Chapter 494: Cards on the Table, Aaron Draws the Line

Surprisingly, Maya did not object when she heard David talking about the engagement. Instead, she glanced shyly at Aaron and said, "Dad, you can't rush something like that. Even if we were going to get engaged, Aaron and I would have to spend some time together first."

David immediately understood the change in his daughter's attitude, and a broad smile spread across his face.

"Exactly! There's no need to rush. You two haven't seen each other in more than ten years, so of course you should get to know each other again first."

Maya lowered her head with a coy smile.

Just then, Caleb approached her. His eyes were slightly red, and there was none of his earlier confidence left.

"May... I'm sorry. I lost, and I—"

"Don't call me May."

Maya's expression changed instantly.

Caleb stopped.

"We were never that close," she said coldly. "You don't owe me an apology. We were just friends."

His face went blank.

Maya looked at his dust-covered clothes with obvious distaste. "I only asked you to come today because I wanted to see how you stacked up against Aaron. You didn't seriously think we were actually going to end up together, did you?"

Caleb stared at her as though he were seeing a complete stranger.

Only a short while ago, she had thrown herself into his arms, called him her boyfriend, and insisted that she loved him. Now that he had lost, apparently they had only ever been friends.

A bitter laugh escaped him.

"Right... Of course. We were just friends."

David stepped in before the silence could become any more awkward.

"Don't take the loss too hard, Caleb. Aaron is number one on this year's Hidden Dragon Rankings. There's no shame in losing to him."

That finally revealed the identity David had been deliberately holding back.

Caleb's head snapped toward Aaron.

Maya, Tyler, and David's wife were just as stunned.

"Aaron..."

Caleb's eyes widened as everything suddenly clicked into place.

"So that's why the name sounded familiar. You're that Aaron—the Trainer who broke Hualis's record and cleared the ninth floor of the Hidden Dragon Tower."

He finally understood.

This was the young Trainer everyone in Crown City had been talking about.

Against someone like that, his defeat was hardly surprising.

Caleb looked at Aaron for several seconds, his expression complicated, then turned and walked away without another word. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked years older than the confident young man who had entered the hotel earlier.

His ego had taken two brutal hits in one afternoon.

First Aaron had crushed him in battle.

Then Maya had discarded him the moment he lost.

At this point, Caleb had only one thought left.

I never should've come here.

...

David's wife recovered first, and her attitude changed almost as quickly as Maya's had.

"Oh my, honey! You never told me Aaron was this impressive." She turned toward him with an ingratiating smile. "Aaron, dear, we still have some expensive supplements in the car. We'll bring them over later. You young Trainers need to take care of yourselves."

Maya moved closer as well.

"Aaron... I really didn't know you were this amazing." She smiled shyly. "You haven't changed at all. You were always incredible when we were little too."

She even reached for his arm.

Aaron looked down at her hand, smiled pleasantly, and removed it.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves."

Maya's smile stiffened.

Aaron calmly looked from her to David and the rest of the Warrens.

"None of this is happening."

The room went quiet.

"I came here today for two reasons. First, because my dad has spent fifteen years wondering what happened to his old friend. Second, because you still owe him the fifty thousand he lent you."

Aaron's voice remained calm.

"That's it."

He glanced at Maya.

"And there's one thing Maya said earlier that I completely agree with. We were children. A pinky promise between two kids is not an engagement."

David's expression changed slightly.

Aaron continued before he could interrupt.

"If you're planning to use friendship, loyalty, or some promise our parents made years ago to guilt me into marrying her, go ahead and try."

He reached into his belongings and took out a golden medal.

"Oh, and before you do, take a good look at this. Edward presented it to me personally."

Aaron produced a golden Pokémon League Medal of Honor.

David's family stared at it, then noticed the title engraved beneath the League insignia:

Honorary General

Aaron's expression cooled. "So if you really want to pressure me, think carefully about how much influence the Warren family actually has."

Any response David might have prepared died immediately.

Aaron had no intention of letting the matter drag on any longer. He had come here to resolve the issue for Victor, and now that David's motives were obvious, there was no reason to keep pretending.

He turned toward his father.

"Dad, you've seen it for yourself."

Victor met his son's gaze.

"The friend you spent all these years missing had already moved on. If David hadn't found out who I was, he probably never would've come back."

Aaron said it plainly, right in front of David.

David's face flushed, then quickly lost its color, but with the medal still in Aaron's hand, he did not dare say a word.

Victor let out a long sigh.

Deep down, he had already known.

He simply had not wanted to admit it.

For fifteen years, he had kept finding excuses for his old friend. David must have been busy. His business must have been struggling. Maybe life had simply gotten in the way.

But fifteen years was a long time.

Not one visit. Not one attempt to reconnect.

And now, the moment Aaron became someone important, David had suddenly remembered the friendship they once shared.

The answer was obvious.

Their lives had gone in different directions long ago, and David had been perfectly content to leave Victor behind.

Victor looked at him for a long moment before finally shaking his head.

"Forget it."

There was more exhaustion than anger in his voice.

"Let's go. Take care of yourselves."

The knot he had carried for fifteen years was finally gone. The answer hurt, but at least he had one now.

Victor turned to leave.

Aaron's mother did not.

"Hold on."

Everyone looked at her.

She crossed her arms and stared directly at David.

"You still owe us fifty thousand."

David froze.

"You're worth over a hundred million now, and somehow you still never got around to paying back the fifty thousand Victor lent you when you had nothing?" She scoffed. "Unbelievable."

David opened his mouth, but she was nowhere near finished.

"And then, the moment you found out my son had made something of himself, you suddenly remembered how much you missed your old friend."

Her expression twisted with disgust.

"That whole heartfelt reunion act nearly made me sick."

David's wife looked away.

Aaron's mother pointed toward the Warren family.

"And that childhood engagement nonsense? You really had the nerve to bring that up after disappearing for fifteen years?"

She had been holding those words back for far too long.

Now that she had finally started, she had no intention of stopping early.

...