Lucien’s POV
Raphael. I blinked. Why does everyone think I was Raphael? I was still confused when fast footsteps approached.
Katerina ran over panicked, with two others following, Auntie Natalia and a boy around my age who looked like . I was stunned, staring at him. He noticed my gaze and looked equally surprised.
I barely left ho, so it surprised . When did Raphael start looking so much like ? Sothing sharp flickered across Natalia’s eyes.
I had seen Raphael a few tis in the past, but we were children then never really realised the resemblance until it was pointed out. I was still staring at Raphael when Katerina lunged forward, dragging Braelyn away from .
"Little Brae, what are you doing with him?" she asked, panic in her eyes. Braelyn looked confused.
"He is Raphael," she said. The actual Raphael frowned.
"I am Raphael, that’s Lucien," Raphael said. Braelyn looked confused, glancing between us. Maybe it was because I was too young and couldn’t read the room.
I stepped forward then tugged Katerina’s clothes. The soft look she had for Lynn completely disappeared.
"Mummy, why does Raphael have a party but not ?" It was an innocent question, but Katerina didn’t take it that way.
Her face twisted, and then a sharp slap landed on my face, blinding for a second. "Why would you think a bastard like you deserves the sa treatnt as Raphael? Stop calling your mother. I can never give birth to sothing so disgusting."
It felt like my heart was being stabbed. Tears ca before I realised it. Everyone was staring at . The venom in Katerina’s eyes was sharp.
A sob tore out of my mouth and I ran. I didn’t know where, but everyone parted like I was a plague. I ran out of the hall.
I was a bastard. I still didn’t understand the word, but my brain knew it was sothing bad, sothing no one liked. A bastard didn’t deserve to have birthdays.
I ran until my legs gave out and I stumbled, falling face-first onto the floor. The tears kept pouring. I managed to sit up, leaning against the wall in a corridor close to the hall. I could hear faint party sounds. People walked past , but no one cared about the bastard. Everyone probably knew, except .
I curled up crying in my arms.
I felt a soft pat on my shoulder that made look up. Raphael was standing there holding a small gift box. "What do you want? Go back to your party."
He didn’t move and just held the box. "Do you rember , Lucien?" he asked, and I frowned. Why was he asking such a stupid question? I rembered him, although we had never really spoken before.
Katerina never allowed around him. "Go away," I replied, then buried my head in my arms. Raphael pushed the gift box under my arm and sat beside .
"I didn’t know your birthday. My daddy gave a lot of gifts, so you can have this one." I glanced up, glaring at him.
"I don’t want it. Daddy already gave a gift." I didn’t want his gift. Why was he showing off? He had a big party and plenty of gifts.
Raphael smiled at . "This one is from . Grandpa said I should see you as my brother. From today I will take care of you."
His righteous words got on my nerves. "You are not my brother," I argued.
"But we look alike and are the sa age. Who will believe you are my uncle?" he retorted, leaving speechless.
"I am older and your uncle."
He didn’t flinch. From a young age, Raphael always had that calm deanour. "I am smarter."
"No you are not," I sneered. "If you are, what is the aning of bastard?" I asked, then shot him a smug smile.
Raphael didn’t answer at first. He seed deep in thought, but six-year-old Raphael was smart. "A bastard is soone whose mummy and daddy are not married, or they don’t know their daddy."
I was stunned, not only that he knew, but also at what it ant. "I know my daddy." Then I froze as Katerina’s words echoed in my mind. "Mummy isn’t my mummy." I felt cold all over and wanted to cry again.
Raphael grabbed the gift box and pulled up. "Grandma was angry, maybe she is lying," Raphael tried to console . "Let’s go inside, the party is fun. We can share since you didn’t have a party." He was already pulling along and didn’t give ti to think too much.
The party was indeed fun. Raphael made sure I was included in every ga and even introduced to his friends. When he blew out his candles and Natalia asked him what his special wish was,
he glanced at and smiled. "I want to go to the sa school as Lucien so we can be friends forever." His answer left everyone dumbfounded.
But he ant it. Maybe Raphael and I would have been best friends instead of frienemies. He was the first person who saw as Lucien and not the unwanted bastard.
**********
"We found her body!" a scream snapped from my thoughts. Several searchers were already heading to the river edge. The river was very deep with turbulent currents.
A team of underwater divers was included in the search team. I made my way through the crowd and pushed forward. Two divers were dragging a body.
"Was she under the water?" I asked, already stepping forward. If she had been under that long, she would have died.
"She wasn’t under the water. I found her unconscious, stuck between rocks in the river, but she lost a lot of blood." I imdiately went down to check her condition.
There was a faint pulse in her neck. She was barely alive. "She must have gone unconscious after hitting a rock. That’s why she is bleeding. Instead of drowning, the current swept her until she got stuck between the rocks," soone explained.
I couldn’t help but smile. Even the Grim Reaper didn’t want her. "She needs dical care imdiately. She can’t die no matter what," I instructed, looking at Natalia’s pale face.
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