NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: lucian's Mother
Lucian's POV: Driving Home
Lucian's thoughts were hazy as he drove down the quiet roads, but not because of the alcohol. The weight of the decision he'd made tonight hung heavy in his chest. Letting go of Avey, cutting ties with his family it felt like pulling out shards of glass that had been lodged in his heart for years.
"Maybe I drank too much," he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse as he rubbed his eyes. The villa loomed ahead, its grand facade standing in stark contrast to the emptiness he felt inside. The gates swung open as Ben, the middle-aged security guard, waved him in.
"Master Lucian, your mother's been asking about you all day," Ben said as Lucian parked the car.
"My mother?" Lucian frowned, a strange sense of disbelief washing over him. Why now? In his last life, she'd barely acknowledged him, like he was invisible to her. Even when he tried to get her attention tried to be the son she might be proud of nothing had ever changed. But now, suddenly, she wanted to know where he was? It made no sense.
Lucian didn't say anything. He just nodded slightly at Ben and walked toward the house. As he stepped inside, the familiar coldness of the villa greeted him. The walls, the high ceilings, the polished floors everything felt sterile, lifeless. This was never a home to him. It was just a place he stayed.
He didn't expect to see anyone. His mother, Olivia Kane, was usually too wrapped up in the family business to care where he was or what he was doing. His sister? Even worse. She only ever seemed to view him as an inconvenience.
But tonight was different.
As Lucian walked into the lobby, he spotted her his mother sitting on one of the plush sofas. Her posture was perfect, her face as unreadable as ever. Even now, after everything, she exuded that same cold, professional air. But something was off. For a split second, Lucian thought he saw something like… worry in her eyes.
"Why is she sitting there?" he thought, his mind struggling to grasp the scene in front of him. Usually, Olivia would either be in her office or out at some event. Waiting for him like this? That was new. But Lucian had decided this time around, he wouldn't play their game. He would treat them as they treated him.
So, without a word, he turned and walked toward the stairs, not even acknowledging her presence. His shoes clicked against the marble floor, echoing in the silence between them.
Olivia lucian's mother POV:
Olivia sat in the lobby, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her eyes followed Lucian as he staggered in, clearly drunk. Her heart clenched. He didn't even look at her. Of course, he didn't. Why would he?
She had returned to the past, the memories of the future still fresh in her mind. She had witnessed her son die Lucian, her sweet boy, who had been ignored and mistreated in ways she couldn't understand, not even by her own hand.
It had been like there was a fog around her heart, making her cold and distant. Even now, she couldn't fully explain it. It was as if something in the world had twisted her feelings, her actions, until Lucian had become invisible to her. And then, after his death, that fog had lifted, revealing the horror of what she had done or rather, what she hadn't done.
Lucian had taken his own life. She remembered the day she received the news, how it felt like the ground had opened up beneath her. And for what? All because she had failed to see him, failed to love him as he deserved. She had been so focused on the Kane family's business, on keeping up appearances, that she had ignored the one person who needed her the most.
In truth, Olivia and everyone around Lucian had been under a strange kind of spell. A fog that came from the nature of the world they lived in. This world,this novel was designed for Victor, the protagonist. The women around him Olivia included were subconsciously drawn to Victor. Their emotions were closed off to anyone else, especially to Lucian, who was never supposed to exist in the narrative.
He was an anomaly, and that made him invisible to those whose hearts were tied to Victor's fate.
But Lucian's sacrifice at the end of his last life had shattered that spell. the system reward The fog was gone now, and Olivia could feel the weight of her actions. The regret. The pain.
"I was a terrible mother," she thought, her throat tightening as Lucian walked past her without even a glance. "I let him slip away, and I didn't even notice." Tears threatened to spill over, but she swallowed them back. She didn't deserve to cry, not after what she had done. Not after the way she had failed him.
In her last life, she hadn't even been allowed to attend his funeral. Jimmy and Garry had refused, and rightfully so. They had told her she didn't deserve to stand by his grave after neglecting him for so long.
"You didn't care when he was alive, so why do you care now?" Garry had spat, his eyes filled with disgust.
"You don't deserve it. Go back to your fancy house, your money. That's all you ever cared about anyway,and yeah go back to that giglo of yours victor right i dont know how many times lucian.. sighhh just leave it" Jimmy had added, his voice dripping with bitterness.
They were right. She had been so wrapped up in the Kane legacy, in running the business, that she hadn't seen Lucian's pain. And by the time she realized it, it was too late. He was gone, and the last image she had of him was of his lifeless body, cold and pale.
Olivia took a shaky breath, her hands trembling as she watched Lucian climb the stairs. "Lucian…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, but he didn't stop. He didn't even hear her.
In this second chance, she vowed to be different. She would be the mother Lucian had always needed, the mother he had deserved. But as she sat there, watching him disappear up the stairs, a terrifying thought gnawed at the back of her mind: What if he doesn't let me? What if it's too late?
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hey guys sorry for late update actually for next week or so i might be late...well actually my exams are coming
imm like very busy guys
sorry guys if i missed any update in between