Chapter 276 Do You Want to Marry Me?
Tristan's wedding had been all over the news for the last couple of months, but out of nowhere, it got canceled. After a day of nonstop coverage, it was like the whole thing vanished into thin air.
It was as if Tristan and Katniss's wedding had never been a thing, and now everyone was buzzing about Saskia and Nicholas's wedding instead.
When Eudora heard Tristan was in the hospital, she rushed over there. She'd tried to cover up the bruise with makeup, but if you looked closely, you could still tell something was off.
But neither Adelaide nor Tristan seemed to notice or care.
When she got there, Adelaide was showing Tristan some messages. As soon as Eudora walked in, Adelaide quickly put her phone away.
That made Eudora do a double-take.
She asked, "Grandma, what are you showing Tristan? He's in this condition. Could it be work-related?"
Adelaide replied in a lukewarm tone, "Tristan still refuses to eat. I had no choice but to message Katniss to see if she could come and see Tristan, but Katniss refused."
Hearing that Adelaide still wanted to call Katniss back, Eudora got angry.
Luckily, Katniss refused to come back. Eudora walked over to the bed and sat down next to Tristan, saying, "Grandma, why would you call a woman like her back? Tristan was hurt by her!"
Seeing the stubble on Tristan's face, she felt a pang of sadness and reached out to touch his cheek.
Tristan's hand, hooked up to an IV, shot up and grabbed her wrist so hard it felt like he wanted to break it. His attitude was awful, but what he said next made Eudora's heart skip a beat. "Do you want to marry me?"
The surprise hit Eudora so hard it took her a moment to process. Her heart raced, and she didn't know how to respond.
Eudora had mentioned being willing to help Tristan find other women to bear his children after they got married and to support them in their fight against Travis and Ivy. That must be why Adelaide had convinced Tristan!
For the greater good, Tristan had no reason to disagree.
But if Eudora agreed right away, her true intentions would be obvious, and Tristan would get suspicious.
But she couldn't say no either!
She hesitated, and then suddenly heard a mocking laugh.
Looking down, she saw Tristan sitting on the hospital bed, a smirk on his face, his eyes full of sarcasm and contempt.
"Your hesitation is just so hypocritical, Eudora. I've never felt such disgust for anyone as I do toward you!" Tristan shoved Eudora's wrist away, then slowly wiped his hand with a tissue.His grip was so tight that the IV tube on the back of his hand turned red, but as he let go, the color slowly faded.
"Tristan, what are you talking about?" Eudora was thrown onto another hospital bed. She glanced at the calm Adelaide and bit her lip.
She replied, "Even if I were to marry you, it would be for your own good, to keep you from being used by Travis and Ivy any longer. You..."
Tristan's sharp gaze cut through her, like he could see right through her lies.
"What did you do to Katniss?" Tristan got out of bed and opened the video Saskia had sent to Nicholas, which Nicholas then forwarded to him.
The noise was overwhelming, and Eudora was getting beaten up by Jessica, their conversation painfully clear.
Eudora didn't expect Saskia to record a video. If it had been just words, Eudora could have denied it.
Eudora exclaimed, "Tristan, I had long suspected something was off with Katniss, so I wanted to investigate her, which provoked Jessica. I did it for your own good."
Tristan shouted, "Shut up! Don't ever show your face to me again, and leave Katniss alone!"
He yanked the needle out of his hand, ignoring the blood dripping down his arm, and said to Adelaide, "You can go home. From now on, I'll handle my own business."
Then he turned and walked out.
The room fell silent, with drops of blood trailing from the bed to the door, a disturbing sight that was hard to ignore.
After a long time, Eudora finally reacted, suddenly standing up and looking at Adelaide. "What did you tell him? Did you tell him the truth? Aren't you afraid of Travis..."
"I didn't tell him anything," Adelaide slowly stood up and said, "If the video on Tristan's phone isn't enough to make him see through your intentions, then he doesn't deserve to be my grandson."
"Then why is he still protecting Katniss!" Eudora grabbed Adelaide's hand tightly and said, "If I were with Tristan, secretly helping him, Travis wouldn't suspect me. I'm the only one who can help Tristan, you..."
She became more and more agitated, speaking with conviction.
Adelaide directly responded, "If I had known you could betray Travis for him, why would I have gone to such lengths to find Katniss? But now it's too late. He's infatuated with Katniss. What actions he might take out of love and hate, I can't control. You all better take care of yourselves."
After speaking, Adelaide took her bag from the sofa and left.
Tristan's disgusted look and cold words were like knives stabbing into Eudora's heart repeatedly.
Wasn't she doing it all for Tristan? How could he say that about her?When would he ever grow up? Love and romance in wealthy families were worthless; she was the one who could have helped him.
The news of Katniss being hospitalized couldn't be kept from Saskia.
But Katniss didn't tell Saskia about the pregnancy, only saying that the hospitalization was due to malnutrition.
Saskia showed Katniss the video of Jessica beating Eudora. "I didn't know Eudora was so sneaky, doing shady stuff behind the scenes. I thought she was a good person because she seemed to treat you well and always put Tristan first, but I didn't expect her to be so devious."
Saskia, being no ordinary lady, spoke her mind without holding back.
"No matter what kind of person she is, she has nothing to do with us anymore." Katniss's face was cold as she turned off Saskia's phone and handed it back to her.
Saskia had just taken her phone when a call came in. She quickly answered it, and whatever the other person said made her look at Katniss in surprise before she turned and left the room.
Later, she returned with someone else in tow—it was Benjamin.
He said, "Sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I heard you were in the hospital, and since I was already here, I thought I'd come straight to see you."
Benjamin was carrying a fruit basket, which he placed at Katniss's bedside.
Matilda was busy with some matters at the education institution, and Sophia had gone back to make soup for Katniss. Saskia had volunteered to stay and take care of Katniss.
But bringing someone along halfway made her a bit flustered, and she explained in a low voice, "Benjamin guessed it was you in the hospital when he called. I didn't ask him to come."
"It's okay." Katniss frowned slightly. She didn't want more people to know she was hospitalized.
"Thank you, Benjamin." She smiled politely at him.
Benjamin gave a slight nod, looking somewhat lost in thought. After sharing a few courteous remarks, he sat silently on the sofa.
He didn't seem to plan on leaving, and Saskia keenly sensed that he might have something to say to Katniss.
Saskia said, "Benjamin, if you have something on your mind, just say it. There's no one else here, so there's no need to feel embarrassed."
Katniss also noticed that he had something to say, but she wasn't sure what it could be at this critical moment.
"Saskia, can you step out for a moment?" Benjamin asked.
"Me?" Saskia pointed to her nose, eyes wide open, realizing she had brought this upon herself!
Benjamin stood up, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I have something I want to discuss with Katniss alone."
For a moment, the room fell silent, and Saskia and Katniss exchanged glances.Katniss felt weak at the moment, and if Benjamin had any sinister intentions, she wouldn't be able to defend herself.
Instinctively, Saskia didn't want to leave Katniss alone in the room.
"If you're concerned, you can watch from the doorway. I promise to stay in your line of sight and won't get close to Katniss—I'll just talk to her." With that, Benjamin took two steps back, aligning his body with the door, maintaining a certain distance from Katniss.
With his words, it felt overly cautious to remain on guard. Saskia had nothing more to say and turned to ask Katniss for her thoughts.
"Alright, you can go out." Katniss had no enmity with Benjamin, and she vaguely guessed the reason for his visit.
Hearing this, Saskia left but stayed just outside the room, her face pressed against the door window, ready to rush in if Benjamin made any move.
On the hospital bed, Katniss, wearing a blue and white hospital gown, still looked unwell, her lips pale.
Her clear eyes met Benjamin's as he stood in front of the sofa.
Perhaps still unsure of how to start, Benjamin remained silent, frowning.
Katniss didn't rush him, waiting patiently.
After a while, Benjamin remarked, "You've fallen out with Mr. Forbes. Have you thought about what to do next?"
"No," Katniss answered straightforwardly. "To be precise, it's not that I haven't thought about it, but that I don't need to. I have a job and the ability to support myself. Without him, I'll continue doing what I do."
"Your separation from Mr. Forbes will more or less affect your work. The highest profit in your tutoring business comes from one-on-one sessions, but the Brown family and the Miller family will likely stop hiring you." Benjamin was telling the truth. Even without pressure from the Forbes family, they would sensibly distance themselves from Katniss.
The more decisive ones would stop the tutoring immediately, while others would end the cooperation after the first semester. Returning to the educational institution as a regular online teacher would greatly diminish Katniss's value.
However, that was based on the assumption that she had no child. Now that Katniss was pregnant and had decided to keep the baby this morning, she wouldn't be able to work for at least a year.
So, the issues Benjamin raised were not immediate concerns.
Katniss said, "Benjamin, what exactly do you want to say? Just say it."
Benjamin smiled wryly and replied, "Katniss, you're too smart. What I'm about to say might be presumptuous, and you may not trust me that much right now, but I don't have time to wait for you to trust me. Let's cooperate."
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