Chapter 127: There Were Facts... Then There was This

[FROLO]

"I’m fine," Katya laughed sadly.

Of course, he was dreaming of impossible things.

Everyone hated him.

And now his mind was playing tricks with him.

The sense of comfort was something that he had not yet understood properly, and perhaps that was why it was confusing even more for him. But at the end of the day, what more could he lose anyway, right?

"Romanov!" Svet shouted in Katya’s ears, making the omega sit up suddenly, like he really was not dreaming anymore.

"What happened?" Katya wondered, ready for a change of scenery.

But he was still there.

In the huge ass penthouse.

With his friends.

Katya looked around, and it was all the same.

"I suppose I have gone crazy," Katya laughed defeatedly, like it was not something new for him, yet it was also the possible reminder that maybe, just maybe, there was something else underneath everything that had been happening these past few days.

Katya was still sure that someone had intentionally leaked his contact details to the press. He wasn’t sure who, but the suspects in his mind had him assuming that maybe he should have protected himself better.

Then again, what was here to protect when his life was already in shambles then?

"Look at me," Svet insisted, not letting Katya stay stuck in his head.

And the omega just sighed at the attempt.

His friends were always rowdy around him, so it wasn’t as surprising that they were in his dreams too. Perhaps a reconfiguration, but what were the odds of this being a safety net his brain had created for him to be in with his safe people?

"Yes, yes, I see you," Katya laughed passively, and Svet noticed he wasn’t even paying attention.

So she did the only thing she knew could snap the omega out of whatever trance he was in.

Svet turned on the TV in the room and increased the volume, knowing damn well that this could hurt, but she needed her fired back, not the shell of whoever she was seeing at the moment anyway.

"Katya Romanov was caught on camera fleeing with his friends to another home. The abandoned building is located on Seventh Avenue downtown. Many assume he ran because he could not handle the pressure of what he could not provide," one of the people on TV said, and Katya just stared.

Once again, he felt his tears brimming.

Even when he was shown away from them, they still found ways to hurt him.

God, he was tired.

"It’s real... you’re not dreaming. You’re not hallucinating," Svet said softly as she looked at him, her eyes gentle.

"I’m tired, Svet... every day there is something new. I can’t even go home because I don’t know what the Moskowskys will do to me if I do. I can’t even call my parents for help because I signed the contracts.

"Now I’m in a building I apparently bought when I was in a medically induced coma after a miscarriage? What part of anything even makes sense? As if that isn’t enough, my family was dead broke at the time.

"So where the fuck did I get the money to buy a whole apartment building with a penthouse and servants like it was okay?" Katya asked, the unrealistic situation poking more holes in what his life had turned out to be.

But he was right.

Everything was orchestrated by the Moskowskys; it was obvious.

It also meant that Katya was still in his kind of prison; there was never going to be a way out for him as easily.

And his friends...

"If you didn’t buy the building..." Svet asked like she didn’t already figure it out.

"Who else could buy a building if not the Moskowskys? First, they remodel my matrimonial home and give it to Yaro and his mistress, then they give Knox to their new heiress, then demand I move out of 13 Emerald as soon as possible.

"As if that isn’t enough, they make me sign an NDA that makes sure I won’t challenge the succession and ownership of the Moskowsky group and the damn homes. Now here I am, not even sure what they want from me.

"How heartless could one family get? What the fuck did I even sign up for when I signed that damn contract?" Katya sighed exasperatedly, and his friends listened.

They always did, whenever Katya talked.

Because he was their only link to humanity.

"Oh, and did I mention that they changed the legal name from Katya Gamov and Katya Moskowsky to Katya Romanov Moskowsky? They know I’m an omega. They know the rules of the nation.

"They know I will be murdered if anyone finds me with their names. So what exactly do they want from me?" Katya cried weakly.

Everything was too much.

He couldn’t think easily.

He couldn’t handle it all by himself.

Everything was too fast and made no sense.

This was crazy, and his friends sat listening to him, like they were trying to connect the dots for him.

"Romanov... you said you signed two contracts," Andre began, and Svet looked at him, curious as to what he was aiming for.

Maybe it was not the craziest of things because they had read the new ownership papers for this place. They realized there were no shady clauses.

There was nothing that screamed this was a trap or that Katya had to pay it back. If anything, it was like this was a gift or something. The kind of gift that could only move forward if Katya wanted it to.

And things like that didn’t just happen overnight.

They took time.

And meticulous planning.

"Yeah. Apparently, the first one was null and void, and they wanted me to sign a new one. Didn’t even read that shit; maybe they changed the clause to make sure I never got my freedom," Katya laughed sadly.

He was too tired to even keep going because, at the end of the day, none of this would matter. At least that was what he believed, but his friends were looking at him with different eyes.

Almost like they were seeing something else altogether, and they needed confirmation of it all first before they decided what to lean on too.

Svet and Andre shared a look.

"Where are the contracts?" Andre asked.

He looked like he was trying to decode things in his head. Hell, even his tone was that which was normally used when he was serious.

Katya could see how this was important to them.

Of course, they were worried about him; there was no other explanation. Besides, even if they tried their best, what were the odds that life would change for the better then?

"In the box," Katya said, not even having the strength to argue anymore.

"Is it all right if we check the contracts?" Svet asked.

She knew they were friends, but consent was something they valued so much, especially when it came to Katya, given how hard his life had been over the past few years.

"Yeah... go for it. Besides, what more could I lose if not my life that is slowly withering?" Katya sighed before he curled himself up on the couch.

"Alright, you get some rest. Andre and I will read the contracts for any suspicious clauses. And yes, we are real. We are not leaving. We will always be here for you, Romanov. Get some rest, friend," Svet said.

And Katya, too tired to think or argue, trusted her.

Only to be woken up barely an hour later with Svet screaming.