CHAPTER 99: YOU DON’T LOVE HER

Braelyn’s POV

" Know your fucking place." Raphael spat every single word out with an eerie calm demeanour which kind of made things worse.

Lucien’s grip did not relax. His jaw clenched and unclenched. He was trying so fuckin hard to be polite. His gaze alone was enough to end Raphael if he was anyone else but Raphael Volkov wasn’t a simple man

Heat crackled instantly between them, the air thick enough to choke on. For a moment, I genuinely believed they were going to throw punches right there in front of the donors and the cameras.

Lucien stepped closer, shoulders rigid, eyes burning with something unhinged and dangerous. "I should be the one telling you that. What makes you think you have the right to breathe the same air as her?" He hissed as their hazel eyes met.

Lucien looked like he was on the edge, a stark contrast to Raphael, who still had that infuriating calm demeanour.

"Someone serious needs to be taught his place." Raphael taunted. Eyes were drawn to us, but they all pretended not to see us. If nothing was done, they might actually start throwing punches, and honestly, I was drained tonight.

The last thing I needed was another scandal related to me. Husband Versus lover fighting at a family gala. Just the thought of that gave me an unpleasant feeling in my stomach

So I stepped between them before the night turned catastrophic. "Enough," I said quietly, placing a steadying hand on Lucien’s forearm. His gaze softened, only slightly, before turning sharp again at Raphael, but enough for me to feel the shift.

Raphael noticed the change and his grip tightened around my wrist. I drew in a deep breath holding Lucien’s soft gaze.

"It’s just an auction," I added, giving him a small, calm smile meant to ease him off the edge. "I’ll be fine."

I had to attend with Raphael. It was expected, even though I would rather not spend a moment with him, but Lucien was just playing the role of a lover there, so little he could do ..

He understood that. His gaze met Raphael’s and something flickered in it. "We should be leaving, the event is about to start," Raphael mentioned. Lucien laughed..

It was short and dark. He let go of my hand, his fist clenched by his side.

He didn’t answer, but the look he gave me made my pulse stumble. There was something in his eyes, something fleeting, something I’d never seen before that sent a strange ache creeping up my spine.

Raphael tugged me away, palm firm on my wrist. We walked through the hallway, and he led the way. I glanced back at Lucien, who just stood there, hesitant to move. His expression was eerily calm for him, but his fist said another story.

I tore my eyes away from him then stared at the man holding my hand. He had acted possessively towards me. This should have made me thrilled but I felt numb. The butterflies he once gave were completely dead.

We stopped at the door. At the entrance, we spotted some familiar faces. Natalia and Ronan. Raphael acknowledged them sparing them some greetings while I smiled politely

The door was wide open, and Natalia and Ronan were handling some business with a guest. "We would go ahead to our seats," Raphael mentioned

I followed him into the auction hall, but the ghost of Lucien’s gaze lingered behind me like a brand I could still feel burning. He wasn’t behind me but it felt like he was there.

We took our predetermined seats in the auction hall. Several bidders were around all wearing masks and carrying their numbers. This was meant to be a fundraiser as the money gotten from the bid would be used to donate to charity

Gregory was a charitable person, and in his final message, he mentioned that some of his old collections, which were worth a fortune, should be auctioned off. The profits should be given to charity while the main cost of the items is split up within the family

He had given some instructions about how it should be done, but I didn’t really pay attention to them.

"Ladies and gentlemen it is an honour to have you all here tonight to value the last memory of Mr Volkov..." The host took the stage after the majority of the guests were seated. Raphael sat calmly beside me, our seat was placed close to the other family members.

Natasha gave me a simple wave as she took her seat before her mother. There wasn’t any sign of Amelia yet but she wasn’t the only one missing.

Lucien still hasn’t shown up, and it kind of bothered me, although I didn’t want to lie on it. Natalia was whispering something to Ronan, who nodded periodically while Olivia sat quietly in her seat, just observing.

Her gaze had strayed towards me a couple of times but it didn’t linger. She was searching for something. Her daughter, as expected, Elysia and Aurelia sat next to her whispering about the auction.

"It’s such a shame they are being auctioned away. Some of the pieces are really pretty." Aurelia grumbled feeling offended.

Olivia scoffed at her words. "Father has always been an odd person after all, he sired that bastard with a woman younger than his daughter." She was her regular bitchy self against Lucien

"Olivia..this isn’t the place," Ronan grumbled rubbing his forehead. His younger sister rolled her eyes.

"You are among the reasons that the boy is spoiled. You should have been strict with him since his father was lacking. Just imagine how irresponsible he is. He isn’t even present." Olivia was never going to let go of an opportunity to talk about Lucien

Natalia tactfully chirped in." I ran into him close to the entrance, maybe something is holding him up," she said, earning a snort from Olivia.

I sighed tired of their family drama. My attention drifted backstage to the host.

"The profits from today’s events will be given out to charity." He said, ending a heart-touching speech about Gregory...

"Without further ado, the first item of tonight..."

It was an old artefact. Gregory travelled a lot and collected a lot of random stuff. The hall immediately went into a frenzy with several bids flying around the room.

I heard a buzzing sound from my side. I glanced over to Raphael to realise it was his phone vibrating from his pocket. He sighed and pulled up the phone. My eyes dulled at the user ID

Amelia. He hung up the call before turning his attention to the stage. Amelia was persistent, she started texting each one popping simultaneously

And for whatever reason, Raphael didn’t reply, probably because of me. I scoffed at the thought. "You should reply to her..."I spoke up

His gaze didn’t even flicker, but the mood around him changed. "Is there anything you like?" He asked instead.

I pursed my lips. "I have nothing in particular but maybe Amelia does. Don’t leave her unread." I chirped in. He gave me an amused look before looking back at the stage.

A new item was brought up. It was an old painting from Gregor’s study. "We should get at least one item." He said before joining the bid

While they fought for the painting, Amelia’s text didn’t stop, and at a point, it felt more like torture to me hearing that buzz. I wanted to snatch Raphael’s phone and reply but I didn’t

My smile didn’t waver until it almost fell

"Excuse me ... I need to use the ladies," I whispered to Raphael before standing up. My eyes darted around the hall trying to find any sight of Lucien but there was none

I drifted out of the room and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked one of the board members who knew Lucien I saw outside the auction hall. He had pulled off his mask to adjust it so I easily recognised him.

"Have you seen him? The family is worried he isn’t present " That was the best excuse I could come up with.

The man frowned, lost in deep thought, before he replied. "I think I saw Mr Volkov.."

Immediately, I got the directions, I thanked the man, then went off to find Lucien.

"Thank you for the directions." I chimed

"It’s nothing." He replied, his lips parted like he had more to say but decided against it. "If you leave immediately you might catch up to him " he said instead

I didn’t think much about his actions and left immediately in the direction he mentioned. The area was less crowded, almost desolate. The kind of places secret lovers made their rendezvous

There was an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach as I wondered what made him come all this way.

I stopped at a corner about to turn when I heard a familiar sharp tone. "You’d better mind your business, Amber, or I will forget we are friends." It was Lucien and he was talking to Amber.

From his tone, they were likely having an argument.

Amber sniffed. Was she crying? I wondered trying to sneak a glance. Lucien was standing against me completely blocking Amber

"I won’t, Lucien..." She cried out

.

"I can’t watch you chase the ghost of another woman...You don’t love her Lucien. It’s all because you see another woman in her...." She said, leaving me stunned, and probably something cracked in me.

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