Chapter 135 Deliberately Seducing You
"What the hell are you doing?" A pissed-off shout broke the silence, and Katniss almost dropped her pen in shock.
She looked up and saw someone charging at her. Before she could even react, someone grabbed her collar and yanked her off the couch.
She hit the floor hard and got dragged a few feet, her T-shirt collar nearly getting stretched out of shape.
Her shirt, which was tucked into her waistband, got pulled out, showing a bit of her slim waist.
"Shameless! My son is not someone you can mess with!" The harsh scolding snapped Katniss back to reality. She looked up at the intruder.
"Juliet?" Her face was a mix of surprise and confusion.
"Mom!" Jesse hurried over, his voice full of reproach as he called out to Juliet. He instinctively tried to help Katniss up.
Juliet yanked his arm back. "Don't touch her!"
"What are you doing?" Jesse shook off Juliet's grip. "Ms. Grey has been putting in extra hours to tutor me. Why are you causing a scene?"
"Is she tutoring you or trying to seduce you?" Juliet's sharp voice echoed in the empty room.
Katniss, supporting herself with both hands on the ground, felt a sinking feeling under Juliet's disdainful gaze. She gathered her long hair and stood up, straightening her messed-up clothes.
Her expression turned cold, a stark contrast to the gentle and casual demeanor she had while tutoring.
This made Jesse nervous. "Mom, can you stop being so unreasonable? You just don't want me to work, but there's no need to make things hard for others!"
"I'm not making things hard for her!" Juliet snorted, pointing at Katniss. "Do you know who she is? She's the one who got into Tristan's bed and made Bella depressed!"
Jesse looked shocked, his lips moved but no words came out. He instinctively looked at Katniss.
Hearing Juliet mention Bella, Katniss suddenly remembered something.
The Astor Family had a distant relative with the last name Jenkins, who had married and had kids who took their mom's surname.
So Jesse was Juliet's son, taking her surname, and they were relatives of the Astor Family.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Juliet stared directly at Katniss. "With that seductive face, you flirt everywhere. When you couldn't seduce Tristan, you came to Nightfall City to cause trouble? You are so scheming, even targeting someone as young and innocent as Jesse!"
The humiliating words kept coming, and Katniss's face turned even paler. She pressed her lips together and said, "Juliet, whatever happened before, Jesse and I are clean now. We have a professional relationship."
Juliet snatched Jesse's phone from the table and shoved it in Katniss's face, showing her two photos.
She held them up to Katniss's face. "What are these? Stop pretending! You stay up late with Jesse, pretending to sleep to attract him. How shameless can you be!"
Turning to Jesse, she said, "Jesse, don't be fooled by her. A woman who seduces men is no good!"
Katniss looked at Jesse in shock. She had no clue about those photos.
Jesse's face turned red with embarrassment and anger as he grabbed the phone back. "Mom! Ms. Grey didn't know I took those photos. I thought it was funny when she fell asleep. There was no other meaning!"
He couldn't even look Katniss in the eye.
To Juliet, his words were infuriating. "That's all part of her plan. She even fooled someone like Tristan. Of course, you can't see through her..."
"Enough!" Katniss couldn't take it anymore and cut Juliet off. "Juliet, you can take Jesse home. There's no need to cause trouble here. Whether I have any improper intentions toward him, time will tell!"
Her expression was icy as she turned to pack up the materials on the table, not looking back as she said, "Jesse, from today on, you are no longer a tutor here."
She knew Jesse was innocent in this mess. He was just trying to find a job. But clearly, this place wasn't right. Keeping Jesse here would only cause trouble for both of them.
Jesse said without hesitation, "I'm not leaving. The students I'm tutoring are still waiting for me!"
He turned to push Juliet. "Mom, can you go home? Ms. Grey is not who you think she is. She's a responsible teacher and a kickass boss!"
Juliet, almost at the door due to Jesse's pushing, was too angry to speak.
"Enough, leave now." Katniss's tone was firm.
This made Jesse feel distressed. He turned to continue blaming Juliet. "Mom, you're too much. I'm telling you, I will finish this job! If you keep making things hard for Ms. Grey, I won't acknowledge you as my mother anymore!"
As soon as he said this, Katniss felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, Juliet, enraged by his words, turned and hit Jesse hard on the back twice.
She rushed past him and charged at Katniss, raising her hand high, aiming for Katniss's face.
"I really underestimated you, having Jesse so bewitched. I must teach you a lesson for being so shameless..."
The slap never landed. Juliet's wrist was caught by a large, well-defined hand.
Katniss instinctively wanted to step back, but before she could move, a tall figure appeared.
It was Tristan, bringing with him the cool air from outside, which somewhat calmed Katniss's inner turmoil.
"Mr. Forbes?" Juliet was somewhat intimidated by his cold stare and reluctantly pulled her hand back.
"Tristan." Jesse rushed to Tristan's side. "Please talk some sense into my mom. She's gone nuts causing trouble here!"
Juliet glared at Jesse, then looked at Tristan. "I've heard bits and pieces about your affairs from Michael and the others. I don't care if you play around with women, but I won't allow this woman to target Jesse. I hope Mr. Forbes doesn't mind me saying that?"
Play around with women?
That statement made Katniss's face turn even paler. She pressed her thin lips together and looked at Tristan.
"I don't mind," Tristan said, turning to Jesse. "Listen to your mom and go home."
That one sentence seemed to confirm Katniss's lack of character!
Katniss gritted her teeth, her face flushed with countless humiliations.
At this moment, Jesse's defense put her in an even more awkward position. "You guys are being too much. Ms. Grey and I are completely innocent, and I believe Ms. Grey is not the person you say she is!"
"Do you know her?" Tristan asked indifferently. "How long have you known her?"
He stood in front of Katniss, blocking Juliet's gaze that seemed to want to devour Katniss, his tone indifferent as if he didn't care about Katniss at all.
Juliet was extremely satisfied, then turned to glare at Jesse, pushing and kicking him out the door. "You fool, a woman like that only deceives people like you..."
The cursing gradually faded away, and Jesse didn't even have time to pack his things before being dragged away by Juliet.
Outside the door stood Aaron and Ryan. Seeing them leave while cursing, Aaron lifted his foot to go inside.
Ryan quickly stopped him. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to class," Aaron said matter-of-factly.
"Having class in this state? Wait in the car!" Ryan hooked his arm around Aaron's neck and led him back to the car. The two of them peered through the glass into the education center.
Katniss still stood behind Tristan, her petite figure completely hidden.
Tristan slightly tilted his head, catching Katniss's reflection in the glass.
After a long while, she tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, "Mr. Forbes, do you know me well?"
Her tone was unsettlingly calm, causing a wave of irritation in Tristan. He lowered his head and took out a cigarette, lighting it.
Turning around, he looked down at her. "At least better than he does."
"Then tell me, what kind of person am I?" Katniss raised her head and took a deep breath.
He frowned slightly, not speaking.
She repeated, "In your eyes, what kind of person am I?"
His gaze was intense, his deep eyes reflecting her image. Her eyes suddenly reddened.
"You should know Juliet's relationship with the Astor Family," Tristan said slowly. "So you won't gain anything in front of her. Stay away from Jesse in the future."
She didn't care about gaining anything in front of the Jenkins Family or the Astor Family. What she cared about was Tristan's attitude.
In front of Juliet, he didn't say a word to defend her. She wasn't a homewrecker!
Probably because he didn't care about her reputation and feelings, there was no need to stand by her side.
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Forbes." Katniss took a deep breath, the curve of her lips trembling slightly. "And please, Mr. Forbes, stay away from me as well."
The swirling smoke couldn't hide Tristan's gloomy expression, his eyes filled with waves of anger.
He raised his hand and pinched Katniss's chin, the smoke from his thin lips spreading from her face to the surroundings.
"You don't get to decide that," he said.
Katniss gritted her teeth, furious. "I won't teach Aaron anymore! I'll refund your tuition!"
"Fine," Tristan said indifferently. "Compensate according to the terms on the receipt."
Her throat tightened. Ten times the amount, nearly a million dollars. She didn't have that kind of money.
Seeing her speechless, Tristan's thin lips curved slightly. "What? Don't have that much money?"
His gaze traveled from her smooth face downward, landing on the loose collar due to the stretching.
The faintly visible collarbone and the graceful lines of her body, with a hint of black lace.
She knew exactly what he was looking at.
She frowned slightly but smiled. "Mr. Forbes, do you still want to mess around? But I won't accompany you. I don't need money anymore!"
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