Contract Marriage: Married to My Ex-Husband's Alpha Stepfather [BL]

Chapter 165: Don’t Be Afraid, The Shadows Know Me

[FROLO]

The moment Katya stepped out of the courthouse, the freedom hit him full throttle. He had not been ready for this day, really. Not in the way that he had started, even to show Yaroslav, and eventually agreed to divorce him.

It was all too much, and Katya needed to take a breather.

Maybe after all this, he would take a break from it all.

His greatest fear was gone; a life with Yaroslav had threatened everything he believed in and even his chance at starting over. But now he had just learned that for eleven of the twelve months since his anniversary, he was divorced.

It was almost ironic, really, seeing as in just three days it would be another anniversary. He would have been celebrating six years of marriage with a cheating husband.

Funny how fate worked, really.

’Fate or a particular Moskowsky?’

His subconscious taunted, but this time it didn’t even feel like a taunt anymore.

Maybe given that the truth was right there before Katya. He could choose to ignore it, but what was the use this time? He could fall back into memories and hints, too, but what was the use?

He had wanted freedom from Yaroslav.

Somehow...

He’d gotten it the very day he’d chosen to leave.

Not because someone chose for him.

Maybe that was why he wasn’t as bothered to learn that he had been divorced for nearly a year. It should have creeped him up though, but it didn’t.

Until...

"Yes, sir. The Romanov file is now closed... No. There won’t be any more problems... Alright... No, I have another case to sort... Yes sir... Have a good day too, sir."

Katya had never turned around that fast while accidentally eavesdropping on someone’s phone call.

But then the moment he did, he saw someone disappear into the next courtroom. He could only make out that he was a male; that was all.

Katya didn’t get to see his face or even ask about the Romanov file. It was a tad suspicious given the timing, but Katya had to remind himself that he wasn’t the only one with a Romanov last name in the entire city of Frolo.

So, he kept walking through the corridors, figuring his way out, mind drifting between the horrors of his first day here and the stark difference of what had become of him.

What use was it, though, at this point, no?

Maybe... just maybe...

But first, he had to get through the throng of media here, no?

"Chairman, will you keep the Moskowsky name now that you’re formally divorced?"

"Mr. Katya, will you step down from your position as the chairman of Moskowsky group?"

"Mr. Chairman, is the divorce because of the Moskowsky heiress?"

"Here, Mr. chairman... Is your relationship with the senator a motivation for your divorce from CEO Gamov?"

"Speaking of the senator, did you know there was a head delivered to the senator’s estate?"

"The head of a journalist was found at the senator’s residence. Do you know why?"

"Was the divorce mutual?"

The questions didn’t stop coming, even before Katya officially stepped out of the courthouse.

It felt freeing, really.

The first time he had been here, he had come to sign documents. The same documents that gave him a chance at a new life. Documents that he’d been horrified about for no reason.

Now he was walking out freely, and even better, without any legal obligations to the marriage that had ruined him.

Katya looked at the reporters, the same people who dedicated their lives to hunting and haunting him. Now they were here again. And honestly, Katya felt confident this time.

But before he could say a word, he saw a familiar car at the valet lane.

Volkov’s.

Secretary Volkov was at the courthouse.

As if to confirm his suspicions, Katya saw him go into the driver’s seat. But that wasn’t what caught his eye.

Anya was in the front passenger seat.

And in the backseat, next to the window...

Sergei Moskowsky.

He looked busy with something. Probably reading a report. He didn’t even look interested in the chaos outside, and Katya wasn’t sure what he was really expecting.

"Chairman, you haven’t answered any of our questions yet. Are you choosing not to give responses?" one of the journalists asked.

Katya sighed as he looked at him, trying to remember what he was even focusing on at the moment. No matter what answers he gave these people, they would just publish whatever the hell they wanted anyway.

So, Katya looked back at the valet lane, hoping to figure out what he had just seen.

The car was moving, leaving the courthouse.

Inside, Sergei finally looked up from the report in his hands. For a brief moment, his gaze scanned the crowd, not like a man looking for something, but a man who was just staring at the commotion with boredom.

Then his eyes stopped on Katya briefly.

And Katya could swear his eyes, and Sergei met for a moment.

But the alpha looked down before Katya could even confirm if Sergei was looking at him or the reporters.

Then the car left.

Just like that.

"Mr. Gamov is here!" another reporter said, snapping Katya out of his trance.

It was something so confusing because why the fuck would Sergei be at the courthouse? Then again, Katya knew that the Moskowsky had their own legal office in the building.

Perhaps that was why.

Besides, Sergei was a man who was involved in lots of shit, right?

’Why are you still thinking of the man?’

He wasn’t... Right?

"Our marriage has been legally dissolved for some time. We just finalized the processes today," Yaroslav said.

That got Katya’s attention.

What the hell was Yaroslav talking about?

They had both just learned they had been divorced for almost a year, barely moments ago. Yet he was so composed and confident. This man was different from the one he had left crashing out inside the courthouse.

And Katya...

He had to remind himself that at the end of the day, Yaroslav was a Moskowsky.

Of course, he’d be composed. He was Sergei Moskowsky’s son after all.

"Is this about the senator and the chairman dating?" another reporter asked, and Yaroslav looked at Katya with a smile on his face, hands held, and whatnot.

So, Katya just stared at him with a smile on his face, even though he knew there wasn’t much to smile about right now.

There were still so many questions about their divorce.

If he hadn’t signed the divorce papers.

If Yaro too hadn’t signed them...

Then someone else had.

Katya already knew only one man in the city capable of making that happen.

He refused to think about it.

"You want to know about our marriage, you already have answers. If you don’t have any related questions, we shall leave now," Yaroslav said stiffly, not leaving any room for argument or speculation.

But the media...

They had been waiting months for anything from the Moskowskys.

Since Erika Gamova had been born, they had been starved of that. The child had been kept so secret after the first month, and there wasn’t much to mooch off and have their viewers tuned to their channels.

"What about Chairman Romanov’s relationship with Senator Aleksandr?" another reporter asked.

Katya froze.

Chairman Romanov.