~Katherine's POV
His eyes kept drifting back to my face again and again, and each time I noticed it, I felt slightly uncomfortable, although I tried my best not to show it.
It was obvious that he was listening only halfway, and that made it difficult for me to focus completely on the explanation.
Still, I continued speaking because I wanted the meeting to end quickly and smoothly.
Just then, the office door opened, and Amanda walked back in.
She stepped inside with a bright expression on her face, and she immediately began speaking in a soft and cheerful tone while walking back toward her seat.
"Sweetheart, the call was about the new shipment schedule, and they said the documents will arrive tomorrow morning," she explained smoothly while sitting down.
Her voice carried a sweetness that sounded almost deliberate, as if she wanted to draw his full attention back to her.
However, I noticed quickly that Aaron was not paying much attention to what she was saying.
His expression barely changed, and his focus still seemed distant.
Amanda seemed to notice it as well because she suddenly paused and cleared her throat lightly, and the small sound broke the quiet moment in the room.
That was when Aaron finally glanced toward her briefly.
I decided to take that moment as an opportunity to end the meeting because the atmosphere had already become awkward enough.
So I closed the file on the desk and slowly stood up from my chair.
"Well," I said politely, "we have come to the end of this session, and I have another meeting to attend in the next few minutes."
Amanda immediately stood up as well while smoothing her dress lightly.
"Oh, that was so fast," she said with a polite smile. "Thank you for your time."
I nodded calmly and walked with them toward the door of the office. When we reached the hallway, I gave them a brief professional smile while wishing them a good day before watching them walk away.
Once the door finally closed behind them, the tension that had quietly filled the room slowly faded away.
I walked back to my desk and sat down again while letting out a slow breath, because I had not realized how uncomfortable that meeting had made me feel until that moment.
For a few seconds, I simply sat there in silence while staring at the closed door, and then I shook my head lightly before turning back to the work waiting on my desk.
I continued working after they left my office, and I tried my best to push the strange conversation with Aaron out of my mind because there were still many things I needed to finish before the end of the day.
The morning slowly passed while I reviewed documents, replied to emails, and attended to a few staff members who came in with questions about the ongoing projects. I kept myself busy, and that helped me focus on work instead of thinking about the unexpected things that had happened earlier.
By the time the afternoon came, I was already feeling a little tired, but I was still going through a report on my desk when someone knocked gently on my door.
"Come in," I said while lifting my eyes from the file.
The door opened, and my secretary walked in while holding a medium-sized package in her hands.
"Mrs. Prescot, this arrived for you," she said politely while placing the box on my desk.
I frowned slightly because I was not expecting anything.
"Thank you," I said while looking at the package with curiosity.
Just then, the door opened again, and Mathew walked in casually as if he had been passing by and decided to stop.
He immediately noticed the box on my desk.
"Well, well," he said with a teasing smile while pointing at the package. "Do you have an admirer sending you gifts now?"
I rolled my eyes lightly and shook my head.
"That is not true," I said while smiling faintly. "And to be honest, I have no idea where this came from."
Mathew pulled a chair and sat down across from me while looking at the package with interest.
"Then we should open it and find out, right?" he suggested.
I hesitated for a moment, but my curiosity had already been stirred.
"Alright," I said.
So we both leaned forward and began opening the package together. The wrapping was neat, and it took a little effort before we finally lifted the lid of the box.
The moment the box opened, both of us paused.
Inside were neatly folded clothes.
There were small outfits for a boy and a girl, and even at a quick glance it was obvious that they were not cheap clothes. The fabric looked soft and expensive, and the designs were beautiful.
Mathew reached inside the box and lifted one of the dresses while examining it carefully.
"These are really nice," he said with surprise.
While he was looking at the clothes, I noticed a small envelope placed neatly inside the box.
I picked it up slowly and opened it while trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that was already forming inside my chest.
There was a short letter inside the envelope, and the paper looked clean and carefully folded as if the person who wrote it had taken time to make sure it looked proper. I unfolded it gently and began to read the words written on it.
My eyes moved across the lines slowly, and at first the message seemed simple and harmless. However, the moment my gaze reached the name written at the bottom of the page, my chest tightened slightly.
It was from Aaron.
For a brief second, I remained still while holding the letter in my hand, because I had not expected him to send something like this so soon after our meeting earlier that day.
The message itself was short and very direct.
He wrote that the clothes inside the package were just a small gift from him for the twins, and he mentioned that he hoped they would like them. The words sounded calm and polite, almost like a thoughtful gesture from someone who cared.
But the last line of the letter was the part that made me uneasy.
He wrote that he would get back to me about the date.
For a moment I simply stared at the letter without speaking while my mind slowly tried to process what that sentence meant. It felt strange that he was still holding on to that idea even after I had clearly told him that I was not interested.
The paper remained in my hand while I quietly read the words again, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this situation was not going to be as simple as I had hoped.
Meanwhile, Mathew was still admiring the clothes while holding up a small jacket.
"These will look really nice on the kids," he said with a smile while examining the fabric carefully.
I remained quiet while holding the letter in my hand, because the meaning behind the gift was already beginning to trouble my thoughts.