[FROLO]

So many things were happening at the same time that it was almost impossible to tell what was right and what was wrong. Who was reacting and who was running away?

It was all too jumbled, and everyone seemed to have an opinion about everything at that moment.

But right in the middle of it all was an omega whose breaths hitched in his throat as he stared at the one person he had caught red-handed.

There was more remorse on Yaroslav’s face, and the way he had talked made Katya feel like this was a different prison.

Maybe it was what the truth looked like.

Maybe it was just an illusion, but an omega already bound to a contract marriage for life, Katya Romanov didn’t even stand a chance.

They would ruin him.

He knew it.

Everyone who had been watching knew it.

And his friends stepped back. Not because they were weaker and couldn’t fight for him. They would fight for him. They never stepped back. But this?

This was one of those moments when physical violence would do nothing.

They couldn’t beat Yaroslav into being faithful.

They couldn’t beat Milan staying away from Yaroslav.

This was one that even they were bested at.

And it hurt to the core. Because no one had expected this.

It was one thing for the cheating to be a speculation, but for Yaroslav to be here with Milan on the same day? It was something else. And the venom in his voice had Katya feeling everything at once.

For seven years, he had known this man. Five of those had dedicated their lives to living with him. He had breathed and experienced life with him. Shared memories, routines, happy moments, sad moments.

He had endured even the cheating back then, and he never once complained.

But this? This was different. This was crueler than even seeing Ilana bouncing to Yaroslav’s cock in their living room. Because it was the reminder that something had really happened.

That day wasn’t a hallucination.

Milan’s hand on her belly was something that Katya stared at for a little longer.

And he understood why the woman had chosen to drink juice in a club that was filled with so many alcoholic drinks, not to mention a woman who always chugged down alcohol like she was born for it.

Oh, but the truth was ugly.

Yet for the first time since he had been trapped, Katya didn’t panic.

Didn’t stagger again.

Instead, Katya Romanov smiled.

"What is there to smile about?" Yaroslav asked when he saw the omega sibling. It was obvious that he hadn’t expected that. But what the fuck was Katya supposed to do?

Scream for a man who was never going to choose him?

A man who fucked him in the night and forgot about him in the morning?

A man who didn’t ever want to breathe the same air as him while trying to actively remind him that he had never been enough for him?

"Looks like our marriage is open, Yaroslav. If you’re going to go out with Milan, I suppose the good senator and I should get it going too, no? Surely you wouldn’t mind now that Milan here is carrying your baby, no?" Katya stated calmly.

Deathly calmly.

The club had never been that silent.

This omega.

This fierce, raging yet smiling omega.

The one who had just had enough, even when he was breaking inside.

Katya knew what they wanted to see. They wanted to see him cry and beg for Yaro to choose him. Because after all, Yaroslav was the son of Sergei Moskowsky.

By declaring that there would never be a divorce, the Beta had basically told everyone that he could do whatever he wanted without any consequences.

Which was true. He would never face any; they all knew it. Because Sergei Moskowsky never got involved in his son’s affairs. Sergei Moskowsky would never care that Yaroslav was bitching with someone, even if he was still married.

As long as everyone did their work and fulfilled their duties, it was all right. And that hurt because Katya knew that this was never going to end well for him.

Sure, Yaroslav didn’t know about the contract he had signed, but the fact that both the father and the son had worked to get him trapped was just something, and Katya, he wanted to cry.

He wanted to mourn. He wanted to run away. Gods, he wanted the ground to open and swallow him because it eats, then he wouldn’t be in as much pain. He would be as humiliated as he was right now.

But he had to be strong.

He had just bargained for his mother’s heart in the morning and was suspicious about the legitimacy of that deal with Sergei.

So, leaving the company would be stupid of him because he still needed to work and earn enough money to afford a heart transplant even without insurance.

Then he would pay Sergei eventually, because that man never gave favors.

But now...

Yaroslav...

Oh, Katya felt it all.

But he would process it later.

At least that was what he told himself when he stepped forward, the distance between him and Yaroslav and Milan getting shorter.

He knew the silence in the club would be translated into something else. Maybe this was the alcohol in his system talking.

But Katya... He was done.

"What are you talking about?" Katya heard Yaroslav say after a long silence. Almost like he, too, just like Katya, was shocked by the omega’s words.

But in a game of humiliation, Katya had had enough.

He could blame it on the alcohol later. Perhaps that was why he grabbed the nearest drink and chugged it down like it was the fuel for his courage.

He hated himself for not being strong enough. But even if he was strong, he had signed a Moskowsky contract.

He was their slave.

For life.

"Oh, come now, sweetheart. Milan is carrying your baby, which is probably thanks to my inability to conceive. You have known it all along. It’s what everyone and their mama is saying about me in this goddamn city.

"... The omega who couldn’t give the Moskowskys an heir. But you have Milan now," Katya says, as if it were the right kind of logic for him.

Like his heart wasn’t ripping out of his chest with every word that came from his own mouth.

Gods, he was in too much pain to even stand there.

Yet he refused to fall this time.

He refused to be the one who ran away this time.

Maybe he was avoiding it altogether, but what the hell was she supposed to do in a world that already was persecuting him?

"Oh, hey, sweetheart! Since we can’t get a divorce, and you won’t be touching me, given that last night clearly meant nothing. It’s only fair that I get someone else to take care of my needs, no?

"After all, we can always go back home and sleep in the same bed when the day ends, right? Maybe I need to call Senator Aleksandr and see if he can service me tonight," Katya hiccupped amid chuckles, like what he was suffering was the sanest of things.

Maybe it was.

Maybe it wasn’t.

But who cared, right?

Everyone had already branded him in their own way.

Katya knew of the rumors about how he had spread his legs for the devil of Frolo to get the position he was in.

He knew what they were saying about him. And maybe this was his rebellious phase, a night that would ruin his life permanently.

But maybe that was what he wanted, no?

A quick death, not what the Moskowskys had planned for him.

"If that is what you want, sure. What do I care about? I finally have a woman to give me an heir," Yaroslav said dismissively before he kissed Milan on the lips, sensually, as if he was starving for her.

And Katya...

Oh, Katya.

"Now that everything is sorted, turn the music up!!! All drinks for the entire night are on me! Got a huge check yesterday for being the chairman of Moskowsky group, might as well put it to good use, yeah!!" Katya shouted, and the people in the club cheered.

"I had a baby and lost him, wooo!!! Looks like my baby finally got a new baby!!!" Katya sang random lyrics at the top of his lungs, laughing, smiling, shouting in excitement.

Everyone joined in the cheers and melody.

But Svet and Andre...

Had never felt that helpless before.