Chapter 196 I'm Not Going to Kill You
Eudora darted in front of Katniss, "She's still trying to attack, stop her!"
The cops, who were slow on the uptake, finally ran over and pinned Delphine to the ground.
Delphine's long hair stuck to her cheeks, smeared with dirt, making her look a mess. "It's all your fault, you..."
Before she could finish, the cops restrained her, making her wince in pain.
"Sorry, Mr. Forbes, Miss Grey, for scaring you." With that, the police dragged Delphine to the car.
When Eudora rushed over, Katniss instinctively stepped back, watching Delphine being taken away with a furrowed brow.
If Delphine was really the type to commit a crime at the police station, she wouldn't have been so flustered at the hotel.
So what was Delphine trying to do just now?
"Are you okay, Katniss?" Eudora turned around, her delicate features still showing the fear of the ordeal, as if Delphine had been armed.
Katniss shook her head, glanced at Eudora's protective hand, and said, "Thank you, Miss Savoy."
"You're welcome. It's getting late, and everyone is scared. Let's go back and rest." Eudora retracted her hand and then looked at Aaron, "Let's head back too."
"Let's go." Tristan wrapped his long arm around Katniss and led her down the steps, bypassing Eudora, who was still standing there.
After all, Eudora had come to the police station because of her, so Katniss thought that even if she didn't see Eudora off first, she should at least say 'goodbye' before leaving.
But Tristan had her get in the car, started the engine, and drove off without even rolling down the window.
Eudora and Aaron were still standing on the steps,with Eudora staring at their car until it was out of sight.
Katniss looked away, but Eudora remained on the steps. Her hair, tousled by the evening breeze, fell across half of her face.
"Not leaving?" Aaron walked to the car and found Eudora still standing there.
"Let's go," Eudora responded, tidying her hair as she walked over. Just as she got in the car and fastened her seatbelt, she heard Aaron ask, "Do you know that woman from earlier?"
Eudora paused in fastening her seatbelt, looked up at him nonchalantly, and asked, "Which woman? Isn't that Ms. Grey?"
"I'm talking about the woman who was arrested, Delphine," Aaron said impatiently.
Because of his tone and expression, Eudora frowned, "Spend more time studying and less time talking nonsense. How could I know that criminal?"
With that, she started the engine and drove off, her expression as calm as if it were just a casual topic.
Aaron thought he might be overthinking it, but from his angle earlier, it looked like Delphine was rushing toward Eudora.
He shook his head and stared out the window, the passing scenery reflecting in his deep eyes.
"Are you really that worried about Ms. Grey?" Eudora asked again.
"She was coming to tutor us when this happened. Shouldn't I be concerned as a student?" Aaron explained.
Hearing this, Eudora turned her head and asked, "Daniel just called Tristan to ask why Ms. Grey hadn't gone to their house to pick up Donna. Donna would definitely know what happened afterward, but why didn't Donna come to the police station to check on her? Why did you insist on coming with me?"
"Are you done?" Aaron impatiently turned back and glared at her, "What's wrong if I care? How does it bother you if I care about her?"
"What I mean is, you care about her more than you care about me. You didn't even send me a 'Happy New Year' message, but you sent one to her." Eudora argued, staring sternly at Aaron.
Aaron hesitated for a couple of seconds and said, "I... Wait, did you look at my phone? Who gave you the right to go through my phone?"
There weren't many cars on the road late at night, and Eudora was driving fast, but it didn't affect her conversation with Aaron. "I'm your guardian. I have the right to look at your phone. Don't dodge my question."
"What kind of question is this!" Aaron snapped like an angry little lion, "This is called invading someone's privacy, don't you get it? I don't need a guardian who doesn't respect me at all! You say I care about Katniss more than you because she cares about me more than you do!"
His retort echoed in the car, and Eudora's face grew more and more unpleasant. "She's just doing her job for money. She's nice to you because of the money. Do you really think she likes you? She's just useless. I'm only taking care of you because I have to. If it wasn't for the money, nobody who isn't family would even bother with you!"
Eudora and Aaron both continued to argue harshly.
The car drove a bit further down the road before stopping by the roadside. Aaron got out and slammed the door, walking into the vast night. His figure quickly blended into the darkness, his steps resolute.
Eudora drove off without looking back.
This incident left Tristan with some aftereffects; he didn't sleep well all night.
On the contrary, Katniss slept soundly in his arms.
When she woke up in the morning, she looked up and met his bloodshot eyes. She was stunned for a few seconds before adjusting her position to look at him at eye level. "What's wrong with you?"
His warm hand rested on her waist, the heat seeping through her silk pajamas to her skin, warming her.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck and mumbled, "Nothing."
His voice was hoarse, tinged with fatigue.
His hot breath scattered across her collarbone, quickly spreading a tingling sensation throughout her body.
She held him without moving, her fingers playing with a few strands of his messy, short hair, lying with him all morning.
As she handled some work on her phone, she could feel him stir beside her. Every now and then, he'd sleepily open his eyes to look at her before kissing her cheek or the corner of her lips.
Then, he would close his eyes and continue sleeping.
By noon, she was really starving.
Her already flat stomach was even flatter, her waist deeply indented as she lay on her side.
He placed his hands on her waist, frowned slightly, and kissed her lips.
Without saying anything, he got up, washed up, and went downstairs to make her something to eat.
Tristan didn't take his phone. He had just left for a couple of minutes when Ryan called.
She answered the call, and before she could speak, Ryan's anxious voice came through, "Mr. Forbes, we couldn't intercept him. Juan Stewart is too cunning. He booked a flight abroad, a train ticket to the next city, and bus and high-speed rail tickets. I had people stationed at all these places, but he didn't go to any of them. He drove on the highway heading east. I've sent people to chase him, but I don't know if they'll catch up."
Katniss remembered that Tristan had left suddenly yesterday, and she had forgotten to ask what it was about. "What did he take?"
Hearing Katniss's voice, Ryan hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "He took the core project documents. If they get exposed prematurely, our project will be ruined."
"Why did he do it?" Katniss asked again.
Ryan said, "For money. His account suddenly had an extra $140,000, and he was someone Mr. Forbes brought over from Velvet City. We don't know who gave him the money."
It could be Travis, or it could be Michael.
During the conversation, Katniss had already gone downstairs and handed the phone to Tristan, who was busy in the kitchen.
Tristan saw that the call had been connected for two or three minutes, squinted slightly, glanced at Katniss, and then took the call, his deep voice giving a few instructions. "Implement Plan B. Search for Juan while doing damage control."
After a while, the call ended. Katniss walked up behind him, wrapping her slender arms around his waist. "If you hadn't been distracted by my issue last night, maybe he would have been caught by now."
"His escape plan wasn't made overnight. No matter how capable I am, I couldn't have saved the situation in one night. We have other preparations, so don't worry." Tristan's tone was calm.
He said, "I didn't plan to hide it from you. I just wanted to wait until you were more emotionally stable to tell you."
He was afraid she would settle accounts, like how she had hidden the education institution issue and received his scolding in return.
Now, his approach was no different from hers.
"When was I emotionally unstable?" Katniss let go of him, leaning against the counter to look at him, "I slept well last night, and now I'm so hungry I could eat a big bowl of pasta. You're the one who's emotionally unstable."
Having his thoughts exposed, Tristan's chiseled face remained calm. He took two steps towards her, placing his hands on either side of her, trapping her.
Their eyes locked for several minutes, the pot beside them boiling the pasta, making a bubbling sound.
The aroma of the food filled the air, mingling between their noses, but she caught a hint of smoke on him.
Although he had showered last night, the smell of the cigarettes lingered.
She placed her hands on his shoulders, tilted her head, and kissed his chin.
"Don't mess around." He turned his head away, removing her arms. His body could never resist her temptation.
But he wasn't in the mood right now, and besides, she hadn't eaten yet.
"From now on, don't hide anything from me. No matter where you go, you have to report to me. Even if you make a mistake, tell me immediately. Don't be afraid; I won't kill you." He turned off the stove and took out two bowls to serve the pasta.
Katniss's glossy lips pressed together, wondering, 'Does hiding the marriage count as a mistake? It shouldn't be a capital offense.'
What she truly feared wasn't him 'killing' her, but him being angry. His anger was scarier than any physical punishment.
She pondered if there was any way to turn this around, any chance that Tristan wouldn't be mad.
But no matter how she thought about it, there wasn't.
She was so deep in thought that it caught Tristan's attention. He had already placed the pasta on the dining table and turned to see her still leaning against the counter.
Frowning, he took a few big steps over and asked in a deep voice, "You really have something you're hiding from me, don't you?" He was mostly sure, but he still had a few questions.
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