Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 325: Chaos and laughter

Braelyn’s POV

The entire table went silent. Every pair of eyes at the table turned towards me, curiosity spilling over as they waited for my answer. Dominic was particularly curious about my questionable marriage to Raphael. It was as if Javier had asked the question that had always been on his mind.

A few of my nephews stared openly, their expressions filled with disbelief. One of them leaned slightly towards the other and whispered something I could not hear.

From the look on their faces, it was almost as if they could not believe the Voss family had produced a girl.

Margaret immediately stepped in, sensing the awkwardness. "Javier," she said firmly, "that was an inappropriate question. Do not make Lynn uncomfortable."

Javier shrank slightly in his chair, though his expression still looked confused more than guilty.

Before Margaret could continue scolding him, I spoke. "It’s fine," I said quickly, giving a soft smile.

My voice sounded steadier than I expected. I placed my fork down carefully and forced myself to look around the table. "I came here planning to be open anyway," I continued. "My husband and I are having some issues."

The words felt heavy on my tongue. "He is the heir of the Volkov family," I added quietly. "We are currently in the process of a divorce."

The silence that followed was deafening.

Even the children seemed to sense that something had changed. The small boy who had been enthusiastically chewing on a piece of toast suddenly stopped and looked around the table.

My grip tightened around the cutlery in my hand. I waited for it, for the judgemental looks. A woman who could not keep her marriage together. A failure as a wife.

I braced myself for the pity and the polite disappointment. Instead, Derek burst out laughing, looking completely amused.

The sudden sound startled everyone at the table.

"That guy is probably a jerk with a pretty face. Your taste in men can’t be that bad. If he has no brains, at least he has to not be an eyesore," Derek declared without hesitation. "He did not deserve our precious aunt anyway."

A few people chuckled under their breath. Derek leaned forward across the table, suddenly looking very enthusiastic. Something mischievous flickered across his eyes. He was not as uptight as I had imagined.

"Actually, this is perfect," he continued. "You should not even bother waiting for the divorce to start meeting better people."

He pointed towards himself proudly. "I have a lot of friends. Very successful friends. Handsome too. I could introduce you to a few of them."

Before he could continue his enthusiastic speech, Charlotte leaned over and smacked the back of his head. "Stop that nonsense," she scolded. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Derek rubbed the back of his head and looked at her in protest. "My friends are great," he defended himself.

Charlotte snorted. "Your friends are trust fund playboys," she corrected. "Your entire social circle is questionable." Her eyes narrowed at Derek.

Then her expression suddenly changed. Her eyes lit up as if a brilliant idea had just appeared in her mind.

"Oh wait," Charlotte said, turning towards me excitedly. "I know plenty of respectable men." She straightened in her seat, already warming up to the idea.

"And if you prefer older men, that is completely fine. I know several very successful ones." She winked at me and my face burned.

Margaret slowly lifted a hand and rubbed her temples as if she had already seen this coming.

Before Charlotte could continue listing potential candidates, Francesca spoke up from the other side of the table.

"I would not trust Charlotte’s matchmaking skills," she said calmly.

Charlotte turned towards her immediately. "And why not?" She looked ready to fight.

Francesca smiled sweetly. "The last couple you matched ended up divorcing within a year," she replied. "We should not jinx Lynn."

Charlotte gasped in offence. "That was not my fault," she said dramatically, placing her hand on her chest.

Francesca ignored her protest and looked at me with a proud smile. "A lot of my friends from the club have single sons," she said. "Very respectable young men."

The moment those words left her mouth, Charlotte rolled her eyes so fast I feared they might fall out. "Oh please," Charlotte scoffed. "Those boys are all boring. She just got out of a bad marriage. She needs some excitement," she said and glanced my way. "Aren’t I right, Lynn?"

Before I could reply, Francesca cut in. "They are stable," Francesca argued.

"Stable. How interesting," Charlotte snorted.

Within seconds the table descended into a chaotic argument over which of them should be responsible for finding me a new partner.

They spoke over each other, each one insisting their candidate would be better. Their husbands looked completely hopeless.

Vincent quietly continued eating his breakfast as if this entire situation had nothing to do with him.

Elliot took a slow sip of his coffee and shook his head with quiet amusement.

Margaret leaned closer to me and spoke softly. "Please ignore my daughters in law," she said. "They are competitive by nature."

"They have always been like this," she added bitterly.

I could not help it. I laughed. The sound escaped me before I realised it. It felt strange and warm at the same time.

Kyle, one of Elliot’s sons and the youngest among them, suddenly spoke up as if realising something. "Wait," he said thoughtfully. "Is Raphael the nephew of Lucien Volkov?"

I blinked in surprise. "You know Lucien?" I asked.

Kyle nodded casually. "We could be called friends," he replied. "Although Lucien is a bit too chaotic even for me."

Alexander, his older brother, rolled his eyes. "That is rich coming from you," he muttered.

Kyle looked offended.

Alexander continued calmly. "Is there even one of your friends who is not chaotic?" he asked. "The worst one is Lucien’s cousin Ivan. That man is a pure menace."

A few people at the table laughed quietly.

Breakfast slowly came to an end after that.

Charlotte and Francesca were still debating potential candidates for me, though neither of them had managed to convince the other.

Somehow, during the chaos, I was added to the family group chat. My phone buzzed almost immediately with messages and welcome emojis. They even took the argument to the group chat, tagging me in pictures.

As soon as Margaret finished eating, she placed her napkin neatly beside her plate and stood. "Excuse us," she said calmly. "I have something to show Braelyn."

She gently guided me away from the table.

As we stepped out of the dining room, I could still hear Charlotte and Francesca arguing behind us.

Margaret laughed softly as she led me down the hallway.

"Those two have known each other for decades," she explained.

"They are old friends?" I asked curiously.

Margaret smiled shaking her head softly. "More like frenemies."

I chuckled. "They are cute," I said.

Margaret nodded with quiet amusement. "They always find something to compete over."