Chapter 234 We'll Talk Later
Katniss's gaze flickered over Tristan's hand supporting Lila.
Her seemingly calm eyes betrayed an uncontrollable turmoil. She quickly averted her gaze and followed Amelia in saying, "Sorry."
Tristan felt a moment of panic and instinctively pushed Lila away, but seeing Katniss's unperturbed expression made his heart tighten.
Did she really not care that he was having dinner with Lila?
He thought that his guilt was ridiculous.
"It's you, Mrs. Brown. It's okay," Lila, who knew Amelia, responded to her apology despite being displeased by Tristan pushing her away.
"Lila. I have an urgent matter at home and need to leave. Come over to my place sometime, and I'll treat you to a meal." Amelia hurriedly walked out of the restaurant.
Katniss withdrew her gaze from Tristan and was about to leave when her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly by Tristan's strong hand.
"I need to take Mrs. Brown home. We'll talk later." She turned around without looking at Tristan, pushed his hand away, and quickly followed Amelia out of the restaurant.
Tristan watched as she and Amelia got into a car and drove away.
His lips pressed into a thin line, his jawline clearly defined.
"Our contract is complete. Can I invite you to dinner again next time?" Lila didn't care about the strange atmosphere between Katniss and Tristan.
Tristan's tone was icy, "No need. Don't bother me again."
Lila snorted, "Are you two fighting? What does that have to do with me? Why are you taking it out on me?"
"Next time you see me, go the other way. I promise I won't take it out on you." Tristan grabbed the contract from her hand.
The rough action made Lila instinctively try to dodge, but she accidentally hit her elbow on the wall, her face contorting in pain.
Tristan left coldly with the contract and glanced once more in the direction Katniss had left, his eyes growing deeper.
The sudden ringing of his phone broke the heavy atmosphere in the car. He swiped the screen to answer.
"Mr. Forbes, the person we sent to follow Ms. Grey reported that a car is tailing her."
Hearing this, Tristan pinched the bridge of his nose and said coldly, "Intercept it, find out who it is, and continue to follow her discreetly."
Ryan responded and hung up to deal with the car following Katniss.
Katniss was unaware she was being followed. Amelia was anxious, so Katniss focused on driving.
Occasionally, when her mind wandered, it was occupied by thoughts of Tristan.
He had refused her lunch invitation to have dinner with Lila.
He had lunch alone with a woman, and it was this woman who had publicly accused her of stealing—what was he thinking?
Katniss's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden car accident behind her. A regular car overtook a luxury car but accidentally scraped it, forcing the luxury car to stop.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and thought the person getting out of the regular car looked familiar.
"Luckily, it happened behind us. If it were in front, we'd be stuck in traffic," Amelia said with relief.
Katniss smiled at her and sped up to take Amelia home.
At the accident scene, two men in suits got out and walked to the luxury car, knocking on the window.
The window of the luxury car rolled down, and Isla looked at them displeased, "Are you blind? Don't you know the rules of the road?"
One bodyguard signaled the other to inform Ryan that Isla was following Katniss, while he stayed to talk to Isla. "Sorry, we'll wait for the police to come and handle the insurance."
Isla watched Katniss's car drive further away and said impatiently, "I don't have time to waste with you. Forget it, you don't need to compensate me. Move!"
"I'm sorry, but our car is also damaged, so we need to handle the insurance," the bodyguard said, refusing to let Isla go.
Frustrated, Isla rolled up the window and called Eudora. "Eudora, I lost Katniss. I got into a car accident. I'm fine, but I can't continue following Katniss."
She didn't know what Eudora wanted by having her follow Katniss, but Eudora said Michael wanted to avenge Bella, and anything that could trouble Katniss was something she was happy to do.
Yet, she wasn't a professional detective. After following Katniss and Amelia to the restaurant, she found a place to eat.
So she didn't see Katniss and Tristan meet in the restaurant.
"I have many friends. I'll ask them to help follow her. Everyone is interested in Tristan, and they all want to find trouble for Katniss." After hanging up with Eudora, Isla sent a message to her friend group, rallying them to take turns following Katniss.
The last topic in the group chat was about Tristan, and many had tried to orchestrate chance encounters with him but were blocked by Ryan.
Isla's sudden request to follow Katniss made the group silent for a few seconds before they excitedly agreed to help.
In the afternoon, after handling matters at the educational institution, Katniss went home early.
She felt like she had developed a hallucination, constantly thinking her phone was ringing, only to be disappointed each time she picked it up.
So when she got home, she left her phone in her bag and didn't take it out.
"Katniss, you're back?" George came out of the kitchen with a plate of fruit. Despite not seeing him for a long time, he didn't feel unfamiliar to Katniss.
He was still the same handsome and cheerful young man, smiling at her with a bit of shyness, likely due to his and Matilda's change in status.
Katniss placed her bag by the entrance and walked over to take the fruit from his hands. "Thank you for taking care of my mom and Matilda."
George quickly waved his hand, "There's no need to be so formal. You're making me feel embarrassed."
"I have to be polite. Once you and Matilda get married and become part of our family, I won't be formal anymore." Katniss teased softly, making Matilda's face instantly turn red. She grabbed an apple to hide her embarrassment.
Sophia felt a bit uneasy. She was still immersed in the guilt of slapping Matilda a year ago.
Noticing her diseasy, Matilda said softly, "Mom, it's all in the past. Aren't you happy for me now?"
"Yes, I'm happy!" Sophia nodded without hesitation.
Matilda smiled at her, looking cute and playful in her cartoon pajamas.
It was almost five o'clock, and Katniss invited George to stay for dinner. George accepted without any hesitation.
Katniss, holding her phone, prepared to order takeout. Her cooking was George's lifelong 'nightmare,' so she didn't bother to cook.
While she was ordering, Sophia patted Matilda, "Call Samuel over!"
Matilda was puzzled, "Samuel?"
Sophia nodded repeatedly, "Yes."
"Why call him?" Matilda didn't understand.
Sophia looked at Matilda suspiciously, wondering why not.
She thought that Matilda was with George, and wasn't Katniss with Samuel?
She had long hoped for this day, seeing both Matilda and Katniss no longer single!
"For the fun of it!" She couldn't explain more.
Rarely did Sophia make a request, and Matilda guessed it was because she had told Sophia many times about how Samuel helped them in Nightfall City, making Sophia very grateful to him.
She got up and hopped to the balcony, ready to tell Katniss to invite Samuel over.
Coincidentally, Katniss was lost in thought. A few days ago, she had told Sophia that she would bring someone home, intending to bring Tristan.
But the recent conflict had delayed it. If they hadn't fought, she would have invited Tristan tonight, and Sophia would have been very happy.
"Katniss, Mom said to invite Samuel over," Matilda said softly from the balcony door.
Katniss quickly snapped out of it, not fully hearing what Matilda said, but catching that it was a request from Sophia.
She quickly replied, "Do whatever Mom says. I'll handle the ordering; you take care of the rest."
"Okay." Matilda responded, then thought for a moment and added, "Katniss, should we invite Mr. Forbes too?"
"He's busy with work tonight, maybe another time." Katniss looked up and smiled at Matilda, then lowered her head and started ordering.
Matilda replied and went back to the living room to message Samuel.
Samuel already knew Katniss was back in Velvet City. The news about Katniss and Tristan was all over, and he had been trying not to interfere.
Receiving Matilda's sudden invitation, he felt hesitant.
Logic told him that distancing himself from Katniss was the right move, especially since Michael had already fallen out with her.
But after much thought, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Because he hadn't replied, Matilda went ahead and sent him a voice message. "Sorry for the sudden invitation. My mom wants you to come over for dinner, just for the fun of it."
Samuel had just finished listening when Michael appeared behind him.
"Got plans?" Michael glanced at Samuel's phone screen, seeing Matilda's name, and frowned.
Samuel quickly put away his phone, "No."
Michael stared at him for a moment, then said, "There's nothing more to do here. You're off work. If you have plans, go ahead. You're not getting any younger; it's time to think about your marriage."
"Thank you for understanding, Mr. Astor." Samuel smiled politely, then turned and left.
He decided to accept Matilda's invitation.
Michael stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Samuel drive away, noting that he wasn't heading home. He chuckled softly.
Would Matilda's mother really like Samuel?
Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.
Katniss got up to answer, "It's only been twenty minutes since I ordered. When did takeout get so fast?"
She opened the door, reaching out to take the food, but froze when she saw Samuel was outside.
Samuel hadn't expected her reaction. His polite smile slowly faded. "What's wrong? Are you not happy to see me?"
"Of course not." Katniss quickly stepped aside, "Please come in."
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