Chapter 654: Andrew’s Six-Month Decision

That fragile, sorrowful beauty was the most important person in Marcus’s heart, his Serena.

"Serena."

Seeing his little sister looking so dispirited, SixWingedBoss, whose real name was Andrew, was about to say something to comfort her when she spoke first. Her voice was soft and distant, as though her thoughts were somewhere far away.

"Brother, I heard about it on my way here. The owner of Dragon’s Roar Town, the one that’s about to open, is ’Drunkard’ and ’Invincible Strong.’ I remember Marcus had those two friends in the old game. I met them a few times too. I wonder if they’re still the same people."

"Serena..."

Andrew felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.

His sister’s heart had room for only one person, and even after all this time, that had not changed. If anything, the long separation had only made her feelings stronger. She missed him more, cared about him more, and seemed even more unwilling to let go.

It broke Andrew’s heart to see her like this. Why? Why did his pure, kind, and most beloved little sister have to suffer so much?

Yet what tormented him most was something he had learned only a few days ago. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that perhaps Marcus was not entirely to blame for everything that had happened.

"Serena, that guy has nothing to do with us anymore. Let’s not talk about him."

Andrew wanted to comfort her, but the words felt hollow even as he said them. His mind kept returning to what he had accidentally overheard several days earlier.

Ten days ago, he had happened to overhear his parents arguing. His mother had been blaming his father, accusing him of failing as a father and asking how he could personally destroy his own daughter’s happiness, knowing full well how much Serena was suffering and watching her waste away day after day.

His mother’s voice had eventually broken into sobs.

Andrew had been completely confused at the time. He had never imagined his parents would have such a serious argument over Serena, and he had stood outside the room, trying to make sense of what he was hearing. Before he could learn anything more, however, his father noticed him.

The argument stopped immediately. Both of his parents fell silent.

At the time, Andrew had thought little of it. Now, however, a disturbing thought slowly surfaced in his mind.

’Could it have been Father?’

His heart sank.

He had never managed to learn exactly what his parents had been arguing about, but once he started putting the pieces together, the answer seemed harder and harder to ignore.

How could Marcus have suddenly changed his mind?

Andrew knew what kind of person Marcus was. That was why they had become sworn brothers in the first place. It was also why Serena had fallen in love with him. Marcus was the sort of person you could trust with your back turned, the kind of friend who would stand beside you when things went wrong rather than disappear when trouble came.

Honestly, if Marcus himself had not looked Serena in the eye and said they were breaking up, Andrew would never have believed it. He had asked Marcus about it repeatedly, trying to make sure he had not misunderstood, and in the end he had even punched his sworn brother over it.

Yet Marcus had still broken up with Serena.

That was the part Andrew could never reconcile with the man he knew.

Could it have been family pressure?

Back when Marcus and Serena had first gotten together, this had been Andrew’s greatest concern. He had always worried that his parents would oppose Serena dating a boy from an ordinary background, especially with the Vance family’s circumstances and ambitions.

But that did not make sense either.

Andrew clearly remembered the day he and Serena had nervously told their parents about Marcus. Their parents had not exactly welcomed the news with open arms, but after hearing what Marcus was capable of, they had eventually agreed to let the relationship continue. His father had even said, "Andrew, bring Marcus by sometime. If he’s really that capable, perhaps he can work at our company after he graduates."

They had agreed.

His father had said it openly, in front of both of them.

Unless...

Andrew’s heart sank even further.

Had his father deliberately put on one face in front of them and another behind their backs? Had he agreed to their relationship only to secretly pressure Marcus into giving Serena up?

The possibility made Andrew’s expression turn grim.

He thought back carefully over everything that had happened. The more he remembered, the more suspicious the situation became.

After Serena and Marcus broke up, his mother had been heartbroken for days. She had clearly been upset by what had happened and had repeatedly worried about Serena.

His father, however, had shown almost no reaction.

He had not even suggested talking to Marcus.

Then, not long after the breakup, his father began bringing up another matter. He started talking about introducing Serena to the eldest son of the Bright family, Ethan Bright, the publicly acknowledged number-one young expert among the old martial clans.

Ethan had also harbored feelings for Serena for years.

If Ethan Bright had not currently been in seclusion, training in the forbidden grounds of his family, Andrew suspected his father would have already tried to arrange a meeting between them.

’It was Father.’

The realization struck Andrew with enough force to make him feel as though he had been blind until now.

How could he have been so naive?

His father was proud, fiercely ambitious, and deeply concerned with restoring the Vance family’s former standing. There was no way a man like that would willingly accept Serena marrying an ordinary young man without a family or influence of his own.

Andrew should have realized it sooner.

The Vance family’s business had been declining since his grandfather’s generation. Several major investment failures had nearly brought the family to ruin, and if his aunt had not married into the Nance family, their situation would have been even worse.

His father had spent years carrying the burden of his grandfather’s dying wish to restore the Vance family’s prosperity.

For a man carrying that kind of responsibility, how could Serena’s marriage possibly be nothing more than a matter of love?

The Bright family represented influence, connections, and an opportunity to pull the Vances back toward the position they had once held.

His father would never willingly throw that opportunity away just to let Serena marry an ordinary boy.

So was that what had happened?

Andrew immediately pulled out his phone, his fingers already moving to Marcus’s contact.

He wanted answers.

He wanted to call Marcus right now and demand to know exactly what had happened between him and Serena.

But just before he pressed the call button, Andrew stopped.

If his father really had been behind the breakup, what exactly had he done to make Marcus give in so easily?

That was what bothered Andrew most.

Marcus had not resisted, He had not protested, he had not fought for Serena. He had simply ended the relationship.

Money? Threats? Some kind of deal?

Or was there another reason?

Could it be that Marcus genuinely no longer loved Serena and had merely used his father as an excuse to end the relationship?

The thought made Andrew’s expression darken.

To give up Serena, the woman Marcus had supposedly loved more than anyone else, so easily...

Was Marcus really that weak? Was he really that spineless? Whatever the reason, Andrew could not accept it.

He had always believed Marcus was stronger than that.

Andrew’s thumb remained suspended over the call button.

If Marcus had truly loved someone, then no matter what obstacle stood in his way, he should have fought to overcome it. If he truly loved Serena, he should have fought to stay by her side rather than simply turning around and walking away.

Unless... Andrew’s eyes narrowed. What if his father had forced Marcus into some kind of agreement?

’A deal.’

Perhaps he had promised Marcus something, or demanded that he accomplish something first. Perhaps he had told him that if he wanted to be with Serena, he had to prove himself by achieving something that would satisfy the Vance family.

The possibility changed everything.

"Fine."

Andrew slowly lowered his phone.

"Six months. I’ll give you six months. If nothing comes of it, I’ll beat you senseless myself."

As he thought about his Third Bro, the younger man he had always believed in and always considered genuinely talented, Andrew finally made a decision.

He would not tell Serena about his suspicions.

Not yet.

He did not know what Marcus had gone through back then. He did not know what kind of pressure his father might have placed on him, or what kind of choice Marcus had been forced to make. He had no idea that if not for his mother, Marcus would never have willingly let Serena go.

Even if the price had been his own life, Marcus would never have given her up.

But Andrew knew none of that. All he could see was the choice Marcus had made and the pain it had caused his sister.

Family and love.

Sometimes, being forced to choose between the two was a cruelty in itself.

Andrew could only hope that his Third Bro had not truly abandoned Serena. For now, he would wait and watch. Six months was enough time to find out whether Marcus was really the man Andrew had always believed him to be.

What Andrew never could have imagined was that the choice Marcus had made back then would completely change the course of his life.

Perhaps everything that came afterward, including the path he was now walking, had already been decided by fate.