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

Chapter 178: When You Move, You Make My Oceans Move Too

[FROLO]

Volkov rushed after the man with the delivery, hoping to the gods that Sergei hadn’t seen the roses. But then he stopped by the office and heard Katya’s voice.

"Just great," Volkov sighed, before he walked into their office instead.

He knew he needed to prepare for something, anything. Yet somehow, when he walked to his desk, he heard laughter.

Light laughter.

And it wasn’t from Katya, no.

Sergei.

Sergei Moskowsky was laughing.

Surely that couldn’t be correct, no?

Yet while the secretary stayed confused outside the door, careful not to trip inside like he had earlier when the senator was there, Katya and Sergei were having an actual conversation.

"You should come too, Vladimir. Your last donation made a lot of children happy. It was a really nice gesture. I think it wouldn’t be so bad if you came along. Besides, I’ll be cheering you from the sidelines.

"...The man who gave children smiles without expecting anything," Katya said in earnest.

He didn’t intend flattery, no.

He was just being honest.

The donations Sergei had been making were a little more frequent.

Frankly, it was something that had Katya slowly realizing that maybe, beneath the big bad wolf, there was someone who believed that life had value. Someone who understood the cost of everything.

Katya had once benefited from the madman’s kindness.

He had survived because of him.

And while they never really talked about the divorce or even the contract clauses, Katya had been reading at least once every two weeks when he was alone, he knew that there was more to Sergei the man.

There had always been.

"If you haven’t realized it yet, whenever I go, darkness follows, Solnyshka. I’m not like you. People can actually talk to you without being scared. I look at someone, and they’re already expecting the worst," Sergei said.

His honesty surprised not just Katya but himself, too.

What the fuck was he even doing?

When the fuck had they gotten to this part of the conversation?

Still, Volkov couldn’t believe this was real.

It was.

The lunch pack was empty on the table. There was no sign of the firearm that had been played with one too many times today. There wasn’t even a sign of the man who had kicked him and Anya out.

Sergei looked relaxed.

So relaxed that it hurt for a moment.

Because Volkov knew this wouldn’t last. He knew the man had light, and once his light left, he would be back to the brooding alpha who didn’t have shit to hold onto.

"We’ll be going as Moskowsky representatives. It will remind people that the company does take part in good things. And even better, it will let people know you even if just for a moment," Katya said, and Sergei chuckled again.

The omega had long relaxed here, which was weird because he had seen the warzone that the office had been.

Katya didn’t understand what had changed, too, but he hoped to the gods that whatever had changed the man’s mood would stay longer. Because Sergei looked way different when he was happy and relaxed.

And a part of Katya wished he would stay like that more often.

"I already approved your attendance. The senator came earlier to request Moskowsky’s attendance," Sergei said calmly, and Katya stared at him in surprise.

"Alek?" Katya asked.

Sergei stared in surprise.

Hadn’t the senator gone to his boyfriend?

"Yeah, we had a meeting an hour ago," Sergei said naturally.

Of course, he couldn’t say that he had almost shot the man’s brains out, but it was weird how Katya was even surprised that Alek had been here. Maybe that was progress, but for what?

"Ah, I see... anyway. You’re coming to the event, right? You are the face of Moskowsky. You are Moskowsky. I think it would be even better for you to be there too," Katya said intently.

Sergei listened like a man who was trying to figure out what part of reality this was. Maybe it was a trick, but Katya didn’t seem like one to play games, and that was also something that Sergei had to consider.

Perhaps this wasn’t as bad, no?

But what were the chances?

"You’re the Moskowsky chairman, Solnyshka..." Sergei tried, as if he didn’t want to be in the same space as Aleksandr.

The very idea made him sick.

However, at the same time, Katya was not letting it go anytime soon. So now Sergei was stuck between staying back, not seeing the senator’s face again, and going to the event and seeing his Solnyshka smile.

Was that even a choice for him?

"Hold on... are you scared of being auctioned?" Katya asked.

Sergei choked on air.

"Sorry, WHAT?" Sergei asked as if this was the first time he was hearing of this.

Was he going to be auctioned?

"Do you not go to these events? Like ever?" Katya wondered in earnest.

Sergei glared at him playfully.

"I’m a busy man, Solnyshka," Sergei said.

Katya just laughed at the absurdity.

The man had been donating money to charities for over thirty years and still managed to make himself as scarce as possible there. What kind of logic was that?

"It’s true, though," Sergei insisted, and Katya sighed softly.

"If it helps, when they auction you, I’ll bid on you first," Katya said amid laughter.

Sergei froze, unsure of what to focus on.

Whether it was the repeated relaxed sound that came from his Solnyshka’s lips, or the fact that he didn’t know what he was doing. Or what he was expected to do at the auction.

"It’s not that bad... why do you look horrified like they will sell you off to a trafficker?" Katya teased.

Sergei had to will himself to breathe and react like a normal person, even though right now, he couldn’t physically do it. He was staring at the love of his life, talking so casually about something so simple, and while affecting him badly at the same time.

"People don’t bid on Sergei Moskowsky. They avoid him," Sergei said.

Katya facepalmed.

"Fine. I won’t be bidding on Sergei Moskowsky then," Katya said, and Sergei stiffened, the horror visible on his face.

And Katya let out another laugh like this was the most hilarious thing he had ever seen.

The man looked like he was trying so desperately to find proper sentences that didn’t have curse words in them, and he was failing terribly.

"But I’ll bid on Vladimir," Katya said, and Sergei just stared blankly.

"Huh?"

"Unless you don’t want to come to the auction, in which case that’s too bad because someone for Moskowsky will have to stand on the bidding platform. I suppose I could take your place at the bidding slot then," Katya said casually.

He wasn’t sure this would work, really.

But for some reason, the weeks he had seen the office be turned into, after everything that had happened so far, a part of him wanted to take Sergei out of his cocoon.

He knew it would not work because this was Sergei Moskowsky.

Katya knew Sergei would probably condemn him to a disciplinary meeting. Hell, he knew the alpha would definitely snap at him to remind him of his place, yet he had to try.

That was what he had told himself when his mouth opened to talk about the most dangerous of proposals he’d ever made in his life.

"I’ll go," Sergei said.

Katya blinked.

The devi of Frolo had agreed to attend a children’s auction.