Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 228: She cheated

Raphael’s POV

Back on the rooftop, Braelyn looked stunned.

"They said I was cheating on you," she gasped, then laughed, finding it ridiculous. The clouds rumbled and the cold breeze curled around us

"They were rumours.." I whispered disappointed at myself. She froze then stared at me with nothing short of disappointment

"And you believed them" she said as a matter of fact. A cruel smile curled up her lips. "You ruined our marriage because of baseless rumours.." she spat

"Did I mean so little to you?" She asked, her words were venomous.

"You really think I cheated on you, Raphael?" she barked, pouring out her anger. I buried my head ashamed

"It’s not that simple Braelyn. Let me continue, please," I pleaded. She shook her head and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"How could you imagine something like that?" She cried. "You know of my social anxiety Raphael. You knew why I was scared of those occasions and yet you..." her voice choked.

The look of betrayal in her eyes went straight to my heart." Please just let me finish..." My voice choked. "Please.."

She went silent, and the wind howled with the tension. My lips parted and I slowly started recounting things.

********

"You are really head over heels for her just after a phone call, and you believe her. How naive are you Raphael?" Amelia’s words shifted something in me. She laughed hard, hugging her stomach. Tears hung in her eyes.

Amelia’s laughter didn’t fade. It lingered, crawling under my skin, settling somewhere deep in my chest where logic should have lived.

I hated that it unsettled me.

"How sure are you?" she asked again, quieter now. She was careful with her words. "You heard her voice, yes. But how sure are you that she wasn’t still at the office?"

I turned sharply. "She said she was in bed." I defended Braelyn as my life depended on it. I hated the way Amelia spoke, as if she were so certain of her words.

"And people never lie?" Amelia tilted her head. A soft smile played on her lips. "Especially when they have something to hide." Her words struck something it shouldn’t have reached. Doubt slowly grew in my heart. I started to doubt Lynn. My heart screamed knowing she would never do something but the seed was already planted...

"She wouldn’t," I snapped. The certainty in my voice felt forced.

Amelia didn’t argue. She didn’t need to. She simply watched me, waiting for me to crack.

"What if," she continued softly, "she made that call from her office? You know she works late. You’ve complained about it yourself." Braelyn worked late a lot of times because of a new promotion she wanted. Despite my influence, she refused to get any unmerited promotions. Her fighting spirit was one of the many things I loved most about her.

"Enough," I said, my jaw tightened.

But the damage was already done.

Braelyn’s office flashed in my mind, the dim lights, the quiet corridors she claimed helped her focus. Then Richard’s name slipped back in. The image of him with her. I tried to shake off the thoughts. I just wanted to go home and hold her in my arms..

But the thoughts still snuck in...

What if she’s with him right now?

The thought made my chest constrict painfully.

I scoffed, forcing a laugh. "My wife isn’t cheating on me," I said more like I was convincing myself. The bond we had couldn’t fade that quickly.

"Then prove it," Amelia said lightly. "Go there. You’ll find nothing. And I’ll never bring it up again." she urged me. If Braelyn was not cheating. She wouldn’t be in the office now.

I stared at her dumbfounded. She wanted me to catch my wife cheating on me. She smiled like she already knew the outcome.

"Fine," I said coldly. "We’ll go. And when we find nothing, you’ll regret ever putting this filth in my head."

Her smile widened. I agreed because I knew Braelyn was at home.

******

The drive was silent. My grip tightened on the steering wheel. The city lights blurred past the window, my thoughts spiralling faster than the car. I told myself this was nothing. Just paranoia. Just Amelia being Amelia.

Then we pulled into the basement car park, and I drove slowly to find a spot to park. That’s when I saw it. Braelyn’s favourite car. It was a car I bought for her back when she was in uni as a present when she turned 18 in her second year...

She had other cars but that particular emerald Mercedes-Benz S-Class from 2018 was her favourite. She had other cars but still drove it, most times. I stared at the making sure it was the same plate number, the same small dent it had on the side she refused to do anything about it

She claimed she didn’t want to touch any details of the first car I got her. Remembering the smile on her face, my heart broke all over again.

My heart slammed violently against my ribs. No it couldn’t be. She must have left it earlier. Forgotten it, took another car or told the driver to pick her up. I kept on looking for excuses.

I found an empty spot to park far from her car, but it had a good view of the elevator. My entire thoughts were in chaos and Amelia sensed this.

Her voice whispered into my ears. "Call her." she urged me

"I don’t need to...." I shook my head. At that point, I was fine going back home and pretending this was all a nightmare.

"Call her," she pushed again. "This is your chance to clear your doubt..."

I exhaled sharply and dialled her number. My hands trembled. She answered almost immediately.

"Raphael?" Her voice was calm. That soft tone almost stopped the storm in my heart.

"Why are you still awake Lynn?" I asked. "I thought you already went to bed. "

A brief pause. Then her voice followed, "I had a nightmare. I woke up feeling like something bad was going to happen. I couldn’t sleep."

My grip tightened on the phone. "You’re at home?" My heart skipped a beat.

"Yes," she replied slowly. "Why are you asking? Is something wrong?" she became paranoid. "Did something happen at the event? Please just come home..."

Footsteps echoed faintly in the background. My stomach twisted. "I’m worried," she added quietly. " It might rain soon. I am scared."

Something in my chest loosened. I smiled despite myself. "I will. I promise." The fear in her made me relax. This was just a misunderstanding, and I wanted to go home to my wife.

I turned to Amelia, a sharp edge of triumph cutting through the dread. "Satisfied?" I mouthed with a smug smile still on the phone with Braelyn.

Before she could respond, the elevator doors slid open and two figures stepped out.

I recognised the man instantly. Richard the bastard and beside him walked a woman. Ebony black hair, average height, same posture, same habit..

The way she tilted her head while listening, the phone pressed to her ear. She glanced in my direction, but didn’t see me because my car was hidden, but I saw her.

It was Braelyn’s face... she looked too eerily similar to Braelyn. For a single, devastating second, my mind refused to process it..The world tilted.

She was also on a phone call, but I couldn’t hear her because of the distance. However, Braelyn’s voice cut through the phone, accompanied by the same footsteps in the background.

"Please hurry back," she said then added.

"I love you, Raphael," she whispered.

"I love you too," I replied without missing a beat, despite my heart being literally shattered. The call hung up