Chapter 12: The husband

RAPHAEL’S POV

The door slammed behind me.

Before coming to the room, my mood was pretty sour. Dad just informed me of his suspicion about Gregor’s will. There was a large possibility that the company’s shares were going to be split equally between Lucien and me.

It was infuriating how Gregor openly favoured Lucien, as if all my years of loyalty and sacrifice meant nothing.

It was a slap in the face. All my life, I’ve given everything to this family, only to be sidelined for the prodigal bastard.

On getting to my room. I saw that same annoying face giving me a look like he wanted to kill me when he was openly flirting with my wife. The same woman who was putting on a holy act when she was probably fucking my uncle.

I stormed down the hallway. The walls of the mansion felt suffocating, and I just wanted some air. Why was it so damn hard for her to realise this was also for her good?

If I were to divorce her, she stood to lose everything, the open marriage was the best option to protect both of our interests.. Instead of being grateful for my consideration, she chose to hook up with my uncle, of all the men in the world. Why did it have to be that asshole?

Soft laughs echoed ahead. Amelia and my mother appeared ahead laughing and talking about some random topic. Amelia was the first to notice me. She smiled softly, but her laughter faded the moment she saw how ashen my face looked.

“Raphael, what happened?” She asked. She and Mum stopped and shot me questioning looks.

“It’s nothing,” I shrugged off not in the mood to talk much.

Mum held my hand stopping me in my tracks. She stared straight at my eyes. Her gaze narrowed suspiciously.

“Did Brealyn do something again?” She asked, her voice restrained with anger.

My jaw clenched in response, that was enough to get her answer.

“I just knew it had to be her.” She spat angrily. There was a slight shift in Amelia’s demeanour. She hid it well and grabbed my mum’s arm.

“You can’t run to a conclusion. It can be something else. I heard Raphael was talking to Uncle earlier. ” She mentioned with a soft smile then gave me a meaningful look. Mum’s eyes darted between Amelia and me.

“Is she telling the truth?” Mum asked.

“I just finished talking to Father. You can ask him directly,” I replied then shrugged off her hold.

“Please excuse me I need to get some air. ” I excused myself and left before they had a reason to hold me back. I stalked towards the bar to quickly grab a drink before heading outside.

The air outside was a bit chilly; the weather forecast claimed there would be a heavy downpour any day from now. My head was clouded, and I just wanted to clear my mind.

The cold air contrasted with the feeling of the alcohol burning my throat, which I took casual gulps of.

I let my feet wander, trying to gather my thoughts, but it didn’t seem to work. Braelyn’s expression and dad’s words kept on echoing in my head.

My face scrunched up, and my nose picked up the familiar scent of cigarettes, which instantly made my mood worse. I felt a piercing gaze which made my skin crawl, not so surprisingly my eyes met those annoying hazel eyes staring back at me

Lucien said nothing, his eyes just stared. That calm, collected gaze made my skin crawl. My fingers curled into a fist, my annoyance grew under his challenging gaze..

The silence drew between us. Smoke circled around Lucien as he continued smoking refusing to avert his eyes.

I scoffed, not in the mood to face him, then turned about to leave.

“Seems like your conscience is finally catching up with you.” Lucien sneered.

I glanced over my shoulder to catch a glimpse of him still smoking. “I have nothing to feel guilty about.” I firmly said.

He cocked his brow at me, ” The more you deny it the faster it eats you up.” He cockily said.

My brow twitched, pissed by his cocky smile like he was untouchable.

Lucien was good with words, but it wasn’t worth it. I gave him a good look before storming away.

*******

The airport was buzzing with people going about their business and flights being announced from the intercom.

“Raphael !!!!” I heard a voice excitedly call out. My attention was drawn to the familiar figure of my little sister running towards me with her arms wide open and a wide grin on her face.

Natasha stood out like starlight, her silver hair gleaming under the fluorescent lights. Natasha had striking features due to albinism that added to her natural charms.

She pounced on me, wrapping her arms around me. “I missed you so much.” She cried out dramatically. A soft laugh escapes my lips, my arms wrapped around her returning the hug.

“You would have called if you missed me so dearly, snow.” I sneered calling her by a nickname I chose because of her features. Her body stiffened in my arms, and a dry laugh escaped her lips.

“I was on tour. I barely had time to have a proper meal. You have no idea the amount of trouble I am in for sneaking out.” She pouted.

“You siblings completely forgot my existence so much for being besties.” Amelia teased from the side where she stood with a soft smile.

Natasha broke the hug and then shifted to Amelia. They hugged, smiling at each other, and soon started to share jokes. They had always been this close despite their age difference.

“I can’t wait to hear about your trip.” Amelia chimed pulling Natasha along.

Natasha stopped, her brows furrowed. She was searching for something with her eyes

. “Where is Braelyn?” She blurted out. Braelyn had a fair relationship with her and was always next to me.

My gaze flickered, I tried to find the perfect excuse. Luckily, Amelia intervened handling the situation perfectly.

“Braelyn hasn’t been feeling too well recently. She couldn’t come,” she lied smoothly, which Natasha seemed to believe.

Natasha didn’t ask any further questions and moved on to another topic which clicked between her and Amelia.

I immediately became the third wheel not that I had an issue with it. It was fun hearing Natasha’s endless chatter, she has always been the butterfly of the family. When she was born, everyone was surprised by her features. It was the first time someone with her condition was born to the Volkov family.

The ride back home was all laughs and chatter. Amelia didn’t tell Natasha anything about our relationship although I had a good feeling Natasha already knew.

We got to the family property and I found a good spot to park. We all got out of the car, and Natasha’s endless chatter was still ringing.

“Isn’t that Lucien’s bike? He actually showed up this time around.” Natasha pointed out, almost sounding excited, once she spotted Lucien’s power bike.

The sight of his bike instantly ruined my mood.

“It would have been better if he hadn’t shown up.” I clicked my tongue irritably, then proceeded inside, leaving Natasha and Amelia behind. My mood was instantly ruined.

“Someone seems to be in a grumpy mood.” I heard Natasha absentmindedly grumble behind me.

We got into the mansion and the side entrance door burst open with Braelyn running in like her life depended on it.

Her face was completely flushed. Natalia spotted her and excitedly waved out,

“Braelyn, I heard you weren’t…” The rest of Natasha’s words were cut because Braelyn didn’t stop and just ran straight past her like a ghost was after her.

My forehead creased in confusion about what just happened. Natasha was equally confused.

“Did I turn invisible?” She blurted, puzzled.

I was still trying to figure out what just happened. My guts told me to chase after Braelyn, but the idea was quickly thrown out the window when Lucien casually strode in. His hands were tucked in his pockets with a grin on his face. His shirt was a bit crumpled.

The taste of bile rose in my throat. I didn’t need anyone to spell out what had just happened. Natasha looked clearly puzzled while Amelia gave me a suspicious look. We were both thinking the same thing.

“Hi Snow,” Lucien chimed at Natasha with a grin as he walked by. My fingers curled into a fist. I suddenly had the urge for a drink. I walked off without a word towards the kitchen.

It was too early for alcohol, water would do for now. At the kitchen entrance, I overheard the maids talking like they usually do.

“I can’t believe Lucien cooked for Braelyn last night. There is definitely something between those two.” One chimed laughing with her friend.

They were so engrossed that they didn’t notice me standing at the entrance. Her friend giggled, “I bet you haven’t heard about the little lovers’ quarrel they had earlier. He has been all over her, some maids even said they kissed…” Her voice trailed, then she added. ” I think she is doing this to get back at her husband.”

My eyes darkened, and they finally sensed something off about the room and glanced in my direction. They both backed away like they saw a ghost, their face were ghostly pale.

“It seems you don’t have anything better to do than spreading fake rumours,” I said with a smile that didn’t reach my eyes.

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