Chapter 39: Maybe Today Was The Day
[FROLO]
Everything felt wrong.
The weather was too cold, too windy, like there was a storm coming that early, and honestly, that was some creepy level shit.
In the new Katya Moskowsky residence, Katya was already dressed and ready to go to work. He was wearing a white suit today. It had taken him a while to adjust to the random changes over time, but he got the hang of it eventually.
After all, there was no danger in the city.
Sergei hadn’t been sighted in three weeks, and even Yaroslav had started looking for his father publicly.
Katya had struggled with the blazer that had nothing beneath it, but Anya’s rules were what he was to follow. He had noticed the weather too, and a part of him was sure this would be the day that he got fired.
That it would be the day the Moskowskys really took his heart.
Presently, he didn’t have as many complaints because his mother had been discharged.
Anya had taken care of everything, strangely so.
The rumors about Katya being a whore had dissipated into thin air, like they’d never been in the first place.
Katya had also noticed that most of the channels that had shaded him during his first day at work were either shut down or came daily to the Moskowskys’ holdings with apology letters and wreaths to convey just how sorry they were.
And it was more frightening than comforting for Katya.
Because that right there reminded him of who had fixed his life and ruined it at the same time.
It showed him just how vicious Anya and the Moskowskys were. Katya was certain he wouldn’t survive, but honestly, at this point, even the next breath he took was a Moskowsky’s grace.
Funny how his last name had been legally changed to Moskowsky without his knowledge, too.
But that was the cost of what he had given in to, right?
"Sir, shall we?" one of the bodyguards assigned to Katya’s is a huge new residence said, and Katya just nodded.
He should have felt relieved given the change of environment. He was in a place where he didn’t have to see Yaroslav cheating with Milan again. He had servants at his beck and call.
He had everything anyone who loved luxury would ever want. He had three black cards and a lot of shit that came with being a Moskowsky.
Granted, Katya had been born into wealth, but the Moskowsky wealth made the Romanov wealth look like it was just a black stain.
Yet never once did Katya ever use them. He left the cards on the table every single day. He didn’t let himself get comfortable. Hell, even the food he was served, he usually never ate. Only ate once when he was sure he would die of hunger.
But after that, he was always making sure to sneak out and eat far away from the Moskowsky’s eyes. Only that in a city that was ruled by that damn family, it was a little hard to escape.
Thankfully, Katya had friends who knew how to hide from the Moskowskys, even just for ten minutes, before they would get caught. But it was okay.
Because ten minutes with his friends was the reminder that maybe just maybe there was something in his life that had stayed normal.
"Are you comfortable, sir?" the guard asked once they got into the SUV, and Katya paused.
No one had ever asked him if he was comfortable. Hell, not even Rahim, who was like a managing witch by his side, ever tried to. She always let him be, yet for some reason, the guard didn’t start the car like he was waiting for Katya’s response.
Katya had slowly started learning, but on some days, especially today, he wondered what was the use of all those mannerisms if he was going to end up with a hole in his chest for when Sergei came for the heart he was promised.
Gods, it was fucked up.
"Uhm... yes," Katya said skeptically.
"You sure?" the guard asked if Lihee had heard the hesitation, and Katya sighed.
This was the first time he was getting this intense treatment.
It was bad enough that he got it from Anya and Volkov at the company, but here too, it was exhausting, not that he would say it out loud. And so, like he had practiced earlier in the mirror, Katya plastered a smile on his face and nodded.
Only then did the car start moving.
"This isn’t the usual road..." Katya trailed off when he noticed they had missed every single stop. Wherever this guard was headed certainly wasn’t in the direction of Moskowsky’s holdings.
It was as if the slaughter day had come, and Katya couldn’t help but be scared again.
He always was, but seeing it all like this horrified him; the change in his driver, the way that the man had addressed him.
Gods, it felt like Katya was being fattened for slaughter.
It didn’t make it any better that the guard didn’t say another word, and instead stepped hard on the accelerator. Enough to move them fast, but careful enough to make sure Katya was not injured in his acceleration.
And this reinforced Katya’s belief that this time he was really going to regret living the last two weeks trying to pretend his chains didn’t exist.
Dejectedly, he sat back and waited to see who would come for him and which organ they would start with.
He was tempted to say a prayer, but against the Moskwoskys, even guardian angels were skeptical. And Katya hated that truth for himself.
Still, he sat tight and waited.
"Sir, we are here," the guard said when the car came to a stop.
And Katya expected an insane, deep jungle with his head about to be dangled off.
Yet they were at the company.
Right in front of the building of his horrors.
Gods, Katya couldn’t have been more relieved to find himself in front of that cursed building. And when the car doors opened, Katya didn’t hesitate. He stepped out and walked right in.
But there was something different about the office today.
The employees were too quiet. Too busy for a company that was always light. They looked horrified, and the only conclusion Katya had was that Anya had probably yelled at them.
But then yelling at employees in a seventy-floor building had to take some energy, which was not something he put past Anya, but fuck it was too early for this shit.
Sighing, he went straight to his office, not waiting to see the way everyone was suddenly cowering.
’Shit, maybe I really failed Anya’s test,’ Katya groaned as he stared at the elevator. The private elevator he had forced himself to get used to.
He still passed out sometimes, but most of the time he was with Rahim, who always helped him. It was something shameful, but Katya figured he could add it to the long list of things that happened with things that society just waved off because omegas were weak.
When Katya reached the seventieth floor, the atmosphere was the same.
Rahim was too focused on work.
On most days, Kaya would walk in and find her gossiping with Volkov. It was all part of a routine that Katya assumed to be his new normal, and frankly, it made the loneliness on this side of the office a little bearable.
Well, until he saw Volkov too busy too.
The man didn’t even look up to see that he had come like he always did.
And Katya stiffened.
He didn’t know what to expect anymore.
But perhaps he didn’t have to look that far this time, right? Because the moment he began walking toward his office, Katya stilled.
The devil of Frolo was back.
He was in Katya’s office, seated in Katya’s seat like he was trying to figure out what the fuck Katya was doing in his space. It was something that scared the living hell out of Katya.
Especially when Sergei suddenly got up, their eyes meeting, and stepped outside the office, his eyes raking over Katya’s outfit of the day.
Katya was ready to be threatened.
So ready to be killed, but what he got was different.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU FUCKING WEARING?" Sergei boomed, and Katya heard snickers behind him.
"Told you he would lose his shit when he came back," Katya heard Volkov whisper to Rahim.
"I hate you," Rahim said quietly, and Katya could swear that a few bills exchanged hands.
But what caught his attention wasn’t even the barbarian who was glaring at him.
It was the snicker that came from Anya’s office.
Oh, Katya knew he was done for real this time.
