My Billionaire Ex Beg For A Second Chance-Chapter 204: The Silence That Follows

The morning sunlight filtered weakly through the thin curtains. The light should have been comforting, warming, but to Katherine, it felt like a spotlight on the chaos in her heart. She sat at the edge of the dining chair, her untouched cup of tea cooling beside her. Her phone lay on the table, screen dark, though she had already refreshed the news app a dozen times.

Felix Hartmann announces engagement to heiress Lara Quinn.

The headline blazed behind her eyelids every time she blinked. Her heart clenched as she recalled the photo attached. Felix in his signature dark suit, his arm around Lara’s hand. They stood too close. Lara had her hand on his chest.

Katherine swallowed the lump in her throat. Her hands trembled slightly as she picked up the cup, but the bitter taste of the tea only made it worse. The nausea rose again, curling in her stomach.

"He wouldn’t..." she whispered to herself, but the words held no conviction. Felix wouldn’t... but he did. Or did he?

She wanted to scream. She wanted to demand answers. But most of all, she wanted to understand why this hurt so much. You knew better, she scolded herself. You knew better than to let those news got into you.

Katherine pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to remember what she was supposed to do today. She had work. The twins had school. And yet, all she could think about was that photo. That damn photo.

She had originally planned to look up more about Miranda, to continue her quiet digging, her research. But that plan was now in shambles, buried under this mental breakdown. The betrayal felt fresh and raw, even though no explanation had come yet. Felix hadn’t called. No message. Nothing.

Her phone buzzed, startling her. Her heart jumped as she fumbled for it, hoping, stupidly, foolishly, that it might be him.

Irene.

Katherine sighed and answered. "Hello?"

"KATHERINE!" came the screech on the other end, high-pitched and incredulous. "What the actual hell?!"

Katherine winced and held the phone away from her ear slightly. "Morning to you too, Irene."

"Don’t you ’morning’ me! What is this garbage I’m reading? Felix is engaged?! Since when?! To a mysterious woman?! I know it’s not you because why he need to hide your identity? Are we living in a parallel universe or am I hallucinating from too much iced coffee?!"

Katherine rubbed her temple. "I don’t know, Irene. I really don’t."

"You don’t know? WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?!" Irene’s voice rose to a shrill octave. "Weren’t you two something to each other?! He was practically simmering every time another man breathed in your direction!"

Katherine let out a tired sigh and leaned back in her chair, staring at the kitchen ceiling. "Irene, please. I’m already so tired."

There was a pause on the other line, then a softer, but still passionate voice said, "I’m sorry. I’m just so mad for you. I want to throw my phone at a wall and then set it on fire and then throw him into a volcano."

Katherine let out a weak laugh, her first in hours. "Please don’t commit arson on my behalf."

"I might," Irene grumbled. "If anyone deserves it, it’s Felix. I swear to God, I thought he was obsessed with you! Like, actual worship-the-ground-you-walk-on obsessed!"

Katherine closed her eyes, fingers curling around the fabric of her pajama pants. Her voice dropped. "Me too."

Silence fell between them for a few moments.

"Do you think it’s true?" Irene asked cautiously.

Katherine opened her eyes and looked down at the wood grain on the table, tracing the pattern absentmindedly with her finger. "I don’t know. Maybe it is. Maybe it’s a PR stunt. Maybe he’s out of his mind. Maybe I’m out of mine for ever believing him."

"Do you want me to come over?" Irene asked. "I can bring pastries. And a hammer. For smashing things. Or men."

"No, it’s fine," Katherine murmured. "I have to go to work anyway. Life doesn’t stop just because your heart gets sucker punched."

"I still want to punch him," Irene muttered. "Right in that stupid handsome jaw."

Katherine chuckled again, though it quickly died in her throat. "You and me both."

They talked a few more minutes, mostly Irene grumbling and plotting revenge, until Katherine reluctantly said goodbye and hung up. She took a deep breath and stood up, her knees slightly weak beneath her.

By the time she arrived at the office, her mask was firmly in place. Makeup hid the dark circles under her eyes, and her carefully chosen outfit gave her a polished, composed look. But inside, she was crumbling.

The building buzzed with low murmurs as she walked in. Heads turned. Eyes flicked toward her. Some whispered behind their hands. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why.

She passed a group of junior staff near the elevators.

"...that’s her, right? The one Mr. Crawford used to date?"

"They were never public, though, right?"

"Still... damn. Poor woman."

Katherine kept walking, jaw tight, shoulders straight. She had been through worse. She had survived worse.

Still, when she reached her floor, her heart twisted painfully.

Felix’s office door was shut.

No sign of him.

She already knew he was in Singapore. Already knew he wouldn’t be here. But the empty office hit her harder than she expected.

She walked slowly past it, staring briefly through the glass wall. His desk was neat as always, untouched, impersonal. She paused, fingers brushing over her lanyard.

Where are you, Felix? she thought. And what the hell are you doing?

The silence screamed louder than any headline.

She turned and walked to her own office, the ache in her chest deepening. The door shut softly behind her, muffling the murmurs outside. And for a moment, all she could do was stand there, clutching her bag, staring at nothing.

She let out a long, trembling sigh.

Please... just come home and tell me this is all a lie.