Chapter 254 Why do you expect me to be filial?
Ember had this killer street style going on, and the little bag she had slung over her arm screamed retro.
Her face was all fleshy, and it jiggled a bit when she talked.
Next to her, Jessica looked super on edge, like she was scared Katniss might bolt any second.
"Seriously, do you two have any shame? Katniss..." Matilda was about to lose it when Sophia yanked her back.
Sophia used all her strength to keep Matilda from saying something nasty; after all, that was Katniss's real mom.
They had no right to say anything, and they knew it.
Jessica let out a cold snort, "If she didn't have money now, you wouldn't be calling her so sweetly. You guys are shameless!"
When it came to harsh words, Jessica's were way more brutal than Matilda's.
Sophia and Matilda looked mortified, too embarrassed to say a word.
Katniss turned around, yanked Jessica away from Ember, and slapped her. "Since your parents didn't teach you manners, I guess I’ll have to."
Katniss rubbed her sore wrist, glanced at the shocked Jessica and Ember, then turned to Tristan. "Can you help me get my mom home? I'll handle this mess."
"Sure." Tristan gave her the space she needed, not wanting to dig into a past she clearly didn't want to revisit.
Matilda helped Sophia into Tristan's car, but their eyes stayed glued to Katniss outside the window.
It wasn't until the car was out of sight that they turned away, their faces a mix of emotions.
The midday sun was blazing, shining down on Katniss. She was in a dark trench coat, but she didn't feel warm at all.
A gentle breeze blew her long hair, and she gathered it up, her eyes icy as she stared at Ember.
She said, "If you're here for my wedding, I can let you attend."
Hearing this, Ember snapped out of it, her eyes flaring with anger. "What do you mean you can let me? I'm your mother. Isn't it my right to be at your wedding?"
"Then tell me, besides attending my wedding, what else do you want?" Katniss stood there with her hands in her pockets, right in front of the hotel entrance.
The hotel staff peeked through the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the drama unfold outside.
But Ember didn't care and arrogantly declared, "What else could I want? I'm your mother. Of course, I want to live with you, and I should be the one handling your wedding!"
"How do you want to handle it? Do you want a chunk of money, or are you planning to use the Forbes family connection to squeeze some cash out of them?" Katniss nailed exactly what Ember was thinking.Ember was both embarrassed and pissed. "Katniss, I'm your mother. You can sell yourself to pay for your stepmom Sophia's treatment, but you can't be a little nicer to me? She just raised you for a few years. Why?" she snapped.
She made a scene, glancing around like she was hoping someone would back her up.
But there was no one around, just the rustling leaves in the wind.
Ember's words were harsh, and Katniss was done arguing. With a sarcastic smile, she said, "Alright, let's get this straight. Yes, you gave me life. If you need me to support you when you're old, I can do that, but that's all you're getting from me."
"You're ungrateful!" Ember fumed.
Katniss shot back, "You're unkind, and I'm ungrateful—seems fair. When you divorced my dad, I cried and ran after you, begging 'Mom, don't leave me,' but you didn't even look back. You even said you only had one child, Rupert. So why should I be grateful?"
Katniss laughed bitterly, but her heart ached. "I've said all I need to say. If you're still not happy, go to court and see if they'll give you my money." With that, she turned and got in the car to leave.
As she closed the car door, she could faintly hear Ember's cursing.
Ember tried to rush over, but Jessica stopped her. Whatever Jessica said to Ember made her quiet down.
The sight of the two of them whispering together gradually shrank in the rearview mirror, and Katniss's gaze moved away from the mirror.
Katniss rolled down the window halfway, letting the autumn wind cool her off a bit.
Ember's sudden appearance brought back buried memories, and all the childhood pain came flooding back.
It wasn't clear if it was disappointment or sadness, but Katniss's emotions were definitely stirred up.
Katniss figured Sophia was probably feeling down too, so instead of going to the educational institution, she headed straight home.
Maybe expecting her return, after Tristan dropped Sophia off, she went inside to rest, saying she was tired.
Tristan didn't leave either. He didn't know much about Katniss's biological mom, so he chatted with Matilda in the living room.
"Honestly, I don't know much either. I was just a kid when I came to the Grey family with my mom. The most vivid memory is my stepdad yelling at Katniss, calling her worthless and blaming her for losing custody of Rupert," Matilda said.
She knew Katniss well enough to know that she wouldn't easily show her feelings.
But maybe it was different with Tristan, so Matilda told him everything."Katniss likes to share the good news and keep the bad news to herself. Actually, her biological mother contacted her a long time ago, asking her to arrange jobs for Rupert and Jessica in Velvet City. Now she's back to acknowledge Katniss just because of her money! They are the shameless ones!" The more Matilda spoke, the more agitated she became, raising her voice unconsciously, but she quickly covered her mouth, afraid that Sophia would hear.
She continued, "Tristan, I know it's excessive for me to say this, and I don't have the right or the status to say it. After all, my mom also spent a lot of Katniss's money, but I just couldn't hold it in."
Tristan replied, "You guys are different from them. Katniss knows that. She's willing to do so much for you because you deserve it."
Having met Katniss's biological mother, Tristan felt nothing but heartache for Katniss.
He checked his watch and said softly, "She should be back soon. I'll go downstairs to meet her."
By the time Matilda came to her senses, he had already left.
At that time, Katniss drove to the apartment building and was surprised to see Tristan standing at the entrance.
They stared at each other through the window for a few seconds before she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and got out.
"You didn't go back to the office?" She closed the car door and had just walked up to him when she suddenly felt a tightness around her waist as he hugged her.
The warmth seeped through her clothes and spread to her body. She was stunned for a while before wrapping her arms around his waist.
Burying her head in his chest, she took a few deep breaths, then looked up and stood on tiptoe to kiss his chin lightly.
Katniss said, "I'm fine. I don't really care what kind of person she is. It's just that her sudden appearance during the wedding preparations affected my mood."
Tristan bent down and kissed her on the lips. "Leave it to me. I won't let them affect your mood," he said.
There were plenty of ways to keep Ember and Jessica away from Katniss.
"Then I'll leave it to you. I'm going upstairs to check on my mom." Katniss let go of Tristan, took two steps back, waved, and turned to enter the building.
Inside, the sunlight was ample. Matilda was sitting alone in the living room, waiting. Seeing Katniss return, she quickly got up to greet her.
"Where's Mom?" Katniss asked.
Matilda pointed to the bedroom and replied, "She went inside as soon as she got back. I heard some movement just now, so she's not asleep."
How could Sophia sleep? Since Ember appeared, Sophia hadn't spoken a word, and even the smile on her face had disappeared.
The bedroom door was pushed open a crack, and seeing Sophia sitting on a chair by the window, Katniss quietly walked in. "Mom."Sophia quickly turned around with a faint smile. "Why are you back? Aren't you supposed to be working?" she asked.
Katniss sat on the bed and replied, "I was worried about you, so I came back to check."
"What's there to worry about?" Sophia's speech was still a bit slow and stuttering, but much better than before.
After a brief silence, she continued, "If you want her to be the one to give you away at the wedding, I get it. I won't say a word."
"Do you think she's here to give me away?" Katniss asked in return.
Sophia was at a loss for words. They had only met once, and the meal lasted less than an hour, but it was clear to anyone why Ember was there.
After a long pause, she took a deep breath and said, "Talk some sense into her. If she wants to give you away or wants you to call her mom, I'll give in as much as I can, as long as she doesn't embarrass you in front of the Forbes family."
Adelaide and Tristan were good people, and Sophia could see their feelings for Katniss.
But that was just the current situation. If Ember kept causing trouble, like a bottomless pit, her greedy nature would eventually make others resentful.
By then, wouldn't it affect Katniss's standing in the Forbes family?
Katniss replied, "I've said all the sense I could. Don't worry. I'll handle it. And you don't need to give in. You are my mom, my only mom."
At those words, Sophia's eyes brimmed with tears. "You tell me, what kind of luck have I had in my past lives to have a daughter like you? You've saved my life."
Katniss held her hand tightly, letting her pat the back of her hand repeatedly. Katniss remarked, "You saved my life too. Even though we don't share blood, our bond is no less than that of blood relations."
They exchanged a few heartfelt words, and then Sophia felt relieved.
Meanwhile, Jessica and Ember had only a little over a thousand dollars. They didn't know how long it would take to get money from Katniss, so they didn't dare spend recklessly. They found a small motel that cost a few dozen dollars a day to stay in.
The two of them squeezed into one room. Ember was on the phone with a creditor, "Don't worry; my son is with you. I can't run away. I'll pay you back with interest in no more than seven days."
After making a firm promise, she hung up the phone.
Glancing around at the shabby motel, she tossed her phone aside in disgust. "Staying in this dump is torture. Even the bathroom at the place we ate today was better!" she exclaimed.
"What does that hotel count for?" Jessica said, "Mom, do you know how powerful the Forbes family is? The Forbes family has countless villas. Giving us one would be nothing to them."
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