My Billionaire Ex Beg For A Second Chance-Chapter 149: The Man She Spends Her Evenings With

The apartment had grown quiet now. The dishes were done, the twins were asleep, and Katherine had retreated to her room. Leonard remained in the living room, leaning on the back of the couch, arms crossed, gazing at the closed door of Katherine’s bedroom.

He had felt it earlier—her tension, the way she barely touched her food, how her eyes kept drifting toward her phone.

It didn’t take a genius to know who she was thinking about.

But he couldn’t blame her.

He hated how much it bothered him—how even now, his jaw clenched when he imagined Felix calling her, talking to her, being the person on her mind even when Leonard was right here, present.

He sat on the arm of the couch, hands clasped together, leaning forward slightly. The lights were dimmed. The ticking clock on the wall seemed louder than usual.

He had whispered those words to her in the kitchen—half a truth wrapped in flirtation, half an admission of something deeper.

She hadn’t pushed him away.

But she hadn’t embraced him either.

Leonard sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You’re losing your edge," he muttered to himself.

But even as he said it, he wasn’t sure if it was about himself or about the war he felt growing inside him—between respecting Katherine’s space and fighting harder to take it.

**

The corridors of the hospital had grown quieter as the sky turned indigo outside the windows. Felix sat on the stiff visitor’s chair beside his grandfather’s bed, watching the soft rhythm of the old man’s breathing. The earlier commotion—the doctors, the worry in his mother’s voice, the tightness in his chest when he first arrived—had finally settled. Rowan Crawford, despite the initial scare, was stable. Mild dehydration, some blood pressure fluctuation. Nothing life-threatening. A reminder of age, but nothing dire.

He glanced toward the window where the city lights shimmered faintly through the pane, then down at the time on his watch. Nearly 9:00 p.m.

He let out a sigh and stood up, pressing a light hand on his grandfather’s blanket. "I’ll come back tomorrow, okay, Gramps?" he whispered.

Rowan gave a groggy nod, his eyes barely opening. "You better," he mumbled, and Felix smiled.

His parents were still chatting with the nurse outside the room. After a quick goodbye, Felix made his way to the parking lot. The night air was cool, brushing against his skin as he unlocked his car. He sat inside for a long minute, leaning back against the headrest, his hands resting on the wheel.

He thought of Katherine.

He had wanted to stop by—to see her, to see the twins, maybe bring them something sweet from the bakery near the hospital. But it was late now. The kids were probably already in their pajamas, Katherine likely halfway through cleaning up.

Instead, once he got home, Felix toed off his shoes, dropped his keys on the kitchen counter, and sank into the couch. He stared at his phone for a few seconds before finally pressing Katherine’s name on the screen.

She picked up after two rings. "Felix," she greeted softly, a gentle familiarity in her tone.

"Hey." He exhaled into the receiver. "Just got back."

"How’s your grandpa?"

"He’s okay," Felix replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank God. They said it was dehydration and exhaustion. Nothing critical. We all thought it was something worse at first."

"That must’ve been scary," Katherine murmured.

"It was," he admitted. "But it’s over now."

A beat of silence passed between them—comfortable, but with something unsaid hovering beneath it.

"How was your day?" he asked, forcing a bit of lightness into his voice.

"Good. Quiet," she answered. "The office ran smoothly."

"Glad to hear it." He hesitated. "What about tonight? What did you do?"

There was a slight pause before she responded, "Dinner with the twins... Leonard brought food."

Felix’s grip on his phone tightened subtly. His jaw tensed, but he made sure his voice came out steady. "Oh. That’s... nice of him."

"Yeah," she replied simply.

He leaned back, trying to convince himself it meant nothing. Leonard had always been involved with the twins, he reminded himself. He was their father, after all. Of course he’d come around.

But that didn’t stop the strange weight from settling in his chest.

"So, um..." Katherine’s voice returned, a little hesitant. "Will you be in the office tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I’ll come in. Grandpa’s stable now, and you’ve already rescheduled today’s meetings for later this week, right?"

"Right," she said. There was a pause again. "Felix..."

He leaned forward, sensing something in her tone. "Yeah?"

There was a long stretch of silence.

"Katherine?" he said cautiously, just to make sure the line hadn’t dropped.

Felix glanced at his screen. The call was still active. He frowned slightly and brought the phone closer to his ear.

Still nothing.

He pulled the phone back and checked again. The timer on the call ticked on, steady as ever. Still connected.

"Katherine, are you still there?"

A beat.

Then, finally, her voice returned—soft, hesitant. "Um... that... I..."

He waited. The silence that followed stretched longer this time, like she was struggling with something too delicate to form into words.

Felix’s grip on the phone tightened slightly. He could hear the faintest rustle on the other end—her shifting, maybe pacing. He imagined her with one hand tucked under her chin, brow furrowed, biting her lip like she always did when she was overthinking something. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"That what?" he asked, gently now. "It’s okay. You can say it."

Another pause.

"I was just..." Katherine’s voice trailed off again. She sounded almost frustrated with herself. "No, never mind. It’s late. You should rest."

Felix blinked, the heaviness in her tone not lost on him.

"Katherine..."

"Good night, Felix."

And just like that, the line went dead.

Felix slowly lowered his phone, still staring at the screen, her name glowing softly before disappearing.

He frowned, brows furrowing as he whispered to himself, "What was that about?"