Chapter 298
When I hesitated, Katniss's phone rang again. Looking at the time on the caller ID, it was already time for me to go home as usual. Perhaps Katniss was waiting for me at home to have dinner.
After a brief moment of thought, I answered the phone.
"Honey, why haven't you finished work yet? I've cooked dinner and I'm waiting for you to come back and eat."
After answering the phone, I heard Katniss's voice on the other end, with a hint of guilt and uneasiness in her tone.
Hearing Katniss's guilty tone made me even more angry. Making a mistake and feeling guilty about it only made me more resentful.
"You don't have to wait for me. I'll be working late tonight, not sure when I'll be done. I won't be coming home tonight."
I didn't change my tone, and anyone could hear the hint of dissatisfaction in my voice.
My words directly plunged Katniss on the other end into silence. Perhaps she didn't expect why I suddenly got angry. It had been a long time since I stayed overnight at the office.
"You go ahead and eat. I'll continue to be busy."
Katniss remained silent on the other end. After waiting for a while, I simply said goodbye and hung up the phone.
After hanging up, I took a deep breath, unable to release the pent-up emotions in my heart.
Normally, I would have checked the surveillance footage from last night to see what happened, but I was afraid that it would only make me feel worse.
Work that wasn't finished could always be done later if I wanted to.
I decided to use work to numb myself. I started working on spreadsheets and organizing data on the computer, while secretly hoping that Katniss would come to find me.
I admired myself for my work ethic. Once I got into the zone, I was fully focused. Just as I was working efficiently, the office landline rang. Seeing that it was from the front desk, I already knew what it meant - Katniss was probably here again. I answered the phone and instructed the front desk to let Katniss in. This made me feel a bit nervous, not knowing how to face Katniss. Should I act like I didn't know anything or confront her directly? Was Katniss here to make amends for her mistake? Was there a hint of trying to make up for lost time?
Soon, there was a knock on my office door. The door wasn't locked, so Katniss could have just pushed it open, but like with my other subordinates, she knocked first without entering, showing a sign of respect.
"The door isn't locked."
I glanced at the computer screen and said this.
"Car..."
After a moment, Katniss pushed the door open and walked in. I didn't look at her directly, but from the corner of my eye, I saw a well-dressed Katniss.
She walked slowly towards my desk, but seeing me working, she moved to the sofa and sat down. During this process, her eyes were fixed on the lunchbox, noticing that it hadn't been opened. Katniss always wrapped the lunchbox in a plastic bag to keep it warm, but the bag was still intact, with the seal untouched.
After sitting down, Katniss placed her hands in front of her, fingers intertwined. She occasionally glanced at me and then around the room, appearing very tense.
"It's late, why aren't you at home? What are you doing here?"
Leaving Katniss sitting there wasn't a solution. I shifted my gaze from the computer and asked her.
"Nothing, just worried that you hadn't eaten."
Upon hearing my question, Katniss looked up at me with a hint of guilt before lowering her head.
I remained silent, and we both sat in a brief calmness. My mind wasn't on the screen's data; I was waiting for Katniss to confess something to me.
"Honey, are you angry?"
After a moment of silence, Katniss couldn't hold back and asked the crucial question, as if she had mentally prepared herself for it.
"No, why would I be angry?"
I didn't turn my head, but my tone carried obvious emotions, despite denying my true feelings.
"You couldn't sleep last night, right? You found out, didn't you?"
Katniss sensed the sarcasm in my tone and asked, her voice trembling.
I didn't answer, feeling a mix of anger and impatience on my face.
"I didn't mean to make you feel that way, I waited up late just to avoid disturbing you. Like we said in our text messages, I forgot what men care about the most. Although what happened last night was with your consent and approval, but..."
Katniss suddenly seemed very self-blaming and anxious, as if she was eager to explain what happened last night.
"Wait, what are you saying? I consented and approved of what? When did I agree to anything? I never gave you permission for what happened last night."
Feeling frustrated, I caught onto the key information in Katniss's words. She said I had agreed to what happened last night, but when did I agree? I interrupted Katniss before she could continue.
"Yes, you did."
Katniss didn't expect me to ask that question and looked equally surprised, not understanding why I was so agitated, with a hint of fear in her expression.
"When did I agree? I never approved of what happened last night."
I felt puzzled because when Katniss answered, her eyes were fixed on me without any evasion, making me believe she wasn't lying.
"A cup."
Katniss mentioned a cup, a prop and code word for communication between her and Nathan. We had never brought up this word before.
"A cup? Are you saying the cup was moved?"
It dawned on me, and I blurted out the question. Katniss didn't speak, just nodded firmly.
"When did you notice?"
"At noon. I didn't pay attention in the morning, but by noon, I saw that the cup handle was slightly separated. Wasn't it you, honey?"
Katniss seemed to realize something, but stopped talking abruptly, covering her mouth in surprise.
After Katniss said this, our eyes met, and I sighed. I hadn't touched the cup, and Katniss wasn't lying. So, someone else must have moved the cup, and that someone couldn't be anyone else but Nathan. Besides Katniss and me, only Nathan was at home yesterday.
Now the question was, how did Nathan figure out that Katniss and I were using the cup as a signal? Or did Nathan not know and accidentally moved the cup? Both possibilities were plausible.
Katniss and I locked eyes, and I sighed. For some reason, with this new possibility in mind, I felt a sense of relief. If it was all just a misunderstanding, then I could let go of the resentment. The only discomfort was that Katniss and Nathan had let go of their inhibitions last night, unlike the previous night when they hesitated and ultimately failed to have intimacy. How did they manage to succeed this time? How did Katniss and Nathan behave? I could only find the answers through the surveillance footage.
I had planned to stay at the office that night, but Katniss insisted on staying with me. According to her, Nathan had already returned to the island in the afternoon.
In the end, the office bed could only accommodate one person, and Katniss chose to sleep on the couch to keep me company. I had no choice but to compromise and take Katniss home. Actually, going home wasn't the main goal; my main purpose was to check the surveillance footage while Katniss was asleep, to see the consequences of everything that had happened, and how the cup had been moved. And how Katniss and Nathan had let go of their awkwardness, engaging in intimacy while I slept in the next room.
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