Chapter 4

Ethan was about to say something else when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Katelyn noticed Ethan tense up in an instant, and her heart dropped. She had a sinking feeling she knew exactly who was at the door.

Ethan beat Katelyn to the door and just cracked it open, leaving barely any space.

Their voices were low, and from the living room, Katelyn could just barely recognize Chloe's voice, but she couldn't make out what they were actually saying.

But she could clearly sense Chloe shooting her a look that was pure provocation.

Katelyn smirked, got up, and yanked the door wide open.

"Chloe, you're here. Why not come in?" Katelyn said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Chloe's smile instantly vanished. She was clearly caught off guard by how direct Katelyn was.

Ethan's face flickered with discomfort.

Chloe quickly recovered, raising the file in her hand with an apologetic look.

"Sorry for dropping by so late. There's an urgent project at the company that needs Mr. Howard's signature as soon as possible," Chloe explained.

Katelyn ignored her phony excuse and zeroed in on Chloe's slightly rounded belly.

"Oh, Chloe, how many months along are you now?" Katelyn asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Chloe blinked in surprise, then shot Ethan a shy glance, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"About three months," Chloe replied.

Katelyn nodded, quickly doing the math. The baby must've been conceived nine months ago.

"Three months in is a pretty sensitive stage. You should really be extra careful, Chloe," Katelyn said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Chloe shot Ethan another look, her smile sweet and all too telling.

"Yeah, Mr. Howard has been so thoughtful lately. He even skipped out on your anniversary just to take me to my prenatal checkup. Honestly, I felt so guilty about it," Chloe said.

She glanced at Katelyn, her voice sweet with a touch of barely concealed pride. "Mrs. Howard, hope you're not upset. I kept telling Mr. Howard to go home to you, but he just wouldn't leave until he'd seen me through the whole appointment and dropped me off."

Katelyn couldn't help but sneer inwardly. At this point, she couldn't care less about any of Ethan's affairs.

"You're his assistant, and you're having a baby without a husband around. It's only natural for him to help you out," Katelyn said, her voice polite and distant.

She was calm, almost detached now. Gone was the heartbreak that used to explode whenever she fought with Ethan.

After all, when one stopped loving someone, whatever they did just faded into the background. To Katelyn, Ethan's actions didn't matter at all anymore.

Ethan shot Katelyn a surprised look, unable to believe she could just sit there, cool as ice, not even batting an eye at Chloe's little digs.

Chloe felt a wave of frustration seeing that Katelyn wasn't fazed at all, and her words carried a subtle sting. All Chloe could do was force a smile, barely masking her disappointment.

"Mrs. Howard, you really are so considerate. No wonder Mr. Howard holds you in such high regard," Chloe said.

High regard?

Not once had Ethan ever held her in high regard. At least Katelyn couldn't remember.

As far as she was concerned, all he'd ever done was look down on her.

But she didn't say any of this out loud.

After all, in two weeks, she'd be leaving this world behind for good. Everything and everyone here would have nothing to do with her anymore.

After a brief silence, the atmosphere grew subtly complicated.

Ethan glanced at Chloe, clearly uncomfortable. "It's getting late. You should head home. I'll handle the project tonight."

But Chloe clearly wasn't planning to leave anytime soon. She shot Katelyn a glance, then put on her cutest, most helpless voice for Ethan. "Mr. Howard, it's so dark outside. I'm scared I won't be able to catch a ride."

Katelyn could barely keep from rolling her eyes at Chloe's act. Katelyn knew that Chloe just wanted Ethan to drive her home.

Katelyn had zero interest in sticking around for this nonsense. She turned and headed back to her room, just wanting to stuff her face and tune out their drama.

But then Ethan gave an answer that no one saw coming.

"I already called you a car. Katelyn gets nervous when she's home alone at night. You should head back early too," Ethan replied.

There was a clear edge of warning and indifference in his tone.

Chloe's hopeful expression collapsed in an instant. She shot Katelyn a sharp glare, then stomped off, clearly pissed.

Katelyn looked at Ethan, her face full of confusion. She really couldn't figure out why he acted so weirdly today.