Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 293: It survived

Braelyn’s POV

The operation lights went off and everyone’s attention turned to the door forgetting about Lucien. I bet even Lucien was interested.

The doors opened slowly and the doctor stepped out with a stoic expression that made my stomach tighten. For a split second, no one breathed. Natalia’s hand flew to her chest and the sound that left her mouth was already broken, as if she had prepared herself for mourning.

Raphael remained seated.

His posture did not change. His face didn’t even crack like he was already prepared for whatever the doctor had to say. He simply watched the doctor approach as though he were waiting for a business report instead of news about his child.

Mrs Sinclair was the one to break the tension. She rushed forward immediately, nearly stumbling in her heels. "Doctor, I am her mother. How is my daughter? Is she alive? What about the baby?" Her words tumbled over each other in desperation.

The doctor raised a calming hand. "The surgery was complicated. There were moments of instability, but we were able to flush the toxins in time." The doctor finally broke the news.

It was good news I guess.

Natalia made a strangled sound as relief washed over her.

The doctor continued, his tone finally softening. "Both the mother and the baby are stable. They are fine."

For a moment no one reacted as if the words needed permission to settle.

Then Natalia broke first. A sob tore from her throat and she covered her face with both hands, whispering prayers of gratitude between uneven breaths. Mrs Sinclair clutched her husband’s arm and burst into tears, repeating that she knew her daughter was strong. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Natasha squealed softly in relief. I remained standing. According to Gregor’s succession rules, if that child is a boy then Raphael wins.

Something tightened in my chest and then expanded so quickly it almost hurt. My heart ached in a way I did not expect. I was relieved. I truly was. The baby was innocent and I had not wanted blood on my conscience.

Yet beneath the relief was something uglier. A quiet and a bit sour ache that curled around my ribs. I tasted it in my mouth.

I lifted my gaze to Raphael. Everyone else was celebrating, but he was not.

He had stood at some point without me noticing. His expression was composed, but there was a hollowness in his eyes that had not been there before. He did not smile. He did not exhale in visible relief. He only nodded once at the doctor as if acknowledging the completion of a task.

Natasha hurried to his side and grabbed his hand excitedly. "Congratulations, Raphael. Do you hear that? They are both fine. You are going to finally be a father.." she squealed unable to hide her joy

He looked down at her fingers around his and forced something that resembled a smile. It did not reach his eyes.

Even Lucien stepped forward then. He placed a hand on Raphael’s shoulder, the bouquet of white lilies still resting in his other arm. "That is good news," he said but Lucien being Lucien added.

"So what’s the plan? Will you adopt the child or find a way to end this farce of a marriage?" He snickered and Raphael’s gaze hardened.

Lucien’s smile widened. "It has nothing to do with you." Raphael spat through his gritted teeth.

Lucien didn’t flinch. " It has everything to do with me dear nephew." He sneered then lowered his voice just for the 3 of us to hear.

" If the child were a boy, everything would change. You should accept fate and get the company while Braelyn becomes your aunt." Lucien pushed him further.

Raphael’s fist clenched. "Shut the fuck up or I will make you." Something murderous flashed through his eyes and Lucien backed away with a smirk.

I barely paid much attention to their altercation but Lucien was right. This baby changes everything, the succession would tilt to Raphael’s favour.

They were all relieved knowing this. It was what Natalia wanted all along. Raphael should be happy at the news but it seems like he was particularly filled with joy that his mistress was pregnant. The others were too happy to notice, I did and perhaps Lucien.

I watched the man who was supposed to get my husband carefully. His jaw was tight. His shoulders were rigid. He looked less like a new father and more like a man calculating consequences.

Natalia wiped her tears and immediately straightened, already moving to the next concern. "We need to know," she insisted, her voice trembling with renewed urgency. "Doctor, can you check the gender? We cannot wait any longer." she urged.

Mrs Sinclair nodded eagerly. "Yes, please. We deserve to know."

The doctor hesitated. "She has just come out of surgery. It would be best to allow her to rest for at least an hour before conducting a scan and besides, we don’t know how old the pregnancy was. It was an emergency test that was run.." he explained, a subtle frown played on Natalia’s face.

" It is only a scan," Natalia pressed. "It will not harm her." she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Raphael finally spoke, his tone even. "If it will not endanger her health, arrange it."

The doctor studied him briefly before nodding. "Very well. We will wait an hour and then proceed but we can only tell the gender after 7 weeks at least." Those were the doctor’s final words before they started preparations

Amelia was wheeled out of the theatre. Her expression already looked better, there was more colour on her cheeks.

******

Everyone waited, it took over an hour before the preparations were done. The doctor informed them that Natalia and Mrs Volkov were the first to rush to the ultrasound room.

It was crazy how they all squeezed into the room just to catch a glimpse of the baby. Raphael didn’t leave immediately, he waited as if he was preparing himself for whatever was in that room

Finally, he stood up and walked into the room. I followed after. Lucien didn’t bother going in and just waited outside.

I stepped inside and could literally feel how excited they all were. Raphael was standing at the entrance, he didn’t approach Amelia but his gaze was locked on the monitor and the subtle heartbeats that echoed in the room.

I stared at the screen and all the bottled-up emotions struck me at once. My heart ached, and my gaze slowly drifted to Raphael. He was still staring at the screen.

His fists were clenched so hard his knuckles turned white but his cold gaze finally changed. It was his child’s heartbeat anyway.