Chapter 235 All the Women Who Like Him
"Is that Mr. Bennett?" Matilda shifted slightly on the couch and smiled at Samuel.
Samuel walked in carrying the gifts he bought and was surprised to see Matilda's leg bandaged. "What happened to you?"
"It's nothing, just a minor injury," Matilda waved her hand dismissively. "I feel like I can walk now, but Katniss and the others insisted I stay home and rest."
Once inside, Samuel greeted Sophia.
He felt a bit uneasy, partly because Katniss's unexpectedly cold expression caught him off guard.
Or partly because he didn't know Matilda was injured and only brought supplements for Sophia, which felt quite rude.
Sophia, using a walker, warmly guided Samuel to sit on the couch.
Then she looked at Katniss, who had just walked in, "Katniss, come sit!"
"Okay, Mom," Katniss responded, sitting next to Matilda and keeping a distance from Samuel.
"Why is he here?" she leaned in close to Matilda and whispered.
Matilda, taken aback, said, "Didn't I just ask you? Mom wanted Mr. Bennett to come over, and you said it was fine."
Katniss suddenly remembered that Matilda had said something to her while she was on the balcony, but she hadn't heard it clearly.
"Why does he look familiar?" George said as he came out of the bathroom. He stood at the door for a while, feeling certain he had seen Samuel somewhere before.
Samuel recognized George and nodded slightly, introducing himself, "Hello. I'm Samuel, the assistant to the president of the Astor Corporation."
"You mean that jerk Michael's assistant?" George blurted out.
Matilda's breath caught, and she quickly winked at George.
George immediately shut his mouth. He couldn't help it.
He had accompanied Matilda through her job hunt, witnessing firsthand each company's rejection. As each refusal chipped away at her confidence, Matilda's face grew paler until, finally, she burst into tears, overwhelmed by frustration. He remembered that well!
"Mr. Bennett, don't mind him. George is just straightforward, but he didn't mean it towards you," Matilda awkwardly explained.
Samuel shook his head, "It's okay."
The awkward atmosphere didn't last long as the takeout arrived, and Katniss set it on the table.
George was a guest, and Matilda and Sophia had limited mobility, so Samuel got up to help Katniss in the dining room.
"Thank you, but you're a guest. I can handle this," Katniss said politely.
Samuel didn't stop what he was doing, "Where's Mr. Forbes?"
"He's busy," Katniss replied.
"Don't lie to me," Samuel unhesitatingly exposed her. "I heard Mr. Astor take a call where someone told him you and Mr. Forbes had a fight."
Katniss paused while distributing the utensils. She thought, 'Is it Tristan who tell someone about the fight?'
Tristan would never tell Michael about it, so who could have mentioned this to Michael?
Knowing that Michael had fallen out with them, they still informed him about their fight, and that must have had some purpose.
So, besides Michael, was there someone else secretly watching her and Tristan?
This speculation had no evidence, but the conclusion sent chills down her spine.
Yet it was expected; they were in a precarious situation now that having more eyes on them was normal.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to kick you while you're down. I just asked casually to avoid any awkwardness if Mr. Forbes shows up later." Samuel's stance was firm. He wouldn't help Katniss anymore, but he also wouldn't make things difficult for her on his own.
He would try to avoid such unnecessary trouble.
"Thank you for the heads-up," Katniss smiled, continued setting the table, and then called everyone over to eat.
Sophia still needed light and delicate food and required a bit of assistance.
"Sophia, seeing you recover like this, I'm both surprised and happy," George said. A year ago, when they took Sophia away, George thought he would never see her again.
Who would have thought things would turn out like this?
Sophia slowly put down her knife and fork and smiled at George and Samuel, "I'm almost fully recovered. When the time comes, you'll have a wedding together."
Her biggest wish was to see Katniss and Matilda get married.
She thought that they both had found good partners. She just needed to recover a bit more, at least be steady on her feet, and then they could have the wedding.
"Okay!" George looked at Matilda with excitement.
Matilda blushed, glared at him impatiently, and continued eating.
Katniss spoke very little, quietly eating her meal. Throughout the meal, she and Samuel barely exchanged a few words.
In fact, the relationship between the three women and Samuel was somewhat inexplicable, especially since Sophia seemed to like Samuel a lot.
This created a awkward atmosphere.
Samuel didn't talk much, and Sophia wanted to say something but struggled with her words, making the situation feel even more awkward.
After sitting for another hour after the meal, Samuel finally said his goodbyes.
Sophia quickly stood up, "Let's all walk him out together. It's a good chance to stretch my legs."
The early September evening was cool, and the night breeze gently blew into the car. Tristan was downstairs.
Leaning back in his seat, he looked up at the brightly lit room upstairs, knowing Katniss was at Matilda's place.
He had wanted to go up several times but restrained himself.
It would be too abrupt to visit Sophia at this time.
But he didn't want to leave either, planning to wait until Katniss went back before going upstairs.
The sudden ringing of his phone was jarring in the quiet car, and he quickly answered it.
"Mr. Forbes, the Tudor family has taken the bait. They're planning to invest all their funds into that project." That afternoon, his men reported that Isla was following Katniss, so Tristan had Ryan teach the Tudor family a lesson.
In just one afternoon, everything was set up.
"But it seems like there are others following Ms. Grey as well," Ryan said, noting that several cars had been tailing Katniss in a relay-like manner.
Tristan's eyes narrowed, a cold glint in them. "Find a way to deal with all of them. Not a single person is allowed to cause her trouble."
Ryan couldn't help but internally remark that it was Tristan's excellence that attracted so many women.
After hanging up, Tristan got out of the car, extinguished his cigarette, and threw the butt into the trash before heading towards the apartment.
He hadn't yet stepped out of the dimly lit area when he saw Katniss and the others coming out.
George was helping Matilda walk in front, whispering something to her like a couple in love.
Meanwhile, Samuel and Katniss were on either side of Sophia, supporting her, which was a particularly jarring sight.
"You're not very mobile, so you don't need to walk me out too far. I can go on my own," Samuel politely declined Sophia's offer to walk him out further.
Sophia appreciated his thoughtfulness, glancing at Matilda and George whispering to each other.
Then she looked at Katniss and Samuel, who were being very proper, and frowned, grabbing their hands and putting them together. "You two, be good!"
Katniss was startled and tried to pull her hand back, but Sophia held on tightly.
She was afraid that if she moved too much, she might knock Sophia over.
"Mom, what are you doing?" she gently touched Sophia's arm.
Sophia, her strength spent, slowly let go of their hands. "Why so shy? I understand!"
Katniss was increasingly puzzled by Sophia's actions. When she felt a deep gaze on her, she instinctively felt a chill down her spine.
She couldn't help but look in the direction of the gaze and immediately saw Tristan standing in the shadows.
Wearing a black shirt and a red tie, his usual cold aura was palpable.
His eyes were filled with barely contained anger, staring straight at her.
Katniss was stunned. Just as she was about to walk towards him, he moved, got into his car, and drove away.
Through the half-lowered window, his tense profile looked as menacing as a demon from hell.
Except for Sophia, who was clueless, everyone else saw Tristan leave in a fit of anger.
"I think I caused you some trouble," Samuel said, looking at Katniss.
Tristan's car gradually disappeared from Katniss's sight.
She frowned slightly, her tone stubborn, "It's fine. It's late, you should go home."
She’d sent him Tristan messages, called him, invited him to dinner, and he’d ignored it all. Yet, he turned around and had dinner with Lila.
What did she have to feel guilty about?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. After seeing Samuel and George off, Katniss took Matilda and Sophia back.
Then she went down to Tristan's place, but when she opened the door, the room was empty, only the moonlight reflected on the floor.
She felt a wave of disappointment, threw his house key on the entryway table, and left.
Aaron didn't go to the dinner next door because he didn't like crowds, so Katniss ordered takeout for him.
When she got home, Aaron had already finished eating, cleaned up, and was now studying for high school.
Katniss chatted with him briefly and then went to take a shower.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, so she blocked Tristan on Facebook and his phone number.
Why keep them? He didn't respond when she reached out, so how could she expect him to contact her first?
At the D.V Club, Tristan walked in, casually throwing his coat on the sofa.
Nicholas, sitting in the corner on the phone, nodded at him but continued his conversation. "Is that my fault? I asked you to come back, and you didn't. I only saw your message after I got off the plane. Fine, it's my fault, okay?"
He was angrily admitting his mistake when he heard a light scoff behind him and turned to glare at Tristan.
"I promise, I'll deal with Isla quickly and then come to Nightfall City to get you. Okay, okay." He grumbled but was still compliant, hanging up and tossing his phone on the coffee table.
Turning around, he saw Tristan standing there, looking as imposing as a lion.
Though he was mocking him, Tristan was clearly still very angry.
Nicholas couldn't help but laugh, "You have the nerve to mock me? Katniss has you so worked up, and she still hasn't forgiven you. What are you so proud of?"
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