Chapter 135: Katherine Baby

** Few days later**

Clancy arrived at the Kent estate just as the triplets were getting back from school. He walked up the front steps with a tired but relaxed expression. The children immediately dropped their school bags and ran straight into his arms, shouting questions about their afternoon.

"I have some very special news for you three," Clancy said, his voice soft and warm as he crouched down to match their height. "Your Aunt Katherine just had her baby girl at the hospital this morning. You have a brand new baby cousin." he announced with a smile.

David, Daniel, and Diana immediately began to clamour to go see her. They jumped up and down in the entryway, completely refusing to focus on anything else.

It would be the very first time they would ever meet their Aunt Katherine, let alone a new cousin, and they turned to Selen with their excited faces filled with massive expectation as they begged for permission to go.

Selen looked down at them, her mind instantly resetting to her emotional encounter with Katherine at the mall store. She looked up at Clancy, the heavy physical tension and awkwardness between them returning instantly.

"Can we go, Mommy? Please? We want to meet Aunt Katherine!" Diana pleaded, tugging at her coat.

Selen took a slow breath, forcing her posture to remain steady. She accepted Katherine now, recognizing that keeping the children away from an aunt who genuinely wanted a relationship, and whom they had never met was no longer necessary.

"Yes, you can go. Your father can take you to the hospital to meet her." she said.

The triplets cheered loudly, running to get their things back together. While they were distracted, Selen stepped closer to Clancy in the quiet hallway.

Her throat felt dry, but she refused to let her speechlessness take over. "Which hospital is she at?" Selen asked, keeping her tone direct, calm, and professional. "And what room is she in? I want to come join you all there after I finish up some paperwork here." she said.

"She is at the private maternity wing in town, room 304," Clancy replied. He turned back to the children, gathering them up so they could finally meet his sister.

The kids got ready and left with Clancy shortly after. Selen watched his car pull down the driveway before she headed up to her study. She quickly finalized her tasks, notified her driver, and drove over to the medical facility.

When she arrived at the private wing, the environment was quiet. She walked down the corridor, reached room 304, and pushed the door open gently.

Katherine was sitting up in bed, cradling her newborn daughter, while Clancy sat nearby watching the triplets peer down at the tiny bundle. The children were completely wide-eyed, introducing themselves to this new aunt for the very first time with energetic whispers.

The moment Katherine looked up from her conversation with the kids and saw Selen walking into the room, her face flushed with pure, shocked disbelief.

"Selen?" Katherine whispered, her eyes watering instantly as she looked past the children she was meeting for the first time. "You actually came." she said in a weak tone, still exhausted from the delivery of her baby.

"Of course," Selen said softly, her posture relaxed and completely free of the old grudges. "Congratulations, Katherine. She is absolutely beautiful." Selen said as she looked at the baby.

While Clancy and the driver helped the boys locate the juice boxes on the side table to keep them occupied during the introduction, Selen stepped closer to the head of the bed to speak with Katherine in a quiet, private tone.

B"I meant what I said at the mall, Selen," Katherine whispered, her voice dropping lower so the children would not hear.

"Seeing you that day gave me the strength to believe this pregnancy would be different. I am endlessly grateful that you let the kids come meet me today." She said, "But has Clancy spoken to you at all about his plans?" she asked.

"No. He only communicates to coordinate his visits with the kids. Why?" she asked her eagerly.

Katherine sighed heavily, looking over at her brother as he watched the children laugh. "He completely finalized his transfer details today. He is leaving for Spain tomorrow. He decided to have a permanent corporate post in Madrid to oversee his international holdings." she said.

Selen froze completely, her throat tightening as the words hit her with immense force. "Madrid? But he told me he was staying in England to remain a consistent branch on the children’s family tree." she said in confusion.

"He is still going to fly back often to see the kids. To them, it may be like he never left. They would barely even notice that he relocated. " Katherine explained quickly, her eyes filled with deep sadness.

"But personally, he is completely done, Selen. He told me that staying in England and seeing you every week with that empty distance between you was completely tearing him apart. He feels like you have locked your choices into a permanent life here with Vanguard and that he has totally lost any chance of a future with you. He is running away from the heartbreak." she said.

Selen stood speechless, her mind spinning as the situation of her life fractured once again. She had accepted Vanguard’s offer to secure an independent line of protection, believing she was establishing stability.

Now, the realization that her silence had pushed Clancy to completely give up on England hit her with absolute clarity.

JK’s advice about focusing on the present before it was too late echoed loudly in her head. Clancy was leaving this weekend, and if she did not break her speechlessness right now, the distance between them would become permanent.

Clancy turned his head, picking up on the sudden rigidness in her posture. He stood up from his seat near the triplets. He did not ask her what was wrong, and he did not offer a single opening for an emotional exchange. He simply looked at his watch.

"The children need to head back to the estate to finish their homework before dinner," Clancy said, his voice devoid of warmth.

"I will drive them back now so you can wrap up your time here with Katherine," he finished.

He was leaving for Madrid this weekend, running away from the heartbreak she had created with her own silence.