Chapter 19: But If We’re Strong Enough...
[SERGEI]
(Flashback, months before the divorce papers)
The boardroom at Moskowsky holdings was tenser than it had ever been before.
For starters, their CEO, a very pissed barbarian, had called for a sudden meeting. One that no one had been informed of.
Board members had flown from different parts of the country to make it here because they had been told they had thirty minutes or their shares would be surrendered to the major shareholder.
Now, in a formal setting and a functioning system, that was not supposed to happen. It would just be a threat that would never be backed.
But if the person who made the threat was Sergei Moskowsky and could fell bodies like a plumber and his trees, then that was a real emergency.
Traffic control was crazy, as helicopters parked in random parking lots like they were cars used on a regular basis.
Men and women rushed through elevators, with some opting for stairs and giving up halfway because of the timer they had all been given.
And when they got to the boardroom, the first thing they saw was the man who terrorized them without even lifting a finger.
Sergei Vladimirovich Moskowsky.
Today, he looked like any normal CEO out there. hair slicked back, a tux that cost more than the lives of the people in the room, and he smelled better than the coffee in the vending machine downstairs.
"We still have five minutes. Fix yourselves," Sergei said as he looked at the shareholders who were too ragged for his liking.
But then, seventy flights of stairs while waiting for elevators was not an easy task.
Not when they had to get to Sergei and when the man had demanded that the private elevators be intentionally set to maintenance mode.
The man was a horror to everyone.
"Father," Yaroslav greeted as he walked in calmly.
He never had anything to worry about.
After all, he was the only son of Sergei Moskowsky, and while Sergei had him running a different company from the moment he hit twenty-three, he still had to show up, because Moskwosky holding was his by default.
He was the only heir, and hence Yaroslav had been good at his job.
It wasn’t even an exaggeration.
"Have a seat, son," Sergei said calmly.
A little too calmly.
It was then that Anya knew this was not going to end well for some reason.
"Sergei, can I talk to you before the meeting begins?" Anya asked casually, as if this was just another day for them.
Everyone else looked at the woman, wondering if she had a death wish.
They knew her as an aide, one who didn’t matter as much. But hearing her call Sergei by his name and not getting a warning from him in return was absolute news for them.
"Of course. Shall we?" Sergei said, his tone formal and respectful.
The shareholders stared in shock, wondering what the heck was worth with the man who had made the stop everything for a meeting that he alone was now getting out of. What happened to the man who said they had five minutes left?
Was that meant to scare them or what?
At the same time, where Sergei was involved, it was better to be on his good side than on the side of things he despised.
"Don’t do whatever you are about to do," Anya said the moment they stepped into Sergei’s office. One too cold, too sharp, too businesslike. This office was devoid of life.
It looked more like a hole that Sergei came to sign papers in and approve shit than an office where real-life decisions were made.
Perhaps this was one of the many decisions he was going to have to make, no?
"I haven’t even done anything," Sergei said, like Anya didn’t know the anger in his eyes when he had looked at Yaroslav.
"You promised me a year ago, Sergei," Anya reminded me.
"He cheated, Anya. Again. And again."
"What?"
"He... he doesn’t appreciate Solnyshka. He doesn’t see how beautiful that omega is. He doesn’t understand what I would give just for Solnyshka to look at me. I would give everything, Anya.
"He has gold in his hands, and he is toying with it because of that stupid nurse he used to date before," Sergei defended his madness.
Anya sighed.
This was not good.
This? This was pure unfiltered madness.
She had to think, but what other thing could she do when this barbarian seemed to have already made up his mind then?
"Give him a chance—"
"Thrice a week."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"He cheats on him for three days of the seven days a week. They meet with Milan every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Then he goes home to my Solnyshka as if nothing had happened. But Anya, he knows...
"Solnyshka knows he is being cheated on, and he doesn’t want to do anything. He doesn’t want to leave; he doesn’t even confront Yaro for cheating on him.
"I can’t just stand by and watch that happen," Sergei said, like a kid reporting his reasons to a trusted adult.
Well, to be fair, Anya was technically the trusted adult in Sergei’s long life.
The man may have been older than life itself and crazier than the devil and his pawns, but he was always, always going to still be the boy who trusted Anya with everything.
"That is his choice, Sergei," Anya reasoned.
Sergei stepped back.
"He is hurting. Pain is not a choice. He shouldn’t have to endure things that are not his fault," Sergei insisted.
Anya sighed for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Okay then, boy genius. Tell me. What are you planning on doing there?" Anya asked.
"I’m going to remind him who is more important. Who has the power... I’m going to strip him of everything," Sergei said confidently, like that was the best plan he had come up with a year after the agreement he and Anya had had.
Then again, it wasn’t that far a stretch because Yaroslav hadn’t stopped cheating on his husband.
Each time, Sergei knew.
Perhaps that was why this was more personal for Sergei, right?
Anya, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be on the same page as him, because she smacked him at the back of his head like the man wasn’t already the most dangerous man in Frolo.
"You will do no such thing," Anya warned as if her words would carry any weight.
Maybe this time, Sergei would listen, because ruining Yaroslav’s life would impact him later, too. He loved his son with everything.
And right now, Anya needed Sergei to reason like a father and not a man obsessed with the one omega that would never belong to him... right?
Sergei ran a hand through his hair to fix what he assumed Anya had ruined.
"I can and I will. I am his father. I am also the chairman of both companies," Sergei said, like Anya didn’t already know that obvious fact.
"No, you won’t," Anya insisted.
Sergei glared at her.
"You can’t stop me," Sergei said smugly, and Anya just sighed.
"I know," she added.
"But I know someone who can," Anya said.
Sergei almost rolled his eyes at the woman and her insinuations.
"I already called for the meeting. Everyone needed to vote there. And if they vote wrong, I will simply overturn their decisions and stick to mine," Sergei stated, as if that was the one thing he was holding onto.
Like this was a punishment he had to give.
Like this was the one part of his life that he had to fix.
"Alright then, let’s go back to the meeting and see if you will still make that decision," Anya said confidently.
"Are you sure you took your meds today, Anya? You sound delusional," Sergei said, and the older woman smacked him on the back of the head again, before Sergei straightened up and they walked toward the boardroom, again.
Sergei hated what Yaroslav was doing to Katya, and he knew Anya understood his decision. But what he didn’t understand was her fixation on always trying to see the good in the boy.
Perhaps because she wanted to remind Sergei that Yaroslav was his son and mistakes could be fixed. But then cheating was something that was unforgivable.
Surely Yaroslav had to have known that when he began running around. Or was it because he knew Katya would never question him, seeing as Katya was an omega and Yaro a Beta?
However, when Sergei walked in and caught a whiff of that intoxicating citrus scent, the alpha forgot to breathe.
"My apologies for being late, Mr. Moskowsky," Katya said.
And Sergei...
Composed, controlling, powerful, Sergei...
Forgot how to breathe.
