it was too much or too soon.

Micah readily agreed. He had been too embarrassed by their teasing and believed it was Clyde’s fault anyway. A little retribution was not bad.

So the situation had turned this way. But now after seeing Clyde chasing Micah like an abandoned puppy, combined with Micah’s low mood, he realised that probably coercion or bullying wasn’t the reason.

"Micah," he pressed again.

Micah sighed heavily and sat down. "No," he admitted. "It is not him."

Darcy remained silent, waiting.

"It is my family," Micah continued, frustration creeping into his voice. "Do you know what they did? They cooked an entire meal that basically screamed that I am too weak to keep up with him. What kind of logic is that? They are supposed to be on my side."

Darcy blinked. That was... not what he had expected. "I understand why you are angry at them," he said slowly. "But why take it out on Clyde?"

"I am not," Micah replied quickly. Then he hesitated. "It is just... I am too weak to resist his charm. All it takes is one look, and my legs go weak..."

"Stop," Darcy cut in immediately, his expression turning visibly uncomfortable. "That is more than enough information."

Micah blinked, then laughed. The tension broke, just slightly.

"Seriously," Micah said, still amused. "We can’t get our hands off each other. So I thought we would be doomed if something like that happened again. Like it would scar me for life! So I thought your suggestion was good." Micah started to ramble about how it was hard to act tough in front of Clyde.

Darcy’s expression went from stiff to pale to downright dark. He had no one to blame except himself. Why did he shove his nose into their relationship? He had been force-fed enough dog food to feel like throwing up.

Micah sensed the silence and paused. He looked at Darcy with innocent eyes.

Darcy turned around expressionlessly and left the room.

Left alone, Micah fell silent. After a moment, he sighed. It seemed Darcy was still looking at lovemaking in disgust. Well, who wouldn’t if something like that happened to him again and again?

Micah’s mood sank again. He leaned back slightly, staring at nothing in particular. He was the one who had ruined it for Darcy. If he hadn’t changed his position with Darcy, none of those four bastards would have hurt Darcy like that.

No... even in their first life, Darcy was treated poorly by them. The only difference was that at least sex was not involved.

But after that.. Micah closed his eyes and stopped thinking.

What was done was done. He couldn’t undo it. The least he could do was help Darcy move on.

Right... why didn’t he think of this before?

He should find someone for Darcy to fall in love with!

Micah sat up slightly, his expression shifting.

Yes. That was it. If Darcy could find someone, someone who genuinely cared for him, someone who could give him something positive to hold onto...

Maybe things would change. Maybe he could finally move forward.

Micah’s mood lifted... for about three seconds. Then it sank again. Because now came the real problem.

Who?

He began mentally going through the people he knew, one by one, evaluating them with a seriousness that might have seemed ridiculous to anyone watching.

And almost immediately, he felt a headache forming. This was not going to be easy.