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

[KATYA]

Katya almost snickered at the truth that lingered so close.

A reality that threatened to turn his life upside down again. It was like the world was a chessboard, and Katya was the one pawn that everyone needed to move to make the game worth it.

But now staring at his father, listening to the man’s desperation, Katya wondered if his father would believe him if he said that Yaroslav had cheated.

He wondered if his father would stand beside him through and through.

If his father would allow him to process the divorce papers.

It was one thing to be a son within these walls, but it was another to be the heir of the Romanov Steel. And that too after everything had suddenly been fixed.

The stakes were higher now.

Everything Katya did would be scrutinized, and Yaroslav was a part of the one reality Katya wasn’t sure he was strong enough to face. Everything was happening at once, but maybe there was the question of what side Alpha Romanov would choose.

His omega son’s side.

Or the side of the beta whose father was so powerful and had most definitely fixed their lives?

"No. I don’t even know why he was here. Maybe Yaroslav sent him," Katya said, like he didn’t already know that Yaroslav had been pushed off of him by Sergei himself. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

But he needed to sell something to his father in the hope that the alpha would buy it.

Otherwise, there would be worse waiting for him.

"He shot Yaroslav. Your husband. Twice. Once in the thigh. The second time in the ear. Then he cut the ear off," Mr. Romanov said, as if to ask his son if he was still going to pretend that he didn’t know what Mr. Moskowsky was doing at the hospital all day.

Then again, even if Katya came clean to him, would his father trust him?

"Katya..." Mr. Romanov trailed off, and Katya felt his brain working on overdrive.

His father was persistent, and he wouldn’t stop this. He would keep pressing until Katya gave him an answer, which wasn’t something that Katya was ready for at the moment.

"I never wanted you to know like this," Katya began, his breath slowing as his father’s intense stare kept him glued to the hospital bed.

"About what?"

"I was in an accident yesterday, and Yaro brought me here. Then his father came, and they started to fight about something I didn’t understand. I didn’t want to meddle because, well... They are an alpha and a beta, Papa.

"But it was about the company. Apparently, Yaro had spent the money on something his father didn’t approve of. And they tend this room into a circus," Katya said, his voice steady even though he knew his father could read through the bullshit.

Katya wasn’t sure what Sergei had done to make his father that suspicious. But he was already regretting signing the damn papers because even the lie he was telling his father wasn’t fucking believable.

Katya was screwed. He knew it too. But maybe buying time wasn’t as bad, right?

"We didn’t use to lie to each other, Michka," Mr. Romanov said, and Katya bowed his head in shame. He wanted to stand his ground.

But what was there to make his old man believe? A contract marriage that he wasn’t even sure was justified? Paid debts that would forever bind Katya to whatever intensity Sergei Moskowsky had in mind for him?

"I’m fine, Papa. He didn’t threaten me. He didn’t make me do anything. Maybe he just wanted to help his son... Anyway, how’s mama doing? Can... Can I go see her?" Katya asked, and his father stared at him softly.

He could tell there was more to what his son was letting in, but the way that Katya was rigid told him that this was not the time. And that was not a reality Mr. Romanov wanted to lean into.

But what other option was there?

"Twelve blood transfusions," Mr. Romanov said.

Katya stiffened.

"What?"

"That’s the number of blood bags used in that operation," Mr. Romanov said, and Katya felt terrible for him.

That was a lot of money. That was a lot of work for his mother’s heart.

Gods, this wasn’t how he had imagined his life could get. And now his problems were very minuscule because they both couldn’t lose his mother. It was just the one thing that they couldn’t risk.

Not right now.

Not when it seemed like everything was falling apart.

"Is Mama okay? Papa... Is she doing better? Twelve means a lot, right? Was it because of the heart? Did they fix her? Is she coming back to us? Is she going to stay longer in the hospital?

"How long will she stay in the ICU? Papa please, say something," Katya rambled and his father stared at him, watching the concern on the omega’s face and how Katya went from being calm to worried.

It was almost interesting, but then again, this was about the one woman who had kept them both steady. She was their anchor, and they couldn’t lose her.

"Papa, please," Katya begged, and Mr. Romanov looked at his son again.

"Your mother is fine. The surgery was a success, and it was concluded hours ago. Your mother is resting in the ICU, but the doctors said she will wake up fine in a few hours," Mr. Romanov said, and Katya let out a sigh of relief.

"I’ll go donate blood and get my friends to do the same," he said with a smile on his face, reassuring his father that things would be alright. It was all he could do anyway.

"The transfusions were for you, Michka," Mr. Romanov said quietly, holding his son’s gaze as if daring him to lie a second time.

"What? That’s..." Katya said, tripping over his words.

Twelve blood bags were a lot.

And that explained even the turn of events.

Why Sergei had not given him a chance to breathe earlier.

Why that barbarian had insisted on the darn contract papers.

How he had not minced his words with Katya. It explained a lot, and that terrified Katya.

Because he could have died.

On his anniversary.

Fuck.

"I... the accident..."

"I was a doctor once, Michka. So, are you going to tell me the truth about why you are here, or am I going to have to demand the charts myself?" Mr. Romanov said, his calm demeanor was something that had Katya’s brain working overtime.

Of course, he should have remembered that his father had stepped back from medicine to run the family business years ago. He should have remembered that his old man knew more about medicine than Katya ever would.

That was a mistake on his end.

But would he fix it?

Even if he tried, would it work?

"I’m sorry, Papa," Katya apologized like a force of habit, and his father noticed that too.

"It was Yaroslav, wasn’t it? That’s why Sergei was so angry, no?" Mr. Romanov asked, even though it came off as a statement of fact.

"I failed, Papa. I couldn’t even carry a baby for more than two weeks. I’m sorry I disappointed you," Katya said earnestly.

Before Mr. Romanov could say anything, a loud growl was heard right out the door, followed by the sound of glass breaking.

"I’ll kill him," was all Katya heard before there were screams in the hospital.