Chapter 107 Consider These My Gifts
"Did you drink?" Katniss caught a whiff of booze on him.
Tristan just smirked, his hand sliding down her arm to grab hers as he headed towards the apartment.
With one hand being tugged along, Katniss fished out her keys from her bag and unlocked the door, kicking off her shoes.
"Have you eaten?" He noticed the new men's slippers she had set out, raised an eyebrow, and slipped them on.
"Yeah, I have." Katniss shrugged off her down jacket and hung it up.
She turned around to see Tristan shrugging off his coat too, so she took it and hung it up as well.
"Have you eaten?" she asked, "I can whip up a mean bowl of pasta if you're hungry."
Tristan frowned a bit and said, "Nah, I haven't, but don't worry about it."
He stepped forward, scooped her up, and carried her upstairs, whispering in her ear, "Let's get started."
He was super eager, probably 'cause of the booze; he always got like this after drinking.
The bed wasn't enough to contain their passion; they took it to the bathtub and then to the sofa.
She always got lost in it, falling for the illusion of their love.
But that illusion always shattered when Tristan handed her the card afterward.
His face would go cold, and the tenderness in his eyes would vanish.
She gently rubbed the bank card with her fingertip, not smiling this time, and placed it on the bedside table, turning around to hug him.
He seemed to have fallen asleep.
Her eyes drifted to his sexy Adam's apple. In the heat of the moment, she couldn't help but lightly bite it.
She raised her hand, her fingertip gently touching his Adam's apple, but he quickly grabbed her hand.
He didn't open his eyes, his thin lips parting slightly. "Are you that desperate for money?"
The gentler he was before, the more heartbreaking he was afterward.
But maybe 'cause she'd been hurt so many times, Katniss could now handle it calmly, though it still stung.
"Thanks, Mr. Forbes, for always coming by. Consider this my gift," she said.
She was a bit stubborn, and it always led to regret.
Tristan, who had seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, suddenly woke up. "They say gifts are better than purchases. I hope that's true."
His well-defined hand clasped hers, veins faintly bulging, but she had no strength to respond, silently vowing never to give again.
In the morning, she was an hour late for tutoring at the Neville family 'cause of traffic, barely making it in time for lunch.
Katniss couldn't help but complain, "Mr. Forbes, we can't keep doing this. Tutoring Kieran is a legit job, and I need to keep it professional."
"I don't give a damn about professional ethics; I'm just hooked on you." Tristan said this with a straight face while driving, making Katniss's ears turn bright red.
Sure enough, they headed straight to lunch at the Neville family, and Katniss couldn't help but wonder what Tristan had told them.
She felt Kieran and Cedric's gazes were were a peculiar blend of nonchalance and the gleam of gossip.
As a result, she felt uneasy during the afternoon lesson, especially with Kieran occasionally grinning at her.
When she asked why he was smiling, he just shrugged and wouldn't say.
Compared to the working hours, the Neville family's class dismissal time is relatively early. So she planned to swing by the hospital.
She didn't dare let Tristan drive her, so she took his car to the bus stop, said goodbye, and hopped on the bus.
Tristan's car stayed parked, a half-open window showing a lit cigarette slowly burning away.
At the hospital...
Sophia had just finished dinner when Katniss arrived. She frowned and asked, "Why are you here at this time without a heads-up? Have you eaten? Let the nurse grab you something."
"No need, I'm not hungry." Katniss plopped down by the bedside. She was wiped out after being with Tristan all night and hadn't had time to eat in the morning. But she had eaten a lot at lunch and wasn't hungry now.
"You don't look so hot." She sat down and noticed Sophia's pale face and dark circles under her eyes.
Sophia turned to grab a tissue, sniffed, and wiped her nose, pointing to the weather outside. "It's cold, and I caught a cold. Damon even prescribed some cold meds for me. It's nothing."
"I'll set up a flu shot for you; it'll make it less likely for you to catch a cold." Katniss believed her and got up to check the windows to make sure they were shut tight.
"This VIP ward is way better than the regular ones, right? I caught a draft when I went for a check-up that day." Sophia saw her bag at the foot of the bed about to fall and moved it to the bedside table.
The bag's zipper was open, revealing three black cards inside.
Although Sophia had never been part of high society, she had worked as a nanny for a bank executive's family and knew that black cards weren't something just anyone could get.
Even though Katniss had a good job, getting a black card would be tough, let alone three.
So there was only one possibility: these black cards belonged to someone else.
'Who could give her several black cards?' Sophia wondered.
"Mom, I'll get you some hot water to soak your feet." Katniss remembered that when she and Matilda were kids, Sophia would always have them soak their feet in hot water when they caught a cold.
She brought a basin of hot water from the bathroom, bending down to set it down, her loose clothes slipping off one shoulder.
The hickeys on her collarbone were pretty obvious, and Sophia, with her experience, immediately knew what was up.
Her breath hitched, and seeing Katniss about to take off her socks, she quickly grabbed her hand, her voice a bit tense. "I'll do it myself."
She took off her socks and put her feet into the water, gradually adjusting to the temperature, her eyes starting to well up.
Katniss noticed her unusual behavior and softly asked, "What's wrong?"
"What could be wrong?" Sophia looked up, tears falling as she smiled and wiped them away. "I'm just happy. Having you and Matilda as my daughters is truly my luck."
Katniss couldn't help but smile, draping a small blanket over Sophia's shoulders. "Having a mom like you is my luck."
Katniss sat down, hugging Sophia's shoulders, feeling the continuous warmth emanating from her.
"How are things going with you and George?" Sophia asked.
Sophia hadn't brought this up in a while, and Katniss was momentarily taken aback.
After a few seconds, she said, "Not well, don't get your hopes up."
"How could it not go well?" Sophia got anxious. "Didn't you say you would have a good talk?"
In her excitement, she moved and pulled the blanket off. Katniss quickly picked it up and draped it over her again.
"Having a good talk doesn't mean it will work out. He's not my type," Katniss said.
Sophia didn't buy it at all. "You don't like his type? Then what type do you like? I'll find someone to introduce to you!"
Katniss's throat tightened, seeing Sophia's persistence, she couldn't help but feel troubled. "Even if I like him, it doesn't matter. He doesn't like me."
She could only say, "You think I'm great, but there are many better than me. Don't worry about my affairs."
Sophia moved her lips, seemingly thinking of something, and fell silent.
Seeing her not speaking, Katniss thought she had given up and changed the subject.
After a while, Sophia's expression returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
The hospital was not close to the Neville family, so early the next morning before dawn, Katniss bought breakfast for Sophia and rushed to catch the bus without eating herself.
Sophia stood by the window, watching her run from the inpatient building to the hospital entrance, her thin figure hurrying.
She turned and picked up her phone to call Odette, chatting for a bit before asking, "Is George not living at home? Where does he live? Does he have any properties? I'm just curious."
Odette thought Sophia was considering whether Katniss would have a marital home if she married George and listed several properties under George's name, adding, "But he bought those houses to avoid me. Now that I see he and Katniss are getting along well, I don't bother him. He stays at the studio with his gaming employees."
On the bus, Katniss found that Sophia had put a boiled egg in her bag.
It was still warm and already peeled.
After transferring buses twice, she finally arrived at the Neville family at 8 a.m.
The first thing Cedric said when he saw her was, "Tristan won't be coming today; you can arrange Kieran's lessons as you see fit."
"Okay." Katniss smiled and went upstairs.
Tristan was very busy, so it wasn't surprising if he had to go to the company for an emergency.
But after the second lesson, she saw the trending news on her phone and understood.
He was spending the weekend with Bella, which was only natural.
In the photo, Bella was holding his arm, smiling sweetly at him, her eyes full of admiration.
He was slightly turned, seemingly listening to Bella whispering.
From the photos taken by the reporter, the two seemed very close.
"Miss Grey, you like Mr. Forbes, don't you?" Kieran had been watching her for a while, and her eyes hadn't left the trending news about Tristan.
"He's my boss." Katniss put down her phone, unaware that her expression had completely changed from before she saw the news.
Kieran mumbled softly, "Really?"
Katniss didn't answer, picking up the book to start the last lesson, but the image of Tristan's emotional expression that night lingered in her mind.
"Tomorrow is Monday. Listen carefully in class, and if you have any questions, message me on Facebook." By evening, she didn't stay for dinner at the Neville family, giving Kieran a few instructions before leaving.
The setting sun cast a brilliant glow in the west.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Tristan extinguished his cigarette, turning to look at Bella, who had been waiting for him all afternoon on the sofa. "I'm going back to the Forbes Mansion tonight. You should come too," he said.
Bella's face darkened but quickly smiled again. "Okay, let's go now. I need to buy some food for Grandma Forbes; it's only polite."
"Yes, and don't forget to mention the divorce." Tristan responded, then grabbed his coat and walked out.
He seemed more eager to bring up the divorce than Bella, reminding her almost every time she was going to see Adelaide.
Bella responded and quickly followed him out of Synergy Global Corporation. While waiting for Ryan to bring the car, Jessica came out of the company.
Seeing Bella, Jessica's eyes lit up, and she walked over without hesitation!
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