My Billionaire Ex Beg For A Second Chance-Chapter 94: Plans in Motion

Morning light poured across Felix’s desk, catching on the scattered reports and sleek black notebook he’d barely touched.

But Felix wasn’t focused on numbers or contracts this morning.

He leaned back in his leather chair, arms crossed, eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the ceiling like it held the answers to the knot twisting in his chest.

His parents’ words from the night before still echoed in his head.

A betrothal.

The word alone made his skin crawl.

He could still hear his father’s careful voice, trying to pass it off as a suggestion.

He scoffed softly to himself, shaking his head. Legacy, sure. But what about love? What about choice?

The idea of being forced into something like that, tied to someone he didn’t even know, made his stomach tighten. Especially now. Especially when his heart had already made its decision.

No—there was no way he’d let them interfere.

Not when he already had a plan.

With a breath of quiet resolve, he straightened in his chair and reached for his phone. His fingers moved quickly over the screen, tapping a familiar contact. He pressed the device to his ear and leaned back, waiting.

The line clicked, and a bright, familiar voice greeted him.

"Well, well, if it isn’t the one and only Felix Crawford," came Irene’s teasing tone, full of mirth and mischief.

Felix let out a short laugh, unable to stop the grin tugging at his lips. "Guilty as charged," he said smoothly. "Hope I’m not bothering you?"

"Oh, not at all," Irene replied. He could hear the faint clink of makeup brushes in the background, maybe the sound of a blow dryer turning off. "I’m just in the studio, packing up. So tell me—what business brings Mr. CEO to my humble phone line this fine morning? Don’t tell me it’s finally time for me to be Katherine’s makeup artist. For the wedding, I mean."

Felix blinked, caught off-guard, then laughed again— softer this time. He felt his face grow warm and was immensely glad Irene couldn’t see the light flush creeping up his neck. "You never change, do you?"

"Of course not. Now spill."

He cleared his throat, shifting in his chair as he tried to steady his voice. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you’re free this weekend."

There was a short pause. "Hmm... I have a client Saturday morning, but after lunch I’m all yours. Why?"

"I was wondering if you could look after the twins for a few hours," he said, casually spinning his chair slightly with the toe of his shoe. "I want to take Katherine out."

Irene’s loud squeal nearly burst his eardrum.

"YES. Absolutely. Say no more. I’ll be there," she said quickly. "Take her out, spoil her, kiss her senseless— wait, no, don’t tell me, I don’t need to know—just know the twins are in good hands. I’ll bring snacks, crayons, movies, everything."

Felix chuckled, warmth bubbling in his chest as he turned his chair slowly to face the window. The city stretched before him—towering buildings, glinting glass, busy streets—but in that moment, he saw none of it. His mind was filled with Katherine’s face. Her laugh. The way her eyes softened when she looked at the twins. The way her guard lowered when she wasn’t overthinking.

"I owe you," he murmured.

"You owe me a front row seat at the wedding. And maybe a speech," Irene quipped.

"I’ll think about it," he teased.

They chatted a moment more, Irene promising to bring her famous banana muffins, and Felix assuring her that yes, they had enough apple juice for the twins. Eventually, she said she had to run, and he thanked her again before hanging up.

Felix lowered the phone onto the desk, still smiling faintly to himself. For the first time in a while, he felt like something was finally moving forward—and on his terms.

He was still staring out the window when he heard it— the soft clearing of a throat behind him.

He turned instinctively in his chair—and froze.

"Katherine?!"

She stood just inside the office doorway, looking a little uncertain, one hand clutching a file to her chest. Her hair was tucked behind one ear, and her expression was a mixture of surprise and mild embarrassment.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I didn’t mean to startle you." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Felix blinked and ran a hand through his hair, trying to recover his composure. "No, no. You didn’t. I just—" He paused. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," she said, glancing at the desk as if she were trying to avoid eye contact. "I just came in while you were finishing your call. Was that... Irene?"

His mouth went dry. "Uh... no," he said a little too quickly. "You must’ve misheard. That was Ilene. My cousin. She lives in Japan."

Katherine lifted an eyebrow. "You have a cousin in Japan?"

Felix nodded with what he hoped looked like casual ease. "Yeah. On my mother’s side. We don’t talk often, but she called about... something."

Smooth, Crawford, he thought grimly. Real smooth.

Thankfully, Katherine didn’t press. She looked down at the file in her hands and stepped closer.

"Well, I came to drop this off," she said, holding it out. "They wanted your feedback before finalizing the campaign."

Felix took the folder, nodding, grateful for the shift in topic. "Right. Thanks."

As she turned to go, she hesitated for a moment, her fingers brushing the edge of the desk. "Also... there’s a meeting with the vendors at two. And a call with the Italian partners at four, but I rescheduled that to tomorrow since you mentioned earlier you’d be unavailable."

"Perfect," Felix replied, flipping the folder open though he wasn’t reading a word. "Thanks, Katherine."

She nodded and smiled politely, but something in her expression lingered—curiosity, perhaps, or suspicion. She gave a quick wave before turning toward the door.

Felix watched her leave, and when the door clicked shut behind her, he exhaled deeply and let the folder flop closed.

She can’t know yet.

He turned back toward the window, his gaze focused, jaw set.

Whatever it took—he’d make sure everything was perfect.