~Katherine's POV
Mathew was still holding one of the small jackets and admiring the neat stitching when he noticed that I had gone quiet. He slowly lowered the clothes and looked at me with curiosity.
"Who sent it?" he asked.
I folded the letter slowly and placed it back on the desk.
"It is from Aaron," I said.
Mathew raised his eyebrows slightly, clearly surprised.
For a moment, he did not say anything, but I already knew what I wanted to do.
"I cannot accept this," I said firmly while looking at the box again. "I need to return it."
Then I looked at Mathew while the letter was still resting on the desk beside the box of clothes.
"You have his phone number, right?" I asked while trying to keep my voice calm. "I want to call him so I can get the address and return the gifts."
Mathew suddenly cleared his throat and shifted in his chair as if the question had made him uncomfortable. He adjusted the way he was sitting and then straightened his back before looking at me again.
"That is actually the reason I came to your office," he said slowly.
His answer made me frown slightly because I did not immediately understand what he meant.
"What do you mean?" I asked while watching his face carefully.
Mathew rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before answering, and the gesture alone made me feel that whatever he was about to say might not please me.
"Aaron came to my office earlier, before he left the building," he explained carefully. "He asked me for your phone number."
For a moment, I simply stared at him because the words took a second to sink in.
My eyes widened immediately as the meaning became clear.
"And you gave it to him?" I asked while my voice rose slightly in surprise.
Mathew nodded slowly and looked a little uneasy.
"Yes," he admitted. "He told me it was just for business communication, and he said he might need to reach you directly if there were questions about the proposal."
I pushed my chair back slightly while staring at him in disbelief.
"Mathew, you gave him my number just like that?" I said while shaking my head.
He lifted his hands slightly as if he was trying to calm the situation.
"I did not think it would be a problem," he replied quickly. "He is a serious investor, and he said it was only for work matters, so I thought it was normal."
Anger rushed through me so quickly that I stood up from my chair before I could even think about it properly. The chair moved back with a light sound against the floor while I stared at Mathew with clear frustration.
"Mathew, you knew better than that," I said loudly while placing my hands on the desk. I could not hide the irritation in my voice because this was something he should have thought about more carefully.
He immediately lifted his hands slightly in a defensive way as if he was trying to calm the situation before it became worse.
"I am sorry if I did something wrong," he said quickly while looking genuinely uneasy. "I honestly thought it was only about work, and I did not think there was anything strange about it."
I closed my eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath while trying to calm myself, although the irritation was still strong inside my chest. Getting angry would not solve the problem now, and I knew that I needed to focus on fixing the situation instead.
"Just give me his number," I said firmly after opening my eyes again. "I need to return this gift because I do not want anything from him, and the earlier I send it back, the better it will be."
Mathew nodded slowly while understanding the seriousness in my tone.
"Alright," he said while reaching into his pocket and bringing out his phone. "Let me call the number for you."
He unlocked his phone and began searching through his contacts while I stood beside the desk waiting for him to find it. My eyes briefly moved to the box of clothes again, and the sight of the expensive little outfits only made me more determined to return them.
Mathew finally stopped scrolling and looked at the screen.
"Here it is," he said while preparing to press the contact.
However, before he could place the call, my own phone suddenly began ringing on the desk.
The sharp sound interrupted everything and immediately caught my attention.
I reached for the phone quickly and glanced at the screen.
It was a call from the twins' school.
A small frown appeared on my face as I checked the time on the screen. It was already past the usual time when the school bus dropped them at home, so the first thought that came to my mind was that the bus driver had probably arrived at the house and needed to confirm if I was at home.
Without thinking too much about it, I quickly answered the call.
I placed the phone close to my ear.
"Hello, I'm sorry, I was just about to…."
"Mrs. Prescott," a serious voice interrupted.
"I am the school director, and your presence is needed immediately at Maryland General Hospital."
My heart skipped in fear.
"Hospital?" I asked quickly. "Why the hospital?"
Mathew immediately looked up at me with alarm when he heard the word.
The voice on the phone continued speaking, and the tone sounded very serious.
"There has been an accident involving the school bus that was taking the children home," the director explained carefully. "And Hanith and Jasmine were among the injured children."
For a moment, the world around me felt like it had completely stopped.
My hand holding the phone began to tremble slightly while the words echoed again and again inside my head.
My fingers tightened around the phone while my eyes filled with tears almost immediately.
By the time the call ended, my hands were already trembling.
"Katherine?" Mathew called from across the desk when he noticed the expression on my face. "What is wrong?"
I tried to speak, but the words refused to come out at first. My throat felt tight, and my chest was rising and falling too fast.
"My… kids…" I managed to say while tears began rolling down my cheeks.
Mathew quickly stood up from his chair and walked toward me with worry written all over his face.
"What happened?" he asked urgently.
"The school bus…" I said between shaky breaths. "It was involved in an accident, and Hanith and Jasmine were among the injured children."
The moment the words left my mouth, panic completely took over me.
I grabbed my bag from the desk without even thinking and rushed toward the door because the only thing on my mind was getting to the hospital as quickly as possible.
Mathew did not hesitate for even a second.
"Katherine, wait," he called while following me out of the office.
By the time I rushed out of the building, my hands were shaking so badly that I could barely think straight.