All Chapters of A Whole New World: Chapter 71 - Chapter 76

ESSENCE I was still stuck in my thoughts, eyes locked on the space where Brittany and Lucian had stood a few moments ago, when I felt a tap on my arm. "Essence?" Lucian's voice was gentle, but there was a question in his tone, a worry I wasn’t ready to answer. I flinched and turned to him. His brows knit together as he placed the back of his hand on my forehead. "Are you okay? You look pale." "Why did this boy call you Daddy?" I asked, my voice low, almost unsure it even belonged to me. Lucian’s jaw tensed slightly. He turned his eyes briefly to the little boy still staring up at him with pure joy and then back to me. "I’ll tell you later," he said quickly, his voice firm but not unkind. Later? What was I supposed to do with later? I forced a smile so fake it could’ve won an Oscar. Then he gestured toward Brittany. "Essence, this is Brittany—she’s a family friend. Brittany, this is my beloved wife, Essence." Beloved wife. The moment the words left his lips, I saw B

LUCIAN I sat beside Essence again, the silence thick between us, our knees brushing lightly on the edge of the bed. I could still see the tension in her shoulders, the unshed tears threatening to pool in her eyes. But I needed her to understand everything. I took a quiet breath and asked gently, "Do you remember saving the life of a boy at the orphanage?" She blinked, her brows creasing. "After I was adopted, I had an accident with my brother once. I lost a lot of memories from before. I... I don’t remember much about my life before the adoption." I nodded slowly, already anticipating that answer. "We knew each other," I said, watching as her eyes widened in shock. "What?" she gasped. I let the memories flood back. "My parents died in a plane crash when I was fourteen. I was supposed to be on the plane with them, but I had a high fever, so I stayed back. After they died, I was left with my father's younger brother. He sold off everything my parents owned and relocated, leavi

** Hi, guys. Chapter Seventy three was accidentally posted twice. Since it's the weekend, the chapters would not be corrected until Monday.To make it up to you, I'm posting the chapter Seventy Four as a free chapter. But it will be deleted once the error chapter is corrected.**ESSENCE I sat there, still trying to wrap my head around it all. Lucian—that boy. The boy I once saved at the orphanage. The boy who had once looked at me with tearful eyes and said he didn’t want to live anymore. It was him. All this time, it was him. While he spoke, memories began creeping back like timid cats in the night. Faint images, blurry conversations, childish giggles. I remembered the pink dress. I remembered the pigtails. I remembered his sad eyes and the way I had tried to cheer him up by telling him dreams were where angels sent hugs. I never thought something so surreal would be real. I had judged Lucian so wrongly in the beginning. Oh, God. I had even wondered if he was playing me. But