CHAPTER 246: MICAH’S GAMBLE

Micah placed the tray inside the upper kitchen cabinet with a clinked sound and exhaled through his nose, shoulders sagging. The air around him felt a bit lighter than before. Bringing Darcy here hadn’t been part of any careful plan.

It was a big gamble. A desperate one. One that twisted his gut. He felt awful for putting his frail grandmother in this situation.

He didn’t want to go this route. Not like this. Burdening Zhou Ruyan. Dumping the heavy responsibility on her.

But after everything that had unfolded over the past few days, the near meltdown at the university, the panic attack in La Riviere Pharmaceutical, the tightening cramps in his stomach that later got diagnosed as ulcers, Micah had to admit he was not okay. He could not keep carrying this massive burden on his shoulders like some tragic hero. He needed help. He needed someone who understood what was at stake. Someone he could lean on, even if just a little. Someone wise. Someone in the family.

Micah leaned back against the counter, staring blankly at the tray. His mind flashed through names of family members he could trust with the truth.

His first choice, of course, had been his grandfather. Albert Ramsy. The patriarch of the family. Sharp, composed, terrifyingly efficient. But that was the problem. Albert was too serious, too calculating. Too focused on control.

Micah could already imagine it: if he brought Darcy to Albert, the man wouldn’t even blink before taking Darcy straight into the corporate world, assigning him to some projects under the guise of ’mentorship’ while quietly preparing to mould him into a potential successor. The thought made Micah’s stomach twist.

Well, it was what had happened in the novel, after all.

In that plot, the truth had come out in cold public fashion. Albert had recognised Darcy’s potential almost instantly, hearing he was the champion of the Math Olympiad and top scorer in the college entrance exam, and began grooming him for leadership. The fake heir aka Micah had panicked, switched his major to finance, and fought desperately for a foothold in the family company. He had been hurt, convinced he was being replaced. Watching from the sidelines while Darcy took everything he had once thought was his.

Micah scoffed inwardly. Even before he knew about Darcy, he wanted to hand the responsibility to Willow, his capable older sister, having no interest in that line of work. Why would he jump to be a corporate slave when he could sit back and relax with the monthly income from his shares? Not to mention even changing his major.

Elina, his mother, had been his second thought. She was smart, meticulous, kind, and always poised. But ever since that first university encounter, when she had met Darcy and studied him with a stare that was too piercing, her tone a little too stiff, Micah had ruled her out, too.

Her behaviour that day... it had unsettled him. It had been too different from what had been described in the novel.

It wasn’t just suspicion in her eyes; it was almost like she had assumed something indecent was going on between them. As if she were looking at Darcy as a potential son-in-law or something. She was too guarded around Darcy. It was such a strange and unbelievable interpretation that made things awkward.

No. Not Elina.

Jacob, his father, was too gentle. Kind to a fault. If he found out the truth, Micah was sure the man would burst into tears. And then Micah would have to spend the next hour comforting him instead of getting any sort of advice or help.

His aunts were wonderful in their own way, but they had enough on their plates. He couldn’t burden them with this too.

So by process of elimination and a tug from his heart, it came down to his grandmother.

He had taken a chance. A huge one. He remembered an old photo he had seen as a kid. A portrait from decades ago. A tall young man, someone similar to both his grandma and Darcy.

The resemblance was eerily uncanny. So he gambled.

And this time, it seemed the gamble paid off. Zhou Ruyan had recognised Darcy. Micah hadn’t even needed to explain much. The moment she had laid eyes on the boy, her expression changed in a way Micah had never seen before. When her fingers brushed through Micah’s hair, gently, he had nearly lost control of his emotions. He had been on the brink of crying out loud. Her touch hadn’t been filled with resentment. There was no disappointment. No anger. No hate for occupying her grandson’s place all these years.

She had simply accepted the truth.

Micah lowered his head slightly, his hands curling over the counter’s edge. The lump in his throat was hard to swallow. The quiet bond between his grandmother and him was like something magical. Just one glance, one slight lift of the brow, one hum under her breath, and Micah knew exactly what she meant.

Micah felt his nerves begin to relax a little after passing the massive hurdle. His grandmother was a bit surprised, but her reaction was not completely different from what he had expected.

There was no dramatic breakdown. No chaos. Just a silent observation. This was the magic of Zhou Ruyan.

At least in front of Darcy, she wouldn’t scold him. But after... he wasn’t so sure.

Micah filled the kettle and turned on the switch, waiting. His attention drifted to the living room. His ears twitched, trying to catch what the two were talking about.

Then he heard it. Darcy mentioned Nora. The incident. Micah’s body went rigid. His blood froze. His heart sank.

No, no, no...

The knife. The stab wound in his arm.

He hadn’t told Zhou Ruyan about it. He had kept it hidden. He had worn long sleeves, avoiding raising suspicion. Pleading to his parents not to let Albert Ramsy and his grandmother find out.

And now, in any moment, Darcy could ruin it by a word. Oh shit. He was already in enough trouble by blindsiding Zhou Ruyan tonight, showing up with Darcy, the real young master. If Zhou Ruyan found out about the stabbing... Micah was sure he would land on his grandmother’s blacklist.