RAPHAEL’S POV
The door slamd behind .
Before coming to the room, my mood was pretty sour. Dad just inford 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 .
It was infuriating how Gregor openly favoured Lucien, as if all my years of loyalty and sacrifice ant 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 sa annoying face giving a look like he wanted to kill when he was openly flirting with my wife. The sa woman who was putting on a holy act when she was probably fucking my uncle.
I stord down the hallway. The walls of the mansion felt suffocating, and I just wanted so 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 n in the world. Why did it have to be that asshole?
Soft laughs echoed ahead. Alia and my mother appeared ahead laughing and talking about so random topic. Alia was the first to notice . She smiled softly, but her laughter faded the mont she saw how ashen my face looked.
"Raphael, what happened?" She asked. She and Mum stopped and shot questioning looks.
"It’s nothing," I shrugged off not in the mood to talk much.
Mum held my hand stopping in my tracks. She stared straight at my eyes. Her gaze narrowed suspiciously.
"Did Brealyn do sothing 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 Alia’s deanour. She hid it well and grabbed my mum’s arm.
"You can’t run to a conclusion. It can be sothing else. I heard Raphael was talking to Uncle earlier. " She ntioned with a soft smile then gave a aningful look. Mum’s eyes darted between Alia and .
"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 I need to get so air. " I excused myself and left before they had a reason to hold back. I stalked towards the bar to quickly grab a drink before heading outside.
The air outside was a bit chilly; the weather forecast claid 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 t those annoying hazel eyes staring back at
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 , " 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 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 , wrapping her arms around . "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 so dearly, snow." I sneered calling her by a nickna 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 ti to have a proper al. 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." Alia teased from the side where she stood with a soft smile.
Natasha broke the hug and then shifted to Alia. 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." Alia chid pulling Natasha along.
Natasha stopped, her brows furrowed. She was searching for sothing with her eyes
. "Where is Braelyn?" She blurted out. Braelyn had a fair relationship with her and was always next to .
My gaze flickered, I tried to find the perfect excuse. Luckily, Alia intervened handling the situation perfectly.
"Braelyn hasn’t been feeling too well recently. She couldn’t co," she lied smoothly, which Natasha seed to believe.
Natasha didn’t ask any further questions and moved on to another topic which clicked between her and Alia.
I imdiately beca 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 ti soone with her condition was born to the Volkov family.
The ride back ho was all laughs and chatter. Alia 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 ti 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 Alia behind. My mood was instantly ruined.
"Soone seems to be in a grumpy mood." I heard Natasha absentmindedly grumble behind .
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 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 Alia gave a suspicious look. We were both thinking the sa thing.
"Hi Snow," Lucien chid 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 sothing between those two." One chid laughing with her friend.
They were so engrossed that they didn’t notice 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, so 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 sothing 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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