[FROLO]

"Oh, you will be. Starting today, you will not be the CEO of Knox Tech. You will be working here, in this office, as my errand boy until you learn.

"I warned you against recklessness last Friday, but it looks like you are not so good at heeding instructions. But you will learn," Sergei swore, his declaration having Yaroslav stare at him in disbelief.

The beta wanted to say that his father couldn’t do that to him, but he knew Sergei. He knew the man so well, and he knew that his father would not forgive him.

"Father..." Yaroslav tried, maybe because he knew that the psych ward punishment was something so common with the elites of Frolo who had delinquent children. A year in the psych ward was bound to get them functioning.

Theirs was not the psych ward with mental patients or sick people, no.

It was only called a Psych Ward because of the torture and ways of fixing delinquency that were used in there. That was the one place that no wealthy family’s child wanted to land in. Because it didn’t care for age or anything.

Just that the kids sent there came out either too broken to be delinquents or sane enough because of their experience there.

It was not good.

"I’m not done," Sergei said, and Yaroslav lifted his head in confusion.

"That house you’ve been fucking your mistress in. The one without your husband, it was a gift. A matrimonial gift for both of you, remember? And since you already decided on who you want to spend your life with;

"... I expect to see the house on the real estate market before lunch hour," Sergei said, and Yaroslav stared, jaw open like he was not hearing his father right.

But then Sergei clearly wasn’t done.

Because of Yaroslav’s silence, Sergei continued.

"You and your mistress, since you love each other so much, will have to find a new home. The family home is off limits for you until you learn to respect my Vitya. Volkov will be your direct supervisor here.

"If I so much as hear a complaint, I’ll check you in the Psych Ward myself. And don’t even think of running away. I am your father, but I am also Sergei Moskowsky. No one has ever outrun Sergei Moskowsky, child.

"Now clean up, we have a board meeting in ten minutes. Keep your mistress out of my sight," Sergei said before releasing Yaroslav’s jaw harshly, making the beta’s head shift to the side.

Then Sergei got up, straightened his suit, and walked into his office like he did not just beat up his son into obedience on the company floor.

"Get back to work, all of you," Sergei said flatly, and no one argued.

Anya was the first to go back to her office.

Volkov and Rahim sat still in their seats.

And Katya...

He flipped open the next page, his mind blank and yet filled with a thousand and one questions.

But one thing he knew was that Sergei never played about his husband.

There was a reason nobody in Frolo ever spoke carelessly about Vitya Moskowsky.

But it also begged the question of why Sergei had married Katya, even if just on paper.

What was the reason?

However, as the door closed behind the raging alpha, the triggered past didn’t stay outside. Instead, it haunted Sergei, like the first time he had experienced it.

And in the silence of his cold office, staring at the computer on his desk, Sergei found himself trapped again.

In that horrible nightmare that he had lived through. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

*******

[Flashback, Decades Ago]

Vitya had always wanted a child with Sergei.

And they almost had one, really.

They had kept it a secret from Yaroslav because the boy was still young and the conditions weren’t exactly certain.

The thought of seeing Yaroslav excited for a sibling had made his parents want to be certain.

But what was certainty when Sergei and Vitya both knew the truth?

Vitya’s body was weak. Had always been weak even before Yaroslav. The omega had had a difficult pregnancy with Yaroslav, but he still wanted to give Sergei a child.

A reminder of their unconditional love.

"I love you, Moya dusha. Not for what you can or cannot give me. You. I love you," Sergei had said, begging his husband to not feel any pressure. He reassured the omega daily, and he didn’t mind because Vitya was worth it all.

Sergei had told him they would be happy, even with just Yaroslav but Vitya, his sweet Vitya was determined. He wanted to give his alpha something more than love.

"I can try, lyubimy. I don’t want Yaro to grow up alone, please," Vitya had insisted, desperately.

And Sergei, not being one to say no to the love of his life, agreed begrudgingly.

Because Vitya was his world.

Vitya was his everything.

And if Vitya wanted a child, then Sergei would give him one. For their family. For their home. For whatever Vitya wanted. Sergei never said no.

Even with the risks.

Even when Sergei was genuinely scared of losing him.

He couldn’t say no.

He never said no to Vitya.

And it almost worked.

The first week of the pregnancy was fine. Sergei was there. He worked from home. Spent every waking minute with Vitya. He wanted to be useful, to be there for Vitya.

And he did everything right.

For two months, they were doing fine.

But reality was a bitch, always had been.

Vitya started bleeding. Profusely. It didn’t start with spotting, no. It was the scariest thing Sergei had ever had to see. And the fact that he was helpless against it broke him.

Because no amount of money could fix Vitya. No amount of medical care could fix his beloved. They had all the wealth. All the power, but the only thing those could give him, we’re doctors who kept saying the same thing.

"The pregnancy is a threat to his life," they’d say.

"Talk to your husband... The fetus is not in good health anymore. He doesn’t want us to remove it, but if we don’t, he will die. The child will too," the doctors pleaded with Sergei.

"I can do this," Vitya insisted.

And Yaro noticed his father growing sick.

But Sergei was always there to remind him that it wasn’t that bad, that his father was just sick for a while and would get better.

It was all he hoped for, even despite the doctors’ recommendations.

Determined to preserve the innocence of their child, Sergei sent Yaroslav to business school with Anya. He trusted Anya to take care of his son, and he knew if anything happened, Anya would always know how to communicate.

"What do I tell him, Sergei?" Anya asked on the day they were to leave.

It had been so sudden, so suspicious, and if Yaroslav noticed, he didn’t ask questions. Because he just agreed to go with Anya, trusting that all would be fine, unaware that both their lives would change, forever.

"One-year bootcamp. My son has always loved those. Don’t let him know what caused my Vitya pain. I will bear the burden of whatever happens here henceforth. My son must grow up happy, Anya," Sergei had said and Anya stared at him sadly.

"You talk like you’re going to die, Sergei."