Chapter 163: Who is Amelia

Braelyn’s POV

The tension in the room was thick enough to choke on. Mikhail and Lucien were locked in one of those silent stare-downs that made everyone else shift uncomfortably, as any second one of them might snap.

I kept my face as neutral as I could, but my stomach was twisting. I really didn’t want Lucien to get into a psycho mood. It was going to be embarrassing for sure.

I grabbed Lucien’s arm. No word was said but he understood. His jaw rolled, and he muttered something under his breath. But he was still clearly angry

“Don’t,” I whispered. His arm stiffened for a moment in my grasp.

Then Lucien just laughed in a low carefree tone, like he’d flipped a switch. “You guys can’t take a joke. I’m not the type to start swinging, not in front of Braelyn anyway. Her eyes don’t need that kind of mess.”

The way he said it casually with a possessive hint, made something flicker in me even though I wanted to roll my eyes because he was making this about me again

Mikhail didn’t answer right away, just looked away, fingers tightening around his empty glass until his knuckles went white. Whatever that jab had hit, it landed deep.

Ivan cleared his throat and steered us back to the game like nothing had happened. Xander picked truth.

“If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be?” Ivan asked.

Xander went quiet for a long moment, staring at the floor. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough. “Tough call. If I couldn’t stop Amelia from… what she did, then maybe I’d stop myself from storming out on Karis’s birthday just because I was jealous and stupid. But honestly? I’m happy where I ended up now.”

His words carried emotions that stung.

Karis reached over and laced her fingers through his. Their eyes met. It was a soft and private moment between them. I could not stand the dog food and had to look away. Too much sweetness in a room full of sharks, it almost hurts to watch.

My poor eyes. I caught sight of Lucien rolling his eyes at them.

“I’m happy too,” she murmured to Xander. “And it wasn’t your fault.”

I could tell it was old pain, something heavy they’d carried together. The rest of us just sat there, letting the moment pass quietly.

Next was Lucien. Of course, he picked dare, how typical of him.

Ivan’s grin turned downright evil. “I dare you to punch someone you’ve always wanted to punch in the face. No dodging allowed. Anyone in the room. I believe in gender equality.” yeah it was confirmed.

The Orlov family is a family of jerks. Something shifted in Lucien.

Lucien stood up smoothly, adjusting his jacket like he was heading to a business meeting instead of throwing hands. I figured Mikhail was about to eat fist, but to my greatest shock, Lucien walked straight across the circle and drove a clean, solid punch into Xander’s jaw.

Karis gasped. I think we all did. What the fuck!! I didn’t see that happening. My brows furrowed, finding something odd about this.

Xander’s head snapped to the side, but he didn’t even try to block it.

“What the hell did he do?” Karis demanded, half out of her seat.

Lucien just exhaled like he’d been holding that punch for years. “I’ve wanted to do that since Alessia’s funeral. If he hadn’t already fought Skyler that day, it would’ve been me.”

Xander rubbed his jaw, not angry at all. “Fair. I deserved it. Though you could’ve hit harder.”

Lucien smirked as he sat back down, flexing his reddening knuckles. “As I said, Braelyn’s eyes are too precious for extra violence.” Lucien snapped.

Alessia, it was the first time I was hearing that name, but his voice choked when he said her name. I knew it wasn’t simple..who was Alessia?

Like hell I didn’t know anything about Lucien. There was also Erica, Killian’s supposed girlfriend. Lucien’s fist shook. He drew in a deep breath and walked back to his seat

He evaded my gaze. My frown deepened. I wanted to pry, but without an ambiguous relationship, I didn’t know if I could cross that border. I had to force myself to focus on the game ignoring the several questions screaming in my mind.

Only Mikhail is left now among the men. Ivan dragged it out, all dramatic. “Truth or dare, Mikhail Romanov?”

Mikhail arched a brow. “Was the full name really necessary?”

“Feels good rolling off the tongue,” Ivan said, pouring himself more whisky, sniffing it like he was savouring the moment. “So?”

“Dare.”

Ivan leaned forward, eyes glinting. “I dare you to tell the truth. What is Adelina to you?”

The room went dead quiet. Mikhail’s jaw tightened; he clearly hadn’t expected that loophole. This was what they planned from the start. This entire game was for this moment.

“That doesn’t count as a dare.”

“It absolutely does,” Ivan shot back, and everyone murmured agreement.

Adelina was staring at him, barely breathing. I could see her hands twisted together in her lap. Mikhail wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“She’s an employee,” he said finally, voice flat. “who works part-time as my assistant. You wasted a good dare, Ivan.”

You could almost hear Adelina’s heart crack. Her face didn’t change much, but the colour drained out of it, and she looked down at her lap like the floor might swallow her.

“He is just an asshole,” Lucien muttered under his breath. I also felt bad for Adelina. Men could be assholes for real.

Ivan didn’t miss a beat. “Grand finale time. Adelina, truth or dare?”

She drew in a slow breath, still staring somewhere past Mikhail. “Dare.”

Mikhail’s fingers clenched around his glass so hard I thought it might shatter. Tiny cracks spider-webbed across it. He sighed, took another long drink, his fourth, maybe fifth and finally glanced at her before setting the half-empty glass down.

Ivan’s smile was pure chaos. “I dare you to make out with anyone in this room.” He paused, then laughed. “But probably don’t pick a married one whose wife might stab you in your sleep.”

Karis let out a dark little chuckle that made it very clear she wasn’t entirely joking. Adelina’s gaze flicked to her, then away fast.

She stood up slowly, smoothing her top. For a second I thought she might actually walk toward Mikhail, her eyes locked on him as she crossed the room. But at the last moment, she veered, stopping in front of Casper instead.

Mikhail’s best friend. Damn, I was cheering for her guts.

She straddled his lap without a word, arms sliding around his neck. Casper went pale as paper. “You don’t have to do this, Adel,” he muttered. “I’ll strip instead, seriously…”

She leaned in close, voice low and teasing. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to kiss a pretty girl like me.”

Their faces were inches apart a little bit more. My toes curled due to anticipation. I wanted to know if Mikhail would explode or not

But life could be an asshole at times, her phone suddenly started buzzing like mad ruining the moment. My face fell completely disappointed. A second later, Casper’s phone went off too ringing at the same time. She froze, annoyance flashing across her face, then climbed off him and grabbed her bag.

She answered with a quick “Hello?” Frown lines appeared almost instantly.

I couldn’t hear the voice on the other end, but whatever they said hit her like a slap. Her eyes went wide, all the colour that had started coming back draining right out again. She turned slowly toward Casper, who was already on his own call, his expression turning just as ghostly.

The whole room went still, watching her face crumple into pure shock.

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