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

[KATYA]

Life had never been this complicated for Katya Romanov. He had always believed in simplicity, but right now, there was nothing simple about what he had been dragged into.

This new position...

This state of being the chairman of the Moskowsky group was literally a test that set him up for failure.

Katya knew nothing about management.

He was a researcher.

He spent the whole day in labs and went back home to a cheating husband who thought he didn’t know what he was doing. That had been behind routine for seven years, seeing as he had met Yaroslav when they were working at Knox.

It was a terrifying thing for him, because right now, as Katya stood here as the cameras flashed before him and had him going blind every three seconds, Katya felt like apologizing to his mother for failing.

Because the Moskowsky empire was larger than his family’s steel empire.

And if he failed, even once, his parents would pay the price.

How did a person go from being a researcher to having his name plastered in front of the most dangerous buildings in the city?

’So, this is why Sergei didn’t come back? Didn’t answer my calls?’ Katya wondered, his horror showing.

He knew he would never survive this.

There were eyes on him all over, and he knew what they looked at him.

He didn’t even need to ask because he could see it.

The way they stared at the omega, who was now a group chairman. The omega who had come from nowhere to rule over a pack of alphas and betas who ever bent the knee once for any omega.

It was crazy, truly, because now, there was no escape for him. And maybe, at that moment, Katya wondered if Yaroslav would come for him. If Yaroslav were to come and contest this.

Granted, the man was a cheating, lying bastard, but at least with Yaroslav, Katya believed he had a chance of survival.

With Yaroslav, he wouldn’t have been killed as early.

Because this right here? The woman, Miss Anya? This was a recipe for disaster. And Katya was right in the middle of it.

All because of a debt he would never be able to pay, even if he toiled for the Moskowsky family for ten of his lifetimes.

Gods, he was screwed in all ways to hell.

"Keep your head up. You don’t want the new Moskowsky chairman looking like he is here to be bent over now, would you?" Anya said bitterly, her voice wrecking Katya from the inside out.

This woman was insane.

That was the only thing that Katya could think of right now as he looked at her. This woman was determined to drive him to the madhouse, and frankly, he was considering that option. It would have been way easier than this...

Whatever this was for him.

’Right... because I asked for this,’ Katya thought angrily, but he didn’t dare to speak.

Not when he knew his mother was at the mercy of these mad people.

Not when his whole life had just been upended because of one barbarian who had come to him like Santa with gifts and lured him into the worst of territories just to devour him and leave him to the pack that was raging.

"I understand," Katya forced out, before he turned to the cameras.

He knew there wasn’t much he could do. Because Anya wanted him to stand there like a trophy case that the Moskowsky family had bought. And sure enough, they had bought him. With everything they had fixed, there was never going to be a way out. Perhaps in a million lifetimes, he would be done, yeah?

"Mr. Moskowksy, did you divorce Mr. Gamov, or is this just a name change so you could be part of the whole family?"

"Mr. Moskowsky, does Yaroslav know you’re here?"

"Is this the decision of Mr. Sergei?"

"Is that why Sergei hasn’t been seen for a whole week? Was he preparing you for this?"

"You’re just an omega. How do you intend to run a business that has always been controlled by alphas?"

"Do you have the capacity to run a business? Heard you were an intern at Knox Technologies."

"There are rumors that you were caught cheating by your husband. Is this proof of it?"

"Did you marry the father to get the wealth of the son?"

The questions didn’t stop, and they got more insulting with every one that came his way.

Katya had never felt that overwhelmed. They were tearing into his life with rumors that had never been proven.

Oh, but Katya felt like crying here with how they were dissecting his life. He knew for a fact that he would never be able to defend himself. Not from the rumor of him cheating.

How could he, when Yaroslav probably already knew he was here?

When Yaroslav probably started the rumor himself?

How could he, when Yaroslav had sworn to ruin him for wasting his time in the hospital?

This had to be it.

Maybe that was why the altercation between the father and son that day was insane. Because who in their right mind shot their son? With live bullets? Twice??

The Moskowskys were unhinged. Borderline insane. They belonged in institutions with white padded walls that were locked and keys thrown into the Avalon.

And Katya, the beautiful omega who had been thrust into a world of vipers, knew there wasn’t much he could do. This was a trap, and he had fallen right into it.

"If you can’t ask the right questions, why are you here? What will you ask next, huh? When he was last fucked, whether he slept with your husband to get this position?" Anya asked coldly, amused by the questions, and that took Katya aback for comment.

The woman sounded genuinely pissed, like she was so close to removing her pretty heels and throwing them at the crowd there. Like she was about to run over herself if they didn’t show some respect.

Katya was almost relieved.

Almost, because he knew better.

He was aware that this was just a stunt for the new position. That she was pretending to care because this was about the business they had forced on Katya.

It was terrifying in every way.

Katya stared at Anya, whose face was still cold. She glared like she had better things to do than stand there.

Then their eyes met.

And Katya froze.

Fuck, Katya could swear the woman wanted to kill him. She looked at him like she was about to pull a silencer and lose a bullet in his brain, not saying anything.

This wasn’t what he had signed up for, but with a mother in the hospital and a father who just got his life back, Katya had to stay steady.

"Who I marry or who I don’t marry is not your business. I doubt you got your first real pass to the business by submitting your presser questions that involved who I sleep with or who I don’t.

"Now, if you won’t ask the right questions, leave. I got a business to run," Katya said, his voice steady and cold.

But Anya saw through it all.