Chapter 425: Of Wildflowers, Bluebirds And Rivers

[FROLO]

"There are better options," Sergei said, going straight to the point. Whatever he was looking at right now was easily the most insane thing he’d ever seen Mr. Romanov do. Let alone consider agreeing to it.

In Sergei’s world, it was normal, nothing to fret about.

But not Mr. Romanov.

It was dangerous.

The legitimacy of the Romanov empire rested on all of this, yet the man was leaning into it so casually like that?

Even back when Romanov Steel was deep into debt and bankrupt, Sergei knew the alpha would never have considered an agreement like this.

That was why Sergei had made the terms reasonable enough to match Mr. Romanov, even if it was Katya who had been the signatory. That mattered at the time.

And fast forward nearly five years later, the same shit was happening. Only that this time Mr. Romanov was holding the other side of the pen.

Was this really what he needed?

The quiet on the other end of the phone lingered a little longer than Sergei could translate, but Sergei had closed enough of such deals to know that there was never going to be an easy way out.

If they chose this, the peace the Romanov household knew would be gone.

"You know WHO I am, Mr. Moskowsky," Mr. Romanov said, the title something that Sergei wasn’t particularly bothered by or freaked out by this time.

This was madness.

But of course Sergei knew who the man was.

Who he really was.

"There are other ways. You must already know that," Sergei pointed out.

"Yes. But this is what I choose," Mr. Romanov said, and Sergei sighed.

Still, he couldn’t believe it.

It was too dangerous. Not just for the reputation Mr. Romanov had built as the other side of the dangerous coin that was Sergei Moskowsky, but because the stakes were insane this time.

They were the kind of shit that no one in their right mind would willingly walk into.

"They will think you crossed over," Sergei bargained, and Mr. Romanov let out a humorless laugh.

"If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you want Romanov to stay as legitimate while you do the dirty work," Mr. Romanov added.

And Sergei...

"Yes," Sergei didn’t hesitate.

"He is a Romanov omega, Sergei. Eventually he will grow to learn why I had him trained like your assassins, Mr. Moskowsky," Mr. Romanov pointed out casually, and Sergei pinched the bridge of his nose.

Katya Romanov wasn’t stupid.

He had to have known what his family was involved in, and the fact that the kind of training that got people looking sideways at the mention of the Romanov omega wasn’t just because they had the largest steel empire in the realm.

Still, Sergei dared to hope.

Because... Katya.

He wanted Katya happy.

He wanted Katya unbothered.

He wanted Katya protected.

But Sergei also knew that sooner or later Mr. Romanov would retire and let the family business go to his son, just like Sergei had built Knox Tech to protect his only child.

They were both parents.

Both protectors.

But the cost... Gods... Gods.

The cost was unimaginable.

"He marked me," Sergei said, voice careful because he knew there were very high chances the man he was addressing wasn’t exactly going to be thrilled at the idea of Katya having marked him.

"I know. You’ve been singing about it the whole night and morning," Mr. Romanov stated flatly, before adding:

"Then you know the line has been crossed, Sergei. You can’t always hide him from what he will face. He will hate you, and it will change you forever."

"Yevgeniy, huh..." Sergei said, pointing out the reference Mr. Romanov had made to Zhenya.

"He took it all on himself for years and protected me, but it still found a way to me," Mr. Romanov added quietly.

"Because of me," Sergei sighed.

"You can’t outrun fate, Sergei. It will always catch up, no matter how hard you change it. Things like that spill onto the next generations easily. You know it.

"You have proof with your son, as I have with mine," Mr. Romanov said like it was simply what life had become for them. Maybe in another lifetime things would have been better for their families.

But destiny would always arrive all the same.

"If we agree to this..."

"We are doing it. I could find someone else, but I’m stuck with you because, for some reason, my son loves you and wants you protected," Mr. Romanov said before adding:

"I still don’t like you for my son, but what can I do as his father when you make him happy?"

Sergei held back a chuckle at the indirect approval.

He’d made peace with the fact that they could probably be older than time and smoking cigars on the lawn with Mr. Romanov and watching Katya happily, and this man would still insist on disliking Sergei.

It was more like a comfort statement for Sergei.

A show of the trust that Mr. Romanov had in him.

"You’ll have to let me try to keep the peace," Sergei said, and for the first time since the call began, Mr. Romanov laughed on the other end.

"Coming from the man who activated the Shopkeeper and the Myrtles, I never thought you’d be that hilarious, Sergei," Mr. Romanov added.

"But there is no point in considering peace. They won’t stop. You know it too. You know Joram’s little boyfriend won’t forget what happened all those years ago...

"... Unless you tell him and your son the real reason why you massacred the Smirnova family and eliminated the entirety of the Rico Bratva, including their families, friends, and associates," Mr. Romanov said, tapping into the past that was no secret in the underworld.

They had all been there during that time, and they knew why Sergei had done what he had done. Yet none of them had ever tried to change the city’s perspective of that Bratva annihilation.

They had let things be because even they knew that Sergei Moskowsky was not to be played with.

"So you’ll send Yevgeniy," Sergei said like he had figured it out.

"No. My brother is happy where he is," Mr. Romanov lied, and Sergei... if he noticed the lie, he didn’t say a word. There had to be reasons for everything the Romanovs did.

"I’ll approve your deal with my son then," Sergei gave in.

"I would never hurt your son to get to you, Sergei," Mr. Romanov said after a long quiet.

"I don’t have a battle with you, Mr. Romanov," Sergei said calmly.

"What Yaroslav and Michka did... What Yaroslav did to Michka..." the older man trailed off.

"If Solnyshka ever chooses to go after my son, I wouldn’t stop him. But only because the kids owe each other that much at least...

"... But if you go after Yaroslav, you know what I’ll do to you, right?" Sergei said, like he wasn’t fighting a war for Katya Romanov. Like he wasn’t fighting the government and everyone because Katya had been hurt.

What an abnormal father whose dedication to his and Vitya’s son still remained unmatched all these years later.

"I didn’t sign because of his history with Michka, Sergei," Mr. Romanov stated as the conversation got more comfortable.

"Then—"

"You. I signed because of you. The man who won’t shut up about a simple mark on his neck. The one who puts my child first before himself. That is the reason I signed.

"Tell your son to call me once this kicks off," Mr. Romanov said, hanging up before Sergei could even process the fact that he was trusted by Mr. Romanov with Katya’s heart.