I am so sorry for the delay! I have been very busy lately, but I hope you enjoy this update.

The following day, Anthony reluctantly heads over to his family's home for their weekly brunch. Upon opening the door, his ears are filled with playful shouting and laughter. He would usually enjoy this, but unfortunately, he is hungover. After not being able to shake memories of Kate from his head while the rain hit his window, he had drank his weight in whiskey.

He did not want to think about their first encounter or their first meeting. He did not want to think of the phenomenal sex that they always had. He did not want to think of their last conversation. So he drank and drank, shutting off his phone to ensure that he did not accidentally drunk call or text her. He did not want to feel. He wanted to be numb. Now, he prays that no one will notice the smell of alcohol coming from his pores. Groaning, he takes off his sunglasses and plasters a bright smile on his face. Its going to be a longggg day.

"Brother!" announces Benedict, while wrapping an arm around his older brother's shoulder. "Fun night, huh? Take this. The only way to combat a hangover is to make sure it never ends." Anthony snatches the flask from his brother. "You know your alcohol consumption is almost concerning, Ben." says Anthony before taking a swig of the flask's contents. "Coming from the one reeking of alcohol?" "Touché" responds Anthony as they make their way to the rest of the Bridgerton gang.

Entering the kitchen, he notices his mother and siblings are all mingling and he is the last to arrive. "That is wonderful! I will have to call her later to tell her congratulations!" beams Violet. "Well, don't call her yet. It is not official. I only know because she got the news right before our lunch, and I kept hounding her on why she was smiling so hard. I thought she had a new boyfriend or something, but I should have known the workaholic would have only been that giddy over something to do with her job." informs Eloise. Intrigued, Benedict makes him and Anthony's presence known, "who is a workaholic?" asks Benedict. "Kate…Sharma" responds Eloise, narrowing her eyes at her eldest brother. Anthony tries not to react, but his body tenses, resulting in his younger brother looking at him with concern. That woman was inescapable.

"Katie got a promotion?" asked Anthony.

"I don't think you are allowed to call her that anymore." sneers Eloise.

"Can I assume that the answer to my question is a yes?"

"It is not any of your business."

"Eloise!" reprimands Violet.

"Yes, Anthony. She will be granted a promotion soon." says Daphne, putting her brother out of his misery.

"I am happy for her. She has always been incredibly smart with a drive to match her intelligence." professes Anthony, a sad smile on his face as he discusses the woman who still holds his heart in her hands.

"Yes, so smart…especially since she cut off the dead weight that was simply wasting her time." scrons Eloise.

"That is enough everyone. Now that we are all here, let us eat and enjoy each others' presence." says Violet sternly, not allowing her children to insult one another any further.

Eloise huffs, but takes a seat. Benedict squeezes his brother's shoulder and guides him to sit next to him. The ache that once was just in his head has now spread to his heart.

Brunch went smoothly after his back and forth with his younger sister. He was in his head for most of it, but everyone else seemed to be having a good time. The last thing he remembers is his youngest siblings, Gregory and Hyacinth, recounting a story that happened at school the previous week before his thoughts drift to Kate. He is not surprised that she received a promotion. She had made junior partner a little over a year ago, just weeks before they split, and she had her eyes on making partner. She is one of the top lawyers at her firm and had been approached by other firms to join their team. He was just impressed by how quickly it happened. She is only twenty-eight and she has made partner. It has to be partner. That is the only rung left on her professional ladder. When did this happen? He misses when he would be the one breaking the good news to his family. Now he is out of the loop and unable to celebrate with her. Sensing his brother's somber mood, Benedict nudges Anthony's side, "You do not have to listen to the table conversation, but you must eat. Drink some water too." Anthony looks over at his younger brother with the saddest eyes, nodding his head. Violet watches the scene unfold from her seat at the opposite end of the table. Her heart breaks for her son.

Shortly after everyone finishes eating, Anthony announces that he's leaving because he has a headache. He looks as bad as he feels, so no one protests. Exiting the kitchen, his mother stops him and says "I love you, Anthony" while pulling him into a hug. Looking at his mother's worried face, Anthony hugs her back "I love you too." Heading to the door, he runs into Eloise.

"Avoiding difficult situations, brother? I see some things never change."

"What are you talking about, El?"

"You're leaving after an argument, just how you left Kate."

"El, we had our reasons for breaking up." Anthony says with a sigh.

Eloise scoffs, "Sure. You did not have to see how heartbroken she was after you told her you did not want to marry her."

"I never said I did not want to marry her, I said I did not want to marry."
"You're such an arsehole!"

"I did not know Love Island UK was back on the telly!"

"YOU THINK THIS IS A FUCKING JOKE? You do not deserve Kate at all." Eloise declares, storming off.

"WAIT! EL! ELOISE!" shouts Anthony.

"WHAT" she spats.

"How is she doing? Did she make partner?"

"What does it matter to you?"
"Please" his eyes pleading with his sister to hear more about her.

Deciding to finally fill her stupid eldest brother in, "Not yet. One of the partners pulled her aside. Told her that he is planning to retire at the end of next year and he is putting her name in the ring for his replacement. Kate will make history as being the first person at the firm to make partner before thirty."

Anthony smiles, being the first genuine one in awhile, "That is amazing, I am so happy for her. I know she has been wanting this for a long time."

"Yeah. Too bad you cannot celebrate with her." says Eloise before leaving him to go rejoin their family. Anthony knows she's right, and the pang he feels in his chests does not help. He looks back at where his family sat at, before exiting the door with a heavy heart.

Once he arrives home, he gets into the shower. Turning on the hot water, he lets it run down his body, hoping to relieve the tension within his body. Soon, he realizes its pointless and exits the shower. Throwing on a pair of black boxer briefs, he gets under his covers and attempts to take a nap. As soon as he shuts his eyes, he is met with image of his darling Kate. She is brushing her long curly hair out of her face as the sun kisses her beautiful skin. Her smile is bright as she stares at him like he hung the stars. His Kate, staring so lovingly at him. The only problem is she is no longer his. And that makes him toss and turn. After an hour of restlessness, he gets out of bed. Throwing on a UPenn sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, he makes his way to his liquor cabinet with his eyes on a half drunken bottle of Johnnie Walker. Picking up and opening the bottle of Black Label, he throws it back like he is stuck in a desert and it is the only water in his reach. He drinks until his judgment is clouded.

After way too many drinks, he picks up his phone. Opening the Instagram app, an app Daphne forced him to have, he searches for Kate's account. He finds it under , the username she had while they were together, and was elated that her account is not private. He remembers pointing this out to Kate while they were together and her saying "Whoever has a problem with what I post can kiss my ass!" He chuckles at the memory, Kate is certainly a force to be reckoned with. Scrolling down her page, Anthony sees pictures of her with her sister, Edwina, and mother, Mary. He also sees pictures of her dog Newton, and misses cuddling with the furry guy. Scrolling more, he sees some pictures of her with his younger siblings, suddenly wishing that he was the Bridgerton in the photos. He decides to scroll down to her posts prior to their breakup, and is surprised when he is met with photos of them. The posts dedicated to him for his birthdays while they were together or Valentine's Day are gone, but he still makes appearances here and there. He tries to not get his hopes up, maybe the posts are still up because she looks stunning in them, but his heart is beating quicker. He pulls up the Messages app and clicks new message, typing "Katie-Kat" into the 'To:" line. Here goes nothing…

Anthony: Hey Kate! I know you probably do not want to hear from me, but congratulations! You are so deserving. Extremely intelligent and extremely driven, among other things. I know how hard you worked for this. Not that it matters, but I am so proud of you.

Twenty minutes later and no response. Anthony cursed. Of course she would have him blocked. Who wouldn't have the man who begged you for a chance and told you he did not want to get married after you guys were in love for two years, blocked?! Maybe she is busy. Its 9pm on a Sunday night, you idiot. He puts his phone down, lays on the couch, and stares at the ceiling, willing his mind to forget this whole situation. Just as his breathing evens and his mind stops racing, he hears a faint swish. Rushing to grab the phone, he sees a notification from the woman he cannot get out of his head.

Kate: That congratulatory message is a little premature, but thanks in advance! lol

How'd you find out btw? Eloise?

She texted me, and she is being nice. Either I am very drunk, or Kate Sharma is in a good mood.

Anthony: Had to drag it out of her lol but yes she did. She was very happy for you and I was curious what had her smiling.

Kate: She had to drag it out of me too! I love her though.

"I love you too" he wants to say, but he knows he cannot. He had his chance and he blew it. Anthony believes, no he knows, that Kate would never let him love her again, and he was genuinely surprised that she was even responding to him.

Anthony: Well that makes one of us lol

How do you plan on celebrating, Katie-Kat?

I know you do not want to see me, let alone be in my presence, but I would love to take you out to celebrate.

It has been a long time coming, and I know how much work you have put in to get this far. Hell, I have seen it first hand.

I would love to treat to whatever you desire. Coffee, dinner, drinks, you name it. I can work around your schedule as well, I know how busy yours is.

Silence. She does not respond. Anthony sighs, knowing he went too far. Prior to this text exchange, they have not spoken since they broke up. If they were not on speaking terms, why the hell would she agree to meet him? Dumbass. Slapping his head, Anthony gets up and heads to his bedroom. If he is going to be sleepless, he might as well be comfortable. Sitting on his bed, he opens up his Messages again.

Anthony: Sorry for bothering you, Kate. I know you hate me.

Goodnight, congrats again. I am so so proud of you.

Laying his phone down on his bedside table, he heads into his in-suite bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Making his way back to his bed, he kicks off his slippers and turns off his bedside light, attempting to get comfortable under the covers. Just as he was shutting his eyes, an attempt to trick his brain to go to sleep, he hears another swish.

Kate: I could never hate you…

Goodnight, Anthony.

And with that Anthony drifts to sleep with a smile on his face.

Sorry for the delay again, but I hope this chapter was worth it! I do not have beta reader and I wrote this all in one sitting lol. I am not the best writer, but I am trying. Still deciding how I want this story to go, but it is definitely Kanthony endgame. Also, in the present day of this ff, Kate is 28 and Anthony is 30. When they met, Kate was 25 and Anthony was 27. They were together for two years and split a year ago. Thanks for reading :)))))

Also, special thanks to user Lufanfictionlover, your sweet feedback makes my day!