Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 200: Know my priorities

Braelyn’s POV

Lucien drove in silence for a while. He knew I needed the time to get myself together.

The car slowed down at a red light. I felt Lucien’s gaze fall on me. "Are you feeling better now?" He asked, still hung up on whatever happened there. I nodded.

"I am fine, it’s really not anything," I muttered. His gaze remained on me followed by a sigh.

"Well if you say so," Lucien replied. The red light turned green, and the cars started moving. The car was silent, and even the radio was turned off.

The ride to the Volkov Apex group took longer than it should thanks to traffic. It was rush hour, and everyone was trying to get to work by 9, making traffic a bit of a pain in the ass.

Lucien stopped at the main entrance, "Call me when you are ready to go home." I nodded at him, grabbed my stuff.. He stared at me the entire time, like he was trying to figure out whether I was lying.

"Thank you for the ride," I replied after getting all my things. He hummed in acknowledgement.

"It’s nothing. How many times do I have to tell you that?" He grumbled. I let out a soft laugh.

"Well, I guess I really can’t help it," I said with a smile. "My dad taught me to be polite. "My fingers reached for the door about to step out when I glanced back at Lucien

A subtle frown played between his brows. "Is something wrong?" He asked me.

I shook my head. "That’s not the case," I mumbled. "If anything I should be the one asking you that question. You look like someone who has a lot on his mind."

A weak smile curled up his lips. "I always have a lot on my mind." He said frankly then slowly glanced away to look ahead.

"And a lot of them circle around you even when I don’t want you in my head. "My heart skipped a beat at his sincere tone.

"That sounds like a lot," I admitted. The atmosphere felt quiet and intimate between us.

"Yeah, it is." He mumbled, holding the steering wheel. "I need to pack." He mentioned before adding while I was stepping down. "If you have anything bothering you. I will always have a listening ear."

I could just smile as I stepped out. Lucien drove away, and I watched him circle around to the underground car park before turning towards the Volkov Apex building. It stood tall and towering, reflecting its environs, the nearby trees and buildings, not forgetting the pedestrians walking by under the sunlight.

My grip tightened around my bag. How could I tell him about what was bothering me? Raphael, the truth about mum and my unsettled feelings. Those were things I really couldn’t casually speak about.

The door slid open automatically. I stepped into the bustling lobby, and a lot of people were clocking in. Rumours were flying around the building. A couple of them recognised me and gave me a few greetings. I replied to them.

I walked towards the elevator, but it was filled before I could step in." Please step in. I will make space for you madam." A guy offered respect to a senior.

"No, it’s fine. I will wait for the next lift." I waved him off. He was hesitant to later agree. The lift was jammed packed there was no way I was going to be comfortable there pressing shoulders with each other

The doors closed and the lift started moving up. All the elevators were occupied except for the executive one. I normally avoided using it over a year ago to avoid running into other executives.

I didn’t like their small talk. In the regular lift, the junior staff members used to do their best to ignore me. My eyes were stuck on the elevator numbers, tapping my legs softly on the clean marble floor, waiting for it to arrive.

"Good morning, Braelyn.." a familiar voice greeted from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to meet Ronan’s gaze. For a moment I was dazed at his appearance, my brain froze...

Ronan looked a lot like his younger brother Lucien. The Volkov blood was pretty strong, despite them being half-siblings, they bore a lot of resemblance.

Same sharp hazel eyes, same chocolate brown hair and the calculated gaze even Raphael had. Meeting Killian made me realise that all the Volkov men were the same.

"Good morning..." I hesitated for a beat before adding. "Father," finding it difficult to address Raphael’s Father with that title.

Ronan gave me a welcome smile. "Why don’t you use the executive lift?" He asked, and I didn’t know how to explain my weird preferences.

He sighed, "Come along. Those lifts won’t be coming down soon. It is rush hour, and it will probably stop on every floor ", he explained, urging me to follow after him.

I drag my feet and follow after him. The doors slid open, and we both stepped into the lift before the doors closed behind us. Ever since the open marriage I haven’t really spoken directly to Ronan.

The first heartbeat between us felt awkward. The soft humming sound of the lift rang in the enclosed space. "So.." Ronan spoke first. My head snapped towards him as I wasn’t really expecting him to strike up a conversation with me.

"How are things going with Raphael?" He really had the guts to ask me like he didn’t know the true situation between his beloved son and me.

I almost snickered. "What do you think your son is busy trying to make an heir with his beloved childhood friend?" I snickered, and to my biggest shock, Ronan actually laughed.

My face scrunched up and I wondered what was so funny about my words. "It seems like you have an interesting marriage." He laughed out, adding under his breath," But you are also having your thing with Lucien," he added.

I swallowed a hard lump. "Marriages can be complicated," I said. Ronan nodded, his eyes stared at the floor. We were almost on my floor.

"Just know where your priority lies, Lynn..." he mentioned. The lift stopped, and the doors slid open.

"Thank you for the word of advice," I muttered before stepping out of the elevator. Ronan nodded at me before the doors closed.

I walked to my office, "Good morning ma’am." Juliet greeted me once she noticed me walk through the door

"Morning, Juliet," I replied, walking past her desk. "Please bring a cup of coffee to my office." I requested, before entering my office. I was a bit hungry since I missed breakfast.

Julie came in later, carrying a cup of coffee and some documents that needed my attention. "Here is your coffee, ma’am, and the files you didn’t check yesterday."

My fingers curled around the coffee mug, I brought it close to my nose to enjoy the aroma before taking a sip. Juliet stood by my desk, her gaze had that look when she had office gossip to spill.

"Out with it already. " I laughed, and she blushed, seeing how easy I could read her.

"Sure.." she laughed before adding. "I heard some rumours about Amelia’s project." She said, I arched my brows I already heard the rumours that the Sinclair family was on the brink of bankruptcy but I was still curious about what Juliet heard

"You have my attention. " I urged her.

Juliet smiled ready to spill the tea. "It turns out that the project might have really been sabotaged by an insider." My eyes darkened. I didn’t know about that