The Emergence of Raphael Gauthier

CHAPTER 4: HE FACED THE DEMONS

Being Raphael's fifth anniversary he had saved up some considerable cash to purchase a warm gift for her, but he had already used that to bail himself.

Would he rather sleep in prison and miss being with his wife on their fifth anniversary or bail himself and explain to her what truly transpired?

He had little or no choice and the better alternative was to have himself bailed. He flagged down a cab heading toward his family-in-law's route.

‘I hope she understands?’ he kept mumbling in his heart as the cab arrived in front of Laurent's residence. He calmly alighted and paid off with his last cash.

Within moments he found himself at the Moreau's entrance door, he could hear one of Westlife's hit tracks blazing off from the living room. “It's already party time?” he said and squeezed the door open knowing it was hardly locked before 6 pm.

Raphael's eyes glared at his family-in-law who were seated comfortably in the living room.

From their gestures, it seemed like they were patiently waiting for his arrival. Why would they possibly expect him back after the humiliations?

The Moreau family acted rather unusually that fateful evening. Raphael was expecting their incessant disdainful words but the opposite occurred.

They kept mute wearing soft chuckles on their faces. ‘Something is going on?’ he voiced inwardly, it was obvious but he couldn't grasp what they were up to.

Suddenly amidst the ongoing melodious sound, Raphael's ears seemed to be perceiving a moaning sound from a distance, at first he presumed it was from the musical rhythm but the sound remained persistent.

Once more he glanced at his family inlaws who seemed to chuckle at the intense voices echoing from one of the rooms upstairs. “I hope isn't what I'm thinking?” he blurted out as he raced and to his greatest surprise the moaning sound was from his matrimonial room.

He quickly banged the door open with his right foot and beheld a man passionately devouring his wife in a doggy-style position.

“What the hell!” He yelled in shock.

“What! Chloe? Hugo?” he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Mr Laurent and his wife headed towards the action scene as excitement overwhelmed their hearts. They loved every bit of pain in Raphael's eyes.

“How dare you bed my wife. How dare you step-brother!” he furiously asked whilst he ran over to him and choked up his neck in anger. “Why Hugo?”

His stepbrother still struggling to catch his breathing pace could barely speak out as he was being held tightly against the wall.

“Let your filthy hands off him! Your stepbrother and so what, huh? He's our accepted son-in-law. He's going to marry our daughter!” Mr. Laurent unleashed some uncensored punchlines in contempt.

“Chloe? What the hell are you doing? You're bedding another man in our matrimonial bed. Of all men, why Hugo?” his eyes blinking profusely in confusion, his heart racing in disappointment.

Laurent pushed him off from Hugo's neck and he uncontrollably fell with his left shoulder thudding against the floor.

Chloe didn't give a hoot of his feelings as she strived to cover herself up instead. “Raphael I'm tired of this joke called marriage. I'm done accepting excuses of hope from you. I'm tired of marrying a worthless pauper like you.”

“I consented to marry you 'cause I thought your huge dreams would amount significantly in the nearest future, clearly I was wrong!” She desperately gutted out as she ambled towards Hugo and embraced him to spite Raphael the more.

“He's not just a poor son-in-law but a shameless thief!”

“If not that my husband got a call from Chloe acknowledging to marry Hugo, we would have had him detained in prison," Mrs. Emma finally revealed why they seemed happy after the call earlier at the police station.

Raphael didn't see that coming just like he didn't know he would be labeled a thief that fateful day. His heart shredded in pain. “Chloe? Hugo?” he called out with his eyes widened in more shock.

Hugo finally parted his lips with some words, he had been coughing after his elder stepbrother gripped his neck. "Dear stepbrother? I'll always be the best version of you.”

“No wonder your mother was caught bedding with another man!" Hugo spilled out in ridicule.

“Little wonder did father have you disinherited and had your inheritance willed to me instead. He knew you and your mother were useless.”

“Son of a promiscuous mother!” Hugo yelled in disgust.

BOMBSHELLS!

Raphael couldn't take it anymore at his incessant disdainful words about his mother and his inheritance. He made efforts to attack Hugo but Moreau's family quickly obstructed him before he could lift his feet.

Raphael's late mother was alleged to have cheated on her husband which had her and Raphael expelled from the Lambert family, having all he should inherit willed to Hugo instead. Is history about to repeat itself? With Hugo about to snatch his wife too.

His mother died afterward of a heart attack out of depression. Raphael's heart was torn into pieces as he had lost his best friend, mercilessly left all alone to survive. He had to drop out from college and here Hugo was reminding him of the past he had fought too hard to forget.

After the incident about his late mother, Raphael was tagged; "Son of a promiscuous mother!” the salient question that no one often asks remains: did Raphael's mother truly commit the adulterous act?

Chloe, Mr. Laurent, and his wife fell into deep tittering with what Hugo had just revealed, but Raphael rose to his feet striving to wear back his strength and face his foes eyeball to eyeball.

“Raphael. Henceforth I'm divorcing you. I'm done. I'm out!” She screamed out.

Mr. Lurent handed a divorce agreement over to his daughter who happily opened it, and appended her signature.

She handed the divorce papers over to Raphael. “Leave my life. You're miserable! You wasted my five precious years,” she said with a scornful gaze on her face.

Raphael gently held the document and glanced at the happy faces who earnestly wanted him to vanish from their lives.

His jaw clenched in displeasure as he inquired for the last time. "Chloe, is that what you truly want?" He re-emphasized.

“Sign the damn divorce documents pauper. Let us end this joke already!” She blatantly responded with a deep sneer.

“Okay then I'd fulfill your heart desires,” he calmly uttered as he signed off the divorce agreement.”

“I need nothing from y'all. We're done Chloe,” he courageously glanced at them for the last time before he sprinted off from the Moreau's residence.

Raphael ran into the street of Jaques Park Street in Paris, did he know what he was doing? No.

Did he know where he's headed? No.

The Moreau's residence was so damn toxic that he didn't know how long he would hold firmly to his pain without breaking down in their faces and having him mocked even more.

In just one day, he falsely alleged a thief, unjustly arrested and shamefully sacked by his ex-family in-laws who had him set up.

If that wasn't enough he caught his wife proudly cheating on him with his stepbrother, whose late father willed his inheritance to.

To worsen his predicament, he got dumped by the love of his life. What else perfectly explains a cursed day?

Raphael's mind drifted off in deep engrossing thoughts that he didn't realize he was already in the middle of the road.

Suddenly a black luxurious car speedily screened its brake behind Raphael's feet. In reflection, he flinched and fell at the other end of the road as he escaped from being rode over.

The man in the car quickly alighted and walked towards Raphael who was still on the ground trying to catch his breath.

“Young Master. I'm sorry for almost running you over…”