Chapter 112 It Won't End Well If You Two Fall Out
Strolling down the same old streets, Katniss was about to grab her keys to unlock the door when something hard landed in her hand outta nowhere.
She froze, eyes wide at Tristan, and pulled out a car key with the BMW logo shining in her palm.
Katniss blinked, "What's this?"
Tristan smirked and nodded towards a shiny new red BMW parked nearby.
"I don't need a car," Katniss quickly caught on. "Work's just a five-minute walk, no point in driving."
Tristan shrugged, "You'll need it for weekends at the Neville's or hospital runs."
Tristan sometimes headed back to the Forbes Mansion on weekends to hang with Adelaide, so Katniss had to hit up the Neville family solo. In this freezing weather, catching the bus early or late was a nightmare.
Katniss's eyes softened as she took in his handsome face, a gentle look in his eyes that made her heart flutter.
He grabbed her hand and led her to the car, nodding towards it. "Hop in, give it a spin."
He reached to open the door, but she stopped him. Before he knew it, she was on him, arms around his neck, kissing his cool lips.
First time she made the move, right there on the street, not caring about the onlookers.
He was tall, making it tricky for her to kiss him. To help her out, he leaned against the car and bent down.
One hand on the car, the other on her waist, giving her support.
With his eyes half-open, he saw her curled lashes. A passerby whistled, and her lashes fluttered. Her hands slipped from his neck.
She tried to pull away, but he held her tight, whispering, "Keep going."
Her ears turned bright red instantly.
In the snowy white scene, their black and red figures stood out, snuggled together.
They were under a streetlamp, the warm light casting a perfect, envy-inducing scene.
Bella, sitting in a nearby car, was so jealous her face twisted. She yanked the door open to get out.
Michael, in the driver's seat, locked the car and sped off.
Bella, like a madwoman, clawed at his clothes from the back. "Michael, stop the car! Why won't you let me out? Katniss, that shameless woman, she's ruining my thing with Tristan!"
Michael said, "Katniss is just a bump in the road. Plenty of ways to get rid of her, but if you blow up and fall out with Tristan, it won't end well."
But Michael's words didn't do much to chill Bella out. She kept banging on the window and yanking his hair, making it impossible for him to drive straight.
The car swerved and smashed right into a pole. Michael's head hit the glass, and shards cut into his forehead, blood dripping down.
But he didn't care about himself. Bella had been thrown forward, lying limp between the seats, not moving.
He quickly unbuckled, got out, and pulled Bella out, then flagged down a car to rush to the hospital.
Outside the ER, the light stayed red. Michael didn't even bother with his own wound, just stared at that light.
Finally, the light went out, the door opened, and the doctor stepped out, pulling off his mask.
"How is she?" Michael jumped up, rushing over.
The doctor gave a slight nod. "A piece of glass pierced her head. We've stitched it up. There might be a scar, but it's on the top of her head. She just needs to rest."
"Thanks. Please take her to a VIP room," Michael sighed in relief.
Then the doctor added, "Mr. Astor, you should get your wound treated too."
A nurse came over to guide Michael. Blood streaked his cheek, a far cry from his usual polished look.
Bella woke up soon after being moved to the VIP room. Her head throbbed, and she instinctively reached up, feeling gauze instead of her hair.
"Don't touch it!" The nurse saw her trying to pull the gauze and quickly stopped her. "You have stitches on your head. You can't move it."
"Where's my hair?" She felt the smooth edge of a shaved spot!
Bella grabbed the nurse's hand tightly, frowning. "The injured area was shaved a little, it'll grow back... Ah!"
Before the nurse could finish, Bella yanked her. "Who told you to shave my hair? Tristan loves my hair. Who gave you the right? If Tristan doesn't like me because of this, can you take responsibility?"
Her strength was shocking, and the nurse was pulled and swayed, finally kicked into the corner, looking in horror at Bella who continued to lash out from the bed.
"Bella, stop!" Michael strode over, holding Bella back and signaling the nurse to leave.
The nurse scrambled out, muttering to a colleague at the door. "The patient in there must be nuts, acting like a total maniac."
Inside, with Michael's soothing, Bella gradually calmed down.
"Hang tight, I'll handle Katniss. You stay put in the hospital and wait for Tristan to come see you," Michael said.
Bella clutched Michael's hand, eyes wide. "Michael, will Tristan really come? Will he think I'm ugly like this?"
Michael shook his head firmly. "No way. He's into you. No matter what, he'll always think you're beautiful."
Leaving Bella's room, Michael immediately called Samuel. "Find out where Matilda is right now."
Samuel paused for a moment before replying, "Got it."
The room fell silent, and Bella tried to calm down, but the image of Katniss and Tristan kissing in public made her seethe with jealousy.
Her phone buzzed. She quickly checked it; a message from her spy following Matilda and Sophia.
[Miss Astor, Sophia's still at the hospital, but she's in a VIP room. Security's tight, we can't pinpoint the exact room.]
Bella's eyes lit up, glancing around the hospital she was in. It was the same one where Sophia was.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, the food was finally gone. Tristan suggested Katniss drive the new car out for dinner.
Katniss agreed and, feeling nostalgic, drove Tristan to a snack street near her old university.
Without even stepping out, Tristan frowned at the chaotic scene outside.
"There's this awesome barbecue spot on the street. We used to hit it up every day in college. It's been years; I wonder if it's still there," Katniss said, unbuckling her seatbelt and noticing Tristan still sitting.
She raised an eyebrow. "Never been here, huh?"
Tristan shook his head.
"Trust me, it's amazing," Katniss said, lightly shaking his arm.
Her eyes sparkled with the street lights outside, making her look different, more relaxed. Maybe this was the real her.
Tristan felt a flutter in his chest and smiled. "Alright, let's give it a shot."
Katniss quickly unbuckled and urged him, "Come on, if that barbecue place is still there, we gotta hurry or we won't get a seat!"
She hopped out, jogged around to Tristan's side, grabbed his arm, and led him into the crowd.
Most of the passersby were students, with fresh, young faces.
Tristan and Katniss, looking mature and exuding charisma, drew a lot of attention. But whether male or female, people only dared to sneak glances.
Passersby whispered in awe.
"They look so good together!"
"They're both so good-looking. They must be alumni who survived the breakup season and came back to relive their campus days."
Katniss heard the whispers and just smiled.
The barbecue joint was still there, and Katniss's grin widened as she snagged the last available seat for them.
The chairs were tiny, and when Tristan sat down, his knees almost hit his chest. He looked a bit uncomfortable, brows furrowed.
"Wanna check out the menu and order something?" she asked, handing it to him.
Tristan shook his head. "You go ahead."
Katniss didn't push it. She knew his tastes and figured he hadn't tried this kind of food before, so he wouldn't know what to pick.
She ordered a bunch of stuff, then handed the menu to the owner. The owner squinted at her and asked, "You look familiar. Did you use to come here a lot?"
"Yeah, I haven't been here since I graduated six years ago. Before that, I was here almost every night. I'm Katniss, remember?"
Back then, the barbecue place was hiring part-timers, and Katniss had worked there for almost two years.
But she didn't want to bring it up directly, worried the owner might not remember and it would be awkward, or he might think she was trying to suck up.
The owner looked at her again and suddenly remembered, nodding. "Katniss, of course, I remember you. I just didn't dare to recognize you. My wife really liked you. Her biggest dream was to have a daughter like you. You even took a photo with us. When my wife was pregnant, she always looked at that photo, saying that if she did, the baby girl would be as beautiful as you!"
After six years, the owner still remembered, and Katniss couldn't help but feel touched.
Then Tristan chimed in, "Can I see that photo?"
He had been sitting there for a while, seeing the young faces around him, and couldn't help but be curious about what Katniss looked like in college.
Katniss's heart skipped a beat, her face paling a bit. Tristan didn't recognize her as his wife because she had changed a lot in six years.
But seeing a photo from six years ago, he should recognize her, right?
"Is it not possible?" Seeing the owner standing still, Tristan politely asked again.
The owner quickly nodded. "Sure, I just need to find it."
Then the owner looked at Katniss and smiled, "Katniss, is this your boyfriend?"
Katniss opened her mouth, unsure how to explain her relationship with Tristan, her mind spinning because of his request to see the photo.
"Yes." Tristan's clear, deep voice answered, nodding slightly at the owner.
"You two look great together. Hang tight, I'll go find the photo. Our Katniss was really beautiful in college," the owner said, heading off to find the photo.
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