Chapter 194 Beyond Reason
"Miss Savoy, you gotta be kidding me. Why wouldn't I wanna talk to you?" Eudora's words cut through the air, and Katniss's polite reply just slipped out.
But then Eudora hit her with, "The Forbes family groomed me to be Tristan's wife, so it's no wonder you don't like me."
Katniss chuckled and shook her head. "That doesn't make sense. As long as Tristan hasn't picked you, I got no reason to dislike you."
Who cared who was lined up to be Tristan's wife? No one could mess with Tristan's choices anyway.
Eudora seemed taken aback by Katniss's calm and confident comeback.
Eudora stared at Katniss for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. "No wonder Tristan likes you. I kinda like you too. You're real. Way better than Bella and those other high-society fakes."
Eudora was being genuine.
But Katniss still felt a bit distant from her. She just smiled slightly as Eudora kept talking.
Katniss glanced at her watch. Half an hour had flown by. "Sorry, I got a meeting at ten. If you got something to discuss, let's get to it. We can chat later."
Eudora looked a bit bummed. "Look at me, getting all caught up 'cause we click so well. Don't mind me. I'm here about Michael. With Tristan's situation, he really can't afford any drama, especially not over you. We need to smooth things over."
"So, you want me to apologize to Michael?" Katniss cut straight to the point.
The café was quiet in the early morning, sunlight streaming in and warming them.
Katniss took a deep breath and leaned back. Seeing Eudora wasn't saying anything, she continued. "I assume you’re tight with both Tristan and Michael, so..."
"Not both," Eudora interrupted. "I grew up with Tristan, like siblings. I'm closest to him."
Katniss raised an eyebrow. "I don't get why you're trying to make Tristan go against his principles. You know I can't make up with Michael. He wants me to leave Tristan so Bella can be with him, which Tristan will never agree to. If you really wanna help, you should be telling Michael to back off. Tristan doesn't love Bella."
After getting Eudora's intentions clear, Katniss said her piece and grabbed her phone from the table. "Sorry, I really gotta run. If you wanna talk more, we can catch up tonight when I tutor Aaron. Cool?"
Eudora quickly stood up, giving an apologetic smile. "You're right. I didn't think it through. I thought maybe there was another way for you to patch things up with Michael."
They walked out of the café together and paused at the entrance. Eudora added, "Don't mind me. Growing up in the Forbes family, I've always been cautious, just trying to get by. But I won't meddle in your business anymore."
Katniss saw the sunlight reflecting off Eudora, making her look both refined and confident.
How could she have grown up cautiously?
But she must have some cunning to live peacefully in the Forbes family for so many years, being groomed as Tristan's wife without being rejected by Tristan or Adelaide.
From Katniss's perspective, she couldn't say she liked Eudora, and she couldn't dislike her either. She just tried to be as pleasant as possible. "See you tonight, Miss Savoy. I gotta get back to work."
Eudora waved as Katniss crossed the street to the educational institution, too busy to look back at Eudora.
Eudora got into her car and placed her bag on the passenger seat, but her calm demeanor from earlier was gone.
This was her first 'confrontation' with Katniss. It wasn't a big deal, but she had been completely outmatched.
She had underestimated Katniss, but there was plenty of time.
Three days remained until Katniss's court case against the teacher and others. She had been busy with the educational institution.
Tristan's driving her around gave her more time to work on the road, but it made Tristan quite unhappy.
His project was running smoothly, giving him plenty of free time, so he often went to the educational institution to check on Katniss.
When a small issue arose in his project, Tristan had to leave just as Katniss was about to finish work.
"I'll have Ryan come pick you up," he said, hanging up a call from the company and about to call Ryan.
Katniss quickly stopped him, "No need. By the time he gets here, it'll be too late. I'll just grab a cab. You go handle your work."
At such a critical moment, the issue was quite tricky.
Tristan's expression was cold as he frowned at her, then put away his phone and left.
Katniss finished her work and headed out to tutor Aaron and Donna.
Just as she stepped outside, a taxi pulled up in front of her. She hopped in and gave the driver Daniel's address to pick up Donna first.
The driver, a guy who looked to be in his forties, wore a hat and mask, giving off a mysterious vibe.
There was a faint fragrance in the car. She glanced around and saw an air freshener hanging from the air vent, which was the source of the scent.
She didn't think much of it and focused on organizing the new students into classes for the online course software. With so many students, it was chaotic, and she was super focused.
Until she suddenly blacked out, not realizing anything was wrong.
When she woke up, her hands were tied. She opened her eyes to a dimly lit room.
The room smelled faintly of disinfectant, and through the half-open curtains, she could see tree branches swaying in the wind.
This seemed to be a mid-sized hotel, likely on the third to fifth floor.
She was lying on one of two single beds, and the taxi driver's hat was on the opposite bed!
She quickly sat up and wriggled her hands, loosening the coarse, new hemp rope that was clearly bought on the spot.
'Kidnapping? And by an amateur.' Her tension eased a bit as she wondered if they were after money or something else.
The door opened, and voices approached. "Why are you in such a hurry? Didn't I tell you I'd pay you after the job is done?" Delphine stormed in, and upon seeing Katniss awake and untied, she instinctively took two steps back. "How are you awake?"
The driver followed Delphine in and pushed her into the room. Hearing that Katniss was awake, he panicked. "Why are you running? If she gets out of here, we're both going to jail!"
He picked up the rope from the floor, intending to tie Katniss up again.
Katniss grabbed a cup from the bedside table and smashed it, pointing the sharp end at them. "Stay back, or this kidnapping turns into murder, and you'll both end up on death row."
Delphine, frightened, grabbed the driver's arm. "Don't push her! Our goal is to take photos and threaten her. She won't dare mention the kidnapping!"
Hearing this, the driver threw the rope onto the other bed.
"Katniss, you forced me into this. Strip off your clothes and let me take some photos, then drop the lawsuit. Otherwise, you won't leave here alive," Delphine said.
"You're more afraid of me dying here than I am," Katniss immediately saw through Delphine's plan. "What? Planning to use nude photos to threaten me into dropping the lawsuit? Who gave you this terrible idea?"
Delphine hesitated, then changed her tune. "That's none of your business. If you don't do as I say today, I..."
Realizing she couldn't actually let Katniss die here, her threat seemed laughable.
She said, "Otherwise, none of us will leave. We just need food and clothes, but you have so much work. You wouldn't want to delay it."
Trying to convince Katniss with such a childish reason was truly laughable.
Katniss threw away the glass shards and sat on the bed. "I don't mind. I've been exhausted these past few days. Thanks for giving me a chance to rest. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten yet. Go get me something to eat."
Delphine was speechless.
The driver was also stunned.
"What are you standing there for? I want something good to eat. If not, I'll start shouting. The soundproofing here sucks, so it won't take much for someone to hear. If you're not afraid..." Katniss said.
"Shut up," Delphine snapped, embarrassed and angry. This was her first time doing something like this, and the driver was a recently released thief from her neighborhood.
They had no experience with kidnapping, and Katniss's reminders felt like slaps to her face!
"Who has the money to buy you good food?" the driver snapped. "She only gave me a thousand dollars. Gas alone costs dozens. If I buy you good food, how much will I have left? Stop wasting time and take off your clothes. It's just a few photos. Besides your face, everything else is the same as my wife's. Don't waste time!"
He was eager to get the money and had become quite bold.
He lunged at Katniss, grabbing her clothes.
Katniss couldn't dodge in time, and her coat was torn off. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest.
Delphine was timid, but the driver was reckless. She had underestimated him.
The driver started tearing at her clothes, and Katniss's skin became partially exposed, causing him to pause for a few seconds.
His wife didn't have such smooth skin!
Taking advantage of his distraction, Katniss kicked him between the legs, then stood up and threw a blanket over his head.
The man instinctively bent over, clutching his groin, and fell to the floor, covered by the blanket.
Katniss jumped down and started kicking him through the blanket, hitting him with all her strength and making him cry out in pain.
"If you keep hitting him, you'll kill him. I'll call the police!" Delphine shouted instinctively.
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