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

Chapter 195: Maybe This Was His Rock Bottom?

[FROLO]

Yaroslav was on his way out of his father’s office when he bumped into Katya. And for a moment, the world went quiet. The endless whispers over the last year turned into nothing as he stared at the omega before him.

Katya looked healthy, happy, and achingly beautiful like the first time that Yaro had seen him. And Yaroslav just stood there like a bozo in the door.

"Honey," Yaroslav breathed like a prayer as he looked at Katya.

Then he reached to hug him, only for Katya to step back.

"What the fuck are you doing, Gamov?" Katya asked, his voice flat and bored like he couldn’t believe that this was happening.

"You look so beautiful, honey," Yaroslav said instead, and Katya just rolled his eyes at him.

It had been a year since the papers had been signed, and honestly, everything was just going well for Katya finally.

Seeing Yaro here should have had the omega faltering or even trying to lean into him like before, yet Katya just stared at Yaro like the man was blocking his way.

"Father didn’t hurt your boyfriend," Yaroslav said when Katya was glaring at him.

"Well, unless he was in our home gym when Alek’s arm broke, I don’t see why that is an issue. You’re starting to sound like the tabloids, Gamov.

"I thought you were more intelligent than that?" Katya stated so simply, like it was all just common sense, and there wasn’t much to worry about.

Behind Yaro, Volkov stared as he had finally connected the final pieces of a puzzle that was stressing the country out on the low.

Like he finally had evidence of the insanity on this executive floor. It was strange, really, how pieces were falling together, and no one had the guts to spell it all out.

"Honey..." Yaroslav began, and Katya sighed.

"Katya Romanov is the name. Not honey or whatever you have in mind. You can use either of the two. Surely the Knox Tech CEO has a working brain, right?" Katya said, his spite for Yaro showing.

Yaroslav didn’t even seem surprised. In fact, he just smiled at his omega. The man he married was still standing in front of him.

Still so beautiful.

And even better, still a spitfire.

He had been worried Katya had gone soft over the year or even changed, but the man he still loved was there. And he was glad for it.

Because even after all that Katya had endured, he was still resilient.

Still unbothered where there was no need to be.

"Okay ho— Katya," Yaroslav said, and Katya stared blankly at him.

"Aren’t you getting out of my way?" Katya asked, and Yaroslav arched a brow as he looked at his watch.

"Not really. I came to go for lunch with father," Yaro said as if he was testing the waters.

"What you do with your father is not my business. I have papers for him to sign, so if you would get out of my way, it’d save me time," Katya said flatly.

"Oh, right," Yaroslav said awkwardly, staring at the papers in Katya’s hands, before he stopped aside.

Katya didn’t even look at him as he walked toward the door, like a man who had way better things to do. And he did. He had papers to prove it.

"Aren’t you going to check on the senator? I mean your boyfriend?" Yaroslav suddenly asked.

Katya turned to him, as if he suddenly realized what this was about.

Katya was not oblivious to the media and what they said about him and Sergei. But he was not doing anything wrong with his boss.

Sergei was just a friend he was hanging out with because the barbarian didn’t have friends.

"Ah, I see what this is about. You didn’t come to check on your father at lunchtime, Yaro. You came to see if the rumors going around are true, no?

"That’s why you stood at the door, hoping to get something, anything?" Katya accused, his eyes on Yaroslav, making the beta flinch at the accusation.

Now that Katya voiced it out, it sounded cruel and stupid at the same time.

The city was making him doubt his father, who had never hurt him.

The city was trying to break him apart from the only family he had, and Yaroslav was subconsciously being an enabler in their bullshit.

It wasn’t his proudest moment, but fuck, he had to admit that hearing it out loud made him feel a tad stupid.

"For someone everyone knows the city would burn for, you sure are a thankful son. Anyway, don’t let me keep you. I’ll be done in two minutes at most.

"Feel free to take your father out to lunch and maybe try not to show him that the only person he believes is on his side is flipping the script on him like the masses are.

"What a good son you are," Katya scoffed as he walked past a surprised Volkov.

It was a sight that even Anya, who was on the other side of a call Volkov had made the moment Katya and Yaroslav clashed at the door, was surprised by.

Katya Romanov had defended Sergei.

Maybe he didn’t see it like that, but it was that.

He had defended a man the city was starting to get up in arms against because he believed they were friends.

He had defended the one man in the city who had never needed anyone to stand up for him.

That too against his own son.

It was then that Anya and Volkov came to the same realization.

The world would burn, alright. But maybe the one who would be holding the matchstick wasn’t the one they were expecting.

And that right there was the reminder that this whole debacle wasn’t just hitting different squares, but it was proving something that no one had the guts to voice yet.

Inside Sergei’s office, there was light tension as a pissed Katya walked in, straightened up, and handed Sergei the papers like he always did.

"You look pissed, Solnyshka," Sergei still said, even with his son barely feet away from the door. Maybe he loved danger, or maybe he just didn’t care what anyone said about him.

"I’m not. It’s just not fair, is all," Katya sighed in frustration as Sergei signed the papers.

"You’re worried about me," Sergei breathed slowly, like the realization was something he had not been thinking of even to this point.

Granted, they had their lunches and laughed often, but to see Katya worried for him was just something else. That too, after hearing Katya defend him against his own son.

"I get that you have a bad reputation, but people need to give credit where it’s due," Katya huffed, and Sergei smiled at him.

"What?" Katya asked, still pissed.

"I’m fine, Solnyshka," Sergei said before adding quietly:

"Did... Did you think even for a moment that I did it?"

"No," Katya said, not mincing his words.

"No?? But—"

"You do everything for a reason. Besides, if you were going to kill Alek, breaking his arm would just bore you. You sent me a head in a box before, remember?" Katya said casually.

Sergei stared, surprised at how much trust Katya had in him.

"I have to go now before your son thinks I came to steal his lunch hour with you," Katya said, before leaving.

And Sergei...

He couldn’t control his beating heart for the first time in so long.