CHAPTER 355: SULKING SON, SKIPPING SON

Micah folded his arms tightly across his chest and sank into the corner of the living room sofa with a pout. He looked every bit the sulking son, chin tilted down, refusing to meet anyone’s eyes. The whole family had treated him like a criminal, as if he had committed some grave sin instead of keeping a few things to himself.

Jacob Ramsy sat opposite him, adjusting his glasses with two fingers. He cleared his throat. "Son, I heard you brought in an expert for your grandma."

Micah grunted in response.

Jacob looked at Elina, who sat on the other side of the room, helplessly. These two, mother and son, were two peas in a pod. Always reacted dramatically when it came to each other.

"What did he say?" Jacob asked gently.

Micah bit his lip and glanced at them. He was the only one in the room when Uncle Lin delivered the news... that there was no hope.

Breaking this news to them, Micah’s heart clenched. It felt impossible. "He’ll come here regularly for treatment sessions."

Micah omitted to mention the rest of it.

Jacob nodded slowly, relief loosening the lines around his mouth. "Thank you, son." He leaned forward a little, his voice gentler now. "And...Don’t be hard on your mother. She only reacts that way because she cares too much about you."

Micah’s bottom lip trembled faintly. "I know. I am sorry I didn’t tell you about... everything. I didn’t want to make you worry while I was stuck in the dorm."

Jacob reached over and ruffled his son’s hair. "Good thing that changed."

Micah snapped his head up. "What?"

Jacob leaned back, a trace of envy flashing across his expression. "It was the talk of the town. That the Du Pont Patriarch donated millions just so his nephew could come back home."

Micah’s expression went blank. What did Clyde do? For whom? Emile? Not a chance in hell!

His heart gave a sudden flutter. That rigid man. Couldn’t he have just told him about it himself? Heat bloomed in Micah’s chest. The corner of his mouth stretched upward.

Jacob looked at his son’s dazed, goofy expression and shook his head. "Are you really that happy you can come home? You could’ve told us. I am not stingy. I could’ve donated too."

Micah smiled and stood up. "I know, Dad. Thanks," he said earnestly, then bounded toward the staircase. Taking two steps at a time, he hurried to his room, heart pounding with the need to call Clyde immediately.

Behind him, Jacob stood stunned. He rubbed his temple slowly. Micah’s mood swung wildly, and Jacob could barely keep up. One minute he was sulking, the next he was skipping happily.

He shrugged, helpless once again, and turned to his wife.

His expression grew serious. "Elina, what exactly happened earlier?"

Aria and Willow also came and sat beside her. "Yeah, Mum. You gave us a scare." Aria chimed in.

Elina fidgeted with the fabric of her dress, smoothing invisible wrinkles over and over. "I am not sure. But my mind thought the worst."

Jacob reached for her hand, enclosing it in his larger one. "Maybe you are under too much pressure," he suggested gently. "Let’s take a trip. Somewhere warm and quiet."

"Yeah. And since the dormitory rules are lax now, Micah could come too." Aria brightened.

"Fine. I’ll arrange something." Elina said at last.

But what she couldn’t say was that in that suffocating moment of panic earlier, she had seen something. A vision, blurry and fragmented. A body lying under a white blanket. Cold, still.

She didn’t know what it meant, whether it was a memory or a premonition. But the dread felt too real. She was certain of one thing: something bad was going to happen.

*****

Upstairs, Micah shut his bedroom door firmly, twisted the lock before picking up his phone. He quickly dialled Clyde’s number.

It barely rang before the line connected. "Hey..." Clyde’s voice was low.

"You!" Micah burst out, his voice sharp but his heart fluttering. "Why didn’t you tell me before you went and changed the rules? It wasn’t necessary! My dad could have handled it, too." He scolded, but deep inside, a giddy warmth bubbled uncontrollably.

"No. I didn’t want to arouse more rumours about you." Clyde replied calmly, though his tone carried the faint rasp of exhaustion.

Micah paused. His grip on the phone tightened. "Wait...What is it? Why do you sound strange?"

There was a sigh. "It’s nothing. I couldn’t sleep well last night."

Micah’s tone filled with worry. "Try jasmine tea! Want me to come over and give you a massage? I wasn’t lying last time."

A soft chuckle reached his ear. "Are you sure you could step foot outside?" Clyde teased gently.

Micah groaned. "Right. They won’t let me. No, how the hell do you know?"

"It wasn’t hard to guess. Lin Heye told me everything. Sorry. I forgot to warn them not to say anything about your hospital visits."

Micah’s eyes softened. He lay sprawled across the covers, staring at the ceiling. "Nah. That was long overdue. They would’ve found out sooner or later." His earlier anger and irritation had long melted away, replaced with affection. Knowing what Clyde had done for him washed away all his displeasure.

"Oh, right," Micah added suddenly. "Tomorrow night, I am going to borrow Emile."

"Borrow?"

"Yeah. Remember, I told you about my sister? Her fiancé’s family is throwing a mixer party."

"What did you say?" Clyde cut in, voice cold.

Micah smirked. "A party for young eligible people to meet each other."

"I know what that means. I am asking Why are you going?"

Micah covered his mouth with one hand, stifling his laugh. "Like everyone else, obviously."

"Micah!" The way Clyde said his name, low, edged with warning, made heat rush to Micah’s face.

"Fine. Fine!" Micah relented, laughing softly. "I am going because Willow asked me. Their daughter, Gu Feifei, is a pain in the ass. Always making trouble for her. She even brought a suspicious woman to my birthday banquet. I want to see what their motive was."

"Alright," Clyde muttered, though reluctance dripped from the word. "I presume your sister has everything under control?"

"Yeah. Don’t worry. But since I don’t usually show up at these kinds of parties, I am borrowing Emile as cover." Micah said.

"Right. Tell him yourself. I am not in town." Clyde said.

"Huh? Where are you?"

"On a business trip. I’ll come back next week, probably." Clyde said, voice tired.

Micah pursed his lips, wanting to complain but biting it back. "Take care."

"Hmm," Clyde hummed before the call ended.

Micah rolled on the bed, disappointed. All the earlier joy vanished, leaving behind a hollow ache.

He couldn’t see Clyde. What was the point of changing the rules when he was not going to be here?