CHAPTER 38: OLD WOUNDS

BRAELYN’S POV

I didn’t know which was worse, the heaviness of the silence that followed the will reading or the way Raphael’s jaw twitched like he was holding himself back from shattering something.

What was Gregor thinking? He basically put Lucien in a worse position than he already was with this stunt. "This has to be a joke," Raphael repeated again, as if the realisation hadn’t sunk in yet.

The lawyer. "These are Late, Sir Gregor wishes. If you are not satisfied, you can contest in the court of law." He added. Lucien remained silent, but there was an obvious smirk on his lips. His taunting arrogant look made him feel he was better than everyone

And maybe he was.

It wasn’t just the properties, it was the guilt written in every line of that will. "For not being the father you needed, I leave you the things I once valued more than you."

That one line made Raphael’s knuckles turn white. Ronan’s face was still stern, and Raphael was treading on the brink.

"He doesn’t even know a thing about the company. What have I been doing all these years?" Raphael asked, his gaze darting between his father and the lawyer whose lips were pursed into a thin line.

The entire family sat in stunned disbelief. Gregor had barely been gone, and yet he was still pulling the strings from the grave. Ronan now stood as the temporary head, but Lucien... Lucien had more power than anyone else in that room and he knew it. His silence wasn’t humility; it was calculation.

I couldn’t give Raphael a child. This was a perfect reason to support his open marriage. Another selfish justification. This was just great

"I don’t think there are any complaints. It was nice meeting you all this time." Lucien finally said as he leisurely stood up. His eyes swept around the room until they fell on Raphael with a taunting gaze.

A subtle laugh rang. Raphael smiled with his unnerving gaze at Lucien. "Of course it would be fair for the bastard who hadn’t worked a day in his life." He said...

"Raphael watch your tongue. This isn’t the place." Ronan cautioned about leading the lawyer out of the room. He was calm and poised like a patrician should be

"Watch my tongue..." Raphael repeated, and Lucien snickered, holding back his laugh.

"You seem like you have a lot to say, nephew. Why don’t you let it out for everyone to hear?" Lucien urged him. I was dumbfounded. Why was he still pushing Raphael’s button when it was obvious Raphael was seething in anger?

Raphael suddenly pushed back his chair, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. No one could comment, we just sat staring at the chaos about to unravel.

"This is ridiculous!" he snapped, his voice rising. "He’s mocking me even in death!"

His gaze shifted to Ronan. "How can you let this happen? An illegitimate bastard given the right to compete with me?" He snapped.

My gaze was settled on Lucien wondering how he was going to handle this. "Bastard or not it doesn’t change the fact Gregor saw us as equals." Lucien retorted.

I sucked in a breath, what was this guy thinking? "Equals?" Raphael snorted.

"If we are equal, can’t we compete with abilities, but something so ridiculous as an heir?" I also had the same thoughts but we all knew the answer. Lucien, being a spoiled trust fund baby, knew nothing about business.

Lucien didn’t even flinch. He sat there, relaxed, one hand casually brushing the dust from his sleeve. "Does it matter? Unless you are scared of the reason you have never had a child, could do less with Braelyn but more with you..."

He smirked, his gaze shifting to Raphael’s waist. "Who knows if you are okay down there. What good is your business genius if you can’t pass it down the blood line..." He paused enjoying the way Raphael’s face changed several colours

My lips were pursed into a thin line. There was nothing wrong with Raphael, it was medically proven, I was the one who was the issue. I don’t know what Lucien was thinking about but this conversation made me uncomfortable.

Lucien wasn’t done. "Maybe he finally realised who could actually handle his empire." he finally said.

Raphael’s glare sharpened. His lips parted and closed like he was lost for words

"Handle? You? You’ve been nothing but a burden to this family!" he barked out. Lucien, please just shut up. There wasn’t a need for this. I wanted to cry, but a miscreant will always be one.

Lucien’s lips twitched. "And yet, he left everything to me. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?"

Before I could blink, Raphael lunged forward and grabbed Lucien by the collar and threw a punch directly at his face. Lucien was taken unaware by his speed and was knocked several feet away, falling into an expensive antique, which shattered immediately.

The room erupted into chaos as chairs toppled and Olivia gasped loudly.

Lucien slowly stood up, a grin still plastered on his face. He wiped off the blood on the corner of his lips, "Careful, nephew," he murmured, voice low but sharp. "You wouldn’t want to start losing more than just a company."

Raphael’s fist connected with Lucien’s face before anyone could stop him. The sound echoed through the room, followed by the thud of Lucien stumbling back, blood already glistening on his lip.

Lucien didn’t fight back. Why wasn’t he defending himself? Lucien laughed as he still struggled to stand up. Raphael was a trained fighter, so those punches weren’t a joke.

Natalia had broken down into tears, clinging to Ronan, who barked for security, but no one got in between them. They all knew about Raphael’s anger. He was normally very calm on the surface and hardly exploded but when he did no one could stop him

Lucien should have been aware of this, but not only was he instigating Raphael, he wasn’t fighting back. "Is that all? Hit me, let her see the monster she married. It won’t change a thing."

Raphael lost it for real this time. I remembered that look on his ace. Years ago, when I ran into trouble on campus, he had that same look, and the outcome was nice.

The other side ended up in a coma. The security wasn’t here and if no one did something.... Raphael might kill Lucien.

My brain didn’t think, my body moved...I couldn’t watch him turn completely

into a monster

"Raphael!" I cried, rushing to stand between them.