Chapter 217 If She Hurt You, I Wouldn't Know What To Do
"How dare you still have the nerve to have fun here?" Anna casually picked up a glass of wine from the table and splashed it towards Katniss.
The speed was so fast that no one had time to react. However, Tristan instinctively stepped in front of Katniss.
The brown liquid splashed on his back, and the dark-colored clothes didn't show any noticeable difference. But everyone could see that the wine had indeed splashed all over Tristan.
Katniss instinctively raised her hands and grabbed Tristan's wrist. His decisive and quick action made her heart tighten.
"Mr. Forbes, why are you protecting her? She is someone who goes back on her word and shamelessly seduced you before you were even divorced! She looks righteous, but who knows how promiscuous she is in private." Anna had been holding in her anger for long, and now she finally found a release point, saying whatever came to mind.
Anna kept spewing nasty words, and Katniss's eyes instantly turned cold. She stood up and slapped Anna across the face. "Mr. Owens's poor upbringing and Mrs. Owens's negligence have turned you into such an ill-mannered person. No worries, I'll teach you how to behave."
When she got angry, her eyes were like an ice dagger, directly piercing Anna's face. She walked over and tightly grabbed Anna's collar, forcing her to step back.
That was just a glass of red wine; what if it had been boiling water?
Katniss's mind was filled with the image of Tristan stepping in front of her without hesitation, and she was also full of anger.
"You..." Anna was scared, pushed against the wall and unable to move, she finally mustered the courage to say, "What kind of tutoring did you give Zaid? He still didn't get into a good high school!"
"If there's any issue with Zaid, let your mom talk to me. You're not worthy." Katniss released her collar.
She patted her hands as if they were dirty, then pointed to the open door and said, "Get out."
One sentence made Anna's heart tremble inexplicably, and she instinctively wanted to leave.
"Anna!" A voice came, and Daisy and Sean walked over. Seeing Anna's half-red face, they changed their expressions.
Sean especially walked over with a pained look, examining Anna's face. "What happened? Who hit you?"
"Dad, Mom, she hit me!" Anna pointed at Katniss and complained, "She didn't even get Zaid into a good high school, and when I came to ask her, she hit me!"
In an instant, Sean's angry gaze turned to Katniss as if he could eat her alive.
But Daisy stood still.
Tristan walked to Katniss's side, blocking Sean's gaze, and said coldly, "There are cameras in the private room. Didn't even think before lying?"
Then he looked at Sean, "Mr. Owens, your poor upbringing has made her a habitual liar and arrogant. I also seriously doubt your character. In future collaborations, I hope you don't give me any reason to catch similar faults. Otherwise, according to the contract, I have the right to withdraw your investment without refund."
His doubts, initially directed at Anna, extended to Sean, leaving him speechless.
Recently, the project had been going well, visibly making money, and Sean had gone from admiration to being very reverent towards Tristan.
"I've said it before, I'm very satisfied with Zaid's current academic performance. Now, we can think of ways to get him in a good high school. With his previous grades, he wouldn't have made it anyway. Why are you causing trouble?" Understanding the situation, Daisy walked over and scolded Anna, then glanced at Sean, "Stop causing trouble and embarrassing us here! Ms. Grey, I'm sorry for the trouble. I'm still very satisfied with your teaching abilities."
The embarrassment on Katniss's face faded a bit, and she smiled at Daisy, "Zaid is introverted. When he gets to high school, I suggest you enroll him in some extracurricular classes. It will help broaden his mind, and a balance of work and rest will improve his grades."
"Okay, thank you for the advice, Ms. Grey." Daisy thanked her and then signaled Anna and Sean to leave quickly.
Anna and Sean couldn't resist Daisy and turned to leave the private room.
After the Owens family left, Katniss took Tristan to the private room's bathroom to clean the wine stains on his clothes.
He took off his shirt and stood bare-chested in the bathroom, his presence filling the cramped space and distracting Katniss.
She quickly washed the small area and then dried it under the hand dryer.
"Why did you rush over? It's just a glass of wine." She asked softly.
Tristan raised his eyelids slightly to look at her, "Are you touched?"
Katniss rolled her eyes and scoffed impatiently, "I hope you won't be so impulsive next time. What if she had a knife? What would you do then?"
"What else could I do?" Tristan hadn't actually seen what Anna was holding, "If she hurt you, I wouldn't know what to do."
Killed Anna for revenge? That was illegal, and he'd go to jail. Or just let it go? He wouldn't be able to quell his anger.
A simple and blunt explanation, revealing his concern for her.
Katniss handed him the dried shirt, her cool fingertips buttoning it up one by one.
Her lips parted slightly, unable to suppress a smile, and she couldn't help but stand on tiptoe, her lips gently pressing against his.
He leaned loosely against the wall, slightly lowering his head to accommodate her actions.
She rarely took the initiative, especially in public, and her breath was a bit shaky. This made his breathing deepen, and he placed his hands firmly around her slender waist.
His half-open eyes watched her ears turn red, and he reluctantly lifted his head, avoiding her further teasing.
Her body softened, collapsing into his arms as she adjusted her breathing. His chin rested on the top of her head, and she could feel his strong, powerful heartbeat, filled with his recent desire for her.
Five minutes later, when they walked out, there was no sign of anything unusual on their faces.
The small incident didn't cause much of a stir, and after the meal, everyone dispersed.
Daniel took the core team to Velvet City and became the project's leading figure, while Tristan, who controlled things from behind the scenes, had much more free time.
A month later, they were scheduled to return to Velvet City on August 20th, but on August 15th, Daniel suddenly encountered some issues.
Tristan had to head to Velvet City immediately. It was only two hours from the time Daniel sent the message to Tristan's decision to leave.
The speed was dreamlike, and by the time Katniss realized it, Tristan's plane had already taken off.
She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the plane slowly ascend into the sky, sighing lightly, feeling an emptiness inside.
With him around, the past month had flown by, but without him, five days felt like five years to Katniss.
Five days later, Katniss boarded a plane with Sophia and Aaron, heading to Velvet City.
This time was different from the New Year trip to Velvet City; she was truly returning to Velvet City.
Sophia moved slowly, and it took Katniss over ten minutes after landing to bring them out of the gate.
As soon as they emerged, they saw Matilda, dressed in a shirt and jeans, with a hint of professionalism.
Seeing them, Matilda's eyes instantly reddened, and she ran over to greet them.
She stopped in front of Sophia, gently hugged her, then turned and tightly embraced Katniss, spinning in place. "Katniss, you're finally back! I've been waiting for so long!"
Katniss was almost out of breath from her tight hug.
Sophia moved her lips and firmly said, "Stop it!"
Matilda paused, turning to look at Sophia with tears streaming down her face, "I'm just happy! I can't jump around with you, so I can only hug Katniss!"
In the crowd, the combination of the mother and her two children, along with Aaron, drew frequent glances from passersby.
Katniss smiled lightly and exchanged a few pleasantries before they all turned to leave. Her eyes scanned the crowd, but she didn't see the expected figure, feeling a bit disappointed.
Tristan knew her flight details, and although she had told him that Matilda would pick her up and he didn't need to come, she still hoped he would surprise her by showing up.
Those five days felt like an eternity to her, while he was so busy that he sometimes couldn't even reply to her messages.
When she turned on her phone, there was only one message from Saskia.
After getting in the car, she replied to Saskia's message first, then perked up to chat with Matilda.
Matilda lived in a mid-range large apartment with four bedrooms and two living rooms. Four people could live there. However, for convenience, she had also rented the apartment across the hall.
With two apartments per floor, after getting out of the elevator, she handed Katniss a key. "Mom can stay with me, you and Aaron can stay across the hall and you can come over for meals."
She winked at Katniss, hinting that this arrangement was for Tristan's convenience.
Katniss smiled helplessly. It made sense, but she actually planned to introduce Tristan to Sophia once they settled in Velvet City.
Sophia, though slow to speak, could basically communicate now, and the timing seemed right.
"Alright, I'll go unpack first and then come over." She took the key and went to the apartment with Aaron.
Matilda had cleaned in advance, and the place was tidy and cozy.
She let Aaron choose a room first.
But Aaron sat on the sofa and said, "You pick first. I can stay in any room. I'll just send a message to Donna first."
She chose a room, and after unpacking, she saw that Aaron had chosen the room farthest from hers.
Seeing her at the door, Aaron explained, "It's better if I stay farther from you. Otherwise, when Tristan comes, I might disturb you."
"Finish unpacking and come with me," she said.
She took the key and left the apartment, knocking on the door across the hall. Matilda opened it immediately.
"Katniss, come record your fingerprint so you won't need me to open the door for you in the future." Matilda didn't let her in, pulling her to the door to record her fingerprint.
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