Chapter 161 She Belongs to Me
Saskia shot Katniss a confident look. "Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. Just hurry up and change so we can get going."
With that, she headed back to her room to change. Katniss trailed behind, watching Saskia seriously pick out clothes. It hit her that this outing was non-negotiable. She sighed and went to her own room to change.
Katniss rarely had any fun; it was all work, work, work.
'Guess I can go out once in a while to kill some time,' she thought.
Nightfall City's downtown was still buzzing around ten. At Saskia's insistence, Katniss wore a purple floral dress.
The dress hit just above the knee, conservative but with a playful vibe. If you looked closely, you could see faint hickeys on her neck.
Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders. Someone like her showing up at a bar was bound to turn heads.
She wasn't a bar regular, always thinking they were full of sketchy people. A few guys with colorful hair whistled at her and Saskia as they walked in.
They ignored them and went straight inside.
This bar was pretty upscale, with an open first-floor hall that had a dance floor and seating. For a quieter time, there were private rooms upstairs with different kinds of entertainment.
But Saskia was there to have fun, dragging Katniss to sit on the first floor.
She ordered two low-alcohol cocktails, and they each held a glass, watching the men and women dance closely on the floor.
"See that hottie?" Saskia leaned in, pointing at a guy in a white shirt with a half-mask on the dance floor.
His shirt was only buttoned twice, showing off some well-defined muscles.
He had a great body, a perfect half-exposed face, and slightly damp short hair from sweating.
He was definitely a head-turner for the ladies. Katniss found him drop-dead gorgeous at first glance.
But he didn't do it for her; she couldn't help but compare him to Tristan.
Tristan had those broad shoulders and a narrow waist, way more appealing than the masked guy.
Plus, his noble vibe was unmatched. Even if Tristan were on the dance floor, he'd outshine everyone there.
She just smiled at Saskia without saying a word.
Seeing Katniss's mind was elsewhere, Saskia quietly took out her phone, snapped a pic of Katniss sipping her drink, and sent it to Nicholas.
In the photo, the colorful lights made Katniss look stunningly beautiful, totally unaware of her own charm.
Her slightly seductive eyes were half-closed, making Tristan's breath catch even through the screen.
Nicholas chuckled, shaking his head. "Saskia's something else. We leave Nightfall City for one day, and she's already taken Katniss to a bar!"
He turned off his phone, glanced at the traffic light ahead, and grinned. "But she wouldn't guess that things went smoother than expected, and we're already back."
Tristan, driving, had a focused look, his eyes fixed on the green light as he stepped on the gas.
Nicholas shot a text to Saskia, asking which bar they were at.
Saskia casually replied with the bar's name, adding, "Too bad you guys aren't here, or I'd buy you a drink!"
Nicholas cursed under his breath at her cheeky response.
"Set the route to the bar," he said, and Tristan, without a word, drove straight there.
Meanwhile, Katniss's face was flushed from the cocktail, even though it was low-alcohol. Feeling a bit warm, she shrugged off her coat.
In just half an hour, she'd turned down over ten guys trying to hit on her.
She found it all pretty dull, while Saskia was happily adding a few guys on Facebook.
"Aren't you all about not getting married?" Katniss asked Saskia.
Saskia shrugged. "Not getting married doesn't mean I can't date, hold hands, or have some fun."
Katniss smirked. "So, how far have you and Nicholas gone?"
"What does that have to do with Nicholas? We were almost engaged once, and now we're almost engaged again," Saskia replied.
Before Katniss could say more, the light in front of her dimmed. Without looking up, she said, "Sorry, I don't add contacts or drink."
"Facebook's already added," came Stanley's casual voice from above her.
He plopped down next to Katniss. "You're really hard to get. Don't you see my Facebook messages every day?"
Katniss instinctively scooted away. Of course, she saw them but never replied.
"What a coincidence running into you here. Let's have a drink together." Stanley waved to the waiter. "The usual."
Soon, the table was covered with colorful drinks.
"We're just here to relax and have fun, not to entertain you," Saskia said, standing up and pulling Katniss closer. "She's Tristan's girl, you should know that."
Stanley's face darkened at the mention of Tristan. He knew very well who Katniss was.
If Tony hadn't warned him to stay away from Katniss, he would've made a move long ago.
Even though Tristan didn't publicly defend Katniss at the business event, he had still managed to suppress the Gibson Family.
Without knowing the exact relationship between Tristan and Katniss, the Gibson Family didn't dare to mess with them easily."
"Who she belongs to doesn't matter; I'm just buying her a drink," Stanley said, not backing down. If anything, he was more determined. He started thinking of ways to get Katniss to drink more—if something happened, it wouldn't be his fault, right?
He leaned in and slid a high-proof cocktail over. "Ms. Grey, have a drink. By the way, I want to talk to you about a friend who needs a tutor."
Katniss didn't touch the drink and replied flatly, "Our educational institution doesn't accept students over eighteen."
Stanley quickly corrected himself, "No, I mean my friend's child."
"We don't accept preschoolers either," Katniss shot back.
She knew Stanley was only twenty-six, and his friends were around the same age. It would be a stretch if they were even married, let alone having school-aged kids.
"Mr. Ortiz, don't waste your time on me. I won't drink your drink, and don't get any ideas about me. Let's not bother each other." With that, she stood up, grabbed her coat and bag, and gave Saskia a look.
Saskia quickly got up too. They came out to have fun, not to deal with Stanley.
As they tried to leave, Stanley blocked their way. "What do you mean by not bothering each other? Give me some face, don't run away every time you see me, okay?"
Thinking about Juliet agreeing to support him at the Ortiz Family shareholders' meeting, he decided to take a risk.
"No," Katniss replied firmly.
Stanley's face darkened. He grabbed Katniss and forced her to sit back down. "No one leaves until you finish all the drinks on the table!"
Saskia regretted dragging Katniss out for a drink. This was not what she had in mind.
"Young and hot-tempered," a clear voice cut through the noise.
In the bustling bar, the voice wasn't loud but was crystal clear to Katniss.
She turned and saw Tristan, cigarette in hand, walking over. His height brought him level with the lamp above the long table.
She could barely make out the cold smirk at the corner of his lips, and his deep eyes were backlit, making his emotions hard to read.
But he looked incredibly aloof, exuding an undeniable presence.
Stanley opened his mouth but found his throat too tight to speak.
The next second, Tristan was already seated next to Katniss, his long arm draped over the back of the sofa behind her.
That posture made it look like he was holding Katniss in his arms.
The familiar scent surrounded her, and it wasn't until his soft voice whispered in her ear that she realized Tristan was there.
"I'll settle this with you later," he said, each word clear and meant only for her.
Stanley shot back, "So what if I'm hot-tempered? This is my turf. If you want to take someone away, you need my permission."
He was stubborn but didn't dare to pull Katniss over.
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "Do I need your permission to take my person?"
"My person."
Those words made Tristan's stance crystal clear.
Katniss's heart skipped a beat, her thoughts swirling.
Stanley was left speechless, still looking defiant.
"If you still don't get it, let me spell it out for you. Katniss is my woman. Don't even think about her." Tristan handed a cigarette to Stanley and said calmly, "Let's chalk up the past to ignorance. From now on, let's each take a step back. I won't hold a grudge for you harassing her, and you stop bothering her."
It was a gesture of reconciliation.
But Stanley, feeling humiliated and not having achieved his goal, hesitated. He didn't know whether to take the cigarette or not.
"There's hardly anyone in the world who gets a cigarette from Mr. Forbes. This is a favor; what are you waiting for?" Nicholas, with one foot on the table, waved at Stanley. "Being friends with Mr. Forbes is all benefits and no harm."
Stanley's hesitation grew. He knew that if Tristan's project succeeded, he could quickly become a top force in Nightfall City.
It was clear that Tristan was extraordinary.
He took Tristan's cigarette and forced a smile. "Then I'll be friends with Mr. Forbes."
His expression was somewhat fake, and it was unclear if he was genuinely listening.
But Tristan didn't care. He stood up, signaled Katniss to grab her bag and coat, and turned to leave.
Saskia followed closely but was grabbed by Nicholas, so she had to walk behind him.
"Why did you come back so suddenly?" Saskia asked reluctantly.
"If we hadn't come back, you two would be in big trouble tonight," Nicholas said without exaggeration.
Saskia frowned and whispered, "Is Stanley that powerful? Even Tristan is wary of him?"
Nicholas laughed in exasperation. "Why would Tristan be wary of him? If this were Velvet City, Stanley wouldn't even know how he died! Besides, with Katniss's temper, Tristan doesn't want to create too many enemies for her."
If they really offended Stanley, Katniss would be the one to suffer, which was evident from the Astor Family incident.
Nicholas added, "But now it's good. After this commotion, everyone in Nightfall City knows Katniss is Tristan's woman."
Saskia and Nicholas were a bit excited, but Katniss wasn't at all. Being pulled out by Tristan, she was about to say she wanted to take Saskia's car back when he shoved her into the passenger seat of his G-Wagon.
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