Braelyn’s POV
"Maybe... just maybe you can forgive Raphael," Genny said quietly, her voice hesitant, like she already knew the words might hurt. "I hate to say this, but you never really stopped loving him. And Lucien... he might just be a fleeting mont."
Her words sank into deeply. I wanted to deny it imdiately, but the truth tangled sowhere deep in my chest, refusing to move.
My feelings for Raphael weren’t gone. They weren’t soft or warm anymore either. They were complicated, bruised, twisted into sothing painful and fragile. Loving him now felt like holding shattered glass. Still... it was sothing. Still... it hadn’t completely died.
Genny suddenly exhaled sharply and shook her head, almost frustrated with the seriousness of the conversation. "Honestly, if it were up to , I’d tell you to tell them both to fuck off, grab a ridiculous amount of cash, and disappear sowhere far away."
A small laugh escaped before I could stop it, the sound shaky but real. For a brief second, the tension eased, like a crack of light through storm clouds, and I squeezed her hand across the table.
"But that’s not real life," she continued more softly. "In real life, one of them is the man who would burn and bleed for you to reduce your pain... while the other..." She hesitated, searching for the right words. "The other is a wild, unpredictable storm. He wouldn’t burn for you but would burn everything else down for you and might burn you with it."
My throat tightened because I didn’t need her to say their nas. I already knew. The foolish man who bled in secret and still tried to protect in his own foolish, stupid way. And the wild one who makes everything bleed, but he might hurt because all he loves is the thrill.
Genny sighed, her gaze soft with understanding. "I never understood how a man who loved you that fiercely could suddenly change. Now I do."
My fingers tightened around the cold glass of my milkshake, the condensation damp against my skin as I stared at it without drinking.
I was still trying to breathe through that thought when I heard footsteps approaching our table. Before I even turned, a faint scent of jasmine and sandalwood reached first. My stomach dropped instantly, my body recognising him before my mind caught up.
"Hi, ladies."
My head jerked up sharply, and my eyes crashed straight into Lucien’s. He extended his hand to . "If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow Mrs Volkov," he said with a smile.
"Viper..." he called out.
Genny went silent. My heart slowed with ti. What was he doing here?
"What are you doing here?" I blurted out.
"I wanted to see you..." he simply said. The atmosphere turned awkward. I gave Genny an apologetic smile.
"I will leave first," I muttered.
She hesitantly nodded. Her gaze drifted to Lucien with an unreadable expression.
"Sure, take care," she chid with a weak smile.
I returned it. Lucien led out of the café to his car that was parked by the pavent.
He opened the passenger seat for before circling to the driver’s seat. The engine rumbled to life and he drove into the main road.
"Where are we heading?" I casually asked, trying to strike up a conversation.
Lucien held the steering wheel with one hand while the other rested against the window near his face.
"My place. I have sothing to show you," he simply replied and drove on. The rest of the ride was silent, if not for the radio.
By the ti we arrived at Lucien Glass Villa, it was already evening, and the orange hue of the sunset was scattered across the sky, reflecting on the glass panels of the villa. It was going to turn dark any mont from now.
It made the place even more entrancing.
Lucien got out of the car and pulled the door open before I could react. He led inside the villa. From the foyer, I could sll the aroma of delicious food.
"Welco back, Mr Volkov. Dinner is ready," his housekeeper welcod us with a smile.
Lucien nodded. "That’s perfect. We arrived just on ti," he chid, then held my hand. "May we? The food tastes better when hot."
Without waiting for a response, he led away, but we didn’t head to the dining room. Instead, he led up the stairs. His hand didn’t leave mine the entire ti.
He took to the rooftop and by the ti we arrived there, the sun had given its last light and stars were starting to appear in the sky.
I stopped at the entrance, my breath caught as I took in the scene before .
It was almost completely dark now, the last trace of sunset swallowed by the deep blue night, and the rooftop had been transford into sothing out of a dream.
Soft golden candlelight flickered everywhere, dozens of scented candles arranged along the stone floor, the railings, and the edges of the space so that the entire rooftop glowed in the light.
The faint wind carried the mixed fragrance of lted wax and fresh petals, the sweetness wrapping around before I could even step forward.
Roses were everywhere, but arranged with care. Deep red roses lay in low clusters around the space, their colour almost black under the candlelight. Between them were softer blooms, pale primroses, whose delicate petals caught the glow like tiny pieces of moonlight.
The contrast was strangely beautiful. Passion and softness.
And in the very centre of it all stood a single table, dressed in dark red linen, set for two, crystal glasses already catching the light as if they were waiting.
My heart started racing so loudly I was sure he could hear it.
I slowly turned my head toward Lucien, still half standing beside , my voice coming out softer than I intended.
"What... is all this?"
He didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, a knowing smile spread across his face. His gaze lingered on for a mont, almost studying my reaction, before he finally spoke.
"I have a surprise for you later," he said simply, his tone calm. "Besides... I realised I’ve never actually taken you out for a proper al before. That felt like a mistake worth correcting."
Sothing in my chest tightened at the sight.
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