Chapter 261 The Hypocrisy
Nicholas said, "Back in the day, Mr. White was just as big a deal as Tristan. He was the man on campus. I heard every girl had a crush on him and collected his photos..."
He and Tristan were a bit younger than Benjamin and didn't go to the same university.
So, all this was just stuff Nicholas had heard, and he had a knack for making things sound way more dramatic.
Tristan, who just smiled and stayed out of the conversation, suddenly remembered how Katniss talked about Benjamin. He glanced over and saw Katniss nodding along with Nicholas. "I can vouch for that—Benjamin was super popular."
She smiled brightly, her eyes full of admiration for Benjamin.
Out of nowhere, Tristan leaned in from behind and whispered, "You're in on this too?"
His tone was full of threat and displeasure.
Katniss's body went stiff. She turned to look at him, but her lips moved without any words coming out. In college, she just went with the flow and saw Benjamin as an idol, a goal.
Nothing more.
Seeing her expression, Tristan got it. His face darkened, and he leaned in closer to Katniss.
He said, "I'll have my assistant talk to Lawyer White about the cost of that letter." The term "Lawyer White" made things sound all business.
He rested his long, clean fingers on Katniss's shoulder, becoming more polite and distant towards Benjamin.
Benjamin picked up on it and smiled warmly, not wanting to push things. "We'll talk about it later; let's not get into work today."
What else would they talk about if not work?
In this group, aside from Katniss who went to the same school as him, the others barely knew him.
They had no personal connection and didn't hang out together.
Tristan's expression was pretty indifferent, sitting close to Katniss, listening to Nicholas and Benjamin's small talk.
Nicholas, with his nonstop chatter and annoying way of speaking, managed to talk to Benjamin like they were old friends.
Katniss thought the only way to ease Tristan's jealousy was to talk less with Benjamin.
Once a guy got jealous, it wasn't easy to calm him down.
After some playful banter, Saskia pulled Katniss to the restroom.
Maybe feeling uncomfortable around a bunch of guys, Eudora followed them out.
Eudora asked, "Katniss, do you know Benjamin?" Everyone in the room could sense Tristan's unease, except for clueless Nicholas.
"We went to the same school," Katniss explained.
Eudora nodded and asked, "Do you know about Benjamin and Lila's relationship?"
It was just the three of them in the hallway, Saskia clinging to Katniss's arm. She actually wanted to find a chance to talk to Katniss about this.Since Eudora brought it up, she decided to spill the beans. "Benjamin is Lila's half-brother. His mom passed away right after he was born. Before she was even buried, Benjamin's dad remarried, had Lila, and then another son who's now twelve."
After Benjamin graduated college and was about to join the family business, Lila, who was nineteen at the time, pulled a scandalous stunt at a White family event, making it look like there was some sibling incest going on.
Benjamin went from being the golden boy and heir to the White family to being seen as a creep who harassed Lila.
He got kicked out of the White family.
This whole mess also hit Lila hard. The White family publicly claimed it was just an attempt to bully Lila, but no one bought it. Lila got ridiculed, her reputation took a nosedive, and she started acting out.
Her private life went off the rails, and she changed partners like she changed clothes. The White family didn't care about her anymore since she had already trashed her reputation.
With a stepmom in the picture, even Benjamin's dad stopped paying attention to him, favoring the youngest son instead.
When all this went down, Katniss was still in college and didn't really keep up with the upper-class drama, so she had no clue.
Now that she knew, she felt a pang of regret. "No wonder he switched careers to become a lawyer halfway through. In ten years, he must have busted his butt to become a top lawyer."
Saskia snorted, "More than just hard work. His dad tried to keep him down, making it tough for him to get ahead. For years, he didn't even use the name Benjamin, working hard in the shadows. Only after making a name for himself in the legal world and no longer fearing his dad did he go back to using Benjamin."
This showed that Benjamin was dead set on making a comeback in the White family!
Hearing about Benjamin's struggles, Katniss felt a surge of inspiration and motivation.
But Eudora's words hit her like a cold shower. "Upper-class circles are like that; every family has its dark secrets. Katniss, don't let your connection with Benjamin lead Tristan to help him. The issues with the Forbes family are already making it tough for Tristan to protect himself—don't add to his burden."
She stood at the sink, washing her hands and speaking slowly, like she was just mentioning it in passing.
Yet, her casual remarks always left Katniss feeling a bit uneasy.
If Eudora were truly someone who spoke without thinking, like Nicholas, that would be one thing.
But she wasn't. Katniss had never seen her say anything that upset Adelaide or provoked Tristan's anger.
Despite not being able to marry Tristan all these years, Eudora still managed to keep the Travis couple hopeful, showing just how shrewd she really was.Only with Katniss did Eudora occasionally show a hint of displeasure, a slight annoyance—but nothing too serious.
Katniss replied, "Thanks for the heads-up, Miss Savoy. You're so thorough, it makes me feel a bit guilty. If you hadn't said anything, I might've even thought about asking Tristan to take over the White family and hand it to Benjamin."
Half-jokingly, she also washed her hands.
Saskia was still in the restroom, and Eudora, after washing her hands, gently dried them with a paper towel.
After drying her hands, Eudora put them in her pockets and looked at Katniss without any particular emotion.
She said, "Katniss, remember, I grew up in the Forbes family. While it may seem like I have to follow Travis and Ivy, my relationship with Tristan runs deeper. However, for the Forbes family and me, you're still an outsider compared to them. I know my reminder might have upset you, but I feel it's necessary to clarify things, especially if you're on the verge of making a wrong choice."
Her clear distinction of close relationships left Katniss speechless.
In reality, Eudora was being meddlesome, albeit with good intentions.
Katniss had to understand her, considering that Eudora regarded Adelaide and Tristan as closer than Katniss herself!
If Katniss wasn't mistaken, that was precisely what Eudora meant.
Eudora then patted Katniss's arm, her smile graceful. "Even though you and Tristan aren't married yet, if anyone bullies you outside, I will definitely stand by you. But when it comes to matters within our circle, I'll have to side with Tristan more. I hope you understand."
Katniss subtly pulled away from her touch, and just then, Saskia walked out, so Katniss chose not to respond.
Upon reflection, Eudora's words came off as somewhat insincere and hypocritical to Katniss.
Katniss wasn't the type to be disingenuous, and even if she had responded, she wouldn't have known what to say.
"Let's go, I have something to announce to you all." Saskia linked arms with Katniss, brushing past Eudora.
Eudora followed behind them without much expression, occasionally chiming in on their conversation.
What Saskia wanted to announce was that she and Nicholas were also getting married.
They wanted to avoid overlapping dates, so they set it for mid-December.
The Kennedy family initially didn't agree with Nicholas and Saskia being together, especially since she had severed ties with the Stuart family.
However, the Stuart family cut ties with Saskia because she refused to marry for the family's benefit.
After some back and forth, the Stuart family, motivated by Saskia and Nicholas's relationship, sought to mend their ties with Saskia.
Now that Saskia was a Stuart family lady again, the Kennedy family agreed to her and Nicholas being together!Ultimately, Saskia returned to the Stuart family for Nicholas, but while it seemed amicable on the surface, there were underlying tensions.
Saskia remarked, "Anyway, you're getting married on December 6th, and we're getting married on December 12th, just six days apart. With only a little over two months left, once I'm married, there's a good chance I won't go back to the Stuart family. How the Stuarts and the Kennedys collaborate and pursue their interests is their own business." In essence, Saskia took a step back for Nicholas.
Katniss frowned. With only six days between their wedding dates, they would likely be the two most sensational weddings in Velvet City.
She was looking forward to it, but Tristan's interference made it hard to focus.
After that day at the club, Tristan had Ryan pay Benjamin the market rate for the lawyer's letter, treating it as a hiring fee.
He wanted to sever any connection between Katniss and Benjamin.
Every night, Tristan clung to her, under the pretext of, "I want to give you a child with our bloodline."
A few times, when she was exhausted, he would innocently and seriously say, "Isn't it you who wanted a child?"
Katniss was left speechless.
On the fifth day after the lawyer's letter was sent, Jessica showed up.
She guessed Katniss was staying with Matilda, and when she couldn't get close to Katniss, she secretly followed Matilda.
At around seven in the morning, Jessica banged on the door of Matilda and Sophia's place, looking for Katniss.
Matilda said Katniss wasn't there, but Jessica didn't believe it and barged in to search, finding no one.
Jessica suddenly realized that Katniss was probably with Tristan.
She cried and made a scene at Sophia's place, refusing to leave, demanding that Matilda and Sophia bring Katniss back.
Yet Matilda and Sophia refused.
"You're trespassing. I'll call the police right now, and you'll be detained for a few days!" With that, Matilda picked up her phone to call 911.
Seeing this, Jessica got scared and quickly said, "Don't call the police. I need to talk to Katniss about something that concerns Rupert's life! You know Rupert, he's very close to her!"
Hearing this, Matilda hesitated.
Matilda recognized that Rupert might be a bit naive and foolish, but she knew he had a kind heart.
"You're not lying, are you?" Matilda looked at Jessica sternly. "If you're lying and harassing Katniss, I'll still call the police. We have surveillance here."
She pointed to the surveillance camera in the corner of the living room.
Jessica hurriedly explained, "I'm not lying!"
At this, Sophia signaled Matilda to call Katniss.
In less than five minutes, Katniss came up. She had just woken up, and upon hearing that it concerned Rupert's life, she rushed up without even washing her face.
After all, she hadn't been able to reach Rupert for several days!
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