My Billionaire Ex Beg For A Second Chance-Chapter 190: Close Off

The black SUV rumbled to life beneath the Winston mansion’s sweeping driveway, headlights cutting through the gentle evening fog. From the backseat, Nathan and Maya waved enthusiastically through the window, their small hands pressing against the glass as they grinned toward the other car parked nearby.

"Bye, Julio! Bye, Aunt Paula! Bye Uncle Claudio!" Maya called, her voice slightly muffled by the glass but still full of cheerful energy.

Nathan added his own wave, less enthusiastic but no less sincere. "See you!"

In the other vehicle, Paula leaned slightly out her window with a smile, returning their wave. Claudio raised his hand in a small salute, while Julio, already buckling himself in, gave them a tired smile and a nod.

Katherine, seated in the front passenger seat beside Leonard, twisted slightly in her seat to wave back. Her expression was soft, touched with a faint tiredness that came from too many conversations and the emotional weight of the evening, but she managed a warm smile.

"They looked happy," she murmured as Leonard shifted the car into drive.

"They did," Leonard agreed, guiding the vehicle smoothly onto the main road. The city lights in the distance shimmered faintly, a glow on the horizon. "It was... nice. Having everyone together like that. Peaceful, even."

Katherine rested her cheek on her hand, elbow propped against the window. "It was."

There was a quiet stretch as the tires hummed against the asphalt. Leonard glanced at her, his fingers tapping lightly against the steering wheel.

"Think we should do it again next year?" he asked casually, but with a hint of genuine curiosity.

Katherine turned to look at him, then tilted her head. "Why not?" she said. "It’d be nice for the twins too. And Julio seemed to like having them around."

Leonard let out a small breath of agreement. "Yeah... It’s easy to forget how much it means to them."

Katherine leaned back in her seat, the cool glass of the window against her temple now. She had been thinking about next year. But not just because of Leonard. Claudio and Paula had been warm, kind, and easy to be around.

Somehow, the awkwardness of being Leonard’s ex or... whatever she was now, didn’t seem to matter when she was with them. They treated her like her own person, not someone defined by past drama.

The drive continued in comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional sleepy murmur from the twins in the backseat. By the time they reached the apartment complex, Maya was half-asleep, and Nathan was blinking at the passing streetlights.

Once inside, they parted at the hallway. Leonard gently ruffled Nathan’s hair before heading to his own unit. "Good night, you two. Sleep well."

"Night, Uncle Leo," Nathan replied, leaning into Maya’s side.

Maya waved sleepily at Leonard and then Katherine. "Night..."

Katherine opened the door to their apartment and gently ushered the twins in. "Go brush your teeth, you two," she reminded them gently.

"Okay," they echoed in sleepy unison, shuffling toward the bathroom.

Katherine set her purse down on the coffee table and slowly exhaled, loosening her shoulders as if finally shedding the last weight of the evening. Her heels were slipped off quietly. With slow steps, she walked to the table, where her laptop still sat.

She flipped it open. The screen lit her face in soft blue as she navigated to her inbox. There were emails from work piled up, more than she wanted to deal with at this hour, but something about the mundane routine felt grounding. She needed to reattach herself to something familiar after the emotional ripple of "seeing" Winston,again.

As she began typing, scanning a few flagged messages, she barely registered the soft padding of feet approaching.

Nathan and Maya emerged, now in their pajamas, their hair damp from a quick rinse and their teeth minty-clean.

"Mom?" Nathan’s voice came first, a little hesitant.

She looked up from her laptop. The light caught her eyes, sharpening their thoughtful gaze. "Hmm?" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Can we..." Maya began, then stopped, glancing sideways at her brother. Nathan fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

Katherine closed her email window. "Just give me a minute. I need to revise this document before I forget what it’s about."

They both nodded slowly. Katherine’s fingers moved quickly across the keyboard again. She wasn’t entirely sure why the report needed fixing tonight of all nights, it wasn’t urgent, but her mind needed something to cling to. A task. A small mountain to climb.

By the time she hit send, the apartment had gone quiet. She looked up.

Nathan was on the couch, flipping aimlessly through a story book without really reading it. Maya was on the floor, absently pushing puzzle pieces together from a half-finished box that hadn’t been touched in days.

She closed the laptop softly. "Hey. What did you want to talk about earlier?"

Nathan looked up. His eyes lingered on hers for a beat too long.

Maya gave him a look, as if silently urging him to speak.

But he only shrugged. "Nothing. It’s nothing."

Katherine frowned faintly. "You sure? It seemed like something."

"Just... something silly. I forgot now," Nathan mumbled. He stood up, stretching his arms over his head. "Good night, Mom."

"Good night," she said slowly.

Maya stood as well. She lingered for half a second longer, then offered a small smile. "Night, Mom. Sleep well."

"You too, sweetie."

She watched them retreat down the hall, their silhouettes framed by the soft hallway light until they turned into their bedroom. The quiet click of the door closing was oddly final.

Katherine remained on the couch, her eyes unfocused now. The silence of the apartment wrapped around her like a thin shawl, not uncomfortable, but reflective.

What had they wanted to say? Something about Winston’s mansion? About Julio? About Leonard?

She leaned back slowly against the cushions, the echo of their retreat lingering in her mind.

Her fingers tapped idly against the laptop casing. Her brows pinched together faintly, not in worry, but in curiosity.

She had missed something and just didn’t know what.