Chapter 168 A Name of My Own 2

Micah’s POV

I didn’t know if Wilson was my biological father’s surname or my mother’s maiden name. I didn’t know what kind of people they had been before Bernard stole me away. But seeing that clean, sharp name printed on official paper, completely free of the word Miller, made an overwhelming sense of peace wash through my veins.

“Micah Wilson,” I whispered, trailing my fingertips over the embossed letters. “I like it.”

“It belongs to you,” Noah said quietly. “Nobody can ever take it away.”

Noah reached back into the foam slot of the briefcase and pulled out a sleek, matte black bank card with a gold microchip. He extended it toward me.

“What is this?” I asked, looking up at him.

“Your parents’ remaining estate,” Noah answered. “Bernard seized their offshore accounts years ago, but he never managed to crack the secondary trusts. David traced the blind routing numbers through the syndicate ledgers last night and transferred the funds into a private account under your new name.”

I took the cold card, turning it over in my weak palm. “How much is in here?”

“Roughly five hundred to seven hundred million dollars,” Noah replied casually, as if he were discussing pocket change.

My jaw dropped open. My eyebrows shot straight up.

“Five to seven hundred million?!” I gasped, staring at the little piece of plastic in utter shock. “Were my parents really that wealthy?”

Noah just watched me with an unreadable, subtle smirk.

A quiet suspicion tugged at my mind. Was this truly my biological family’s inheritance, or had Noah secretly funneled half of his own Whitfield fortune into the account just to make sure I would never struggle for the rest of my days?

I didn’t ask. Either way, it was a massive gift, and it was officially mine.

“What are you going to do with that kind of money?” Noah asked, watching my face closely.

I took a deep breath, neatly gathered the passport, the birth certificate, and the black card, and placed them back into the silver briefcase. I snapped the lid shut with a firm click.

I looked straight into Noah’s blue eyes.

“I am leaving the country,” I said, my tone clear and resolute.

Noah’s face lit up instantly. He clapped his hands together with a bright, enthusiastic smile.

“Perfect!” Noah exclaimed, leaning forward on his stool. “I was planning our departure already. Julian Silver is holding the key to my father’s vault in Greece. As soon as you can walk, we will board the private jet together. We can buy an estate along the coast, set up our security, and—”

“Noah.”

I interrupted him, keeping my voice quiet but firm.

Noah paused mid-sentence, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What is it, Micah?”

I looked at him without wavering. “I am leaving the country alone.”

The smile vanished from Noah’s face in a fraction of a second.

He went completely motionless. The air in the room suddenly turned freezing cold.

“What did you say?” Noah asked, his voice dangerously low.

“I am leaving by myself,” I repeated, holding his stare. “I need to build my own life, Noah. I need to figure out who Micah Wilson is without hiding in your shadow.”

Noah shot up from his stool, his chair scraping violently against the floor tiles.

“Are you insane?!” Noah barked, towering over my bed, his chest heaving with instant rage. “You are going to live on without me?!”

I nodded slowly. “Yes.”

CLANG!

Noah reared back his boot and kicked the heavy wooden stool across the room!

The stool smashed against the far wall with a deafening crash, splintering along the legs before clattering to the floor.

Noah ran both hands roughly through his dark hair, pacing beside the mattress like a trapped, furious predator.

“Why?!” Noah yelled, pointing a trembling finger at my chest. “Did I do something wrong?! Did I fail to protect you?! Or did that fucking Damon Silver whisper poison into your ear before the surgery?!”

“Leave Damon out of this,” I said sternly, keeping my composure. “Damon has nothing to do with this decision. This is about me, Noah.”

Noah stopped pacing, glaring down at me with raw, wounded eyes.

“Listen to me,” I pleaded softly, extending my hand toward him. “We have been trapped in Bernard’s nightmare our entire lives. You spent years planning revenge, and I spent years living in terror, clinging to your coat like a helpless child. If I stay glued to your side right now, I will never grow up. I will always be the scared kid who needs you to fight his battles.”

Noah didn’t speak, his jaw clenched tight.

“Let us stay apart for a few years,” I continued, pouring every ounce of sincerity into my words. “Give me time to finish my education, build my own foundation, and stand on my own two feet. And after that, once we are both whole, we can meet again and plan our future together as equals.”

Noah stared at me, his eyes wide with shock.

He slowly walked over, picked up the overturned stool, set it back beside the bed, and sat down heavily.

He looked at my bandaged shoulder, then up at my face.

“Will you really be okay out there without me, Micah?” Noah asked, his voice cracking with a vulnerability he rarely showed.

I forced a confident smile onto my face and nodded. “I will be fine.”

The truth was, a part of me was terrified. I had relied on Noah for every single breath since childhood. Living on my own in a foreign country sounded terrifying. But it was the only way to prove to myself that I was strong enough to survive.

Noah sat in silence for a long time, his shoulders slumping with heavy, visible sadness. Yet beneath the sorrow in his eyes, I saw quiet respect. He knew he couldn’t hold me in a golden cage forever.

“All right,” Noah whispered reluctantly. “If that is what you truly want.”

I let out a soft breath of relief.

Now, the only obstacle left was Damon. I knew having this exact same conversation with that stubborn, arrogant bastard was going to be an absolute disaster.

I had two months left of the semester before final exams. Once the term ended, I was boarding a flight across the ocean to start a brand new chapter of my life.