Chapter 456: When Does A Rivalry Become An Obsession?

[FROLO]

Sergei stared at the next bit of the court document, and his heart shattered again. He’d known this part.

He’d seen it one too many times during the times he’d been stalking Katya. But even that didn’t make it any easier. He didn’t know if that was what mercy looked like, but he knew what torture felt like.

And frankly, he was too broken to process this right now.

He needed his Solnyshka.

He needed his beloved.

Maybe that was why, when he saw the part of the court document, Sergei got up and began pacing.

Because things may have happened differently later on, it didn’t change the fact that this hurt.

The affair.

The Yaroslav-Milan affair.

Sergei felt sick to his stomach.

He loved his son. He lived for his son.

He would never hurt Yaroslav without cause.

But this...

This made him wonder if he had failed as a father. Or maybe he had given his son too much freedom. But at the same time, he knew his son was older and knew how to make his own choices.

But this was the one choice that broke Sergei’s heart for both involved.

And after pacing a few times, Sergei willed himself to come sit down. It was the only way to proceed.

The city already knew of the affair.

Everyone knew about it.

There was no reason to sugarcoat it. Because even if Yaroslav had apologized and was still atoning for it... It had happened.

Katya had still gotten hurt.

His Solnyshka...

Gods....

Taking a deep breath, Sergei stared at the court papers again.

"He was honest with you more than he was honest with anyone, doc... the affair, you knew he blamed himself for it. You knew his guilt for not having kids with his husband at the time influenced his decision to endure the marriage in silence.

"And even then, you didn’t tell him that he deserved the truth. You let him live in that pain? What kind of a doctor are you?" Sergei asked, baffled.

Granted, he’d terrorized his therapists through the years, but Katya was a kind patient. He would have understood what the doctor said.

He would have found a way if the doctor had been honest with him. But this woman hadn’t been honest. She had broken Katya’s heart the most and still had no remorse for it.

Maybe Sergei needed to have a different view of life at this rate. But what use was it without his Solnyshka anyway?

"You didn’t even tell him to seek a second opinion because you were scared he would know the truth," Sergei said, and the doctor stared sadly.

In response...

Sergei turned off her oxygen tank.

Watched her struggle to breathe.

Watched her gasp desperately, opening that nearly toothless yet tongueless mouth.

"Do you need me to turn the oxygen supply back on?" Sergei asked, his laughter echoing in the room like he was trying to be philanthropic as hell.

But he was not in the mood.

Not even when the doctor nodded defeatedly and began turning pale.

"That’s not even close to what you did to my Solnyshka... You... You took all his air and left him to suffocate under choices that he didn’t even make.

"You made his choices for him and manipulated him into believing it was all his fault," Sergei mocked, sitting back down like he didn’t mind watching this woman suffocate.

She hurt Katya in worse ways anyway.

Only when he could see her almost shutting down did Sergei then open the valve and let her breathe again.

He watched as she breathed in greedily, and he wasn’t amused.

At all.

"You’re a crier, doc," Sergei mused as he read the records.

"You cried when the judge reminded you that you lied inside the only room your patient believed he was safe... you didn’t even comfort Solnyshka when he mourned children he believed nature had taken from him...

"You’re one painfully hilarious woman, doctor," Sergei sighed as he set the court papers aside.

He had read enough.

Seen enough.

Had his heart broken enough with the cruel replay.

He just wanted his Solnyshka back.

"You should count yourself lucky I didn’t murder your children like you murdered my Solnyshka’s children. The only reason I didn’t do that is that Solnyshka would think I’m a monster.

"And I love him far too much to use his pain to create another version of myself. Anyway, I have done my part now. It’s your turn, doc... time to die," Sergei said with a smile on his face.

He looked at the valve and slowed the oxygen release.

The blade in Doctor Belyaeva’s chest? He pulled it out, just enough so she would drown on air, but also enough to make sure her blood filled her lungs a little slower and in the most agonizing of ways.

The explosive on her hand... he grabbed a string and attached the pin on the explosive to the knife in the doctor’s chest.

If the knife fell, the doctor would blow up.

For Sergei, it was simple physics.

For the doctor, it was the horror of a lifetime.

Especially when he realized that her hand holding the explosive had been intentionally numbed by Sergei so that she wouldn’t feel much. Just enough, like she should have been doing for Katya.

The tasers: Sergei used them on the doctor until their batteries ran out.

Then he sat and waited.

Watched as Belyaeva gasped for air desperately.

Watched as the doctor’s lung filled with blood.

As the doctor learned the hard way never to play games with Katya Romanov.

When he saw the doctor looking like she was closer to death, Sergei refused to give her the mercy of being blown up when she was already dead.

The alpha pulled the pin out himself, much to the horror of the already dying doctor.

Then he stepped out of the room, whose door was meant to contain blasts.

And when Belyaeva screamed...

Sergei knew it was time.

Seconds later...

The doctor was reduced to nothing but blood clots as more explosives were triggered in the room.

The footage? It didn’t stop recording.

Until the last of the explosives was detonated.

Then Sergei walked into the blood-covered room and smiled at the camera.

"This... This is an example of what I will do to you if I find so much as a scratch on my Solnyshka, President Boris. Not even the love of my life or my dear son will save you from me," Sergei said, ignoring the blood spatter in the room.

And the recording ended.

The city of Frolo...

They couldn’t believe what they had just watched.

It was impossible to even wrap their heads around it because of the extreme levels of calculated violence. It looked unfair, but that was more than just about Sergei proving what he was capable of at the end of the day.

And it was scary.

The city was learning.

Because the moment the footage ended, the protests demanding Katya’s release filled the streets of Frolo. Even the women were calling out the first lady for being so silent on the issue since Mrs. Romanov had raised it.

No one wanted to be next.

Or maybe...

Maybe no one wanted to lose their family at the hands of Sergei.

Because Katya, as they had all learned... Was the one thing keeping him stable.

But would they think the same when they knew that Katya was back in Sergei’s arms and bed...

That Katya had been changed by the abduction?

That Katya...

That Katya would pick up arms to protect the Devil of Frolo?

Maybe it was for another day, but today...

The government was cornered.