Ghost Billionaire
Chapter 72: A Chance

Chapter 72: A Chance

Matthew stopped and turned. His expression didn’t change as he looked at her. "Is that so?" he said.

His eyes briefly shifted past May, settling on the ghost girl floating a few feet away. She lingered there, watching. He found himself wondering, not for the first time, where she vanished to when she wasn’t here, how she slipped in and out without a trace.

Christian stepped beside May. "We’re serious. That’s Lenox’s car. Hand over the keys, or we’re calling the police."

Matthew tilted his head slightly. "Police?" He met Lenox’s gaze. "You want them to call the police on me?"

That made Lenox tense. "It’s a misunderstanding. That car is Matthew’s."

Silence followed. For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Catherine’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Matthew. "Of course. I should’ve known. Lenox’s father has always favored you," she said, folding her arms. "But just because you have connections doesn’t mean the law works the same way."

Then she turned to Elisa. "Call the police."

Elisa didn’t hesitate. She pulled out her phone.

"No. That car is Matthew’s," Lenox said as he held Elisa’s phone. Then he looked at Catherine. "We should go to the venue..." He gave her a meaningful glance. Seeing this, Catherine nodded.

"Go ahead. I need to talk to him. Alone."

"Cathy..." May frowned. "What are you doing?"

Catherine sighed. "It’s fine. It’s not like he—hey! Matthew! Where are you going!?" Catherine said when she suddenly saw Matthew walking away from her.

"To the event," Matthew said casually. By now, the ghost girl was already hovering next to him.

"I don’t like the smell of that woman," the ghost girl mumbled. Matthew ignored this and just focused on Catherine.

"I need to talk to you," Catherine said.

"I don’t think we have anything to talk about," Matthew said as he started walking away from her.

"Hey! Stop," Catherine said. She knew that Matthew was trying to play hard to get, but this? This was a bit too real. She gritted her teeth. "Fine. I just want to apologize," she made her voice louder this time.

May grabbed Catherine’s arm. "What are you doing? What are you apologizing for? He doesn’t deserve it."

Catherine pulled her arm free. "Let me handle this."

Elisa stepped in front of her. "You’re not thinking clearly. He embarrassed Lenox on purpose."

Catherine looked past them, locking eyes with Matthew.

"Talk to me. In private," she said. Then she turned towards May and Elisa. "Please wait for me inside."

Matthew paused mid-step. His gaze held hers. He pursed his lips, clearly debating something. A beat passed before he gave a slight nod.

"Fine."

He turned and started walking toward a side hallway, one leading to a quieter part of the hotel where staff typically passed through. Catherine followed him without a word, brushing past her friends.

The hallway was mostly empty, with a few servers moving carts and some decorative displays set up for later. A cleaning crew member passed by and gave a polite nod before heading the other way.

Matthew walked ahead until they reached the corner where the service hallway curved. Then he stopped and turned to face her.

His eyes scanned the space, taking silent mental notes of everything. He could see two spirits leaning by the emergency exit, one sitting on a cart stacked with table linens. Another near the wall, hands pressed to her face like she’d been crying for hours. Most ignored them. Some watched.

Matthew then turned towards the ghost girl, who was hovering around Catherine. "It’s not rotten... just unpleasant. How weird. I don’t really like it though," the ghost girl said.

"What do you want?" Matthew asked. Clearly, the question was for Catherine.

"I want to apologize for that gift thing. It was rude of me to think that you—" She took a deep breath. "That you were trying to belittle me. I knew you were just trying to help."

Matthew lifted an eyebrow. What’s this all about?

Catherine noticed the flicker of surprise on Matthew’s face and took it as a sign to keep going.

"I’ve been rude to you," she said. "I know that now. And I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you lately."

She glanced at him, testing his expression.

"I mean it," she added. "You’ve always been there for me, and I didn’t appreciate it the way I should have. I don’t want things to stay like this."

She hesitated, carefully avoiding Lenox’s name. Bringing him up now would just ruin everything. The last thing she needed was for Matthew to think she was only saying this because of Lenox. That wasn’t the point.

"I hope we can go back to being friends," she said.

Matthew’s eyes stayed on her. "Friends?"

The word came out flat. Almost foreign.

Inwardly, he laughed. Friends? In his past life, he had bent over backward for her. She had never once called him her friend. He was a servant, someone who fetched her coffee, booked her appointments, and solved her problems like it was his full-time job. That’s what she thought friendship meant?

He’d been so blind. Embarrassingly blind. And now she was offering him that title like it was a gift?

His jaw tensed. The irritation was crawling under his skin.

He said nothing.

Catherine saw his expression change. Something about it made her uneasy. Her stomach tightened.

Was he angry? Why?

Then it hit her.

He never wanted to be her friend. He wanted more. That’s what this was really about.

Of course.

She took a small step closer. "And," she said, shifting slightly, "I just want to say... I’ve been thinking about everything. About how sincere you’ve been with me in the past."

She reached up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, watching him. "It moved me."

"So, I decided something. I thought about it, and I’m willing to give you a chance," she said. "To be with me."

There it was. She said it. It felt right. She was sure he’d waited to hear that for years. She always knew he had feelings for her, he practically wore it on his sleeve.

She thought she was doing him a favor. She thought this would calm him down. Catherine was letting him have what he wanted. Finally.

She expected him to smile, perhaps start jumping out of happiness. But he didn’t react. He just looked confused without saying another word.

Catherine pursed her lips as she cursed inwardly. Was he so happy that he became mute and couldn’t say another word?

"I am giving you a chance to be with me," she said slowly this time.

"Huh..." Matthew mumbled. "Interesting."

"What did you say?" Catherine asked. She wasn’t so sure what she heard.

"I said... did a donkey kick your head or something!?"