Chapter 14: Drowning Without You, Save Me
[KATYA]
Thirty.
Thirty bodies.
Thirty dead bodies in the Korin semiconductor plant’s explosion.
Katya stared at the screen before him, reading the headlines that he knew made no sense yet so much sense at the same time.
Perhaps because he knew. Even if he didn’t want to spell it out, a part of him was always going to know why it had happened.
This?
This was the barbarian’s doing.
That was the only valid explanation because Katya, for the life of him, had never met someone whose insanity surpassed Sergei Moskowsky.
And for a moment, he couldn’t help but wonder what he had gotten himself into.
He had long known that Sergei was a monster in his own way, but this was not it.
Not like this.
The omega had gotten into a contract with someone who didn’t mind felling bodies like he was playing Nintendo. But at least Nintendo had do-overs. There were no do-overs for lives lost. Especially those lost unfairly like that.
And Katya, he just stared.
"Was it Yaroslav’s fault?" Mr. Romanov had asked earlier when Katya had apologized for not being able to carry a baby to term.
Katya hadn’t been sure of what to tell his father, but judging by the composed look on his face, it was like Mr. Romanov had somewhat connected the dots, and Katya, for all he could do, wasn’t sure agitating his father was a good thing.
So, he lied.
Of course, he had to.
It was the only way.
Because while they may have been broke and drowning in his father’s debts, while they may have been stuck in a family crisis, their constants hadn’t changed. Not once. Not to each other anyway.
If there was one thing that Mr. Romanov never played about, it was his son.
His only child.
And Katya knew.
He understood too well.
That his father would not let it go.
That his father would find Yaroslav Gamov and demand answers.
That his father would do whatever it took to make Yaroslav understand that his son was not to be toyed with. It was not that hard, because Katya was loved at home. Even in his marriage, home had always been a place he would go.
And his father would walk into hell for him.
"No, papa. I still don’t know why his father acted that way with him. But I know it wasn’t because of me," Katya had insisted.
The lie had rolled off his tongue almost smoothly.
Mr. Romanov had sighed wordlessly. Like a man who understood that something needed to be processed slowly. But the look he gave his son when he left the room was a clear message for Katya.
His father would not let things go. He would do his own homework on this. And that scared Katya the most.
Because going against Yaroslav would mean a fight so messy. It would mean that Sergei would have to join too.
Katya knew his father didn’t have the power needed to fight Yaroslav Gamov and Sergei Moskowsky.
But would Sergei fight against Mr. Romanov, or would he fight for him?
That was the one thing that had racked Katya’s brain.
And now he was staring at the television, and the headlines were horrifying.
Of course, anyone who read them would think it was an accident that had happened. That the explosion at the Korin industries was an accident. An electrical fault, like the news was reporting.
But Katya knew.
Korin Industries was not just a random manufacturing plant. It was a semiconductor plant that was owned by Nikolai Korin.
Yaroslav’s best friend.
Sergei had never had a reason to burn it down. No valid one that would cause this much damage. And yet here it was, with all the writings of the madman that Katya had tied himself to out of desperation and a promise to fix everything.
"What the hell is he even doing?" Katya sighed as he stared at the drip in his arm.
He wanted to take it out and wanted to get out of here, but there was already enough chaos in the hospital because of Sergei. He didn’t want any more people tiptoeing in at Aslava Hospital just because he couldn’t stay put.
Hell, he hadn’t gone to see his mother because his father had said Sergei had the hospital on lockdown and anyone who moved would be shot in the head.
It had been a simple warning, and Katya had considered disobeying the order. After all, Sergei was no boss of his. But he knew that the casualties wouldn’t be related to him or his family.
It would be other people.
People who were too innocent to be dragged into it were not whatever circus Sergei had deemed the hospital to be at the moment.
"Nurse... did... did the barbarian tell you when he would be returning?" Katya asked in defeat as he looked at the nurse who was standing guard at the door.
He felt terrible for her, truly. This was certainly not what she had trained for, but everything was being adjusted because of Sergei, and as unsettling as it was, Katya was aware he had no say.
Hell, even he didn’t know why Sergei had insisted he stay with her. Or why Sergei had popped up with the contract when his family went under.
It was too perfect to be a coincidence, which would also mean that Sergei needed him far more than the eyes could see.
But would it be worth it in the long run?
"Sir?" the nurse asked.
"Sergei. Did he say when he will be back?" Katya asked hopefully.
"He said to let him know if you wanted to talk," the nurse said, and Katya almost rolled his eyes at the idea.
"Fine. He left a phone or something?"
"Actually... he’s right out the door. Been sitting there since he stepped out earlier," the nurse said as professionally as she could.
Katya felt the blood drain from his face.
Outside? Outside his hospital room?
Mr. Romanov had left the room hours ago. Katya had watched the sun set, and the clock beside him read 10 o’clock. It had been almost six hours. What the hell was Sergei doing right out the door for six hours?
Goodness, this was not what Katya had thought he would be told, and frankly, he wasn’t sure what he was to say about it.
This was madness.
He recognized it.
He had seen it.
And now, was it his turn to experience it?
"Sorry, what?" Katya asked, the confusion clear.
"He said to call him only if you called for him," the nurse said, and Katya couldn’t believe the kind of shit he was hearing.
"Okay. Would you please let him com—" Katya began.
The door opened before he could say a word.
And right there stood Sergei Moskowsky.
But he looked different.
The man standing in the doorway looked nothing like the man who had come to his room earlier and commanded so many people. He looked nothing like the confident man who had been making calls and pulling strings to get what he wanted.
This man was different. Way too different.
He looked like he had been through the worst phases of his life. He looked like he had been introduced to a version of hell he didn’t understand. He looked rigged and clean in a way that spoke way too much even before he opened his mouth.
His shirt was crinkled, his hair messy, and his face looked so worn out. His feet were bare and a little dusty, like he had spent the entire day on his feet. There was nothing on them, and Katya stared, and stared, and stared.
"Excuse me, sir," the nurse said.
Sergei just stood on the other side as the nurse walked out. Then he stepped in, closing the door gently behind him, like he didn’t want to disturb the omega on the bed.
"You look like shit," Katya said, not sure what he was supposed to say to the man who had somehow fixed his problems while messing up his life.
"Solnyshka," Sergei called gently.
This time, Katya didn’t look away.
The alpha at the door didn’t move, like he was waiting for a signal. For anything that would let him know he could walk in, and that was weird as hell.
Because this man was Sergei Moskowsky.
And Sergei Moskowsky never looked this ragged and defeated, even.
"You’re awake," Sergei breathed like a prayer, his eyes soft as he looked at Katya like that was his whole world.
But what if he was?
