Chapter 70: Eyes in the Dark 2
Micah’s POV
Damon shrugged casually, his expression completely neutral, as if what he was about to say was the most normal thing in the world. "My father handled it."
He said it so easily, like he didn’t give a single fuck about entrance exams, standardized testing, or academic requirements. And why would he? It was the cold, harsh reality of our elite school. At least seventy percent of the students walking those fancy campus halls never wrote a single entrance exam in their lives. Their powerful, filthy rich parents simply made a massive donation or signed a paper, and their golden children were handed a bright future on a silver platter.
A sharp pang of jealousy flared deep in my stomach. I thought about how hard I had worked, how many late nights I had spent studying under Father’s terrifying, strict supervision just to earn my spot, while people like Damon simply existed and had the world handed to them.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief second, swallowing the bitter feeling down and burying that ugly jealousy somewhere deep at the back of my mind. I didn’t want to feel bitter toward Damon. Not today. Not when he had taken a brutal beating just to protect me.
All I truly wanted right now—more than anything else—was for him to heal, get well soon, and safely return to school so I didn’t have to worry about him dying in the dark.
.
.
The afternoon bled silently into the late evening.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long, dark shadows through the bedroom windows, the family doctor finally arrived at the estate to examine Damon. I stood quietly in the far corner of the room, out of the way, watching with a tight chest as the doctor carefully unwrapped the white bandages, inspected the deep, dark purple bruising mapped across Damon’s ribs, and prescribed a heavy dose of anti-inflammatory medications.
To manage the agonizing pain, the doctor prepared a syringe, injecting a strong sedative and painkiller directly into Damon’s arm.
Damon was insanely good at bearing physical pain. He didn’t flinch, scream, or make a single sound while the needle went in, merely staring at the ceiling with a cold, detached stoicism. But I knew the heavy medication would knock him out within minutes.
Realizing he would be completely asleep by the time the doctor finished packing up his medical bag, I decided it was time for me to leave. I couldn’t stay here forever, no matter how much I desperately wanted to hide in this room.
I quietly grabbed my school bag from the chair, cast one last, long look at Damon’s drowsy, relaxed face as his eyes fluttered shut, and slipped out of the bedroom, heading silently down the grand staircase.
When I reached the ground floor, I heard soft, cheerful laughter coming from the main living room.
I peeked around the corner and saw the Silver family twins—Lucas and Levi—sitting on the thick plush rug surrounded by open textbooks, colorful pencils, and scattered homework sheets. The moment their sharp little eyes caught sight of me standing near the archway, their faces lit up with pure joy. They instantly abandoned their pencils, scrambled to their feet, and rushed across the room, wrapping their tiny arms tightly around my legs.
"Micah!" Lucas squealed happily, looking up at me with bright, innocent eyes. "Are you here to see your boyfriend?"
My heart did a massive leap into my throat, a fiery blush instantly exploding across my cheeks. Ugh! My first instinct was to reach down, poke his chubby little cheek, and loudly deny the ridiculous claim, but looking at his sweet, beaming face, I just couldn’t bring myself to be harsh. Instead, I let out a soft sigh and gently ruffled his soft hair.
"He’s not my boyfriend, Lucas," I muttered quietly.
Levi tugged on the hem of my sweater, his huge, dark eyes blinking up at me with genuine, childish concern. "Will big brother get better soon, Micah? Is he dying?"
A soft, sad tenderness bloomed in my chest. I squatted down on my knees so I was at eye level with the two small boys, offering them a reassuring, gentle smile. "Of course he’s going to get better, Levi. Your brother is super strong. A little bump isn’t going to stop him."
The two little boys immediately exchanged a knowing, mischievous glance with each other.
"See! I told you, Levi!" Lucas declared proudly, puffing out his small chest as he pointed a finger at his brother. "I told you that if the pretty princess comes and gives the prince a magical kiss, the prince will wake up and be totally healed!"
My jaw practically dropped straight to the floor. What the hell are these kids watching on TV?!
"No, Lucas, you got it all wrong!" Levi corrected him instantly, shaking his head. "The prince is supposed to give the princess a kiss to wake her up! That’s how the story goes!"
"Well, he’s right about the fairytale logic, I guess..." I muttered under my breath, completely bewildered by their conversation. But what on earth was the point of what they were saying right now?!
Lucas crossed his little arms, eyeing me with intense curiosity. "So... did big brother kiss Micah to get better?"
"Woah, woah! Hold on right there!" I gasped out, waving my hands in front of them as my face burned hotter than a furnace. "Nobody is kissing anyone! At all!"
"Not even Damon?" Levi asked, tilting his head with disappointment.
I clenched my hands into tight fists against my knees, pressing my lips together so hard they turned white. "Yes! Absolutely not! Not even Damon!"
Before the twins could fire off another embarrassing, ridiculous question, a sharp, loud DING suddenly echoed from my pocket.
The unexpected sound made me jump violently, my heart dropping straight into my stomach. My phone had buzzed.
With shaking fingers, I pulled the old device out of my pocket, the first phone I’d ever owned. My eyes landed on the lock screen, and the second I read the name displayed on the notification, every single drop of blood drained from my face, leaving me deathly pale.
It was a text message. From Noah.
My thumb trembled as I unlocked the screen and opened the message. The text was short, cold, and stripped of any emotion:
Noah: Stop talking to those Silver twins and get home immediately.
A violent, icy wave of terror crashed over my entire body, freezing the blood in my veins. My breath seized in my throat, my lungs refusing to expand as a loud, deafening ringing filled my ears.
I slowly stood up on my trembling legs, my wide, terrified eyes frantically sweeping around the grand, towering living room of the Silver estate.
There were security cameras mounted high up in the corners of the ceiling—I could see the tiny red optical lenses gleaming in the shadows. But... how? How the hell did Noah know what I was doing right now?! How did he know I was standing in this exact room, talking to Lucas and Levi?!
Did he hack into the Silver family’s high-tech security system? Did he put a tracking bug on my clothes? How could he possibly be seeing me right this second?!
Panic clawed at my throat, suffocating me, making the room spin dizzyingly around me.
Get home immediately?
The words burned into my retinas like a horrifying death sentence. What was he going to do to me when I walked through that front door? What kind of sick, twisted nightmare was waiting for me in that empty house now that Father was gone?
I wrapped my shaking arms tightly around my shivering body, trying desperately to stop myself from completely breaking down in front of the little boys.
Noah had never physically hit me before—that was always Father’s job. Father was the one who used his fists, his belt, and his heavy words to break my body. Noah had always played the protective, gentle golden brother in front of everyone.
So why? Why did a single cold command from Noah terrify me a million times more than Father’s brutal beatings ever could? What was he going to do to me?