Chapter 291: Not Strategy, But Sincerity
Clyde reached the line of parked cars, his boots crunching softly against the gravel as his sharp eyes swept left and right.
Nothing. Micah was nowhere in sight. The crunch of his own footsteps echoed too loudly in the silence, making him feel more alone. His heart began to race as he moved between the cars.
"Where did you go..." he muttered under his breath, frustrated.
With a flick of his thumb, Clyde turned on his phone’s flashlight. A thin, pale beam lit up the air around him, cutting through the dark.
He began searching. He could’ve called others to help. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Micah wouldn’t want others searching for him, wouldn’t want them to see him vulnerable, possibly embarrassed. No, this wasn’t about efficiency. This was about doing it right.
Well, this was his own fault.
Clyde inhaled sharply and straightened his back. Searching for Micah alone wasn’t just about privacy, it was punishment. A quiet one. But deserved. He needed to find him with his own hands, face him with his own words. Not as someone trying to fix a mistake with strategy and rationale, but as someone willing to stand bare and guilty. Apologetic and sincere.
He looked toward the distant silhouette of the horse range.
The only place Micah could have gone on a cold night like this was there.
Clyde headed that way, the flashlight swaying as he walked. When he reached the horse range, he stopped. It was too vast; he didn’t know where to start.
He hesitated for a moment, then dialled Micah’s number. It was a long shot. But maybe he’d answer. Maybe he could hear something...
It rang once. Then again.
Clyde’s ears picked up the faint sound of a ringtone... Somewhere to the left, near the chimney stack just beside the stable hands’ building.
Thank god it wasn’t on silent. He stepped carefully, following the sound like a string tugging on his chest, still holding the phone to his ear.
His eyes landed on a figure curled up against the warm wall of the building.
Micah.
He was crouched down, legs pulled up close, one arm hugging his knees, the other holding his phone. The rising warmth from the chimney made the air around him less cold as he stared at his phone, lips pursed.
Clyde’s throat tightened at the sight. He stood a few feet away, hidden from Micah’s sight or ear. He was ready to see the call rejected. But then the line connected.
Micah didn’t look up. His voice was quiet and guarded. "Hey. What is-"
"I’m sorry," Clyde said into the receiver, cutting him off.
There was a pause. Neither of them spoke. But the silence over the phone line was filled with breath, with tension.
"I’ve realised you were Asena back when you were in military training," Clyde began, his voice low. "I used Jacklin and Emile...I tricked you..."
"Why?" Micah’s voice cracked, raw from holding back. His brows drew together. "If you knew then... why didn’t you say anything?"
Micah felt betrayed. All this time with Clyde, and he had never said a word. He picked up his call, wanting to hear him out. He still wanted to give Clyde another chance. Right, he couldn’t face him yet. But he could listen. And Micah definitely didn’t want Clyde forming a search party and declaring him missing.
Anger and disappointment flickered in his eyes. But beneath it all... hurt. Clyde knew about crossdressing, not from the charity gala, but long before.
Hearing Micah’s voice, Clyde flinched, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"I... I just wanted to keep your secret safe," he said slowly. "At first, I didn’t know you that well. I thought maybe you were doing it to get close to me for some reason... I was sceptical. Suspicious of your motives."
Micah exhaled a shaky breath, looking straight into the darkness. So Clyde had doubted him.
"But then," Clyde quickly continued. "You were full of life, full of mischievousness. You surprised me over and over. I kept thinking What’s he going to do next? My eyes... my thoughts followed you everywhere... I don’t know even when it happened, but... I found myself falling for you."
Despite the hurt, the pain of being deceived, the corner of Micah’s lips stretched upward. For a moment, his expression softened. He leaned his back against the warm wall, a bit relaxed. But he kept his voice even, almost cold. "So... I was amusing to watch, is that it?"
Clyde watched Micah. For a second, dread filled his mind. He thought that Micah would yell at him and say, ’Who needs your affection, you liar!’
But then, he caught sight of his smile, the twinkle in his eyes.
His heart thudded back into place, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding.
Thank god, Micah was so soft-hearted.
"No. You are my light..." Clyde replied.
"Ugh! What’s with this cheesy line!" Micah exclaimed, his face flushed. He rubbed his red ears in embarrassment. He couldn’t stand hearing Clyde’s low, sexy voice say things like that... it made him feel like he would melt.
Clyde chuckled silently, afraid to upset Micah. "I meant it. I didn’t know I would regret keeping it from you. I thought I was doing the right thing... but now I’d do anything if you would forgive me," he said, hoping Micah would soften more.
"Who else knows?" Micah asked instead, brows furrowed.
"No one. Just me."
"What did you tell your family, then? Why do they think I’m your girlfriend?" Micah asked on the phone.
Clyde rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking sheepish. "They know me too well. They figured out I was interested in you. They kept trying to push us together...And I didn’t know how to deny it. Because it was true. It was you in the end. But I couldn’t tell the whole truth either."
Clyde paused and spoke again, this time his voice a little accusatory. "It didn’t help when you told them you were Asena’s boyfriend. Really? Wouldn’t brother or friend have been better?"
Micah lost his temper. "Listen, mister!" he snapped through the phone. "You’re not even forgiven yet, and you still think you can lecture me?"
Clyde moistened his dry lips. His eyes locked on Micah leaning on the wall. "Sorry," he said, voice low and husky. "I didn’t like that term. You being someone else’s boyfriend..."
Micah leaned back again, calmer this time. "Oh...at that time... I just blurted out the first thing that came to my mind."
They fell into silence.
"So you fell in love with Asena first?" Micah asked hesitantly.