Chapter 269: The Devil, The Senator & His Beloved

[FROLO]

"Little rose, I’ll be on the morning segment with Sierra tomorrow," Alek said, calling last night as if to give Katya a heads-up.

The call had gone as it always had. With Alek promising to be a better boyfriend even if he had failed countless times already.

And Katya, ever the understanding boyfriend, never complained. Because he trusted Alek.

Because he wanted their relationship to work.

Because even though his heart belonged elsewhere, he owed it to both of them to make this work.

To try every possible thing to make the relationship work so that if ever it got to the point of an ultimate cruel end, it would not be because they both didn’t try.

And more importantly, it wouldn’t be because Katya didn’t try.

He was trying. Dedicating himself to his boyfriend and, with the fates as his witness, he was on Aleksandr’s side.

Until the morning segment came.

Until he saw Sergei in that segment, too.

Sergei and Alek in the same space.

Two of the men he loved.

Fuck.

Sighing, Katya focused on the morning segment. He could tell that things were not going to end well, with Alek’s jealousy over the past few months, but what the heck was he supposed to do about this?

"...which brings me to what has become, perhaps, the most discussed question in Frolo over the last six months. The relationship between the two of you," Sierra began, and Katya felt the hairs at the back of his head stand.

The relationship between Sergei and Alek.

That was really something else.

"Three years ago, the public saw an unusually strong working relationship. Today, they see something considerably more reserved. Is it because your relationship faded, or is it just a misconception?" she asked.

Alek stared at Sergei like a man who was contemplating what the answer was going to be.

The public had dragged his personal life and Sergei’s, and he knew that this was the one time that he needed to be more than careful.

Anything he said wouldn’t just affect Sergei. It would affect Moskowsky, too, and Moskowsky was Katya Romanov.

That was something that he didn’t want to mess up, too, after he had been the one to tell Katya that he had been invited to the morning segment.

To be fair, Alek didn’t know that he’d be sitting down with Sergei of all people.

If he had known, he would not have agreed to this because, honestly, he didn’t want to be in the same space as the man who had made it painfully obvious to him that he loved Katya.

"It has been a busy past year, Sierra. We just have no reason to be seeing each other as frequently as before," Alek said flatly, like he was trying to survive whatever the fuck Sierra was doing right now.

Because this was madness, and he absolutely did not like it.

"What of you, Mr. Moskowsky?" Sierra asked calmly.

"The senator has a city to run; I have a company to run. Unless you want to start walking with cameras on my face every waking moment, I believe that is a stupid question to ask," Sergei said with an unreadable face.

Alek looked at him as if he couldn’t believe the man was being serious right now. They were on national television, for fuck’s sake.

Yet Sergei didn’t seem bothered.

If anything, he kept looking at his watch as if he had better places to be than to be at an interview with the senator.

Inside Moskowsky, Katya couldn’t help but choke at the response Sergei had given.

Gods, that man was unbelievable.

’Unbelievably hot and secure,’ his subconscious reminded him, and Katya just shook his head as if to pretend that he didn’t hear that shit. His focus was on the interview. But was it even going to be considered at this moment?

"That’s an... interesting answer," Sierra began, keeping her composure even though she was shocked by the answer Sergei had given.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have because this man was trouble wherever he went, but the job demanded this attention, so she had to work her ass off and make it right.

"The city delayed permits, the senator said it was because we haven’t been doing things right lately. Then he stepped down from the board and came to an interview to clear his name.

"Instead of asking me what my relationship with the senator is, would you mind if I asked your precious senator some questions?" Sergei asked, staring into the camera at the last bit.

Sierra looked past the cameras to the producer back there.

She knew this wasn’t what was scheduled, but the man was literally the Devil of Frolo. She didn’t stand a chance, and there was also no telling if their studio would be standing if they denied him that chance.

"Of course, Mr. Moskowsky," Sierra said.

"Thank you," Sergei said to her, then turned to the senator.

"You know why we were both invited here, Senator Aleksandr. This is not a political segment. They want to know if your relationship with Chairman Romanov is going steady;

"...or if I am an obstacle to your relationship, given lately the city has been whispering," Sergei said boldly, looking at Alek and then at Sierra, who looked like she wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.

What the fuck was she even supposed to say to that?

"I don’t think Chairman Romanov belongs in a conversation that was never about him to begin with," Alek said.

Sergei just laughed lowly.

"Come on, Senator. At least be honest with your precious people. The whole of last month, I was dragged through the mud for kidnapping you, yet you came back and said you were on a sabbatical.

"It must have been quite the sabbatical because you seem to have fresh wounds on your arm... Will they accuse me of that, too?" Sergei asked amusedly, and Alek stared at the alpha.

Really stared at the barbarian, like this was not the time to keep this up.

"This is not what I came here for," Alek said, pulling the mic off him and getting ready to leave. He couldn’t stand Sergei and his smug look as if he knew something that Alek was not telling everyone.

"Well, then, at least tell the people I didn’t beat you to a pulp this time, and that the Kumarin Bratva did," Sergei said as he stared at the senator, who had paused in his steps.

Everyone who was in the room turned to each other as if to ask what they had heard.

"What is... what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Moskowsky?" Sierra asked shakily.

"Your pretty little senator here went to seek the Bratva’s help. I don’t know what for, but judging by the way he has been avoiding Moskowsky Holdings, he pulled out his shares suddenly without even a notice;

"...and the way our contracts are suddenly being delayed? I am tempted to think the little senator is dealing in some way with the bratva. Anyway, what do I know, right?" Sergei said casually, like he wasn’t damning a whole senator in front of the media.

"What?" Sierra asked, like she seemed to be looping that as the only answer.

"You should ask your precious senator, Sierra. I have a breakfast date waiting for me, and I don’t intend to keep him waiting because of a pointless interview with a lying senator," Sergei said, looking into Alek’s eyes at the mention of breakfast.

"Have a fantastic morning. Please excuse me," Sergei said, leaving first while the senator seemed rooted to the spot.

The barbarian was halfway on his way out of the studio when his phone rang, and a smile lit up on his face instantly, making those who were watching him after the explosive interview stare in curiosity.

"Solnyshka," Sergei breathed like a prayer, pausing in his steps as if the entire world had suddenly become secondary.

"What the hell were you doing?" Katya boomed on the other side of the call, while Alek in the studio felt his heart shatter for the hundredth time that morning.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" Sergei asked, looking to his side, before his eyes met the senator who was already looking. Then he looked away, not suspiciously but like a man who was busy with a call.

"You can’t just—"

"Well, I didn’t lie, Solnyshka," Sergei said softly before adding:

"I do have a breakfast date, and I don’t want to keep you waiting, moy lyubim," he said in earnest, looking at Alek while at it.

Then he walked out, leaving behind explosive headlines.

The Devil of Frolo had a beloved.