Lucianne~I closed the door of my father-in-law's chamber behind me, filled with an array of contrasting emotions. Leaning on a pillar in the hallway was Raphael. He raised his head as I approached warily."Your father is a character," was the first thing I said when he turned to face me fully.He looked down momentarily and smiled wryly. "That he is," he whispered.An awkward silence followed. We needed to talk, about a lot of things. Talk about where we stood after last night. As it would turn out, because of Nova's absence, I had not been able to connect fully to him after I woke up, but after last night... after her very sudden return and what we shared, I was no longer sure what to make of us. There was a spark of hope, but it had not been able to fully ignite into something tangible, and I found myself yearning for the fire's warmth despite what I had told myself.I didn’t want it to matter if he was my mate. I didn’t want to have my heart shattered ever again, to be struck down
"Father," Raphael interrupted, a warning in his tone, though it was softened by the affection in his eyes.I liked the man that he was around his father. Despite his condition, he seemed to breathe life into Raphael. It made me even more endeared to him."See?" His father said. "He is so embarrassed that he won't let me expose him." He pouted and turned to his son. "You will have to leave. I want some time to bond with my daughter-in-law."Raphael glanced at me and without much hesitation, I nodded.He got up, feigning annoyance. "Alright, but don’t believe everything he says, Lucianne," Raphael teased, a faint smile on his lips as he turned to leave. His father waved him off with a chuckle, and soon, it was just the two of us in the room.As the door closed behind Raphael, his father’s demeanor shifted slightly. Though the humor remained in his eyes, there was a gravity to his expression that told me he had more to say, something serious that he had been holding back."Lucianne, let
Lucianne~My heart skipped a beat as I waited in tense silence for the rest. What was he hiding? How had he gotten injured so badly? Why did he think I didn’t need to know?My mind was reeling again, but Raphael said nothing. It was my father’s voice that I heard next. "I am grateful, son," his tone was heavy, as if he too was carrying a weight on his shoulders. "I didn’t believe she would ever be able to find Nova again after all that she had been through, but you kept your promise."Raphael said nothing to that."You kept your promise, but you still have to tell her," he said. "That is the only way you can move forward. It is too early in your marriage to start sowing seeds of deception and distrust.""Father—""I know you have good intentions, but you cannot keep this from her. She needs to know."Silence."Father’s right, Raphael," Lance’s voice cut in. "Lucianne is not as delicate as she seems. She has proven that to us in numerous ways. She has handled everything that has been t
Lucianne~When I awakened, Raphael was not in bed. It was a relief because I could not quite understand what had happened between us the previous night. It had been so spontaneous and overwhelming, a whirlwind of emotions and sensations that I wasn’t sure how to process. My body still hummed with the afterglow, but my mind was a tangled mess of thoughts and questions. What did it all mean? What would it change between us? Would it change anything at all?I sat up slowly, pulling the sheet around me as I glanced around the room, trying to gather my thoughts. The bed was empty, but the faint scent of Raphael lingered in the air, a reminder of what had transpired. My heart ached with a mixture of longing and uncertainty. I wanted to find him, to talk to him, but at the same time, I was afraid of what he might say—or worse, what he might not say.Taking a deep breath, I slid out of bed, the cool air brushing against my skin as I searched for my clothes. My movements were slow, deliberate,
Lucianne~It did not sink in at first and blinked at him, confusion whirling within me. Why would my eyes be glowing? Then my breath fractured. No... It could not be...He got up, cradling my face, his eye searching "Nova..." My heart lunged into my throat, hope filling me. "Could it really be? What if she is not there?" I was a single breath away from hyperventilating. But Raphael stroked my cheek, grounding me. "Call for her," he whispered.I took a deep, shaky breath, my pulse racing with a mixture of hope and fear. Nova. The name felt foreign on my tongue, a distant memory that I had buried deep within me. After losing her, it was as if a piece of my soul had been ripped away, leaving me hollow. But now, with Raphael’s words hanging in the air, there was a flicker of something—something that I didn’t dare to fully believe yet.“Nova…” I whispered, my voice barely audible as I closed my eyes, trying to reach out with my mind. The familiar darkness of my subconscious greeted me, bu
Lucianne~During the entire dinner my mind had travelled to another realm entirely. The table was filled with joyous conversations and congratulations. Everyone acted as though they did not see the eye patch strapped to Raphael's face. I felt like I was going crazy.The only people that seemed to show any bit of the tension was my family. They all seemed to be glancing suspiciously at each other. Then it clicked, it might have been because of Raphael's state that she had looked so perplexed.But now, she was eating and not meeting my eye. Something was wrong but I was the only one being kept in the dark. The tension gnawed at me like a relentless itch I couldn’t scratch. As I picked at my food, my mind raced, trying to piece together the fragments of unease that swirled around me. The table was alive with laughter and cheerful banter, yet all I could focus on was the silent, looming presence of Raphael, the eyepatch a glaring reminder that something was terribly wrong. How could every