Craved by the Wrong Volkov

Ronan took a moment to process what he heard. A helpless smile curled up his lips. What was the point of regretting now? It was too late and Nadia was long dead.

He never understood why Nadia hid her identity at first. If she didn’t, they would have ended up differently but what was the point now? What if would not change the past?

His father and Nadia were already dead, there was no way he could get answers. He wondered what she was thinking when he broke up with her. She tried to make him understand, there was no way he could avoid the engagement and if he had insisted on marrying Nadia his parents would have made her life a hell.

He thought they were from different worlds but she didn’t see things the way he did. She didn’t understand that letting go was the best option.

Did she have to love him to the point she ruined her life just to make him bleed? If she had gone back home or told him, he would have helped her get back safely. At least Lucien would have grown up with a mother.

But the question was would he have stayed married to Natalia knowing Nadia was alive with his son? Natalia knew him well and it was funny.

The only reason he stayed married to Natalia wasn’t because of the benefits between families, it was a means to punish himself because he always blamed himself for Nadia’s death.

If he hadn’t stayed with her while she recovered, they wouldn’t have fallen in love and if she didn’t love him she wouldn’t have died.

Ronan laughed. "In the end, you killed your son. That must be karma.." he laughed. Natalia went silent, her mind going back to that year.

Aside from her and Gregor no one knew about Lucien’s true paternity, not even Gregor’s wife Katerina. He almost ruined his marriage by keeping up the act to protect his son and grandson.

If the Orlovs had known Ronan was the father their wrath would have fallen on him for abandoning their daughter. In the end, Gregor was selfish.

He kept Lucien as a trump card against the Orlovs. He made sure Ronan married Natalia for the benefits tied to the marriage. As long as Ronan hated Nadia he wouldn’t leave the marriage.

Gregor probably also manipulated Nadia with some sick revenge idea to keep her in check after finding out she was an Orlov, unknown to her he was using her. Natalia almost laughed thinking about it. That old fox was cunning.

"It must be my karma," Natalia said then stepped out of the car. The cold night air hit her, carrying the crisp scent of the sea. Her car was parked on a desolate bridge. She walked towards the edge.

The sound of the heavy current echoed in the night. Maybe she should just end it. "Do you know back then when Gregor brought Nadia back I made sure to poison your mother’s mind against her? For some sick reason, your father never told Katerina the truth.."

"Without Katerina and her lovely friend Avelina, we would never have gotten married. I told Katerina then that Nadia was a seductress who wanted to destroy her son and husband. She knew her husband’s mistress was her son’s ex-girlfriend." Ronan listened carefully, everything he knew slowly destroyed him.

He had no idea Nadia was with his father until the wedding but it turned out everyone knew aside from him. "Under my guidance, Katerina and Avelina deliberately kept any news about Nadia from you and you remember the night you were drunk drowning your sorrows over breaking up with Nadia.." Natalia reminisced remembering their first night together.

The night that trapped her and Ronan together. Ronan remembered that night. He had drunk himself out of his mind only to wake up the next morning in bed with Natalia. Natalia had accused him of forcing himself on her while drunk. He faintly remembered having sex with her but not the entire details.

"Don’t tell me it was planned," he whispered over the phone. Natalia laughed. The wind blew through her hair. She climbed up the bridge edge and held a frame.

"Bingo." She chimed. "The truth was that yes our first night was forced but I wasn’t the victim, you were." Ronan’s heartbeat slowed.

"You can’t blame me. I was under pressure from both families and you were having second thoughts. That night during the engagement party I slipped sleeping pills in your drink and your mother helped me to your room. I took advantage of you while you were asleep. Your mum knew the truth..." Natalia smiled. She and Katerina were alike in a way, setting up for their sons.

Ronan went silent. "Why did you go silent? Aren’t you mad?" She taunted. Ronan’s free hand clenched into a tight fist.

"I am tired Natalia. Really exhausted..." Ronan admitted.

"Me too, Ronan. I want to end it. I need to give Raphael a proper apology." she replied. Sirens rang from a distance. The lights flashed, drawing closer. She hung up the call.

She smiled. Ronan must have tracked her down and called the police. Her phone slipped from her hand and fell into the water underneath. Natalia glanced up. It was a bright night, unusually clear for a winter night.

Although the weather was getting warmer since spring was on the corner. A loud laugh left her lips as her gaze drifted down to the roaring water under her. Broken ice floated on the surface.

She remembered Nadia. Nadia was a stubborn woman. Natalia wondered if Nadia knew the truth. She knew everyone was lying to Ronan. Maybe she tried to approach him no matter what to tell him the truth.

Maybe it wasn’t just revenge but Ronan hated her for being his father’s mistress and Katerina made sure they never got close until Nadia died. Avelina blindly supported her friend, to them they were saving a marriage from a homewrecker.

But who was the homewrecker? Was it Nadia or her or Gregor who kept quiet to protect his interest?

It doesn’t matter anymore. "Game over Nadia. I guess you win," she said. The police cars pulled over. The bridge was crowded, guns pointed at her.

"Ma’am. Please get down from the edge." the police barked. She glanced over her shoulder, a blinding smile on her lips.

Natalia gave them the middle finger. "Fuck you." She chuckled then let go. She fell from the bridge. A huge splash followed.

The police immediately rushed to the edge. Lucien who was standing behind stepped forward to the edge. He glanced down and smiled.

"She thinks she can have an easy death," he muttered then his eyes went cold. "I want her found alive," he said coldly to the man standing beside him.