Chapter 260: The Greatest Trot Singer of The Night

* So I did a thing with the book cover eek... probably to match this volume and the next

[FROLO]

The call lasted longer than Katya had anticipated. He’d lost track of time and almost forgotten about how shitty his life had been. Somewhere along the way, he’d gotten to learn more about Sergei than he had ever thought possible.

And as he listened, he realized that the man could be a clueless goofball occasionally. He’d gotten to hear tales about things he could swear Sergei was never capable of doing.

Simple things that were the very opposite of what Sergei Moskowsky looked like. Or even what the alpha was expected to do.

They’d talked about a lot, so much so that it was safe to say Katya knew who to call if ever Sergei disappeared for hours... in a fruit market.

"Solnyshka," the alpha said suddenly, and Katya stared out the window for a moment.

It was dark.

So dark that when he checked the phone he’d set on the floor, the timer read 10 p.m.

He’d been on the phone with Sergei for seven hours.

Seven hours of locking everyone out of his room. He’d heard them call out for him, but he didn’t go out. Not once.

Seven hours of hearing how Sergei Moskowsky was a man with a very strange duality. A man who could kill people without blinking, and still run for his life from chickens because they had traumatized him when he was a child.

"I have to go," Sergei said, and Katya sighed softly.

"Thank you for staying on call with me," Katya said in earnest.

He knew eventually he’d have to go back to his reality and face everything else.

He was still worried about Alek, even if he was angry with the man. He needed to check on him, too, and see if he was getting the treatment he deserved despite being an insecure man with terrible decisions lately.

"If this were not important, I’d stay on the call with you until you got tired of me," Sergei said, and Katya heard rustling in the background.

"Sir, it’s ten o’clock. Are you sure about this?" Katya heard Volkov’s voice in the background. He contemplated hanging up, but frankly, he wanted Sergei to end the call first.

He didn’t even know why.

He couldn’t explain that feeling.

"The society needs to be told the truth, Volkov," Sergei said, dead serious in the background.

"Can’t we do it during the day?"

"I’m banned, remember?" Sergei complained, and it didn’t take long for Katya to figure out what the man was up to.

But again, he’d promised not to laugh, so he listened as the boss and his secretary argued back and forth about the legality of what they were about to do.

"I’m six foot nine, not six foot. And I’m fifty-two years old, not sixty. If I’m going to get banned from parks, the least they can do is get my information right," Sergei insisted, and Katya let out a soft snicker.

Sergei was unbelievable.

That was a thought Katya had had throughout the call. Because honestly, if someone had told him years ago that this barbarian had a goofy side, he wouldn’t have believed them.

"Solnyshka, tell him why it’s important," Sergei suddenly said, and Katya stayed quiet for a moment, holding back his laughter.

"I uhh..."

"Come on, Chairman, at least tell him it’s an insane idea," Volkov pleaded, and Sergei huffed, waiting for Katya’s response.

"If it helps, once he fixes his information, he won’t drag you to the park late in the night again?" Katya said, ending his statement with what felt like a question when in truth he wasn’t even sure how the conversation had gotten there.

But he loved how free he felt at the moment.

It was weird how his mood had changed that fast, and because of Sergei. But perhaps there was nothing to overthink there. He’d needed someone to talk to, and he’d gotten that person and a parrot that never shut up.

"Exactly, that’s the only r—" Sergei said, agreeing before he stopped for a moment.

"Hold on, Solnyshka... Is that a compliment or an accusation?" the alpha complained suddenly.

"You’ll get late for the park. They usually close their doors at eleven, unless you want to be jailed again this time," Katya teased amid laughter.

Volkov let out an exaggerated groan in the background.

"Alright, we’ll get going now, Solnyshka," Sergei said while Volkov shouted in the background, certainly not liking his new work schedule.

"What is the tape for, sir?"

"You’re going to measure my height," Sergei said, and Katya knew Volkov was in for the longest night of his life... Or not.

"Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow, Solnyshka, or better yet, I’ll text you later tonight," Sergei said.

"To inform me of your arrest?"

"To show you how I fixed my age and height," Sergei said, and Katya laughed softly before ending the call when Sergei and Volkov began bickering again.

Sighing, Katya put the phone in his pocket, then pulled the door to his bedroom open. He knew there was only so much he could run away from his current reality, and nearly a whole day of keeping himself away was enough, right?

"Romanov?" Katya heard the moment he opened his door.

Of course, his friends were still here. They were still taking care of the alpha who had betrayed Katya.

It was insane, really, because no matter how angry Katya was, a part of him still loved Alek. Wanted to understand him. To see him be okay again.

But one thing Katya knew was that this was a dangerous phase for both him and Alek.

He wasn’t even sure he could trust Alek to act right under pressure anymore.

"Oh, hey, I’m alive," Katya laughed nervously as he walked into the living room, where the doctors and a few nurses were.

Most of them had left, thankfully, because Katya’s penthouse had started to look like a hospital room, and Katya wasn’t exactly fond of hospitals for a while.

"Feeling better?" Svet asked in earnest.

She knew how hard this was for him, especially with the rumors about Sergei having attacked Alek still twirling. She’d honestly expected that Sergei would clear his name and say that things were not what they seemed.

But the barbarian of Frolo had not said a word. Instead, he had spent hours talking to Katya about the most mundane things. Distracting him like how his own life wasn’t being judged and torn open by the media, too.

"Yeah... how is he?" Katya asked as he looked in the direction of the guest room down the hall.

"He’s an alpha, so his wounds have all healed. He doesn’t want to get out of the guest room, though. The doctors here were waiting for you to release them," Svet said as she looked at the tired medics.

And for a moment, Katya stared at her, confused. If the alpha was doing okay, then surely, they had to have known that they could leave, right?

"Apparently, the barbarian said if they left without you releasing them, they would never sleep safely at night," Andre said, casually munching on what looked like a sponge cake.

"What?" Katya asked, before he recalled Sergei being the one to call the doctors.

Of course, he’d have leverage over them.

"Thank you for coming," Katya said to the doctors, who just smiled tiredly at him.

"We’re happy to be of service, Mr. Romanov," their representative said before they bowed and walked out, leaving Katya and his friends.

"We have to go too, my dear Romanov. But if you need us to strangle Alek in his sleep, I volunteer," Svet added, like they were talking about the weather.

"Yeah, I deserve that," Alek’s voice came through, and Katya stiffened for a moment.

He looked better.

Way better, and Katya was internally thankful for the alpha regeneration abilities and healing powers because otherwise, this man would still be looking like a mummy instead of his insecure boyfriend.

"I’m taking the whole cake with me," Andre said, while Svet dragged him out.

"Take care, Romanov!" Svet shouted somewhere along the way, but Katya wasn’t even paying attention.

He was looking at his boyfriend. The man he loved. The man who had made a stupid decision because of something he didn’t even need to be worried about. Katya cared for Alek.

He wanted their relationship to work.

But he also needed Alek to understand that, regardless of how things were between them, Sergei was always going to be a part of his life.

Maybe Alek didn’t know about the Moskowsky contract from years ago, but he had to understand that he and Sergei were colleagues, right?

Besides, it wasn’t like they could be... more?

Damn.

"Little rose..." Aleksandr breathed in shame as he walked toward Katya.