Chapter 63

Chapter 63
KAT’S POV
I limp through the glass doors of the office lobby like nothing is wrong, even though my ankle hurts with every step. It’s wrapped tightly in a cast and still throbbing from the accident.
I move slowly but confidently, pretending the pain isn’t real. The moment I enter, heads turn. I feel the whispers before I hear them. Some people try to look sympathetic. Others stare openly, judgment dripping from their eyes. Melissa’s viral live ruined my reputation in ways I still don’t have the energy to face. I straighten my shoulders anyway.
This company is mine. My father built it. I survive everything. So I keep walking.
The elevator dings, and before I can even decide whether to pretend I’m fine or collapse from the ache in my leg, Alex shoots out of the hallway like a missile.
“Kat!” she yells, practically sliding over the floor to reach me. Her eyes are huge the moment she sees the bandage under my dress pants. “Oh my God. What happened? Why are you limping? Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you text me? Did you fall? Were you pushed? Did Paula run you over?”
I laugh because she’s frantic and ridiculous, but I also wince because laughing hurts my ribs. “Relax,” I say, letting her wrap an arm around my waist as she guides me toward my office. “I got into an accident.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, she gasps like I just confessed to murder. “An accident? As in - accident accident? Like… the scary type? The hospital type? Kat, what the hell!”
“I’m fine,” I say. “Mostly.”
“Mostly?” she snaps, closing my office door behind us and dragging me toward the couch. “No. Sit. Right now. I need details. Did you hit your head? Did you faint? Did you see Jesus?”
“I didn’t see Jesus,” I mumble, sinking into the cushions as she kneels in front of me and starts checking me like she’s my doctor and mother combined. “Just hydroplaned a little.”
“A LITTLE? KAT!” She clutches her chest. “You could’ve died.”
“I’m fine,” I whisper again, though her panic touches something warm inside me. It’s been a while since anyone cared enough to freak out. Well, except Percy.
As she finally stops fussing, she sits on the coffee table, staring at me with narrowed eyes. Her gaze slowly drifts down my face, and her expression changes from worry… to suspicion.
“Why,” she says slowly, “are you glowing?”
I freeze. My stomach flips. “I’m not glowing.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Kat. Your face is literally smiling without your permission.”
I press my lips together. The blush creeps in before I can stop it. Images rush back: Percy leaning over my hospital bed, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead, murmuring in that deep voice that I scared him. His hands steady on my waist. The way he sat beside me, refusing to leave. The way he looked at me like the world outside didn’t exist.
Alex’s jaw drops. “OH. MY. GOD.”
“Alex—”
“It’s the man from the ball.” She grips both sides of her face dramatically. “The gorgeous one with the jawline you could cut diamonds on.”
I exhale, flustered. “No – well – maybe - not exactly—”
“Oh, shut up.” She waves her arms. “Tell me everything. Now.”
She drags me fully onto the couch, sits beside me, and proceeds to interrogate me like a detective on caffeine.
“What’s his name?”
“Percy,” I mutter.
“Age? Job? Sign? Does he have soft hands? Big hands? How does he kiss?”
“Alex-” I choke, nearly dying of embarrassment.
“Does he kiss like he means it or kiss like a man playing games? And what about his shoulders? His voice? Does he smell good? Don’t lie to me. well, he looks like he smells amazings”
I bury my face in my hands. “Oh my god.”
She squeals, slapping my arm repeatedly. “KAT! YOU LIKE HIM.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You don’t have to,” she sings. “Your face already did.”
I groan. “Alex, it’s complicated.”
She pauses, narrowing her eyes again. “How complicated?”
“Percy is… my ex-husband’s uncle. I told you before. Remember?”
For a moment, she is perfectly still.
Then she leaps into the air. “WHAT?!”
I flinch. “Please don’t scream - my ribs.”
“You’re dating your ex-husband’s uncle?” She slaps both hands over her mouth. “Forbidden romance? Say less. That’s hot.”
I hit her leg gently. “It’s not hot. It’s messy.”
“Messy makes it hotter.”
“Alex!”
She grins wickedly. “I like him already.”
I lean back against the couch with a deep breath. The truth is, it is messy. And terrifying. And confusing. But the way Percy looks at me… the way he touches me… the way he slows down his whole world just to make room for me… it feels like something I haven’t felt in a long time. Something safe. Something steady.
My phone buzzes.
I don’t have to check the screen to know who it is. My body recognizes his name before my brain does.
PERCY:
How are you feeling? Is the pain better?
I’m picking you up tonight. I want to show you something.
My heart stumbles. It’s ridiculous how one text can do that.
Alex grabs the phone before I can stop her. “Oh my GOD, he texts like a man who adores you.”
“Give it back,” I say, reaching for it. “It’s private.”
“Private my ass.” She fans herself dramatically. “Girl… he’s obsessed with you.”
I try not to smile. I fail.
She sits beside me again and then sighs. “Okay, updates. Paula is having a full meltdown online. Some people are dragging her. Some are supporting her. And your name is trending again.”
Of course it is.
I rub my forehead. “I told her not to come to work again”
“Why not?”
“I want to pause all the revenge stuff.”
Alex freezes. Looks at me like I just said I’m joining a monastery.
“…What?”
“I’m tired,” I admit softly. “I don’t want to waste more energy on her. I’m moving on.”
Alex blinks rapidly. “Who… are you?”
“Alex—”
“And what have you done with my boss slash best friend?”
I shake my head with a small smile. “She’s still here. She just… doesn’t have the energy to be angry right now.”
She studies me for a long moment, then her expression softens. A slow smile spreads across her face. “Percy is definitely a good influence.”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t disagree.
And for the first time in a long time, something in my chest loosens. The world is still chaotic. My reputation is still a mess. Paula is still venomous. Melissa is still a traitor. Matt is still garbage.
But right now, sitting beside Alex, feeling my phone warm in my hand with Percy’s message burning through the screen…
I feel something close to hope.