CHAPTER 128: PROVE MYSELF

Braelyn’s POV

I felt like laughing but held it in. I haven’t even done a thing, and they were already pointing fingers at me.

Honestly these past weeks I have been so busy I had forgotten about her project, and yet I was being accused of sabotaging her. Luckily it was just an empty rumour without any true evidence.

By the time the lift arrived at the underground car park, it was almost empty as most people had gotten off on the ground floor, including Lucien.

I strode out of the elevator, my mind still caught on what Juliet said. It was crazy how they wanted to paint me as the villain.

A bright beam of light flashed on me drawing my attention. My eyes squinted as I turned towards the light. I soon realised it was Lucien, and he switched off the light immediately.

Soft sounds clicked against the hard floor. I strode towards the car and got in through the passenger’s seat, which was already mine.

"Looks like you had a long day." He chimed, watching me secure my seat belt. A weary sigh slipped out of my lips as exhaustion crashed into me.

"It was exhausting." I chimed.

"You don’t have to overwork yourself for Volkov Apex. It isn’t worth it?" He mentioned which I found out of character. It was strange for him to say something like that. I just stared at him, dumbfounded, wondering if he was truly a Volkov.

"You don’t really care about your family," I said as a matter of fact. He chuckled as the engine hummed to life. This was once again a different luxury car. I wondered how many cars he had...

He was pretty vain compared to Raphael, but once again, he was the black sheep known to be good at nothing but squandering money.

I watched his side profile as we drove towards the road.

"I do care after all, thanks to the company, my bills are paid, but your case is different. Although you are a shareholder working yourself to death won’t do you any good..." He explained with his eyes focused on the road

"You would just be another random corporate drone, and we both know even if you quit, you have enough trust to support you, and unlike me, you don’t have anyone to prove anything to." His words held genuine concern but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear

I did have a lot to prove to the world, maybe. The reason I flooded myself with work was more of a coping mechanism to handle the pain that was eating away slowly

I had been that way long before the open marriage or when the affair became public. Working was the only outlet I had to handle the sharp comments which labelled me as the problem

It was just 4 years and they were all fucking sure I was the one who had a problem. I stiffly smiled curling up my lips

"Things aren’t that simple. What if the person I want to prove something to was myself?" I asked him and he went quiet. His gaze fell on me for a split second before it drifted away

His eyes looked like he understood me without any words being said. Did he join the company to prove something to himself?

Lucien probably doubted himself too. So far, although he was a bit flirtatious and naughty, Lucien was actually smart, so I was starting to believe he graduated top of his class.

He was quick to learn and had an excellent sense of judgement. If maybe he was treated with more acceptance by now he would have grown to be one of the business titans in Volkov Apex holdings but then again his situation wasn’t conventional

I didn’t want to imagine how I would have handled it. If, for example, Raphael and I actually had children of our own, and after years of what felt like happiness, he comes into our family with a bastard son...

It was not his sin but he ended up suffering for it. What Gregor did must have been a cruel joke which haunted all the parties involved

By the time we arrived at the venue, the sky was already dark, and it was almost 7 pm. He found a good spot to park then we alighted

"We are already late. They got here earlier. " He mentioned as we made our way into the expensive lounge

"They are pretty diligent government workers. " I joked and his lips quirked up. We were having a meeting with some government officials to get their approval for the project.

The majority of the work was estate development with the AI being an optimisation tool, and because of the area involved, we could not proceed without government approval.

"This project involves a lot of important stakeholders, they can’t handle it casually."

I smiled, we were close to the private room. "And yet such a project was given to you. Ronan must really trust you."

Lucien scoffed. "More like waiting for my failure. If this fails, they would have enough reason to kick me out, and worse, I could not reject before it would still prove their points..."..

This was a careful plan by Ronan to get Lucien out of the company. If it was proved that Lucien was incompetent without a doubt not even Gregor’s will could save him from the other shareholders

We stopped at the door. Lucien drew in a deep breath, his hand wrapped around the doorknob. I could feel the tension oozing from him

It was crazy how they were both born to the same family, the same year, and miles apart. I have never seen Raphael nervous before a meeting, even when he started something new.

He always had this confidence around him.

I didn’t know why but I held his hand for a short moment. Lucien glanced down at me surprise flickered through his hazel eyes

"They are also human. We can do this." I encourage him. A look of gratitude hung on his face.

"Thank you for being here " he admitted with a soft tone.

"It’s an honour. Time to break a leg." I laughed. His expression softened.

Lucien brought my hand to his lips and placed a kiss there. "With my lucky star here I have no reason to be nervous." There was this look in his eyes that stirred something in me

I was flustered for a moment.