Chapter 247 Call Once for Ten Thousand Dollars
"Mrs. Forbes!" Matilda was caught off guard by Adelaide's friendliness.
Adelaide held Katniss with one hand and Matilda with the other as they walked into the apartment building.
The place was buzzing with laughter and chatter, which helped Matilda chill out a bit from her initial nerves.
The three-bedroom apartment was pretty spacious and super clean.
But with all these people suddenly showing up and gifts of all sizes piling up, it felt way more crowded.
Since opening the door to let them in, Sophia had been too shocked to close her mouth.
"Mom, this is Tristan. Do you remember him?" Katniss introduced Tristan to Sophia once everyone was seated on the sofa.
Sophia hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Yeah, I've seen him in the elevator."
Her impression of Tristan was limited to that one encounter in the elevator.
"Mrs. Grey." Tristan sat up straight, looking more serious than he did during meetings.
"This is his grandmother," Katniss introduced Adelaide.
She was a bit surprised by Sophia's reaction. Sophia surely knew what it meant when she said she was bringing someone home.
But Sophia's puzzled attitude, as if she had no idea they were coming, was confusing.
Sophia greeted with some effort.
Adelaide was warm and friendly, but seeing that Sophia had difficulty speaking, she was careful not to say too much to avoid making Sophia anxious. She just politely greeted her. "Tristan has no parents, so I have to come and discuss their matters with you on behalf of our family."
'No parents?' Katniss's mouth twitched. Adelaide really didn't hold back when it came to her son.
Alive and well, yet she made it sound like he was gone with just one sentence!
"Sorry," Sophia nodded slightly, then stood up with the help of her walker. "Katniss, come here."
She moved her body slowly, avoiding the gifts scattered around the room, and went to her bedroom.
"Sorry, Mrs. Forbes, my mom might not be very talkative due to her health. Please understand, I'll go check on her," Katniss apologized to Adelaide, noticing Tristan's hand, which had been hanging loosely by his side, now clenched into a fist.
She knew he was nervous and couldn't help but find it amusing.
In the room, Sophia stood by the window waiting for her.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Katniss closed the door and asked, "You don't like him?"
"No," Sophia shook her head. Tristan had an extraordinary presence, unlike any man she had ever met.
But she asked worriedly, "Didn't you marry Samuel?"
Katniss was puzzled.
She stared at Sophia. "What are you talking about? Samuel and I are just friends, classmates. Before you fell into a coma, I showed you my marriage certificate with Tristan."
She and Matilda had never mentioned Tristan in front of Sophia, so Sophia had no impression of him.
Did Sophia mistake Samuel for Tristan because Matilda mentioned Samuel too often?
Sophia was also stunned. Did she mistake the person?
"A year ago, when I took you away from Velvet City, I divorced Tristan. Our marriage wasn't based on much affection, so we didn't announce it. But now we're back together, so I officially brought him to meet you. His grandmother has been urging us to get married for a long time," Katniss explained the situation concisely.
Sophia suddenly understood and waved her hand, "Go back out."
Leaving the guests outside made her feel bad. She didn't bother with the walker and let Katniss help her out of the bedroom quickly.
"Mrs. Forbes, I'm sorry for my rudeness," She still spoke with difficulty, and her eagerness to explain made it even harder.
Adelaide smiled warmly and said, "It's okay. I'm the one who's impatient for them to get married. I couldn't wait for you to recover a bit more before coming over. It's my fault. Here's the plan: I'll talk, and you listen. If you have any objections, just raise your hand. We have the whole afternoon to sort out their wedding details."
With that, Adelaide sat next to Sophia and motioned for Katniss to sit with Tristan. "I plan to make their wedding grand, so Katniss won't feel slighted. I heard you'll be able to move around normally in about two months. You must want to be the one to give Katniss away, so we'll wait until you're fully recovered to hold the wedding."
Katniss leaned slightly towards Tristan and whispered, "I guess Mrs. Forbes hasn't slept since she knew you were coming to visit my mom, listing all the details to discuss the wedding."
"She mentioned the wedding in two months to me before," Tristan whispered back.
She muttered softly, saying that he should have told her about such a big event as soon as he knew, so she could be mentally prepared. Two months wasn't a long time when she think about it.But as she spoke, she realized Tristan wasn't really paying attention to her.
Tristan's eyes were locked on Adelaide and Sophia, listening closely to their conversation.
Out of nowhere, Adelaide said, "I haven't decided on the exact date two months from now."
"Grandma, December 6th is a good day for a wedding," he chimed in.
Adelaide looked at him, surprised, "You've already decided?"
"I had someone check it. As long as Mrs. Grey agrees, it's fine," Tristan said confidently, knowing Adelaide wouldn't object.
Then, all eyes turned to Sophia, who looked at Katniss, "You should ask Katniss."
After all, it was Katniss's wedding, and she absolutely respected Katniss's opinion.
Before Katniss could say anything, Tristan's hand covered hers on her knee. He smiled and said, "She won't refuse. So it's settled. The rest of the arrangements will be up to you."
If he could, he would rather take Katniss to City Hall right now to get the marriage certificate without even having a wedding.
But since her mother was present, they had to follow the proper procedures and etiquette.
Adelaide was overjoyed and took out a few brochures from her bag, "These are hotels in Velvet City. I'm old and not very mobile, and your health isn't suitable for traveling far. Let's have the wedding nearby. See which hotel you like..."
"Katniss, I'll go prepare lunch," Matilda said, feeling happy but unable to join the conversation.
Especially, she felt that Tristan seemed a bit anxious when he mentioned 'December 6th.'
"I'll help you," Katniss said, feeling she had no say in this matter.
The date was set by Tristan, and Adelaide would surely handle the hotel and wedding arrangements.
She got up and followed Matilda to the kitchen, and Tristan soon followed them.
Standing in the kitchen, he made the space feel cramped.
"You two prepare the ingredients. I'll handle the rest. I'll go downstairs to get some seafood from the fridge," seeing that Matilda felt uneasy with him there, he found an excuse to go downstairs.
He informed Adelaide before leaving.
"Katniss, is he always this approachable in private?" Matilda asked while handling the ingredients, "Is he always so expressionless?"
'Expressionless?' Katniss thought seriously. He was expressionless both outside and at home.
Except in bed, where his sculpted face would change due to losing control. He was frustrated, satisfied.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Matilda nudged her arm, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Katniss's ears turned red, but fortunately, Matilda didn't notice. She cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, he just has an expressionless face."
"If he weren't so considerate in private, I would think being with him would be quite boring," Matilda complained softly.
"Indeed, he's not as sweet-talking as George, nor as good at being playful as George," Katniss teased her, making Matilda blush instantly.
After a while, Matilda said, "It's not convenient with Adelaide here today. Next time, I'll invite George over to have a meal with Tristan."
"You say 'Tristan' so naturally," Katniss leaned against the counter. "You probably don't know that in our marriage, there's a tradition of changing how you address the couple. According to our relationship, if you wait until that day to call him 'Tristan,' you'll get some money."
Matilda immediately corrected herself, "It's Mr. Forbes!"
She was just too excited after seeing Tristan rush into the storm to save Katniss yesterday.
Excitement wasn't worth the money!
After they finished preparing, Tristan returned just in time.
"Thank you, Mr. Forbes," Matilda said politely.
Tristan paused as he entered the kitchen, looking back at Matilda, feeling that "Mr. Forbes" sounded too formal.
"Katniss said that when you get married, I'll get money for changing how I address you," Matilda explained, noticing his displeasure.
Tristan glanced at Katniss, his lips curling slightly, "From now on, every time you call me that, I'll give you a thousand dollars."
Katniss's smile froze.
Matilda shivered and immediately said, "Tristan, are you serious, Tristan?"
"Two thousand dollars. I'll transfer it later," Tristan's lips curved, and his frown relaxed, "Now, go out. I'll handle this."
Matilda excitedly pulled Katniss back to the living room, only to find it packed as Sophia was being chatted up by Adelaide. With no space for them, they decided to head to the balcony to enjoy the sun.
Katniss handled some tutoring tasks for the day while Matilda played on her phone and occasionally chatted with her.
Suddenly, Matilda saw a news story trending and, too excited to speak, handed her phone to Katniss. "Tristan is ruthless! Katniss, look, Michael has really embarrassed himself this time!"
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