Braelyn’s POV
"What happened to the Vengeful Viper who was wrecked?" That question twisted sothing ugly inside .
I opened my mouth, but the words felt heavy, tangled sowhere between guilt and pride. I didn’t know what to say. That girl didn’t die, she was just confused at the mont.
"I haven’t forgiven Raphael," I said, my voice lower now, less certain than I wanted it to be. It was true.
I hadn’t forgiven him. Not after everything. His cowardice escalated things.
The betrayal still lived inside like a scar that never quite healed. The humiliation, loneliness and all the nights I cried myself to sleep while he shared his bed with another woman. None of that had magically disappeared.
But things were no longer as simple as hatred and that was the problem. Lucien watched carefully, like he could see the fracture spreading through my resolve.
He took a slow step back, dragging a hand over his face before letting out a heavy breath that sounded almost disappointed.
"It’s funny you know.." he chuckled, my brows furrowed. "You are defending him Viper. You are defending the man who made you cry and hate yourself. " I froze. I wasn’t defending Raphael that’s not it..things weren’t black and white.
"You say one thing," he muttered, "but you act another way."
My chest tightened. "I’m not defending him," I shot back, though the words lacked the bite I wanted them to have. His eyes darkened at my words..
"You are, dear little Viper," he said flatly with a hint of amusent. "You just don’t want to admit it." His accusatory tone made my fingers curl.
The waves crashed louder behind us, the wind tugging at my hair, but it did nothing to cool the heat rising in my chest. Lucien gave a small nod, like he’d reached a silent conclusion.
"It is fine," he said quietly rubbing his thumb on my cheek. "If you refuse to see who Raphael really is... then watch rip his shell off.." His tone turned malicious in a way that made my skin crawl. His thumb on my skin burned.
A chill slid down my spine.
"What does that an?" I asked..His jaw clenched, gaze turning distant and calculating the sa look I have seen on Raphael’s face too many things. I knew one thing for sure. He ant whatever he had in his mind
"You asked to make him burn," he reminded . "And I will. It is my duty as a man of my word." I stated dryly. His gaze locked on my face studying my reaction.
My heart skipped for the wrong reason. He was going to keep the promise. I didn’t know if I should be glad or not. "Lucien..." His na slipped out before I realised it.
"Since you’ve gone weak," he continued, voice calm but cutting open completely. He wasn’t given the chance to hide. Lucien had always been a blunt person. "I’ll do it alone."
Sothing about the certainty in his tone made my pulse spike.
I suddenly rembered the summit. The tension and stunt he pulled by coming in with the new Horizon group. The deliberate way he’d provoked Raphael. It wasn’t a reckless move but calculated from the start. It was a warning.
My stomach dropped.
"You already started making moves," I whispered.
His eyes flicked to mine. His jaw clenched but he didn’t deny it. "The day I left the hospital..." I continued slowly, dread curling in my gut, "You’d already made up your mind, hadn’t you?"
For the first ti since the conversation started, Lucien froze just for a second but I saw it.. It made sense the reason he felt different.
A shaky laugh slipped from my lips before I could stop it. "The reason you didn’t co to the hospital wasn’t just because of my reaction. You were busy pulling moves.." I pause, taking a second to gather my thoughts. "And today at the summit... that stunt wasn’t random. It was a warning."
His silence confird it. That’s all I needed. The chest pieces were already moving. "You were planning to reveal your identity," I breathed. "Weren’t you?"
A slow smile spread across his face, like a father gives his daughter when he is proud. Lucien retrieved his hand, his smile grew wilder. "Never been prouder of my smart viper. That saved the stress of explaining details," he admitted to everything
Cold spread through , as my blood turned icy. "Yes," he admitted softly. "Hell is about to break loose and you have a front row seat to the chaos..." he said with a grin. The type of sociopath has unleashed chaos.
The ocean waves crashed harder, like they were echoing his words. he stepped closer, voice lowering, "Just sit back... and watch."
My throat went dry. "But no," he added lightly, "I wasn’t going to reveal my identity today."
I frowned.
"That?" he scoffed. "That was just for drama. A little pressure. A little fear you know ." His eyes glead in the moonlight.
"Exposing who I really am would risk everything I’ve built. No one can know I’m Killian yet."
I stared at him. "I trust you to keep a secret Viper.." I was lost for words.. this was what I wanted the ruin of Raphael but why was I reluctant?
The Volkovs deserve this for everything they made suffer. He sighed looming over . "You look terrified. I won’t hide a thing. " his voice trailed off as he taunted. "The funniest part was that I knew there was a possibility you would back out. I always saw it coming because your little heart still held him either it was hatred or love.."
I gasped, stunned. I blinked at him watching how his smile didn’t fade. How did he predict this? I had no indication of backing down in the past unless. Lucien knew the truth about Alia. Was he involved with Alia’s blackmail?.
No i shook my head. That couldn’t be it. My lips slowly parted as I spoke, my voice ca out smaller than I liked. "Then why tell ? Why reveal your identity to ?"
That was the part I couldn’t understand.
If he was playing a long ga... why give the weapon that could destroy him? Lucien’s expression changed then. He looked tired.
"Because you can’t fight for yourself, Lynn," he said quietly. The words landed harder than any insult.
"You’ll sit there," he continued, gaze locked on mine, "drowning in guilt, knowing exactly what’s coming... knowing who’s behind it..." Each word felt like a dagger cutting ..
His jaw tightened. "And you still won’t stop it." My breath caught. "That’s not my fault. You wrecked yourself."
He bent over, his breath fanned over my face as he held my gaze. Like he wanted to hold my gaze as he delivered the final blow.
"You can’t choose," he added, voice softer now, almost sad. "Because you’re scared."
My hands trembled. "Scared of what?" For the first ti that night, his gaze softened into sothing that made my heart ache.
"You know the truth, Lynn," he said gently. The waves crashed as the wind howled around us
What truth was he talking about?
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