Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 230: Things fall apart

Raphael’s POV

"Why?" That’s what I asked myself then. I couldn’t bring myself to go look at Braelyn. I just stared at the screen. Looping the footage of her car

It was her.. .

The thought rang in my head. The room suddenly felt so small like it was suffocating me. I itched to destroy something, but even in this state, I couldn’t create a ruckus knowing it would wake her up...

I stumbled out of my study...

I should have confronted her. Scream at her and ask why, but I was scared of her answer, yet it still hurts. The study door closed behind me, and I walked down the empty corridor. My footsteps echoed in the dark as I continued through the halls.

I found myself stopping at the master’s bedroom door. I was in conflict, but after fighting with my thoughts, I left...

Left the house, left the property. I just drove through the night. I needed space, I told myself. Space to think. I drove straight from our home to an apartment complex. I had an old apartment there. It was my first apartment before I moved after marriage. Braelyn and I still used to come here when we wanted a change of environment

Although I had memories of her here, at least she wasn’t there. I immediately got into the apartment, loosened my tie and pulled off my jacket. I don’t remember where I dropped them...

My memories that night were blurry. I stumbled to the bar which had some drinks there. I grabbed the bottle and didn’t even bother about a glass.

I crouched by the edge of the bar gulping down the alcohol like the burning sensation could numb the pain in my heart.

At a point, my eyes got blurred with tears as I spiralled in the dim, quiet apartment. I drank the bottle to the last drop. Still pissed, I threw the bottle against the wall where it shattered immediately.

My chest felt tight, and I managed to stand up to the bar. I just grabbed a random number of bottles from the glass shelves. Gulp after gulp I took until my tongue couldn’t even taste it burn anymore

The alcohol started tasting salty, filled with my tears, which didn’t stop rolling. I kept on asking myself what I did wrong. I supported her the best I could. I never pushed her to the edge. We had known each other for so long, I still couldn’t believe it.

I cried that night..

I had never cried that much in my life

I felt pathetic and useless...

The rest of the night was a blur of tears and alcohol. I don’t remember when I stopped crying or when I slept, but the pain was unbearable.

******

The next morning, I woke up on the cold floor surrounded by empty bottles, glass shards, and the stench of alcohol. To say I look like a mess was an understatement.

The loud piercing sound of my phone ringing somewhere in this mess was what woke me up. The ringing left me disoriented and confused. My head was spinning from a bad hangover.

I groaned, grabbing my head as a sharp pain struck. I managed to sit up grabbing my head. My head was still pounding, chest felt hollow like my heart was pulled out

The phone was still ringing and I could barely open my eyes. The lightning was too bright. A sharp hiss escaped my lips. I have never drunk that much in my life.

Damn...

I managed to get up, holding my head and squinting my eyes because of the lighting. Glass scrunched under my shoes. I stumbled forward tripping on a chair. The entire apartment looked wrecked

I wrecked the place last night while I was drunk. I followed the ringing sound, finding the phone somewhere between the throw pillows on the couch.

.How it got there was a mystery to me. By the time I got to the phone, the ringing had stopped, and not too surprisingly, it was Braelyn...

There were over 20 missed calls from her. My jaw clenched...that wasn’t the only annoying thing. Amelia had called too 5 missed calls

Honestly, I didn’t want to talk to Amelia to listen to her gloating about my failed marriage. Without a second thought, I blocked her number.. then the phone started vibrating in my hand

It was Braelyn’s number. I could have hung up and blocked her but I couldn’t. My grip tightened on the phone and I just stared at the phone ringing in my hand. My heart was racing until the phone stopped ringing

That made it 21 missed calls before 7 am. She immediately sent a text which popped up on my screen.

Lynn: Please tell me you are alright? Stop scaring..

Something twisted in my chest. I tapped on the message. It was an sms and wasn’t the only one she had sent this morning. There were tons of messages asking about my well-being.

I wondered if she was truly worried about me or just putting on an act. I couldn’t help but wonder if she worried about Richard the same way. Every message carried a hint of anxiety.

Lynn: Why aren’t you back?

You are not picking up my calls.

Did something happen to you?

Are you upset about something I did?

Raph please pick. I am begging you.

Where are you? I will come to you.

Please tell me if I did anything wrong Raphael...

I read the messages with complex feelings. A small part of me wanted to tell her I was fine, the other part just stared at the screen blankly.

Until a loud knocking sound snapped me out of my daze. My eyes narrowed then sparkled. I thought it was Braelyn.

That thought alone made me walk to the door. I reached for the handle and opened it without a word." Lynn, I..." The rest of the words got stuck in my mouth

"Amelia.." I gasped, then my face turned ugly." What are you doing here?" I snapped at her. I wasn’t in the mood for her rubbish or temper..

"I should be asking you the same question..." she hissed. My hand tightened around the handle..I was about to snap at her to get the hell away from here, but before my lips could open, a sharp headache struck me.

"Ahhh.." I hissed and grabbed my head. Her eyes went wide. "You don’t look good.." Amelia said and sprinted into the apartment.

"I will get you a glass of water..." I tried to stop her, but I was slow, and she was already in. I slammed the door, irritated, and my head was still on fire.

Amelia ran towards the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. "You really love her that much," she sighed, giving me the water. I stared at the glass. She clicked her tongue..

"Stop acting like your brain stopped working because of Braelyn. People are worried about you," she hissed, irritated, shoving the glass in my hand. Her words struck me, my throat was parched anyway so I took the water gulping down

If there was a moment I wanted to change it would be that moment. The glass slipped from my grip, shattering on the floor.... A strange wave of heat hit me almost instantaneously; it felt like a dream...

What was going on? I wondered, staring at my shaky hands. "What did you do?" I could barely ask

A strange look I have never seen on Amelia’s face appeared. Obsession.

"I am correcting the mistake you made 3 years ago..." she said with a cruel smile. "You should have chosen me.."

Then it all went black, and I fell forward...