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

Chapter 180: Now I Hear My Name And I’m Running Your Way

[FROLO]

"Sir, the senator left these for you," Rahim said, handing Katya the package when Katya got back to his office.

"Thank you," Katya said, smiling at the bouquet his boyfriend had left.

Regardless of how many times he had received roses for Alek, it still felt like the first time. His smile was always the same, as the rain had noticed. The omega was happy with the senator.

Inside his office, Katya breathed in the roses, like they were a reminder of a successful day.

He had, after all, managed to convince Sergei to go to the event. Sure, it probably didn’t mean much, but it was a nice cap to the day that had started with him snooping.

"Roses for my beautiful little rose. I didn’t want to interrupt you at work, but I’ll pick you up for dinner. See you then ~ Alek," the card that came with the roses read.

Attached to the flowers was a box of Ferrero chocolates, a gesture so light but one that certainly made Katya smile.

’Like hearing Vladimir laugh and smile today?’ his subconscious taunted.

Go away.

The rest of the day went by pretty fast, and a little interesting seeing as Katya got an email from Sergei.

"Dear Solnyshka. Please find attached your workload as promised. No working overtime. If you do, I’ll keep hoarding. Regards ~ Vladimir"

Katya stared at the email, reading it a few more times, like he didn’t understand.

But he did understand.

The man was just respecting their agreement, yet Katya couldn’t help the small smile that played on his lips when he read the hoarding part. The barbarian was using his words to him, and honestly, Katya didn’t mind.

This right there was proof of progress, however small.

He would take the win.

"Dear Vladimir. Be nice. Regards, Romanov," Katya sent back.

And thus was the beginning of a system that worked for the alpha and the omega. A communication system that did more for the office than Katya could ever comprehend.

Sure, he wasn’t in the know, but each time the emails came, the mood in the office shifted a little. Maybe because Sergei was not walking around looking like he wanted to strangle someone in his way.

Katya didn’t stop sending lunches to the alpha either. Each time he ordered his own, he made sure his secretary sent a similar pack to Sergei. It was almost like a force of habit, something that he couldn’t take back, not that he wanted to.

And each time Rahim brought the report that the alpha had eaten, Katya marked it on his calendar like a man who was determined to work on his new mission.

The air in the office got better, not that Katya knew he was part of the reason for it. He was just glad that the alpha was finally eating.

Soon enough, the day of the gala arrived. It was something that seemed to surprise the entire city, because Sergei Moskowsky had never once confirmed public attendance to the galas.

He’d never cared, not once.

The city knew it.

Yet when the news of the Moskowsky group being in attendance, people expected just Chairman Romanov alone.

Until the senator confirmed Sergei’s attendance, and the airwaves changed.

The stories of the barbaric alpha’s donations over the years hit the airwaves again. Sergei Moskowsky had proven it once again.

That even the devil cared for children.

That even the devil had a heart.

That even the devil knew where the lines were with children.

And of course, many made reference to Vitya Moskowsky.

Sergei was watching the morning segment in his penthouse before he left for the event, when they mentioned Vitya. His Vitya.

He should have gotten used to it already, but the alpha had made it his mission to steer clear of the events and charities that related to kids because he had never let himself process that one death in his life.

He had still refused to accept it to this day, and honestly, he still had nightmares about that day.

It had been thirty years already, but time never made it easier to forget the absence of the one he loved the most. Time would never take away the emptiness that had stayed. The emptiness that no one would ever fill.

Not even the omega he was so obsessed with.

"Sierra, Mr. Moskowsky will show up for the first time in years since the passing of his husband. What do you think changed his mind this time?" one of the anchors asked.

Sergei stared grimly at the television.

He was watching carefully, waiting for something even though he didn’t know what it was about.

Maybe the wrong mention of Vitya so he could find a reason to skip the event and go back to the streets and remind people why his husband’s name was off limits.

It was a good enough excuse, but it didn’t change how he felt about it all.

He always hated it when Vitya was brought up in things like that.

Yet even he couldn’t turn away from the truth that the city had held onto.

The city that was silently governed by the ghost of Vitya Moskowsky was surely never going to forget the man whose name was enough to burn them all to the ground, right?

"I think this has to do with Erika. After so long, we see a child in the Moskowsky household. Maybe he is showing up because he has a grandchild with Vitya now," Sierra said carefully, like she knew how sensitive a tic Vitya Moskowsky was.

Well, everyone was already aware of the stakes anyway, right?

"That is a bit of a stretch don’t you think? It has been nearly seven months since the child was born, and there have been a little over ten events involving children that the Moskowsky group donated to.

"...Not to mention, no one had been in attendance from the corporation. What makes this time different?" Sierra’s fellow anchor asked like that was even a subject they needed to dive into.

But then again, it wasn’t daily that they saw Sergei step out into open fields. Places where he never needed to carry weapons.

Even so, they were also aware that Sergei Moskowsky without a weapon was way more dangerous than Sergei Moskowsky with a weapon.

"Children are the bridge between being alive and living. Besides, the public records show that CEO Gamov’s daughter is not just Erika Gamova, but Erika Vitalina Gamova. The girl’s middle name matches that of her grandfather.

"And she has Vitya’s eyes too. Perhaps that could be motivation enough for Mr. Moskowsky to be out there," Sierra said, and Sergei stared at the screen like he had heard it all wrong.

Vitalina.

The female version of Vitya.

Their son was immortalizing his husband’s name.

Oh, Vitya.

And that, strangely, was additional motivation for Sergei to go to the event.

He would be there.

For Vitya.

For the man he loved with everything.

For his beloved who was stolen from him by fate and time.

He would go as Vitya’s husband.

As Vitya’s beloved.

Perhaps because for the first time in so long, hearing his husband’s name made him tear up and angry. If anything, it made him want to live again.

After all, he was bound to a promise made at his husband’s deathbed. And if going to that event was one way of living, then Sergei would do it without question.

The alpha picked himself up and stepped out, only for his phone to ring before he got to the door.

Solnyshka was calling.