Too Late to Win Me Back

Chapter 4 Do You Like the Surprise?

After parting ways with Nina, Katherine got into her car and planned to go straight home.

If she was really going to disappear forever, then she needed to start sorting through the things she would leave behind.

One day, this house would belong to the real family of three.

She had just started the engine when someone knocked on the car window.

Katherine lowered it.

A giant teddy bear stood outside. The costume was clumsy and oversized, and the bear launched into an awkward dance before holding up a lopsided heart with its paws.

Then the person inside pulled off the mascot head. It was Spencer.

The same Spencer Hopkins who ruled boardrooms with a cold, unshakable hand now stood there, drenched in sweat and looking weirdly nervous.

"Katherine, happy birthday. Do you like the surprise?"

Katherine laughed. And then, somehow, her laughter dissolved into tears.

When she was a freshman in college, both of her parents had died.

Back then, Spencer had been the untouchable golden boy, cold, brilliant, impossible to approach. But for her, he had put on a ridiculous mascot costume just to make her smile.

The moment Spencer saw her crying, panic flashed across his face. He yanked off the rest of the costume, climbed into the car, and cupped her face, wiping away her tears with his fingers.

"Baby, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

Katherine shook her head.

There had been too many moments like this over the last ten years.

Seeing that she had calmed down a little, Spencer reached into his coat and pulled out a jewelry box. Inside was a bracelet so dazzling it almost hurt to look at.

Katherine had seen it once before at an auction. It had sold for ten million dollars.

"Katherine," Spencer murmured, burying his face against the curve of her neck, "no matter what happens, you are not allowed to leave me!"

His voice turned rough, fragile, almost desperate.

"If you leave me... I'll die!"

Katherine looked down. Then, without a word, she tossed the ten-million-dollar bracelet onto the seat beside her.

'Spencer, if you knew I'll be gone for good in one month... I wonder what you'd look like then!'

On the way home, Spencer's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and declined the call immediately.

A second later, a w******p notification popped up.

This time, Spencer turned to look at her. His expression was still tender, but now there was guilt there too.

"Baby, something urgent came up at the office. I'll have my assistant pick me up. Go home first and wait for me, okay?"

Katherine looked into his eyes.

He looked exactly the same as always. The same expression he wore every time work suddenly came up.

She nodded.

Spencer got out of the car, but not before reminding her to drive carefully and text him when she got home.

Katherine pulled away. In the rearview mirror, she saw him flag down a cab almost the moment her car turned the corner.

Her hands tightened around the wheel. Then she made a U-turn and followed him.

The cab stopped outside an amusement park.

Katherine sat behind the wheel and watched Spencer step out. Jasmine was already waiting at the entrance with Aiden. The boy ran straight at Spencer and threw himself into his arms.

Spencer picked him up with ease. His gaze landed on Jasmine, and Katherine caught a flash of impatience in his eyes, but before he could say anything, Aiden wrapped both arms around Spencer's face and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Just like that, the irritation melted away.

Then Aiden kissed Jasmine, too. After that, he grabbed Spencer's face with both hands and turned him toward her.

"Now Mommy has to kiss Daddy!"

Jasmine flushed bright red. She glanced up at Spencer shyly.

Then she rose onto her toes and quickly kissed his cheek.

Spencer hated being touched. But this time, he didn't move away.

His expression carried a trace of annoyance, but Katherine could still see that faint, unmistakable indulgence in his eyes.

Her fingers began to shake. Something clamped around her heart so hard she could barely breathe.

Still hidden inside the car, Katherine turned on the tiny camera she kept with her and aimed it at Spencer. Then she called him.

He answered after the first ring.

Katherine's number had its own ringtone. Spencer always knew when it was her. He always picked up immediately.

Through the windshield, Katherine watched him set Aiden down, press a finger to his lips in a quieting gesture, and walk a little farther away before taking the call.

His voice came through warm and intimate, threaded with affection.

"Baby? What's wrong?"

Katherine tightened her grip on the phone. Her voice came out taut, almost trembling.

"Spencer, I miss you. Can you come back and stay with me right now?"

Then he fell silent.

Spencer was about to say yes when Jasmine looked up at him with teary, pleading eyes, tugging gently at his shirt.