Chapter 198

Micah

Yep, here again. Still not the favorite character in the story but, after that fucking William Hart—or should I say No-Hart, pun totally intended—I bet I’m starting to look pretty damn good here… right?

Especially since I was about to attempt another knight-in-shiny-armor moment. Jesus Christ. Me. The drama goblin of this entire book.

It had been a week since Aiden told me about the horror show he was going through, and holy shit… I felt awful for him—for them both. And not that I was 100% over Aiden (I mean… have you seen the man?) but yeah, I had moved on as a sub and I had another Master now. As a human being? Apparently I had to move on too. Because I’d already decided once that I wanted to see Aiden happy, with or without me.

And that was not going very well lately. Shit, I was getting kinda worried for him. Not professionally—God no. I watched him on the main stage training those new dominants, guiding them through scenes, adjusting posture, correcting tone… and damn. When Aiden—Mr. A here—stepped into a room, opened his gorgeous mouth, or gave a command, the entire club held its fucking breath. Every person with a pulse, dom or sub, got at least a little turned on. Or maybe that was just me. Point is, the man could dominate a city if he wanted to.

But the second he stepped off that polished wood platform… he was wrecked. He looked pale all the time, like he hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles. Hollow eyes. His jaw locked so tight you could’ve cracked diamonds between his teeth. And every time I managed to show up, he was already there hours early, working himself into the ground, sitting alone in the dark corners of the club, drinking like he couldn’t feel anything unless it burned.

So yeah… no shit I had to do something. If I didn’t step in soon, he was going to implode. He was going to drink himself stupid, or spiral into some self-sacrificing martyr shit, or bury himself in work until he disappeared entirely. And honestly? I couldn’t watch that happen. Not again. Not to Aiden. Not when I knew damn well he was counting the days—hell, counting the minutes—while that stupid wedding got closer and closer.

The man was drowning. And someone had to throw him a rope.

So… fine. That someone was gonna be me.

And the same went for Miss Oblivious Perfect Princess: she needed to stop pretending this was a Disney movie and face the fact that Noah would only be happy without her.

Hell, by the end of all this I deserved the Mother Teresa Award… or at least some good karma and a hot vacation somewhere with shirtless waiters serving me fruity drinks, I don’t know. Something.

Anyway.

Once I’d decided to play hero, I knew I needed allies. And who better than the bride-to-be herself?

Sweet, naïve, blind-as-a-bat Lexie Hart.

If she hadn’t figured out yet that Noah didn’t actually love her, then baby, it was about damn time she found out.

So I made a plan.

By Friday afternoon—a few days before their wedding—I’d already decided I was gonna do something stupid. Not illegal-stupid, not break-into-William-Hart’s-house stupid… but definitely meddle-in-other-people’s-lives stupid. Which, honestly, was kind of my specialty.

I took the half-hour drive to their town. Same place I’d hunted Noah down last time. Same place I’d prayed I’d never have to show my face again. But whatever. Desperate times, desperate measures.

I’d been watching cheer practice from the bleachers for like twenty minutes before I spotted her. And holy shit… those girls... I mean, damn. I knew I hadn’t swung that way for a while, but I was bisexual after all, and I could appreciate beauty when it slapped me in the face. And Lexie Hart? Up close? Yeah… I could understand why Noah had dated her before. The boy and I apparently had similar taste—he and I had both fallen for the same guy, and he’d ended up engaged to literally one of the only girls I could probably go for.

But anyway—focus, Micah. I wasn’t here to rate cheerleaders.

I watched from the distance until Noah walked Lexie out of the field and toward the parking lot, doing their whole public goodbye bullshit. Handholding. Quick hug. Camera-ready smile. It looked like a bad Hallmark reenactment. The second Noah headed toward the dorms, I got up and made my move. It was time to ruin her day for the greater good.

“Lexie Hart!” I called out.

She turned, a little startled. “Yes?”

I jogged the last couple steps, hand up in a half-wave. “Hi. I’m Micah. Can I talk to you?”

She blinked, guarded but polite. “About?”

“This is about Noah. And I’m pretty damn sure this is gonna interest you too.”

That got her attention—big time. She hesitated a second, then nodded and pointed toward a quieter spot near the back entrance of the student center. Neutral ground. Public enough to feel safe, private enough to actually talk.

The moment we stopped, I opened my mouth to begin my big dramatic reveal.

“Look, there’s something you need to know about Noah—”

But she cut in so fast I nearly swallowed my tongue.

“If you’re about to tell me he’s in love with someone else, you’re late. Three months ago would’ve probably helped, but as in last week. I already know.”

I stared at her.

Then let out a low whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned. The boy actually came clean.”

Her eyes flashed, wounded but steady. “It wasn’t easy for him.”

“It never is,” I said, softer now. Then, because I couldn’t help myself: “And honestly? I’d have figured it out like… three months ago. But good for you for catching up.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She looked… tired. Sad. Heartbroken in that quiet way people get when they’ve cried too much to cry again.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Listen… I’m not here to make this worse. I know you’re hurting. I am too. Aiden’s my—” I paused, rearranging my heart. “He’s important to me. I care about him. And whatever mess your father created fucked up my life too.”

Lexie swallowed, eyes shiny. “My father ruined… everything.”

“Yeah, sweetheart,” I said gently, “he really did.”

We stood there for a moment in mutual misery, two idiots thrown into the same hurricane because we’d both loved the wrong damn people.

Finally, I forced myself to focus. “Look… neither of us is getting what we want. Not you. Not me. Not in this lifetime. But those two idiots we love?” I pointed vaguely in Noah’s direction, then toward my own heart for Aiden. “They don’t deserve this shit. And if they can’t fight for themselves right now… maybe we can.”

She frowned slightly. “What do you mean? Are you aware I have zero power changing my father’s plans?”

“Yeah, I heard, but… how about we team up and do one good deed before this whole disaster kills us both? You help me help them. I help you help them. Maybe between your access to Noah and my access to Aiden… we can get those fools to see each other before they both sink.”

Her breath hitched. “You really think we can do that?”

I grinned—my classic Micah grin, the one that meant I was absolutely about to make questionable life choices.

“Oh, honey… trust me. I’ve pulled off far worse.”

(Author’s note: thank you, Betty Koch, for inspiring Micah’s pun with your comment!)