Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 172: Best sunrise

Lucien’s POV

She looked dazed for a moment, her green eyes were stuck on the scene, with my gaze stuck on her. She didn’t notice though. She was completely engrossed by the scene.

Braelyn leaned backwards, resting against me. A sly smile on her face. Her voice was soft as she spoke. "The moment feels so perfect, I just want to shove it in Raphael’s face." She sneered and I couldn’t help but laugh at her words.

She snorted, hearing me laugh. "You are still thinking of him at this time.." I mentioned, and she blinked so innocently, I didn’t want to punish her again. Something stirred in my chest; to her, that bastard was always going to be in her mind. This was always going to be some type of revenge... 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I froze at my thoughts wondering if it wasn’t the same for me? If I wanted more from her?

"You know..." My voice was a bit rough. Her ears perked up paying attention to me. "The sun will be rising soon, and the view from here is lovely.."

Her eyes sparkled with interest and she immediately suggested. "How about we stay up to see it?" I smiled.

"That’s the same thing I had in mind." I chimed, still staring at her. Her gaze was locked at the horizon as if it were some challenge. She had no idea how cute she looked at the moment..

It made me wonder what Braelyn was like as a child, and, deeper, what her daughter might be like. Would she take after Braelyn?

I laughed at myself and my thoughts. I was spiralling faster than I could keep track. I was sure either way she would be beautiful like her mother.

We stayed at the cliff until sunrise but Viper fell asleep before the first beam of light could hit the horizon. She looked peaceful as sleep. I didn’t want to wake her, but remembering how much she was looking up to it, I kissed the corners of her lips.

She blinked slowly confused at first. "What is it?" She groaned have delirious with sleep

I nodded towards the cliff.. "The sun is rising..." As soon as she heard me, her eyes cleared for a moment as she excitedly watched the sky...

Her eyes cleared in an instant as she straightened up with a childlike excitement on her face

And then it began.

The first sliver of light broke over the distant city, a thin golden line pushing against the deep indigo of the night sky. From our perch high in the woods, the cliff gave us an unbroken view: the sprawling lights of the city far below still twinkling like scattered diamonds with window lights, slowly dimming as the dawn crept in.

The sun rose steadily, painting the sky in layers. The indigo changed to deep violet bleeding into soft rose, then warm amber, then blazing gold. Rays spilt over the treetops around us, turning the mist in the valley below into a glowing sea of light. The city skyline emerged sharper now, buildings catching fire along their edges, windows flashing like sparks as the light hit them.

It was breathtaking. Quiet and beauty, like the world itself, were waking up just for us. But gaze stayed on the sky for a short moment before straying to her. I had seen the sunrise from here multiple times. It wasn’t a novel experience compared to watching how her face lit with the sun.

The golden rays slid across Braelyn’s face, catching in her dark hair, turning loose strands into threads of fire. The light traced the curve of her cheek, the slope of her nose, the soft part of her lips. Her long lashes fluttered slightly as she continued to look. Streaks of light caught her green eyes, which reflected the amber glow.

She had her lips parted in quiet awe as she watched the sunrise. She looked... radiant and alive in a way that had nothing to do with revenge or anger or the mess we’d made of everything. Just pure, unguarded wonder

A slow smile spread across her face....small at first, then it turned wider and unguarded. It was the realist unhinged smile I had seen on her face. In that moment, under the rising sun, she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen under the sun. My heart felt guilty at that thought .....like I was forbidden to tell her that way.

The city burned gold in the distance with the blazing sky but none of it compared to her. "It’s beautiful..." she gushed...

I nodded with a quiet acceptance. "It is...", but I wasn’t staring at the sky... she snuggled close to me. "Thank you...for everything.." she muttered.

I was stunned for a moment before a smile grew on my lips. "I’ve seen a lot of sunrises from this spot," I said quietly in a low voice so I wouldn’t break the spell. "But this one... this is the best one I’ve ever seen."

She turned to me, eyes still bright with the light, and a soft smile. Her eyes flickered with curiosity. "Really?"

"Yeah...." I smiled at her. She blinked slowly, trying to crack some hidden Morse code on my face.

"Why?" She asked, sounding so oblivious, I cracked up laughing. I pulled her cheeks, amazed at how naive she acted, sometimes completely oblivious.

"You are not seriously asking me that question.." I pulled her cheek, and she knotted her brows in a frown.

"How am I meant to know?" She grumbled with her cheeks almost puffed out.

My grin grew, "It is the first one we have seen together...." I admitted half-teasing. She blinked as if finally realising before a blush crept up her cheek.

"Watching you smile under the sun is a feeling I can’t describe in words, it was a sight I didn’t want to blink at..."

Her cheeks flushed, and she averted her gaze from me. "How can you say that with a straight face?"

"Well, it is the truth, Viper.." I added and she burned even redder than the sun at that moment....