Chapter 290: Lay My Soul At The Feet Of Your Altar

[FROLO]

Mr. Romanov looked at Sergei like he was considering kicking the man out of his son’s life. But then he also knew enough about Katya to know that if Katya didn’t like this man, he wouldn’t be talking about the darn breakfasts he had with Mr. Moskowsky.

It was something that frustrated the fuck out of Mr. Romanov, but his son looked happier lately. He couldn’t even deny it, and the possibility that it was because of the Devil of Frolo was unnerving at the same time.

Because maybe Katya didn’t know it, but they were both in love with each other. It was painfully obvious.

But would Mr. Romanov be the one to tell his son that Katya was in love with the barbarian?

And what if he learned that Katya loved Sergei too and had already told the barbarian, would he approve?

Masha stared at the barbaric alpha, and honestly, all she saw was a man who loved her son. A man who was trying to think of what was best for Katya.

Listening to Sergei talk of how Katya hated attention was the pointer to what Masha had been suspecting this whole time. That the two love birds knew each other beyond their job descriptions and beyond what society would ever agree to.

"Sergei... You want to take him with you, don’t you?" Masha asked quietly as she looked at the alpha, who was determined.

She knew her husband was right to not want Sergei around Katya for their age gap and the danger that hovered around Sergei. But at the same time, there was no denying that Sergei was the only safe place for Katya right now.

Especially if they were to think logically and beyond the obvious disappointment on Mr. Romanov’s face.

"A week is all I ask, Mrs. Romanov. Then he’ll come home to you. I’ll take care of him for that week. I’ll protect him with my life for that week. I’ll clear his name in that week. I’ll make sure he has a normal life for that week.

"I won’t even tell him about the doctor’s remarks if you don’t want me to. Svet and Andre will be around him anytime they want to. You can stop by, too, or stay with him there. Just... Please.

"He can’t go through the public wave again. He can’t be forced to deal with all the accusations again," Sergei pretty much pleaded to the Romanovs. He knew what he was asking for was insane, but he had to try.

The Romanov manor wouldn’t be enough to keep Katya safe. He knew it. Sure, the Romanovs had all the security Sergei could offer them, more hands, but they’d still be outnumbered because the Romanovs were not Sergei.

The hospital was worse.

But Sergei’s penthouse?

No one in their right mind would even consider going there. No one who wanted to keep their bloodline alive anyway. It was the most dangerous penthouse in the realm and the one place where Katya’s security was assured.

"And where, pray tell, are you intending to take him?" Mr. Romanov asked.

"My penthouse," Sergei said, and Mr. Romanov scoffed.

"Penthouse?"

"The one at Moskowsky Holdings," Sergei added, and Mr. Romanov got up and began to pace. Surely, he wasn’t hearing this barbarian right, no?

"Your penthouse. The same penthouse in the company whose department was blown to bits? From what I understand, you were right there in that room. You, your ridiculous security, and all of that, you seem so confident about.

"And my son is still hurt. Still having to deal with eternal pain. Now you want him back at the same penthouse over the same company that you couldn’t even protect him in?

"By any chance, are you stupid, Sergei?" Mr. Romanov asked, calling Sergei by his first name for the first time since they had known each other ten years ago.

And Sergei froze.

He really was fucked this time.

But he could deal with all that later. He needed to keep Katya safe first, even if it meant having to deal with the constant disappointment and judgment on Mr. Romanov’s face. Gods, this man scared the living hell out of him. Fuck.

"Yes. My penthouse is safer than any lot in the building. As for the explosion, nothing I say will justify what happened. I don’t intend to either.

"Because if I’d known Solny— if I’d known Chairman Romanov would get hurt, I wouldn’t have waved the flagged items through," Sergei said, knowing damn well that didn’t make this any easier.

He knew how hard it was to be a parent.

He understood it so well, given the fact that the bratva had once bullied Yaroslav at school, and Sergei flattened the whole organization and horrified the whole city once upon a time for it.

He could do it again.

He would do it again, whether the Romanovs approved or not.

But right now, his only focus was on Katya’s healing.

"So, you knew, and you still want m—" Mr. Romanov fumed, and Masha knew the man was about to explode, so she gently held her alpha’s hand and guided him to his seat.

"Listen to the man, Romanov," Masha said quietly to her husband.

"Our Michka is hurting because of him," Mr. Romanov insisted.

"He’s going to fix it. He asked for a week. We both know a week is not enough, but he’s trying here. Listen to him, alright? Think of our Michka.

"If he didn’t want to associate with Sergei, he wouldn’t have stayed for over three years now, no?" Masha reasoned, defending Sergei, who was just seated there, wondering what he was supposed to do to get the Romanov father to understand.

But at the same time, he couldn’t take Katya away without his parents’ approval.

Well, he could, but he didn’t want to.

He respected them far too much for that, and he loved Katya way too much to let himself be stupid, and that too with Katya’s parents. So, his only option was to wait and watch.

Though he had to admit that seeing Romanov and Masha interact here reminded him of how Anya was always one chance away from smacking Sergei’s head against the wall for being stubborn.

"You can’t trust him," Mr. Romanov said, and Sergei’s eyes fell.

"I do trust him, Romanov. I trust that he has Michka’s interests at heart. I know that we need to give him time to deal with the mess and make sure our son is alright. But a week is not enough.

"So, give him grace for trying to fix things, alright? Besides, don’t you trust my judgment?" Masha said, asking the last bit as she stared into her husband’s eyes.

And suddenly Mr. Romanov seemed to be the one who was buffering.

"Wh— you know I always do... Wait, why would you ask me that? For him?" Mr. Romanov asked like a pained man who was trying to reorganize his thoughts.

"Then trust me. If you don’t trust him, trust me, my dear husband," Masha said, and Mr. Romanov grumbled lowly.

"Fine. But another scandal involving him and our son, and he will never see Michka again," Mr. Romanov said, making Sergei gulp thickly.

That right there was the real danger to Sergei.

A life without seeing Katya would be unlivable for him.

"Thank you for trusting me," Sergei said in earnest.

"I trust my wife, not YOU."