Chapter 300
Khloe knew Nick well enough to be certain of one thing—he would never go an entire day without reaching out to her.
That was what made the silence so wrong.
She tried calling Lenny.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
No answer.
An hour later, a message finally came through.
Lenny: [Sorry, Miss Roswell. I was in a meeting earlier. Mr. Hunt is currently handling urgent matters and cannot return yet, nor can he contact you. Once he is free, he will call you personally.]
Khloe stared at the screen for a long moment.
The knot in her chest didn’t loosen.
It tightened.
Nick had promised her he would return today. Even if something had delayed him, he would have at least sent a message. A few words. A single line.
Something.
But there was nothing.
She scrolled back through her chat history.
Ten missed calls.
Dozens of unread messages.
No reply.
A faint unease began to grow into something heavier.
She tried messaging Lenny again.
Still nothing.
For a few seconds, she hovered over the screen, debating whether to press further. If something truly urgent were happening, pushing him would only be an interruption.
So she stopped.
But her heart didn’t.
It refused to settle.
That night, Khloe barely slept.
She lay in bed staring at her phone, checking it again and again as the next second might finally bring his name to life.
Morning came too quickly.
At dawn, she checked again.
Still nothing.
No reply.
No call.
Only silence.
At exactly eight o’clock, she called Lenny again.
Still no answer.
By the time she arrived at Morrison Group, her patience had already frayed to the edge.
Then another message appeared—almost identical to the one from the night before.
Something inside her snapped.
She didn’t wait.
She called him directly.
This time, after what felt like an eternity of ringing, the call finally connected.
“…Miss Roswell.” Lenny’s voice came through, low and restrained. Careful. Almost guarded.
“Where is Nick?” Khloe didn’t bother softening her tone. “Why hasn’t he replied to me? What is going on?”
A pause.
Too long.
Then—
“He’s been in emergency meetings since yesterday,” Lenny said quickly. “His phone… broke yesterday. I’ll have him call you as soon as possible. Please don’t worry.”
Khloe frowned.
“Broke?”
Something about his tone didn’t sit right.
It wasn’t just hesitation.
It sounded like restraint. Like he was choosing every word carefully.
“Yes,” Lenny replied. “I’m… currently handling guests for him, so I can’t talk long. Miss Roswell, please don’t worry. Mr. Hunt will contact you soon.”
“Lenny—”
But the call ended.
Beep.
Silence.
Khloe stared at the phone for a long moment.
Less than a minute.
Her grip tightened slightly.
Was she overthinking?
Or was something actually wrong?
She exhaled slowly and stepped into the Morrison Group building, still unsettled.
As she walked through the lobby, her phone buzzed.
A notification popped up in her small group chat.
An entertainment headline had been shared.
And she was tagged.
[Khloe, isn’t this Nick?]
[It looks like him… but isn’t the woman beside him the one from the engagement banquet?]
[Michelle. I remember her—she used to be in entertainment, then left. Now she does charity livestreams… didn’t she and Nick break things off?]
The chat exploded with speculation.
Everyone was asking the same thing, carefully and awkwardly circling the question.
Was that Nick?
Was he with another woman?
Khloe hadn’t even finished reading the messages before her fingers had already tapped the link.