CHAPTER 25: HER REQUEST

Braelyn’s Pov

The rest of the night was a blur of laughter and excitement. Joey asked Lucien for a rematch after watching my victory.

Lucien had flatly rejected without a heartbeat. We spent the remaining time sharing drinks and snacks while carelessly betting on racers and honestly, Lucien was a seer

Because how else could anyone explain why every driver he bet on won, and I kept on losing. It got to the point my cheeks puffed.

"That’s enough. I am going home." I declared storming away. My face was a bit flushed, I had drunk a bit of alcohol and was a bit tipsy. Not necessarily drunk.

His laugh rang behind me. This was annoying; the last race just ended, and he won again. I was too embarrassed to accept defeat and would rather just flee.

Lucien was quietly following behind like my shadow. He was definitely grinning and holding back his laugh. I stopped and shot him a glare. "What’s so funny?"

He stopped before stepping forward. His fingers reached for my face, but he hesitantly withdrew his hand. The world felt small, the look in those eyes. I stepped back from forcing a smile.

"You have something on your face." He said

"Where?" I blurted frantically rubbing my face to clean whatever was there. After rubbing my face for an eternity. He just stood laughing more.

"It is still there." He said, then leaned forward. "Let me help you." I didn’t move away this time. His thumb brushed my lips.

To the corner, Lucien tilted the corners of my lips. His face was still close. "It’s gone." He said.

I backed away, "What was it?" Puzzled by his actions.

"It was the sad loser look. I fixed it to a smile, Braelyn." Once again I was left dumbfounded.

"You are impossible." I hissed about to storm out. Lucien grabbed my hand, stopping me.

"Where are you going?" He asked. My eyes narrowed.

.

"To the car of course."

He shook my head, then pulled me in the opposite direction. "You are running off the wrong way."

Lucien held my hand to the car, and my head was bowed the entire time. To be honest, I was glad he brought me here. It cheered me up a lot but I was a bit upset.

I glanced at his back, my curiosity piquing about him. Lucien looked like someone with potential. How did he turn into the spoiled, useless brat everyone knew him as?

I didn’t like the way he left me flustered. Maybe being friends with him wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would give me time to unravel the misery Lucien was in.

The chauffeur was quietly waiting for us. It was already pretty late, and by now the entire funeral drama was over. We got into the car and Lucien instructed the driver to start the car.

I had left my purse in the car earlier, alongside my phone. Out of curiosity I opened it searching for messages. Aside from group messages there was only one text from my friend Genevieve who could not make it to the funeral

Genny: How was the event? I heard Amelia made a mess of herself

I stared at the message a bit before I replied.

Braelyn: It was fine, I guess.

Genny wasn’t online. I went offline, then glanced at the window, just staring at the night sky.

It was a pretty night. The stars were hypnotising, and I couldn’t look away.

******

I felt a soft touch on my cheeks. My brows furrowed as my eyes fluttered open. The view of the night sky was still before the Volkov mansion.

"We have arrived," I muttered, then glanced at Lucien, who was still in the car. The chauffeur was already gone.

"We arrived a while back." He shrugged, his expression was still unreadable. "You were sleeping peacefully. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you." Lucien admitted

I shook my head in resignation. "You should have just woken up. What will they think knowing we stayed here for so long?" I pouted. He failed to see the gravity of things.

Lucien chuckled, "Exactly what we want them to think." He said then opened the car door.

"Are you going to step down or stay here? I am pretty sure those seats aren’t comfortable to sleep in. " Following his cue I stepped out from the opposite door

We walked up to the main entrance before I stopped. He arched his brow, "Is anything wrong?". Lucien asked.

"No," I paused before gathering the words.

"Thank you for tonight. It was nice having a break." I expressed my genuine gratitude.

"It was fine. It was worth seeing you smile, you should do that more often." His words were cheesy, I guess that was second nature to him.

"You really have a way with words." I chuckled before clearing my throat. "Let’s get serious concerning my request..." I drawled.

He smirked at me, I drew in a deep breath. This was going to be out of character for me. "I agree to play the game, Lucien. I want you to let me use you." I finally requested more like acceptance because he had proposed the same thing earlier

I rubbed his face, "I can’t believe you wasted the request on that." His frustration was apparent.

"It’s not a waste. I want you to make him feel pain even if it’s a fragment of what he made me feel." My voice broke.

"I hate to admit it, but I still love that jerk, and that hurts the most, how he took advantage of what was so fragile."

"I was going to do that anyway without you asking," Lucien said. I glanced at his face, the lights contoured the edges. He was indeed charming and dangerous.

Lucien swallowed a lump. His voice was calm. "If for example, let’s say by chance or miracle, Raphael wakes up next morning and cuts off all relationship with Amelia and gives you a heartfelt apology. Will you accept?"

My mouth fell open; his question was unexpected. I clutched my chest feeling my heart beat that fast. "I’m not that pathetic. He hurt me, and besides, there isn’t a thing called miracles." I replied, then walked past him, stopping just before the door.

"If miracles existed I would have had a baby long ago." The words fell and he walked away, leaving him there. He didn’t follow.

I rushed up the stairs to my room. The door closed behind me and I finally released a breath of relief.

I stalked towards the bathroom, but my feet froze once my eyes caught a figure sitting by the window with a calm expression.

"Where have you been?" Raphael asked with a deadly calm.