Chapter 356 Will's Confession

Chapter 356 Will's Confession
As James had once said, Will had always been a sensitive soul. Despite being a boy, he longed for warmth—for someone to shield him from the coldness of the world.
After starting school, Will quickly bonded with James and his circle of friends. James, more perceptive than the others, noticed Will’s vulnerability and began treating him with extra care.
Will, for his part, never saw James as just a friend—but not quite a lover, either. He didn’t consider himself gay. He simply saw James as someone he could depend on—his protector. His feelings for James hovered in a strange gray zone: deeper than friendship, not quite romantic, but undeniably intense.
Eventually, the pressure of hiding it all became unbearable.
So Will decided to confess—not face to face, but in a text. He explained that his feelings for James went beyond friendship, but they weren’t rooted in sexual attraction. He didn’t want to cause trouble; he just wanted James to understand.
To his shock, James replied.
10 p.m. tonight. Let’s talk.
Will’s heart soared.
He went to the meeting place as instructed—alone.
What awaited him wasn’t closure.
It was a nightmare that would leave scars etched into his soul.
Robert paused in his retelling, breathing heavily. He glared at James, eyes full of hatred.
James shook his head slowly. “Robert… I swear I never got your message. I didn’t reply. I never told you to meet me. Someone must’ve—”
“I knew you’d say that,” Robert snapped, voice full of cold amusement. “Still playing the victim? But I’m not that foolish boy anymore. You can’t lie your way out this time.”
James didn’t back down. “If you’re so sure I did it, then show me the proof. Don’t just throw accusations.”
“Relax,” Robert said, his voice chilling. The rage in his eyes had cooled—what remained was a deadlier calm.
“Even after all these years, you should still remember what you told me that night. You asked me to meet you by the bamboo grove outside the north gate. Ten o’clock. You said you wanted to talk in private.” Robert’s voice dropped. “But what I got wasn’t a conversation. It was an ambush.”
Will arrived at the bamboo grove on time. But the moment he stepped into the clearing, two masked figures leapt from the shadows. They clamped handkerchiefs soaked in something sharp and sweet-smelling over his mouth and nose.
He blacked out almost instantly.
When he came to, he was lying naked on the cold forest floor. His body ached, his limbs were trembling, and worst of all—he could feel it.
Something had happened to him.
Then, from somewhere in the darkness, a voice spoke.
“You’re awake. How do you feel?”
Will froze. That voice—
“James?” he croaked, choking on a sob as he scrambled to gather his clothes. “I… I’m not…”
James laughed, the sound cruel and distant.
“You’re not what? Not gay?”
Will couldn’t see him—just his voice echoing through the trees. “No, James. I’m not. I just— I only ever felt that way about you. You said you understood. You said it wasn’t weird…”
James cut him off with a sneer. “If I hadn’t said that, do you think I could’ve lured you out here?”
Will’s blood turned cold.
“You think I’d let you ruin me?” James hissed from the shadows. “If word got out, people would say I was just like you. A disgusting freak. I needed to end it—and I did. Those guys took good care of you, didn’t they?”
Will’s voice shook. “You… you mean those men… you sent them?”
“Damn right I did.”
James didn’t even try to deny it. “You like men, don’t you? Thought I’d let you have a few. Maybe that’d cure you of your little obsession.”
Will bit down on his tongue, trying not to pass out again.
James continued, venom in his voice. “I want you gone by morning. Disappear from school, vanish from my life. If you don’t—if you breathe a word of this—I’ll make sure the whole school sees what happened to you. I’ll upload the video everywhere. You’ll be famous for it.”
Will couldn’t see him, but he could hear the smirk in his voice.
“Leave or stay. Your choice. But if you stay, I’ll destroy you.”
His laughter echoed one last time—and then vanished into the dark.
Will lay there, shattered and alone.
But in that darkness, a vow was made:
He would survive.
And James would pay.
Back in the present, Robert’s body trembled. His hands were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Sweat trickled down his face.
Laura sat frozen. The color had drained from her face.
Robert hadn’t just imagined it. The way he recounted everything—the details, the raw emotion—no one could fake that. He had lived it.
And if what he said was true, there were only two possibilities:
Either James had done something monstrous…
Or someone had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to destroy both of them.
Laura didn’t want to believe James could be capable of something so vile.
But she also knew—this wasn’t something Robert could’ve made up.
She couldn’t deny it anymore:
This wasn’t a misunderstanding.
It was a tragedy.
And someone was going to pay.