Chapter 130 Find Out Where Katniss Is
Katniss quickly looked away, her feet feeling like they were glued to the steps, not sure if she should head down or not!
While she was lost in thought, Tristan had already ditched his shirt and slung it over his shoulder. He sauntered up, eyes locked on her with a look that meant business.
She instinctively took a step back but totally forgot she was on the stairs and ended up tripping, landing right on her butt!
Grimacing in pain, she caught a whiff of alcohol as Tristan's long legs came into view.
Looking up, she saw his handsome face getting closer. His eyes were a bit hazy, and his lips had a slight shine to them.
"Katniss?" He looked confused, raising his hand to steady her face, moving in closer.
"Mr. Forbes." Katniss grabbed his wrist with both hands and softly said, "You've had too much to drink. Let me help you back to your room to rest."
He didn't put up a fight, letting Katniss move his hand away and guide him upstairs.
She fumbled along the wall to turn on the room's light, and the dark room instantly lit up. He leaned against the wall.
His head also rested uncontrollably against the wall, showing off his sexy Adam's apple, delicate collarbone, and perfectly defined chest muscles.
She tried not to stare too much, pulling him to the bed. As they reached the bedside, he suddenly lost his balance and fell onto her.
She was pinned under him, the sudden weight making her gasp.
His arms propped on either side of her head, their faces inches apart, breaths mingling, the temperature rising.
His eyes moved from her delicate brows to her small nose and enticing red lips.
His thin lips moved slightly, licking a few times, then suddenly lowered his head.
Katniss instinctively turned her head, but he followed her movement.
His cool lips brushed against hers.
He collapsed beside her, unmoving, with one arm draped over her waist.
In an instant, some inappropriate images flooded her mind, and Katniss's body reacted suddenly.
She frowned and sat up, moving his hand away and tidying her messy long hair.
After steadying her breath, she turned to lift his legs onto the bed and covered him with a thin blanket.
He slept quietly, his eyes slightly closed.
His high nose bridge and thin lips, familiar yet with a hint of unfamiliarity.
She pressed her lips together, standing by the bed, his image reflected in her eyes, memories flooding her mind.
After a long while, she took a deep breath and turned to leave.
A photo of Aaron was enough to explain that Inspire Academy was behind the scenes.
So, Katniss laid out Aaron's unique situation, and both the online and offline parents got it.
Sure, a couple of folks still wanted their money back, but most were cool with it.
Katniss got swamped again, juggling recording lessons and whipping up study plans for each kid.
Early in the morning, Tristan woke up with a killer hangover. He sat up, frowning, and noticed two strands of golden hair in his hand.
They were Katniss's. He stared at them for a moment, picking them up.
He had drunk way too much last night and couldn't remember a thing.
His frown deepened as he glanced at the camera in the room, then tossed the thin blanket aside and got up to wash up.
Heading into the study, he fired up the computer to check the surveillance footage. Halfway through, his phone suddenly rang. He put it on speaker.
"Tristan, how's Aaron's tutoring going?" Eudora's slightly breathless voice came through.
"Not great, it hasn't officially started yet," Tristan said honestly. "Are you on a morning run? I'll hang up then."
Tristan was about to hang up when his eyes locked on the surveillance screen—right at the moment he walked in, Katniss was standing on the stairs.
Eudora quickly said, "I only have time to call you during my morning run. Can't you accommodate me a bit? What's so urgent that you can't even talk?"
After complaining, she continued, "Why hasn't Aaron started his lessons?"
Just then, the study door opened, and Aaron's head popped in. "Tristan, I'm hungry."
"You ask him yourself." Tristan handed the phone to Aaron, instructing, "Bring it back to me when you're done. I'll make breakfast after I finish this."
Aaron took the phone and left, heading back to his room and tossing the phone on the bed. "What do you want?"
"I'm your sister. Can't I call you without a reason?" Eudora was slightly annoyed by his attitude but patiently asked, "Why haven't you been doing your lessons? What have you been up to these days?"
"I don't want to." Aaron bluntly recounted all the "good deeds" he had done in the past few days.
Eudora immediately got angry. "Aaron, can you stop hanging out with those shady people! I've told you countless times, those thugs are no good. Stay away from them! If you keep this up, you'll be beyond saving. Do you really want to become a loser?"
Aaron had heard similar words from Eudora many times.
His long-suppressed emotions erupted. "You don't even ask if I got hurt fighting with those people! You don't care why I fought, just assume I'm hanging out with them and going astray?"
"I don't need to ask. I know exactly what you're like!" Eudora snapped, "I'm telling you, you must use these six months to learn all the courses and pass the entrance exam for the top high school in Velvet City!"
Aaron gritted his teeth and nodded. "You want to control me? Who do you think you are? Mom and Dad didn't even care about me, who do you think you are?"
"I'm your sister!"
"You care about me less than Katniss does. At least she worries about me getting beaten up by thugs and suggests I practice some fighting skills to avoid being bullied. But all you do is criticize me!"
The more Aaron spoke, the angrier he got. He jumped off the bed, ready to throw the phone to the ground.
But the next second, he remembered it was Tristan's phone, quickly retracting his hand and hanging up the call.
Eudora listened to the busy tone on the phone, stunned for a few seconds before quickly dialing another number. "Michael, what was the name of the woman who broke up Tristan and Bella?"
"Katniss," Michael said. "Why the sudden interest in her? Don't worry, she left Velvet City a year ago."
"Do you know where she went?" Eudora asked again.
Michael pondered for a moment and replied, "No, but she always keeps her word. She definitely won't return to Velvet City. She poses no threat to Bella. The biggest threat to Bella now is her own illness, which keeps recurring."
After a long pause, Eudora softly asked, "Michael, do you blame me for hiding Bella's illness from you?"
"Of course not," Michael immediately said. "You treated her like your own sister. She insisted on going abroad to find you after graduation, which shows she sees you as family too."
Eudora sighed lightly and continued, "I thought Bella came abroad after sorting out her feelings with Tristan. Who knew she just left Tristan and ran away? Since she arrived, she's been emotionally unstable. Hearing about Tristan's marriage made it worse. She can't return in her condition. I always thought I could help her recover, so I didn't tell you all to avoid worrying you. But who knew she..."
"Eudora," Michael's tone was somewhat indulgent, "you don't need to explain so much. None of us blame you. You've spent a lot of effort and money treating Bella abroad these years. Thank you."
"Thank me for what? We're all doing this for Bella and Tristan's sake. Oh, by the way, I heard Aaron mention something about Katniss earlier. I suspect Katniss knows Tristan went to Nightfall City and went to find him."
Her voice transmitted through the phone to Michael's ears. Michael asked, "Are you sure?"
Eudora was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I can't be 100% sure, but you should keep an eye out. I don't think I misheard."
After a few more instructions, the call ended. A glint of determination flashed in Eudora's eyes as she put on her earphones and started running toward the Forbes Mansion.
On the other end, Michael gripped his phone tightly, then called Samuel, "Find out where Katniss is now!"
"Mr. Astor, hasn't Katniss been gone for a long time? Why are you suddenly looking for her?" Samuel instinctively asked.
"When I tell you to do something, just do it! No need for so many questions!" Michael scolded coldly, adding, "You have one hour."
With that, the call ended.
Samuel, who was having breakfast, suddenly dropped his phone and tugged at his tie, looking annoyed.
After a moment, he sent a message to Katniss on Facebook: [Michael is looking for your whereabouts.]
When Katniss received Samuel's message, she was driving to the education center and instinctively pulled over.
She had only met Tristan a few times. Could there already be rumors?
But looking around Nightfall City, besides Ryan, no one around Tristan knew her!
Before she could figure out how to respond to Samuel, another message from him came through: [Did you run into Mr. Forbes?]
She quickly replied: [Yes.]
Samuel: [Take care of yourself.]
After sending the message, Samuel got up and left, his expression somewhat gloomy. 'Katniss, you really haven't learned your lesson!'
He got into his car and, on the way to the Astor Corporation, replied to Michael: [Nightfall City.]
The reason Katniss was able to set up the education center so smoothly was largely because Samuel had a friend here who helped a lot.
Over the past year, they occasionally kept in touch, but only to chat briefly about work and daily life.
She was very grateful to Samuel. However, Nightfall City was far from Velvet City, and the Astor Family had no business or influence here.
So she had nothing to worry about. Once Tristan left Nightfall City, everything would return to normal.
In the study, Tristan finished watching the surveillance footage, pausing on the scene where Katniss stood by the bed, looking at him with a complex expression for a long time.
He gently brushed his thumb over his thin lips, raised an eyebrow, then turned off the computer and went downstairs to make breakfast.
Aaron returned the phone, placing it on the dining table and waiting for breakfast.
Tristan's tall figure moved methodically, and soon he brought over two plates of sandwiches, placing one in front of Aaron. "What do you think of Katniss?"
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