CHAPTER 53: I DON’T HATE HIM

Braelyn’s POV

My choked cough filled the room. Lucien was rubbing my back while cautioning me of the dangers of getting water in my lungs, like he wasn’t the reason I choked in the first place.

"Try to be careful next time." He said with a serious tone almost sounding like my doctor.

I almost coughed out blood. "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned about my condition, which he caused.

"I’m fine." I managed to resist the urge to glare at him. "Why the hell did you decide to go into the medical profession?" I could not help but ask.

I could not even imagine him being a doctor. He would have been pretty popular with that face of his.

"I had my own reasons." He shrugged then grabbed the bottle I was drinking from. He tilted his mouth to his lips to take a slow kiss. Something about the way he was drinking felt so sensual I couldn’t pry my eyes away

Noticing every detail, how his Adam’s apple bobbled as he gulped. I swallowed my spit then cleared my throat.

"What might those reasons be? I can only imagine." I chimed out, curious why a menace to society decided to save lives

Lucien rubbed his jaw like he was lost in thought. "There were a couple of reasons. One to spite my brother and father they wanted me to take a business course and be more like Raphael..."

"...it is pretty annoying constantly being compared to your nephew." He said almost sounding hurt. His pitiful expression made me laugh.

Lucien’s lips twitched. He didn’t like me laughing at his predicament. I really couldn’t help myself. He kind of looks like a hurt puppy. At least it was a way to distract me from the fact that he was shirtless.

"Stop laughing." He sneered, rolling his eyes.

"What other reasons did you have? The first one was typical rebellious Lucien." I chirped in. He scoffed, acting offended, but from his soft gaze, I could read he wasn’t mad.

"Well, the other reason was Olivia, she said there was no way I would get admitted into the university with my not-so-impressive academic record, so I took it as a challenge to choose a hard course and study my ass off to get admitted...."

"After getting admitted, the look on their faces was priceless. She then swore she would jump off a building if I managed to graduate. She couldn’t believe I got into medical college on my merit.". His eyes crinkled at the side thinking about Olivia.

They hated each other’s guts.

"She didn’t jump off the building after you graduated." I snickered, imagining how priceless Olivia’s expression must have been when she found out about Lucien’sLucien’s graduation.

"Olivia is all bark and no bite. Not only did I graduate with distinctions but I was at the top of my class." Lucien bragged. ..

Okay, at this point, I think he was lying.

"I find that hard to believe." I sneered folding my arms under my bosom.

Lucien’s lips tilted. He frowned in a dramatic way looking pretty offended. "That kind of hurts my feelings, you know. Raphael isn’t the only genius from the Volkov family." He snorted...

Then bent his head as if remembering something. "Although, to be honest, it wasn’t easy. At one point, I wanted to drop out. Studying wasn’t my thing, but I kept on going for a weird reason." He mumbled a soft smile playing on his lips.

"I think it was because of the girls who always used group study as an excuse to talk to me. It wasn’t all bad, plus it felt good doing my own thing and not being compared to your husband, the golden boy..." He sighed.

It was hard to imagine that Lucien was actually being affected by his family’s side comments. His sharp tongue made that unbelievable but I guess he is only human.

Raphael was indeed the golden boy. I also thought the same for a while.

"I didn’t know you felt that way."

He scoffed. "I’m also human Lynn. No one likes being constantly talked down on, but I grew a thick skin with time....at times I wish I didn’t get bored with medical practices for a while, it was worth it..." His gaze turned distant. The way his features were contoured by the dim lights was alluring to watch.

Colours rushed up my cheeks

"I still remember the first day of my internship attachment. The senior consultant gave me one look and said they had too many young nurses.." Lucien laughed, even pretty privilege came with its Downside.

"Do you hate Raphael?" I asked. He went silent..a rough breath escaped his lips.

I didn’t expect him to answer; unexpectedly, he did. "Hate is a strong word. He is annoying, but I don’t necessarily hate him, although I am envious of him now."

I wanted to ask him why. The question seemed stupid. "You don’t have to be envious. You have the potential to grow. You just have to hone your skills."

Lucien burst out laughing, his crackling laugh carried a magnetic allure. His movements were fast for my eyes to follow

He grabbed my chin, tilting my head to meet his gaze while he fought back his laughter.

"Are you naive or just acting oblivious?" He asked, his mouth leaning toward my ears as he whispered.

"Not everything can be obtained with hard work and skills. Especially not what I want from him." His breath fanned across my skin, giving me chills. His words sounded ominous, as if they had a deeper meaning.

"It’s getting late, you should head to bed. Tomorrow we will get your ankle checked." He flipped once more like the dark repressive aura around him a moment ago was just my imagination.

Lucien carried me upstairs to the guest bedroom since walking was out of the question. After placing me on the bed, I reached out for him. He halted.

"Constantly comparing yourself to him won’t do you any good. You are Lucien and he is Raphael. Two completely different people." I didn’t know why I said that but I had to. I felt he needed to hear that.

He nodded. "I know that more than anyone. You already have your plates full to be worried about me." My lips parted finding the words to reply

I never got the chance to. His pocket started to vibrate. He pulled out his phone and I caught the name of the caller.

Raphael. Why was he calling Lucien?

"Good night, Braelyn," Lucien said, leaving with the ringing phone. The image of his tattooed back disappeared after the door closed.

I couldn’t help but worry about why Raphael was calling.