Chapter 468: Kindness Misread, Wounds Reopened
Micah quickly caught up with Darcy down the hallway, sneaking glances at him until Darcy’s patience wore thin. "What?"
Micah scratched his cheek. "Umm....do you have a place to move to?"
Darcy stopped mid-step, one hand resting on the railing. He turned his head slightly, brows knitting. "What place?"
"You said you wanted the Ramsy family to help move your mum and sister out. Remember?"
Darcy’s expression shifted as he searched his memory. Right. He had said that. He opened his mouth to refuse, but Micah beat him to it.
"Don’t you dare refuse! They are my mum and sister too! You know what? I’m going to move them into one of my own apartments, somewhere with proper security. I can’t stand thinking of them living alone in a place like this. It’s not safe," Micah said and unlocked his phone.
Darcy stared at him, momentarily speechless. He wanted to argue that they had been fine all these years, but he remembered the night Micah got stabbed and swallowed his rebuttal. Yeah, this place really wasn’t safe.
Micah pulled up Google Maps and pointed at different places.
"Look, which one is better? This one’s got a quiet neighbourhood, this one’s near the main campus, good convenience stores, and even a park nearby. And don’t worry. They are under my name. Not the Ramsy family’s. No strings attached."
His tone was earnest and his gestures animated.
Darcy watched him as his mind was filled with his past memories.
In his previous life, he had lived so far from Flora and Nora. The Ramsy family had insisted it was better for his mother, sending them to the other side of the city with some excuses about cleaner and fresher air. He had barely visited, always too busy working, studying, surviving. He had no idea how hard things had been for them. And they had not said a word to him, not wanting to burden him further.
But now, the places Micah showed them were all within walking distance of campus. "Pick one close," he said quietly. "I want to visit them every day."
Micah’s face lit up. "That’s what I thought too. You remember my place from last time? I have got another one in the same building, eighth floor. It’s spacious, with good sunlight. What do you think?"
Darcy nodded once. "It’s fine."
"Perfect!" Micah grinned, already typing notes into his phone. "I should hire some cleaners this afternoon, then we can shop for furniture... oh, we could decorate their rooms. I bet Nora likes pink. And maybe some light wallpaper for Mum’s room."
He spoke faster, excitement spilling out of him. "We can take turns visiting them. That apartment’s got enough rooms. So, we could stay overnight sometimes too. Oh! Right, we should transfer Nora’s school too. The high school Cora’s in is one of the best. Nora won’t be alone with her there. Oh shit!" Micah suddenly slapped his forehead. "The Mani fan meeting! What was the date again? Damn it! I was supposed to give those tickets to you so you could take Nora as a birthday gift."
Micah rambled on, completely unaware of how Darcy had gone still beside him.
"Micah."
The voice was calm but sharp enough to cut through his rambling. Micah froze mid-sentence, blinking. "Mmm?"
"Are you being serious?" Darcy asked, his hand tightening on the railing.
"About what?"
Darcy’s eyes met his, cool and unreadable, but something dark flickered underneath.
"I don’t want my mother and sister to get hurt. If you are doing all these things just because you find it novel or amusing, then don’t. When you get tired of it and decide to cut them off, they will be devastated. They are just simple, kind-hearted people. Heaps different from your world."
Micah’s expression shifted immediately. From confusion to disbelief, then to hurt. His fingers curled around his phone until his knuckles turned white. "No! I am not! I am not half-invested in this. I really care about them. I mean it." His voice cracked, raw with frustration. "They are my mum and sis too. Why do you have such a low opinion of me?"
Darcy didn’t answer. His silence was worse than words.
Micah’s throat tightened. For the past three days...every time, every damn time, Darcy had looked at him like that. Like he couldn’t be trusted. Like everything he did was just another performance. Everything he did or said, Darcy was treating them as a lie, a form of amusement. Why couldn’t Darcy believe in him anymore?
"What have I done? Huh? What did I do to make you think I’d use them like that? I don’t get it." Micah huffed, voice shaky.
Darcy’s jaw flexed as he studied the young man standing one step above. His face flushed red with anger, eyes glossy with unspoken pain, his whole expression screaming that he had been wronged, his lips pouting.
The sight made Darcy falter. Maybe he was too harsh on him. He had gone too far.
He turned his head, looking away. "I don’t believe in anyone except myself," he said finally. His voice was low, detached, but underneath there was a subtle exhaustion. "I learned my lesson the hard way. People are unpredictable. One day they smile at you, the next, they stab you in the back."
He descended another step. "And most importantly..." he added without turning, "No one helps you just out of kindness, or for the cause. Everyone wants something."
Darcy continued to step down, leaving behind a stunned Micah.
Micah stood watching his retreating back, a lump forming in his throat. Then he crouched down on the cold concrete step, elbows resting on his knees. He buried his face in his legs, laughing bitterly.
So that was how it was. Darcy’s words weren’t vague philosophy... no, they were all directed straight at him.
Micah shut his eyes in despair. It was him Darcy meant. He was the one who had helped him for selfish reasons. But not for the good of his heart, no, it was to put him under moral pressure to forgive him for occupying his place all these years.
It hurt. It hurt so bad.
Outside, Darcy had no idea that his words had been misinterpreted by Micah. He wasn’t talking about him at all, but those four men, the ones that trampled on his feelings as a friend or a colleague in his past life.
He walked out of the building and took a sharp breath. The cold autumn morning rushed into his lungs, extinguishing the heat of betrayal and vengeance in his chest.
He couldn’t afford to let himself be drawn into those feelings. If he fought with those four monsters head-on, he might lose himself completely to revenge and thereby become a monster too. Yeah, if he gazed for long into an abyss, the abyss would gaze into him as well.
Darcy refused to lose his chance at a peaceful life with his mother and sister for the sake of revenge. Especially not on Micah.