Braelyn’s POV
The ride was quieter than I expected.
Lucien didn’t turn on the radio. Didn’t make one of his usual sarcastic comnts or even glance at . His hands rested loosely on the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road ahead, but there was sothing tightly wound beneath that calm exterior, I could feel the tension rolling off him.
I didn’t speak either. I just stared through the windshield, watching the city lights blur into streaks of gold and white. After sending that ssage to Raphael, I switched off my phone completely. It felt cowardly... but also necessary. I didn’t want to deal with his calls. It was better this way. I urged myself.
The sun was already sinking low, dragging a trail of orange and crimson across the sky. The colours bled into each other. It was beautiful over the city skyline.
We drove farther than I expected. The familiar roads of the city gave way to emptier highways, then to narrow streets, and eventually to a rough, uneven road that made the car jolt slightly with every dip as we got to the outskirts.
I frowned. "Where are we going?" I couldn’t help but ask on noticing the foreign landscape.
Lucien only smirked faintly, eyes still forward. "You’ll see," he shrugged, still focused on the road. That wasn’t reassuring.
By the ti we stopped, night had settled fully around us. The engine went quiet, and for a second all I could hear was the distant, rhythmic crash of waves.
I blinked. "We’re... at a beach?" I blurted unable to believe we are at the beach.
Lucien unbuckled his seatbelt like this was the most normal thing in the world. "I felt like walking barefoot," he said casually. "Maybe light so firecrackers. The sparkly ones. Haven’t done that in years." He opened his door. "Didn’t feel like coming alone. And it’s quiet here. Easier to talk here." my jaw dropped at his audacity.
He drove miles away from civilisation because of that. I stared at him. "You dragged out of a corporate summit... for fireworks?" I stuttered.
He stepped out anyway, stretching as he’d just brought to so luxury resort instead of the middle of nowhere. "It’s beautiful here. We all need a breather," he called over his shoulder.
I sighed. I was already too deep into this to turn back now, so I stepped out of the car. Since I was here... I might as well enjoy the view. I stepped out of the car, my heels sank into the sand..
The cold air hit first. The air slled salty like the ocean, and my breath caught as I took in the scene before .
It was exactly what you described as breathtaking.
The ocean stretched endlessly in front of us, dark and shimring as the moonlight scattered across the surface like a sea of thousands of tiny stars. The horizon glowed faintly where the sky kissed the water, silver and deep blue blending into sothing almost unreal as the moon sat on the horizon far ahead.
It felt like I could grabbed with my hand.
For a mont, I forgot everything else and just lived in the mont. I just stood there, listening to the calming of the waves crashing against the shore
Then warmth settled over my shoulders.
I startled slightly before realising Lucien had draped his jacket around . The fabric still held his body heat. "It’s cold," he said softly.
I looked up at him. In the dim light, his eyes seed darker, reflecting the moon like glass. There was no teasing smirk now just my reflection flickered off his eyes. He had already ditched his tie, and his top buttons were undone with his sleeves rolled up. Dressed in all black, he felt dangerous against the darkness.
Before I could say anything, he reached for my hand.
"Co on," he murmured, fingers wrapping around mine as naturally as if we’d done this a hundred tis. In his other hand was a small bag, I could hear the faint rattle of fireworks inside. "You need to see it from closer."
My heart stumbled at the contact, but I let him lead . Enjoying the warm feel of his palm, a strange feeling in my stomach, I never knew I would experience again, settled there. My stomach fluttered; the feeling felt wrong, but it was real.
After a few steps, my shoes sank deeper into the sand, making it impossible to walk properly. I glared at Lucien’s feet and realised his trousers were rolled up and he was barefoot.
I stopped with a quiet huff and slipped them off then kept them on the car bonnet before walking back to Lucien.
The sand was cool beneath my bare feet; it felt comforting, weirdly. A chuckle escaped my lips before I realised it. When was the last ti I laughed like this?
Lucien slowed his pace to match mine, still holding my hand, guiding toward the waterline where the waves rolled in and out.
He stopped at the shore, and the wet water touched my feet. He let go of my hand. "You can go ahead. I will light the firecrackers." He urged with a smile.
I didn’t wait for him and walked towards the water, enjoying the cold feeling crashing on my skin. I walked around in circles at first and before I knew a part of I thought was lost slowly released itself
Before I knew it I was kicking the sand and giggling as I chased the wave and ran away as it ca back. My laughter got louder by the second
"This is fun, it reminds ..." I chid, excited, spinning towards Lucien, but the rest of my words were caught in my throat.
He was staring at , not far away, holding a firecracker. I accepted mine and watched quietly as he tilted his hand to light it. The colours sparkled between us.
I smiled, staring at the light. "It is beautiful " I admitted. His gaze dipped to .
"But not as beautiful as your smile," he said, and my head jerked up.
"I prefer this look to the terrified look from last ti," he admitted, and my heart instantly skipped a beat. The firecrackers burned between us.
"Lucien..." I blurted. He smiled but it wasn’t a cheerful one.
"I really can’t help but be selfish. Whisking you away on your anniversary day..." he chuckled lightly. "I heard Raphael booked an entire rooftop restaurant. You don’t mind being selfish, do you, or have you forgiven him?"
Lucien left speechless. He did it deliberately.
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