From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 263: Mistaken Love, Misplaced Sons

Chapter 263: Mistaken Love, Misplaced Sons

There was an awkward silence in the room after Darcy left.

Micah scratched his cheek, his eyes darting around the room.

His gaze landed on the cake. Right on top, ’Happy birthday brother’ was written in crooked frosting. It was kind of cute. Micah smiled gently despite himself.

Nora followed his gaze. She beamed and latched onto Micah’s arm with both hands, pulling him toward the sofa with surprising strength for someone so petite. "Come sit! I heard your birthday was yesterday, just like my brother!" she said excitedly, her eyes sparkling.

Micah let himself be guided, blinking in surprise as he sat down beside her. He smoothed his jacket awkwardly, feeling a little uncomfortable under her intense gaze.

"What a coincidence, huh?" Nora grinned, leaning closer with a playful tilt of her head. "It’s like a fate or something."

Micah offered a crooked smile. "Yeah..."

But even as he responded, a small twist of unease settled in his stomach. The word "fate" lingered in his mind. His gaze darted briefly toward Flora, who was still standing near the bed, exercising her leg muscles.

Then, without warning, Nora leaned back and clapped her hands, eyes narrowing with mischief. "I saw your WeChat moment too! Were you announcing you are in a relationship with my brother?!"

She said it in an unmistakable teasing tone, but before Micah could even process the question, a loud clatter broke the moment.

Everyone turned.

Flora’s cane had fallen from her hand and hit the floor with a dull thud. Her finger hovered mid-air, frozen, and her expression had drained of colour.

"Mum?" Nora’s voice shifted instantly, the playfulness gone. She hurried toward Flora, concern knitting her brow. "Are you alright?"

Flora didn’t answer right away. She had one hand pressed lightly to her chest. Her breathing was shallow, almost hesitant.

Micah felt a lump in his throat. Flora’s reaction was off. She hadn’t flinched when he arrived. She hadn’t shown distress about the same birthday date earlier, or Nora’s talk of fate. But the moment Nora mentioned a relationship with Darcy, she looked like she had seen a ghost.

No way... it was just teasing, right? Did she really think he was with Darcy?

Across the room, Flora took a deep breath, stabilising herself.

She had known this day might come, the day the boys realised they shared a birthday. She had braced herself for that.

But now Nora’s wording, talking about fate, talking about relationships, sent a jolt through her that she couldn’t hide. Could it be really true? Were they a couple?

She liked both of them. She saw them both as her sons.

However, they were already so tangled. If it went deeper... if there were more to their bond than just friendship...

If they truly became something more, what would happen when they found out the truth?

Switched at birth...

That reality hovered over her like a knife waiting to drop. She hadn’t told anyone. She had barely begun to accept it herself.

What if the news was too heavy for them to cope with? What if one of them broke knowing the truth? She didn’t know what to do.

She was so scared to even carelessly hint at it.

She longed for Micah to call her "Mum" just once. She wanted to hold him and feel like those years weren’t lost. But what if her health declined again, suddenly?

But she couldn’t be selfish. Not to Micah. Not to Darcy. The boy she had raised. Her son in every way that mattered. The one who had lived through her illness, through poverty, and all the weight that came with it.

And now? Now she came forward to acknowledge another boy as her son... that would be cruel to Darcy.

Her illness had already eaten away at Darcy’s youth.

What should she do? She was happy to see her biological son. Tried to get better sooner to lessen her guilt toward Darcy.

But right now, it felt like whatever she did might come off as a misunderstanding to one of her boys. Should she contact Micah’s parents? They seemed like nice, decent people. But what if they thought she had orchestrated the switch to benefit herself? That she knew all this time? That she had stolen their child?

Micah and Darcy would be crushed if they also assumed that.

She didn’t know until she saw Micah. But how could she prove it? That she was also innocent?

People were quick to judge, assuming the worst when they saw a poor person. They would raise their fingers, call her a liar, a thief, and accuse her as a wicked person.

Flora’s hands trembled. She was trapped. Caught between truth and silence. Love and fear.

Maybe seeing Micah was also a mistake. She should have refused Nora’s suggestion today.

"Mum?" Nora asked again, touching her arm.

Flora jolted from the touch, noticing the worried gaze of his daughter. Her eyes met Micah’s. He looked just as worried.

She swallowed the lump down. "I think I pushed myself a bit too hard," Flora finally murmured, her voice soft as she sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. She tried to smile, but it trembled at the corners. "I’m fine now."

"I told you to be careful. Why were you rushing around?" Nora mumbled, frowning.

Micah lowered his head, his shoulder tense. He felt guilty. She looked so fragile. He stared at the tiled floor, his mind racing.

Should he volunteer for the match? How could he justify that he knew he would be matched with Flora for stem cell transplantation? Would Flora do it? What if she refused? What if she thought he was really with Darcy, trying hard to please her? What if the side effect appeared...like in the novel?

Micah’s chest tightened. He wanted to help her, desperately, but the thought of causing more pain for her, hurting her after the truth came out, made him freeze.

Micah’s mind filled with chaotic thoughts, totally forgetting that Flora mistook his relationship with Darcy as more than just friends.