"Thanks again for today, Jazz," Katherine said softly as she stood at the door with a polite smile, one hand on the knob, the other lightly resting against the fra.
Jazz, holding her bag over one shoulder, smiled brightly. "Of course! The twins are always fun. I missed them, honestly."
Katherine nodded once, tight. "Have a good night."
"You too, Miss K!" Jazz gave her a finger salute, then turned and skipped down the hallway, humming sothing faint.
Katherine watched her until she disappeared into the elevator. Then she closed the door gently with a quiet click.
And just like that, her smile vanished.
Her expression lted into sothing tired—tired and distant. She exhaled, slow and steady, eyes lingering on the wood grain of the door for a beat too long before she turned away.
She walked toward the kitchen without a word, her feet dragging lightly against the floor. The apartnt was quieter than usual. She couldn’t hear the twins laughing in the other room, nor Leonard’s voice. Just the soft sound of her own footsteps and the faint hum of the fridge.
She didn’t need to look at her phone again.
She already had.
More than once.
But she looked anyway. It was on the counter where she left it, screen still dim, notification bubble unchanged. The last ssage from Felix glared back at her, short and simple:
Hey, I’m sorry. Sothing ca up. I won’t be able to co tonight. Just rembered I had to et soone. Hope the twins are okay.
She knew he didn’t an it coldly.
She told herself that.
And yet...
She still found herself staring at the ssage longer than she should.
She wasn’t the kind of woman who got upset over little things—at least not anymore. Not over small disappointnts. Not over people coming or going.
But lately... she didn’t know.
Sothing about Felix’s sudden ssage stirred a dull ache in her chest. Sothing unsaid, sothing unexplainable.
Sothing unwelcod.
She turned away from the phone, reaching for the chopping board. She took out the vegetables from the fridge and started prepping them, forcing her hands to move, to do sothing, anything, to shake off the fog.
He didn’t even tell earlier, she thought, slicing into a carrot with practiced precision. Usually he lets know in the morning... or at least sends a heads-up.
The rhythm of her knife echoed through the kitchen.
Who was he eting, anyway?
She paused for a second. Her hand hovered, carrot half-cut.
Then she shook her head and kept slicing.
It wasn’t like her to feel insecure. But she also wasn’t blind. Not after everything she’d been through. Not after noticing the way Felix had been... off. Nervous. Avoidant.
The woman who showed up earlier at the office didn’t help either. That unfamiliar smile. The way she asked for Felix with confidence, like she belonged.
Katherine stirred the pan with more force than needed, the oil hissing louder as the heat flared up.
She was still frowning when Leonard appeared behind her.
"You okay?" he asked gently.
Katherine turned her head, surprised. She hadn’t heard him approach.
Leonard stood there with both twins peeking around his legs. Maya’s arms were loosely around his thigh while Nathan hugged a stuffed bear.
Katherine blinked, then quickly replaced her expression with a small smile. "Yeah. Just had a long day at work, that’s all."
Leonard’s brows pinched slightly. "You sure?"
"Positive." She turned back to the pan. "Let just finish dinner, okay?"
Leonard didn’t push. "Alright. We’ll be in the living room."
The twins nodded and followed him away, Nathan humming a quiet tune while Maya skipped beside him. Katherine watched them go, then looked down at the simring vegetables, her heart feeling heavier than it should.
Dinner ca together quickly after that. Katherine brought everything to the table—chicken teriyaki, stead rice, sautéed vegetables. A hoy, warm spread.
The twins rushed to the table like they always did, chattering excitedly. Leonard helped them into their seats, and Katherine brought over plates and utensils.
They said a quick prayer and began.
It was almost normal.
Until Maya spoke.
"Uncle Felix didn’t co again," she said with a pout, poking her rice with her spoon.
Katherine’s hand froze midway to her mouth.
She lowered her chopsticks slowly and forced her expression to remain even. "No," she said quietly.
Nathan looked up. "Why?"
Katherine hesitated. "He had a eting."
There was a pause.
Maya tilted her head. "Who?"
Katherine’s smile faltered, just slightly.
I wish I knew...
"I’m not sure, sweetheart," she said instead, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "He didn’t say."
Nathan frowned. "Oh."
Both twins looked a little down now, their earlier joy dimming like candles in the wind.
Leonard cleared his throat and leaned forward with a smile. "You two really miss Felix, huh?"
They nodded in unison.
Leonard chuckled softly. "Well, that’s okay. He’s a busy man, right? He’s got a lot of responsibilities. Grown-up stuff. So, you have to be a little patient with him. Can you do that?"
Maya and Nathan looked at each other, then nodded slowly, small smiles returning to their faces.
"Okay," Maya said. "We can do that."
"Good," Leonard said, reaching across the table to pat her head gently.
Katherine watched them, her fingers tightening around her chopsticks.
Leonard... always knew what to say. How to soften the blow. How to bring warmth when soone else’s absence left a chill.
She looked at him longer than she intended to.
There were monts—quiet ones—where she forgot why things were ever complicated between them. Why she ever stopped hoping he’d love her back.
But now wasn’t the ti for that.
Her phone vibrated on the edge of the table. She picked it up quickly.
It was Felix.
I’ll make it up to you all. Promise.
She read the ssage twice.
Her lips pressed together.
She didn’t reply right away. She simply stared at the screen.
And for the rest of the dinner, she only half-listened to the twins’ chatter, half-smiled at Leonard’s small jokes, and half-finished her plate.
Because no matter how much she told herself it didn’t matter—
It still did.
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