Chapter 165 Only Shock, No Joy
In the evening, Matilda called to let me know that George's assistant couldn't make it to Nightfall City this time.
But their team was swamped with the competition and needed her help for a few days.
Since she had worked for George before and knew the ropes, it made sense.
"You should go help out. George has done a lot for us, and I can manage things here with Mom," Katniss said.
"Alright, I'll have the caregiver look after Mom on Monday. I can be back by Monday afternoon," Matilda replied.
After finalizing the plan, Matilda quickly hung up.
Katniss didn't tell Sophia where Matilda was going, just that she had something to take care of.
The night dragged on, and moonlight filled the hospital room.
Sophia was already asleep. Katniss lay on the companion bed, holding her phone, unable to sleep.
Her chat with Tristan had ended with her telling him not to visit for the next few days.
He hadn't even replied.
That morning in the hospital room, the coldness in his deep eyes seemed etched into her mind, replaying over and over.
After a while, she took a deep breath, put away her phone, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
Even so, she still couldn't.
She stayed at the hospital over the weekend, so when she left on Monday morning, she looked exhausted.
She went home first and saw that Tristan's things were just as they were when she left.
It was clear he hadn't come by in the past two days.
He had seen the message but just didn't reply.
She took a shower, changed clothes, put on some light makeup, and then headed to the education center.
Although she didn't look as tired on the surface, her head was still foggy.
Near noon, she got a message from Aaron: [Ms. Grey, bring Donna tonight. Come 10 minutes early and use the side door.]
After hesitating for a few seconds, she replied: [Okay.]
In the afternoon, she left early for the Wilson Family, picked up Donna, and headed straight to Celestial Villas.
Arriving about twenty minutes early, she took Donna to the side door of the apartment.
It was a glass door that allowed them to go upstairs without passing through the living room.
But after fiddling with the handle for a while, she couldn't open the door.
"Ms. Grey, why aren't we using the front door?" Donna asked.
Katniss frowned and said, "Aaron told me to come ten minutes early and use the side door."
Then she thought, could Aaron be trying to prank her again?
She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked at the handle inside the glass door. It was locked.
How could she open it?
She turned around and took Donna to the front door. "Looks like Aaron tricked us again. Let's just go in this way."
As they rounded to the front door, she suddenly saw Tristan's G-Wagon parked there.
He got out of the car, his dark eyes pausing on her for a moment.
He locked the car, walked past her and Donna, and went up the steps to unlock the door with his fingerprint.
After a moment, seeing no movement behind him, he turned back and asked, "Aren't you coming in?"
"Okay." Katniss snapped out of it, quickly went up the steps, and followed Tristan inside.
She was five or six steps behind him.
She watched him change his shoes and stride into the living room, where a flash of fiery red suddenly appeared.
Like a gust of wind, a woman emerged from the living room, hands behind her back, wearing a red dress, her golden hair styled in big waves.
With exquisite makeup, she exuded mature feminine charm in every gesture.
"Hi, surprise!" the woman said.
Katniss's body stiffened, her eyes trembling as she looked at Tristan, who was stunned for three seconds.
Then the woman walked up to him, stood on tiptoe, and lightly hugged him, even trying to kiss his cheek.
But Tristan quickly raised his hand to grab her wrist, his voice slightly surprised. "When did you get here? Why didn't you say anything?"
"I just arrived in Nightfall City this afternoon to surprise you, but it seems more like a shock." Eudora said, retracting her hand and taking his suit jacket.
"How could it be?" Tristan said in a deep voice. "If you had told me earlier, I would have arranged a welcome party for you."
Then, as if remembering something, he glanced at the two still standing at the door.
Katniss had just changed one shoe when Eudora's sudden appearance caught her attention.
Seeing their gazes, she quickly lowered her head and changed the other shoe.
Then she led Donna inside, nodding slightly. "Mr. Forbes, I'll take Donna upstairs for her lesson now."
"Are you Aaron's tutor?" Eudora looked Katniss up and down, her gaze naturally imposing.
But she didn't reveal any emotion, making it not off-putting.
Hearing how she addressed Aaron, Katniss guessed her identity. "Yes, are you Aaron's sister?"
Eudora smoothed her hair and nodded. "Yes, you can go upstairs now."
She didn't introduce herself, perhaps eager to catch up with Tristan or uninterested in Aaron's tutor.
Katniss took Donna upstairs. Although she never looked up at Tristan, she could feel his gaze on her.
He watched her go upstairs until her figure disappeared around the third-floor corner before looking away.
"Do they know you're here?" Tristan asked.
Eudora raised her hand to hold his arm and led him into the living room. "Yeah, they know. With the New Year coming up, they knew they couldn't get you back, so they sent me to bring you back to Velvet City. Grandma's waiting for you."
Tristan tugged at his tie, unbuttoned two buttons on his cuffs, and rolled up his sleeves.
He wasn't overly sensitive to Eudora's physical contact; after all, they had lived together for thirty years.
Even though they weren't related by blood, their sibling bond was undeniable.
"I heard from Ryan that you sorted out the project?" Eudora crossed her legs, her bright and bold features looking directly at Tristan.
Tristan responded, "Yeah, so I've been super busy lately. Whether I can go back for the New Year depends on the situation."
Upon hearing this, Eudora shrank her neck and said, "If you don't go back, I won't either. I'm not going back alone to get scolded."
"Then stay," Tristan said without hesitation. "Nicholas is here too. We can spend the New Year together in Nightfall City. It'll be great."
"Alright." Eudora instantly smiled. She looked different from how Tristan remembered her.
Eudora had been abroad for the past few years, and they had rarely seen each other. She had become more intellectual and mature.
It was understandable. He smiled and said, "Have you had dinner? I'll cook for you."
"Not yet, airplane food is terrible," Eudora replied. "Make my two favorite dishes. After we eat, you can join me to talk to Aaron. I haven't seen him in a long time, and he's a bit rebellious. I don't know what to say to him."
Eudora didn't hold back, waving her hand to urge Tristan to cook.
Her behavior made Tristan feel like she hadn't changed at all, except for her style.
He got up and went to the kitchen, rolled up his sleeves, and walked to the fridge. After opening it for a while, he turned and asked, "What do you like to eat?"
"Tristan, you're something else. If I didn't come back, you'd probably forget I'm your sister! You don't remember what I like to eat?" She got up and walked over, looking displeased.
The house had good soundproofing, but it couldn't stop Katniss from opening the door a crack out of curiosity.
She could vaguely hear the conversation downstairs, mostly Eudora's voice, but the cheerful tone indicated they were having a good time.
"Ms. Grey," Aaron tapped the table with his pen, "you've been zoning out for almost ten minutes."
Katniss quickly snapped back to reality, turned around, and closed the door tightly to block out the sound.
Then she took out the test papers from last week from her bag and spoke up. "I've summarized your scores..."
Donna had a severe subject imbalance, and Aaron was barely passing in every subject.
But she hadn't forgotten her promise to reward Aaron with a phone, which she had bought in advance.
She also prepared a gift for Donna.
Aaron's eyes lit up, and he immediately started unwrapping it.
Donna shyly accepted her gift and said, "Thank you, Ms. Grey."
"Why are you thanking her?" Aaron scoffed. "We improved our grades, so we deserve this!"
"But Ms. Grey spent her own money to buy these for us. Improving our grades benefits us, so of course, we should thank her," Donna said in a small but firm voice.
Katniss smiled warmly at Aaron, who glanced at her uncomfortably and muttered a half-hearted "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Katniss told them to put their gifts away and then started the new lesson.
But she kept getting distracted, and even Donna noticed something was off.
During a ten-minute break, Katniss stood by the window in the third-floor hallway to get some fresh air.
Her mind was filled with the image of that red figure. Daniel had mentioned that Tristan and Aaron's sister had a good relationship, which was why he was taking care of Aaron.
But she had overlooked one question: how good must their relationship be for Tristan to help out like this?
Countless thoughts raced through her mind, but she couldn't stop overthinking.
In the study, Donna peeked through the slightly open door at Katniss standing at the end of the hallway, and quietly asked, "What's wrong with Ms. Grey?"
"I don't know." Aaron was fiddling with his new phone. Hearing this, he got up and looked down the hallway.
Seeing Katniss's thin, melancholic figure, he couldn't help but frown.
"Aaron, which high school are you planning to go to?" Donna asked again.
Aaron sat back down without looking up. "My sister wants me to go to a high school in Velvet City, but do you think I can?"
"Of course!" Donna said without hesitation, causing Aaron to look at her in surprise.
She quickly looked away and said, "You're so smart. If you catch up on your missed lessons, you can definitely do it."
Hearing this, Aaron didn't say anything. It wasn't that he lacked confidence in getting into a high school in Opal City.
He just wasn't interested in going to Opal City.
When the ten-minute break was over, Katniss turned to continue the lesson, only to see Eudora coming up the stairs.
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