My Billionaire Ex Beg For A Second Chance-Chapter 194: A Question Left Hanging

Katherine walked with a purposeful stride, back straight and head high, but the tight smile tugging at her lips betrayed the unease swirling beneath the surface.

"Good morning, Miss Anderson!" the security guard at the front desk greeted cheerfully.

Katherine nodded, forcing a polite smile. "Morning, Jerry."

Her usual warmth felt missing, replaced by something hollow. As she stepped into the elevator, she offered brief greetings to other employees she passed, a curt nod here, a slight smile there, all robotic gestures masking the thoughts that had haunted her since this morning.

The doors slid open with a chime, revealing the executive floor. It was quiet this early, as usual, with only the faint hum of the central air system and distant clatter of a printer somewhere down the hall. The office felt colder today. Maybe it was the absence of the man whose presence usually seemed to radiate from every corner of this floor.

Felix wasn’t here.

He was in Singapore. A three-day business trip, scheduled and organized by none other than her. She had arranged the itinerary, booked the hotel, even double-checked the presentation files he would use. And yet, despite being so involved in every detail of his professional life, she hadn’t known something as monumental as this.

Engaged, Lara had said.

Katherine inhaled slowly, fingers tightening slightly on the strap of her bag. She stepped into the office and placed her belongings on her desk, her eyes instinctively drifting toward the heavy wooden door that led into Felix’s office.

Closed. Silent.

Almost like it had been holding its breath since he left.

She sat down, her back stiff against the chair as she booted up her computer. The familiar glow of the monitor lit her face, but her fingers hovered above the keyboard.

Her mind replayed the scene again and again: the café, the coffee, Lara’s flawless smile, and that one perfectly delivered sentence: "Felix and I are engaged. It’s official. Just not public yet."

Katherine swallowed hard, fingers finally lowering to the keys. Her routine was usually efficient, seamless. She handled his schedule, correspondence, calls, meetings. Her desk had always been a reflection of her mindset: organized, clear, and composed. Today, however, her thoughts were tangled, slipping through her focus like sand.

She responded to emails slowly, reread messages twice, sometimes three times, before hitting send. She misfiled a report and had to correct it. Each mistake was small, forgivable, but they felt enormous to her.

Why hadn’t Felix said anything?

They weren’t lovers. Not yet. But there had been... moments.

Like the time he’d lingered by her side when everyone else had left the room. The way his fingers brushed hers when handing her documents. His voice, soft and low when saying her name. The look in his eyes when he asked if she would come with him to that party, not as his secretary.

Had it all been nothing? Had she simply misread everything?

She bit her lower lip, resisting the urge to sigh aloud. Maybe Lara had lied. Maybe it was a manipulation. She didn’t look like someone begging for scraps, though. She looked like someone who had already claimed her place. Her confidence had felt too pointed to be fake.

But then again, Katherine knew how easy it was to wear masks.

Her hand drifted to her phone. She tapped the screen on. Then off.

Then on again.

Finally, when the clock ticked past noon and most of the office floor grew quieter as people filtered out for lunch, she stood. She needed air. She needed to think.

Instead of heading to the lounge or joining the others in the cafeteria, she made her way to the secluded corridor near the emergency stairs. It was quiet there, private.

She took a deep breath and pulled out her phone again. Her thumb hovered over Felix’s name.

Call or don’t call?

She pressed it.

Two rings.

Three.

Then his voice.

"Katherine?"

His voice was low, rough around the edges, laced with a drowsy surprise.

"Hi," she said quickly, her tone softer than usual. "Sorry—are you busy?"

There was a pause, then a shift, as if he were sitting up in bed. "No, no. I was just..." he let out a quiet breath, "sleeping, actually."

Katherine froze. Her eyes darted to the digital clock glowing on the wall: 12:14 a.m. Her time.

Her stomach dropped.

"Oh... God, Felix. I completely forgot about the time difference," she said, her voice tumbling out. "I usually pay attention to that kind of thing, I just-"

"It’s okay," he cut in, and she could hear the smile behind his voice, sleep-rough but gentle. "I don’t mind."

"But it’s past eleven here, so that means it’s... what, close to midnight there?" she murmured, already doing the math in her head. "I shouldn’t have called."

"You did," he replied simply, as if that was all that mattered. "So, what’s up?"

Katherine stood still in the hallway outside the office, her hand clutching her phone tighter as guilt prickled at her neck. "I didn’t mean to wake you."

"You did," he said again, this time teasing, then added, "but it’s not a big deal. I sleep like a log, but I keep my phone on in case of emergencies."

She winced. "This isn’t an emergency."

Katherine hesitated. She twisted the hem of her blouse lightly between her fingers, staring at the tiled floor.

"I just wanted to check in," she said eventually. "Make sure everything’s going smoothly. And... I wanted to ask if we could talk. When you’re back." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

There was a pause. She imagined him tilting his head slightly, brows furrowing just a little.

"Talk about what?"

She smiled faintly, though no one could see. "It’s not urgent. Just something I think would be better said face to face."

Another pause.

"Alright," Felix said quietly. "I’ll be back soon."

Something in the way he said that stirred an ache in her chest. She wondered if his voice would change when he knew what she wanted to ask.

"Okay," she murmured. "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks, Katherine."

She ended the call slowly, lowering the phone and pressing it against her chest. Her fingers clenched it tightly for a moment before she slid it back into her skirt pocket.

Two more days.

Just two more days, and she would have her answer.