Chapter 329: Do you love me?

Braelyn’s POV

My heart raced as I watched him carefully sip from my glass. It was a simple gesture, but it made my throat dry.

“You know,” he murmured, eyes dark with amusement, “bad girls deserve to be punished.”

I drew back instinctively, stumbling off my seat, looking terrified. My mind raced, my pulse thundering in my ears.

Francesca’s carefully planned evening, the blind date, the idea of moving on—it all felt suddenly pointless. Lucien was here, and it felt like I had walked straight into a trap.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself, but all I could do was stare, heart pounding, wondering what exactly he planned to do next.

“What happened to Hendricks? How did you…” I didn’t finish my sentence. He understood immediately.

“You mean how did I know my Viper, after running away and driving me and her dear husband nuts, was having a blind date with another man…” he hissed. A dry chuckle followed, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Of course I knew. The moment you started walking with Mrs Voss all over this city and the rumours of a new Miss Voss began to spread,” he explained. His gaze grew darker with each word.

“Did you forget I schooled here? Or the fact New Horizon headquarters is in this city? I have eyes, and you better be a good girl and sit down while you explain why you tried to run away from me…” he spat. He was clearly furious.

Was pissed an understatement. He was mad.

I clutched my purse, trying to calm my racing heart. This was a public place, he couldn’t do anything out of line here. My eyes darted around before I sat back up.

I was terrified he was here, but a small part of me was excited to see him. It had felt like forever. My throat was parched; I gulped as my butt touched the chair.

“Did Kyle tell you anything? I heard you were friends,” I muttered.

Lucien’s expression turned ugly. “Don’t remind me of that traitor who made me waste two extra weeks searching for you…” he laughed, but there was no humour in it.

“I will teach him the principles of brotherhood later…” chills ran down my spine. I felt sorry for poor Kyle. Lucien looked like he was about to torture him in the most gruesome way imaginable.

“It’s not his fault,” I said and instantly regretted it when his gaze turned even darker. He was too intense.

“Oh, just a few weeks and you’ve already started to bond with your dear nephew,” he sneered.

The waiter approached us once more.

“Are you ready to order?” he asked politely.

Lucien didn’t tear his gaze from me. “Wine will be fine for now,” he replied. The waiter nodded and left.

I waited until he was out of earshot before replying. “This isn’t Kyle’s fault. We can’t be together, Lucien, and I’m tired of the Volkovs…”

His expression darkened further. “So you’re just going to walk away?” He scoffed, his hand curled into a fist on the table. “Newsflash, Braelyn: I have no plans of letting you walk away, even if it means turning my target on the Voss family. They are the reason you want to leave, isn’t it?” His jaw was clenched so tightly I thought it might crack.

The waiter returned. Cold sweat formed on his forehead, sensing the suffocating tension at the table. His hand trembled slightly as he filled our glasses and hurriedly left.

I drew a deep breath after he left. “It’s not that simple, Lucien… we just can’t work. Besides, you can’t abandon your grand revenge just because of me,” I said in a lower voice.

Lucien snorted, then grabbed his glass, taking a slow sip. “You have no idea. Do you think a dumb revenge is more important than you?” He said it matter-of-factly. Then it dawned on me he had abandoned everything to find me.

But why? He had worked so hard and was willing to throw it all away for love. I clutched the pendant on my neck. I had to think straight; I couldn’t turn back now.

“But we can’t work, Lucien. Your family won’t let you…” I blurted out. He held my hand, his gaze turning complex.

“I am sorry I couldn’t protect you from Yelena. No one will ever be able to touch you again…” His expression softened for a moment. “She wanted to use you to force me to take the family name and accelerate my plans. I wouldn’t give her that chance again.”

My eyes went wide. He really didn’t know the truth. I shook my head, trying to pull my hand away. It was suffocating to stay silent.

“Lucien, please…” I begged, my voice cracking. “We just can’t…”

His grip tightened. “Why give me a good reason? Because if it’s because of Raphael, I can just make him disappear,” he said without blinking. I trembled all over.

He wasn’t joking, nor was he going to let go.

“You really leave me with no choice but to come clean,” I whispered. “We can’t be together because the person who killed your mother was Katerina but my mother…” I finally forced out the words, glancing up at him. My voice was low to prevent anyone from overhearing us.

“It was an accident, but my father and Gregor hid it. The Volkovs aren’t the only ones who betrayed you, my family did too. That’s why we can’t be together. I am your enemy’s daughter.” I said, then waited for a reply.

Silence.

Pin-drop silence.

He just stared at me, his hand trembling as he processed what I had said. My stomach churned violently. “That’s the truth…” I whispered, turning away.

He didn’t speak for a while until a weak voice drifted to my ears. “Do you love me?” he asked.

My heart skipped a beat. A frown settled between my brows. Why was he asking that now?

“It doesn’t matter. Your grandmother released me on the condition I leave you…” I evaded the question, but he didn’t let go either.

“Wrong answer, Lynn. Do you love me or not?”

My heart began to race.

“I don’t…” I lied, but he didn’t budge.

“Stop lying and just admit it, Viper. We both know that’s not true. Don’t break my heart…” he whispered, although it felt like he was convincing himself.

“Tell me the truth. That’s all that matters…” he pleaded. I could have kept up my lie, but the way he stared at me made it impossible to form the words.

I finally forced out a word. “Yes…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep