My Billionaire Ex Wants Me Back (Katherine) novel Chapter 45

Chapter 45 Awkward Silence

Lucas’s expression stayed calm. “I promised you before. It was only right.”

“One!”

After

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everyone shouted “one” together, the crowd fell silent in unison, all eyes lifting toward the sky in anticipation.

Katherine slowly looked up as well.

Rachel’s face lit up with excitement. She could already picture everyone staring at her in

envy.

But the next second, her smile froze.

The fireworks she imagined bursting across the sky did not appear.

Silence fell over the crowd.

There were no fireworks in the sky. Nothing at all.

Katherine raised an eyebrow, confused.

Rachel’s eager expression stiffened. She blinked, still staring upward, but not a single firework appeared.

An awkward tension spread through the air.

Someone tried to smooth things over. “It must be a delay. Beautiful things are worth waiting for. Let’s count down again.”

“Yeah, yeah. It must be delayed.”

No one wanted to ruin the mood.

Rachel stood in the brightest spot of the room. The small hiccup made her expression stiffen for a moment, but she quickly convinced herself it was just a delay.

Used to being admired and envied, she lifted her chin, acting composed, and put on an expectant smile again. “Just a small delay. Let’s wait a little longer.”

Meanwhile, in the surveillance room, Julian, Ethan, and Ivy listened as the crowd started counting down again. They could barely suppress their smiles.

The crowd cheered and counted down once more.

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Chapter 45 Awkward Silence

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When they shouted “one,” everyone raised their phones again, looking at the sky. Some people had already formed the word “wow” with their lips, ready to react.

Silence.

Another long, heavy silence filled the air.

Rachel’s face stiffened again and again. She forced herself to stay calm and kept looking up for another thirty seconds. Her neck was starting to ache. Then….

Whoosh…

Pop.

A single firework finally sounded in the distance. People who had begun whisper looked up, thinking the show had started.

But after that one small explosion, only a thin trail of smoke remained in the sky before it disappeared completely.

Everyone was even more stunned.

The dazzling, million-dollar fireworks…

That was it?

Rachel’s forced smile collapsed. The corners of her mouth twitched as she finally turned to Lucas. “Lucas, what … what’s going on?”

Lucas’s handsome face darkened. He shot a look at Fred.

Fred was already extremely embarrassed. He understood immediately and hurried off to investigate.

Rachel’s fingers tightened. She turned back to face the crowd.

Sure enough, the expressions around her had changed.

They had waited several minutes for so-called million-dollar fireworks, and all they got was one pathetic pop.

It was a complete joke.

Rachel could feel that the way people looked at her and Lucas now carried faint traces of ridicule.

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Chapter 45 Awkward Silence

Some people even whispered.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be a million-dollar shop? What was that? Is this a joke?”

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“Seriously. Look at Ms. Hart’s face… Did Mr. Grapt not even prepare anything for her this year?

Who knows. So what are they doing? Playing with everyone?”

Rachel clenched her teeth, her fingers digging into her palms. Then she spotted Katherine standing toward the back.

Katherine raised an eyebrow slightly. Even she had felt secondhand embarrassment from that pathetic firework.

She did not know whether fate could not tolerate the two of them displaying their love, or if there was another reason.

The fireworks that were supposed to be prepared had failed to launch.

When Rachel’s eyes met hers, Katherine deliberately shaped her lips into a silent “wow,” as if she were impressed. “So amazing

Rachel’s face looked terrible. She seemed ready to grind her teeth to dust.

Katherine had just started to smile at the scene when a thought suddenly struck her.

Something was wrong.

A fireworks display like this should not have gone so poorly, Lucas’ staff were thorough. They wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Unless someone had tampered with it.

Julian, Ethan, and Ivy.

Katherine immediately realized it had to be them.

At that moment, Fred returned and stepped beside Lucas. “Mr. Grant, the fireworks might not be able to go off tonight.”

As soon as he said that, Rachel’s expression worsened. Before Lucas could ask, she spoke first. “What happened?”

“For some reason, the fireworks can’t be lit. It looks like they were deliberately damaged.

“Deliberately damaged?” Lucas frowned.

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Chapter 45 Awkward Silence

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“Yes.”

Katherine felt a chill run through her.

Lucas’s people were efficient. They had figured out so quickly.

She had no idea where those three little troublemakers had run off to

To avoid them being traced and getting hurt like last time, Katherine decided it was best to slip away quietly.

But the next second-

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

The sound of fireworks shooting into the sky suddenly rang out. Then more and more rockets soared upward, bursting brilliantly and lighting up the entire sky.

Katherine, like everyone else, instinctively turned around. Countless fireworks rose and exploded with a loud boom. Layers of blue and purple light spread across the sky, forming something like a river of stars, then cascading down like a glowing waterfall, illuminating the night.

Everyone stared at the scene, too stunned by its beauty to speak.

Rachel looked at the sky full of fireworks. The ugly expression on her face instantly changed. A smile slowly returned to her lips as she shot Katherine a smug look.

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