I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 260: Crossing the Line

Captain Chambers’ outburst stuns everyone in the apartment.

Theo freezes on his chair in the dining table. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Maeve freezes mid-motion at the stove, bacon sizzling loudly in the pan.

Liam freezes at the door, one hand still gripping the handle.

Alicia freezes with a plate of pancakes in one hand and a glass of orange juice in the other.

Arthur freezes with one hand beneath Alicia’s chin and the other holding a tissue, trying to wipe the juice from her face.

Arthur starts to turn toward the door to see who just yelled.

He sees only a blur.

The next second, Alicia is violently yanked backward by the collar of her oversized T-shirt, the same shirt she wore the night before.

"Ah!"

Caught completely off guard, Alicia stumbles backward, struggling to keep hold of the plate and the glass.

Arthur moves first.

Faster than Captain Chambers.

His hand shoots out and clamps around the wrist that is gripping Alicia’s collar.

Hard.

The sudden stop jerks Alicia forward instead.

She stumbles straight into Arthur.

He is already there.

Deliberately positioned to catch her.

Captain Chambers sees red.

He releases Alicia’s collar and immediately swings at Arthur.

Arthur blocks.

The impact echoes through the kitchen.

It takes only seconds before the two men are fully engaged.

Captain Chambers fights with raw temper.

Arthur fights with precision.

Liam shuts the apartment door calmly.

He does not rush.

He knows Arthur is more than capable of handling Captain Chambers alone.

Theo and Maeve stand frozen, stunned.

They have no idea why Captain Chambers has suddenly turned hostile.

Alicia, who never saw who yanked her, sets down her plate and glass carefully on the dining table, one of her eyes is still shut.

Then she turns toward the fight.

Confused.

Maeve quickly turns off the stove, the sizzling bacon fading into silence, and moves away from the heat. Theo slowly rises from his stool. Alicia stands there, staring at the two men fighting in her kitchen, visibly lost.

"What’s going on?" she asks.

Theo shakes his head. "I don’t know."

Then he looks at her more closely. "Do you know who he is?"

But before Alicia can answer, Arthur’s voice cuts through the struggle.

"Captain, stop. What the hell?"

Arthur is not attacking. He is only blocking.

Deflecting. Taking the blows.

Captain Chambers refuses to stop. He swings again and again, driven by anger rather than technique.

Liam shifts his weight, ready to intervene. He takes one step forward.

Arthur’s eyes meet his. A small shake of the head.

Do not interfere.

Liam stops.

Arthur realizes words are not reaching the Captain. His jaw tightens.

On the next opening, Arthur drives a clean punch into Captain Chambers’ chin.

The impact is sharp.

Captain Chambers stumbles backward and lands hard on his behind.

For a brief second, silence.

Then Chambers scrambles back up, fury burning in his eyes.

He lunges again.

This time Liam steps in and locks him from behind before he can reach Arthur.

"Let go of me!" Captain Chambers struggles violently.

Arthur does not advance. He only looks at him.

There is no anger on his face.

Only disappointment.

"Captain, please calm down. It’s not what you think," Arthur says evenly.

"Shut the fuck up, Montrose!" Captain Chambers roars. "What do you take me for? Stupid? Blind? I saw what I saw! I know what I saw! You took advantage of a weak woman, you lying piece of shit!"

The words barely leave his mouth.

A hand strikes his cheek.

The sharp sound echoes in the kitchen.

Captain Chambers’ head jerks to the side. His ear rings.

A red palm print blooms across his cheek.

He freezes.

Stunned.

Arthur freezes. Theo freezes. Maeve freezes. Even Liam loosens his grip slightly in shock.

Arthur slowly turns his head toward the one who delivered the slap.

Alicia.

Standing there.

Fuming.

Her face is flushed red.

Her eyes are sharp.

Cold.

"You are way out of line, Captain," she says, her voice calm and cutting as ice.

"I..." Captain Chambers tries to speak.

Alicia does not let him.

"That is enough, Captain," she says evenly. "You have embarrassed DEU, you have embarrassed me, and more importantly, you have embarrassed yourself."

The anger drains out of Captain Chambers as if someone has pulled a plug.

His shoulders loosen.

The fight leaves him.

He turns toward Alicia in disbelief.

Liam feels the shift immediately. When Chambers stops struggling, he releases him without a word.

Captain Chambers stands there, shoulders slumped, looking less like an officer and more like a reprimanded child.

"Chief, I..."

Alicia cuts him off again.

"I am not your Chief. I have told you that." Her voice hardens. "Get it into your thick skull. I. Am. Not. Your. Chief."

She enunciates each word with deliberate clarity.

There is no room for misinterpretation.

She meets Captain Chambers’ eyes without wavering.

She is not defensive.

She is not shaken.

She is simply standing her ground.

Theo watches her closely.

A faint smile curves on his lips.

He does not yet know how much she remembers.

But he sees something important.

She is no longer confused.

And she is no longer shrinking.

"Chi... Lutherford."

Captain Chambers corrects himself quickly when Alicia narrows her eyes at him.

He clears his throat.

"Ms. Lutherford. You are clearly not yourself. Let us just return to your apartment. Or better yet, to the DEU office. Once you are there, you will remember everything. Please, Ms. Lutherford."

His tone is polite on the surface. Condescending underneath.

Dismissive.

Alicia’s eyes narrow further. The irritation in her gaze sharpens.

"I have told you again and again, Captain. I do not know what else I can say to make you listen."

Her voice does not rise. But there is exhaustion in it now. Speaking to him drains her.

He refuses to hear her.

She turns away from him, intending to walk back toward Theo and Maeve.

Toward where she feels steady. Accepted.

Safe.

Captain Chambers reaches out to grab her arm.

He does not get that far.

Arthur’s hand clamps around his wrist first.

Firm. Unyielding.

Arthur steps forward, placing himself slightly between Captain Chambers and Alicia.

Protective.

"You had better not touch her, Captain," Arthur says quietly.

The temperature in his voice drops several degrees.

"I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting Alicia."

His bright blue eyes are no longer calm. They are ice.

Cold.

Unforgiving.

The shift is immediate and unmistakable.

He is no longer the man who just exchanged punches. He is something far more controlled. Far more dangerous.

Theo moves first.

Then Maeve.

Then Liam.

They position themselves beside Arthur. Forming a silent barricade in front of Alicia.

No words.

Just presence.

Captain Chambers jerks his hand free and rubs his wrist.

"You all have no idea what you are talking about," he snaps. "You only care about protecting your reputation. You are all delusional. Alicia Lutherford is the current Chief of Solarys DEU. She does not even remember that. Her memories are gone."

His voice rises with every sentence.

"She is incapable of making any important decision for herself, including whether or not she is the Chief. And all of you are enabling this. You are corrupting her. I thought you were the good guys. Clearly, I was wrong."

He lets out a harsh, humorless laugh.

"It is obvious that I cannot take Chief Lutherford today. Fine. I will return. And I will bring every Sentinel available. We will take her back. Mark my words."

His control is unraveling.

He is no longer speaking like an officer.

He is ranting, borderline hysterical.

Theo’s brows draw together.

This is not normal. Captain Chambers is hot-tempered, yes. But not irrational. Not like this.

Something is off.

"She doesn’t remember!" Captain Chambers shouts.

"Oh, I remember, Captain."

The voice comes from behind the human barricade.

Clear.

Steady.

"I remember everything."