CHAPTER 344: THE INSTRUCTOR’S BROTHER

Seth placed his military cap on the polished table between them, the brim facing outward as if it were a barrier hiding his conflicted emotions. His eyes, full of hesitation, shifted toward Darcy.

He didn’t want to say the truth outright. Micah had gone out of his way to hide the fact that he had once saved Leo McKay’s life, and Seth wasn’t sure what revealing that truth here, in front of Darcy, might do. Still, his sense of obligation forced him to help his little brother. He had promised Leo to talk to Micah about it. "Well," Seth said slowly, his voice carrying the same measured tone he had used countless times drilling cadets. "If you look at this, you’ll understand where I am coming from."

He slipped a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulling out a worn leather wallet. He slid it across the table toward Micah.

Micah hesitated, brows knitting, before reaching out and taking it. He flipped it open, his eyes catching on a small card tucked inside.

An identification card. Bold letters spelled it out clearly.

Sergeant Seth McKay.

Oh, right, it was his name. Micah never cared about it, always calling him the instructor. Nonetheless, it didn’t ring much. Was he supposed to understand something?

Micah tsked inwardly. He never expected the man to be some kind of riddle master. Just tell him directly what exactly Micah had helped his family with. He was going to give it back when Seth spoke again.

"My younger brother has still not overcome that trauma," Seth said, his words careful but heavy with meaning. He leaned forward slightly, his gaze unwavering on Micah. "If you could agree to see him..."

The request didn’t even get the chance to be finished before it was rejected.

"No!" Darcy blurted out, voice sharp.

Both Seth and Micah turned their heads sharply toward him.

Darcy clenched his jaw. Earlier, he couldn’t understand what they were talking about. But hearing his younger brother, meaning Leo, wanted to see Micah, he didn’t need to. The thought of Leo meeting Micah... he couldn’t stand it.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked sternly, his brows furrowing in irritation. This boy was getting on his nerves.

Darcy pursed his lips, unable to back up his refusal. He couldn’t exactly tell them the reason without sounding like a paranoid, jealous boyfriend.

Micah’s eyes darted between Seth and Darcy, sensing the tension. He didn’t understand. What was happening? Why was Darcy reacting so violently to the mention of Seth’s younger brother? What did Darcy know that he didn’t? Did he miss something? His gaze dropped back to the wallet in his hand, and his fingers shifted, pulling the ID aside. Behind it, there was a family photo.

The sight drained his blood from his face.

He knew that face. No. Half of the country knew that face. It was Leo McKay. The first original male lead. What was his picture beside the instructor and three other people, looking like a family?

His brain cells burned more ATP, connecting the dots.

He stood up suddenly. "No way!" he shouted, his whole body trembling in disbelief.

Both Seth and Darcy froze, their eyes snapping to him.

Micah’s hand shot outward, his finger unsteady but accusing, pointing directly at Seth. "You.., you are... his brother?" he stammered, voice filled with dread and shock. "That doesn’t make sense! How? What?"

Seth parted his lips, ready to speak, but before the words could come, the door opened. A waitress stepped in, her eyes wide, clutching her notepad against her chest.

"Excuse me," she said softly, nervously glancing between them. "Is everything alright? We heard yelling."

Seth straightened instantly. He offered an apologetic smile to the waitress. "Yes. Sorry. We’ll keep it down."

The waitress nodded and closed the door gently.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Micah’s mind ran like crazy, trying to understand the situation. Seth... their instructor.. Leo’s brother?

How was that even possible? He had read the story in his dream. He knew the outlines of the narrative. Nowhere had it mentioned this: Leo’s family, an older brother in the military, crossing paths with Darcy in freshman year.

No, there was. He remembered. After Darcy and Leo had been together for a time...Darcy had gone online, desperate, embarrassed, asking strangers how to get his boyfriend to actually touch him, get intimate. The advice had been ridiculous: cosplay, roleplay, figure out what excites him.

Darcy had taken it seriously.

Noticing how Leo’s eyes lingered when he saw a military uniform, how his expression grew dazed, Darcy had chosen one.

So Darcy, red-faced and nervous, had dressed up, hoping to surprise him. Hoping to please him. Hoping it would break through whatever wall stood between them.

But what was the result? Catastrophic. The poor protagonist, Darcy, had become the Second Mrs de Winter, wearing Rebecca’s dress, turning Maximilian into a fit of anger.

Micah ground his teeth at the memory. Leo had exploded in rage. He had thrown Darcy into the bathroom, voice harsh and venomous, ordering him to change, never ever do anything like that again.

Darcy had been humiliated, crushed, and heartbroken. He blamed himself for pushing too far.

Micah’s fists curled into a ball. That bastard. Leo McKay!

And the author, detached and careless, had never explained it. They had left the incident unresolved, a strange detail never justified.

So Micah just assumed it had been nothing more than a plot device, a stepping stone that made Darcy stumble on the monitors when trying to find the reason for Leo’s behaviour.

But now looking at Seth... did something happen with him? Did he perhaps... get disabled or die during a mission?

Micah felt conflicted. He didn’t have any hard feelings toward the instructor.

Wait, how could Seth know he was the one who had saved Leo?

Micah froze. Uncle Owen! Damn it. They knew each other. It wasn’t hard to find him. No, Clyde also told him the military was searching for him. That Leo’s family had a connection to the military.

Why didn’t he see the signs?

A bad feeling rose inside him.

Micah realised something else. Leo knew about him. He had known Micah was the one who saved him. If Leo knew that much, then what about Darcy?

His gaze locked on Darcy, expression terrified. His chest tightened with dread. What if Leo recognised Darcy as his childhood friend? What if they clicked and got closer? What if Leo used the same method in the novel? Luring him into his house, watching him through CCTV, and doing...

Bile rose in his throat, he put his hand on his mouth and retched silently.

No... no, that couldn’t be happening. Then his gaze flicked toward Seth. Did he recognise Darcy too? Would he go back and tell Leo?