Chapter 164 Is This What You Mean?
Katniss and Matilda were over the moon with how things turned out.
The next morning, after Matilda left, Katniss found herself alone with Sophia in the hospital room, cleaning up the breakfast they had shared.
She plopped down at the foot of the bed, lifted the blanket, and started massaging Sophia's legs.
When she glanced up, she noticed Sophia's eyes were red and brimming with tears.
Katniss paused for a moment, grabbed a couple of tissues, and gently wiped away the tears from Sophia's cheeks.
"Mom, everything's great now. Why are you crying? Matilda and I are too happy for that," Katniss said softly.
She had a pretty good idea why Sophia was emotional.
After all the hardships, it made sense to feel overwhelmed and want to cry.
These were happy tears.
Sophia's fingers twitched slightly, and her eyes were filled with warmth and happiness instead of tears.
Seeing this, Katniss went back to the foot of the bed and continued massaging her feet.
"Did Matilda tell you? We're in Nightfall City now, not Velvet City anymore. The weather here is like spring all year round, which is great for your recovery. Once your cancer treatment is done, we'll take you home and get you out for some exercise every day. You'll be back on your feet in no time," Katniss said, her delicate features relaxing into a warm smile, relieved of a long-standing worry.
Sophia blinked in response.
After finishing the massage on the left leg, Katniss covered it with the blanket and was about to move to the right leg when she heard a knock on the door.
Katniss leaned over to look and saw a man's shoulder through the door glass.
She raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and walked over to open the door. She was surprised to see who was standing outside.
"Samuel? What are you doing here?" Katniss asked.
After a year apart, Samuel was still the same—serious in his suit and tie.
When he saw Katniss, there was a barely noticeable softness in his eyes.
He lifted the supplements in his hand and said, "I happened to be in Nightfall City for some business and thought I'd come to see you."
"Thanks, come on in." Katniss took the supplements from his hand and led him into the hospital room.
Seeing Sophia awake in the hospital bed, Samuel was taken aback.
They hadn't been in touch much, so Samuel didn't know that Sophia had woken up.
After putting down the supplements, Katniss explained, "My mom has woken up and is undergoing targeted therapy for her cancer."
Samuel quickly caught on. Seeing the smile she couldn't hide, he found himself grinning too.
"That's awesome. Everything's going just the way you hoped," he said.
After a bit of small talk, Katniss introduced him to Sophia. "Mom, this is Samuel, the one Matilda told you about."
Samuel stepped closer to the bed and gave a slight nod. "Hi, I'm Samuel."
Sophia, who had been pretty calm, suddenly widened her eyes and gave Samuel a once-over.
Whatever was going through her mind, her eyes started to well up, and it looked like she was using all her strength.
Katniss noticed her hand trembling slightly, like she wanted to grab something.
Following her gaze, Samuel looked down at his own hand. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over and held Sophia's hand.
Even though she hadn't done much work lately, Sophia's hand was still pretty smooth, except for some old scars.
It felt warm in his.
This scene caught Katniss off guard. Did Sophia feel some kind of connection to Samuel?
While she was still processing, she noticed Sophia's gaze shift to her.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Sophia's gaze moved down to her hand.
Katniss raised her hand, frowning slightly, not quite getting what was happening.
Suddenly, she felt warmth on her hand. It was Samuel; he had grabbed her hand.
Then he turned to Sophia and asked, "Is this what you mean?"
Sophia quickly blinked.
Instinctively, Katniss wanted to pull her hand back, but Samuel held it and placed it together with Sophia's hand.
"You want me to take good care of Katniss, right?" Samuel asked.
Sophia didn't blink again, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions.
Katniss could feel Sophia's hand trembling slightly.
Could it be that Sophia, not seeing many men around, was excitedly trying to play matchmaker?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh and shake her head at Sophia.
Before she could say anything, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened.
She straightened up and turned around, immediately seeing Tristan and Nicholas standing at the door.
Nicholas was holding a few boxes of expensive supplements, his gaze fixed on Katniss and Samuel's intertwined hands.
He quickly turned to look at Tristan.
Sunlight filled the room through the window, shining on Tristan's face, but it couldn't melt the coldness in his eyes.
His narrow eyes were slightly squinted, reflecting the intertwined hands.
Katniss's lips curved slightly, her delicate features relaxed, looking genuinely happy.
The sunlight on her and Samuel added a touch of warmth, making the scene quite striking.
Samuel was the first to snap out of it. "Mr. Forbes, didn't expect to see you here," he said.
He glanced at Katniss, thinking, 'So, is she still tangled up with Tristan?'
Samuel's voice brought Katniss back to reality. She quickly pulled her hand away.
After a few seconds of locking eyes with Tristan's icy stare, she looked away and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Samuel, what are you doing here?" Nicholas asked, his tone a mix of surprise and suspicion.
He was Michael's guy, so why was he here with Katniss?
Samuel let go of Sophia's hand and nodded slightly to Nicholas and Tristan. "Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Forbes, Katniss and I were college classmates. We've known each other for years."
"What?" Nicholas was taken aback. "Does Michael know you're here to see her?"
Everyone knew Michael couldn't stand Katniss. Wouldn't this be seen as a betrayal?
Hearing this, Katniss frowned. Samuel had helped her a lot behind Michael's back before. If word got out, Samuel would be in trouble.
She instinctively stepped in front of Samuel. "Mr. Kennedy, Samuel and I..."
"Stop, stop." Nicholas interrupted, seeing her anxious expression. "Don't worry. I was just making a casual remark. I'm not going to broadcast it."
Hearing this, Katniss breathed a sigh of relief.
Tristan raised an eyebrow and lowered his gaze, but the coldness around him was unmistakable.
Tristan thought, 'Is she worried? She never backed down even when Michael was giving her a hard time. But today, she almost backed down for Samuel.'
"Well..." Nicholas suddenly felt the tension in the room. Why did he drag Tristan to see Katniss's mom?
'Bad luck, running into Samuel here,' Nicholas thought.
"Mr. Forbes, Mr. Kennedy, why did you come here suddenly?" Katniss asked, feeling a bit uneasy, and turned to make some tea.
But Tristan's deep voice cut in, "We shouldn't have come. Put the things down and don't disturb them. Let's go."
The first part was directed at Katniss, and the latter at Nicholas.
Nicholas quickly placed the supplements on the empty bed nearby, smiled at Katniss, sighed, and then followed Tristan out.
Katniss's heart trembled as she watched them leave the room one after the other. She then looked at Samuel and Sophia still in the room.
In the end, she decided to follow them.
"Katniss," Samuel suddenly called out, stopping her in her tracks. "I heard Mr. Forbes's project in Nightfall City isn't going well."
Katniss retracted her step, feeling a bit flustered, and instinctively answered Samuel's question. "Yeah, Synergy Global Corporation cut off their investment. The partners he was trying to bring in had financial issues and couldn't continue the collaboration."
Seeing she wasn't going to follow them, Samuel nodded and said, "Let's grab lunch together."
"No, thanks." Katniss declined without thinking.
Her mind was on Tristan, and though she couldn't quite put her finger on it, she felt a hollow emptiness inside.
Realizing her response might have been too abrupt, she added, "When are you heading back to Velvet City?"
Samuel replied calmly, "I'll be here for a few days. Mr. Astor asked me to handle some matters."
"Maybe another day then. Matilda isn't here today, and I'm the only one with my mom. I can't leave," Katniss explained.
After all, Nightfall City was her turf now, and it was only right to treat Samuel to a meal since he was here.
"Alright." Samuel didn't push it. After a brief chat, he left the hospital.
On the smooth road, the G-Wagon sped along, making even Nicholas, a grown man, grip the overhead handle tightly in fear. "Tristan, if you want to die, don't drag me along. I haven't even been with a woman yet."
Tristan stared straight ahead, his expression unchanged. "That's your problem. What kind of man is still a virgin at thirty? You're wasting your life."
Nicholas was infuriated. "Tristan, if you're in a bad mood, don't take it out on me! You're not wasting your life, but you've let Katniss sleep with you for years, even giving her money, and still didn't win her over!"
"Better than being too scared to even sleep!" Tristan's face darkened.
The two continued to argue until the car suddenly stopped by the roadside.
Tristan unbuckled Nicholas's seatbelt, extended his long leg, and kicked him hard in the groin, exclaiming, "Get out!"
Nicholas almost fell out of the car window but managed to grab Tristan's leg in time. He quickly changed his tone. "Tristan, calm down. I was just talking nonsense because you made me angry. Katniss isn't like that."
Tristan glanced at him, then retracted his leg, frowning as he patted his pants where Nicholas had grabbed.
The car started again, and Nicholas fell silent. Anyone who walked into the hospital room and saw Katniss and Samuel holding hands and smiling at Sophia would think the same.
He quietly sent a message to Saskia, asking about the relationship between Katniss and Samuel.
But Saskia didn't know either. She had only gotten close to Katniss after coming to Nightfall City and had no idea Katniss knew Samuel.
Looking at Tristan's gloomy face, Nicholas could only sigh inwardly, 'Love is complicated!'
Back in the hospital room, only Katniss and Sophia remained. Katniss was distracted, her mind wandering several times while massaging Sophia's legs.
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