Chapter 282 Uncle
Someone walked by, and Matilda quickly pushed George away, lowering her head.
"I'll think about it and get back to you later," she said.
Even though Sophia was mostly better, she still couldn't be left alone.
So Matilda couldn't just run off with George and leave Sophia with Katniss.
She was probably going to say no anyway, but saying it now would just start another fight.
"Alright, think about it," George said with a forced smile, feeling a bit guilty. "Tell Katniss I'm sorry. I spoke without thinking. You know how hot-headed I can be."
Matilda nodded. "I know, but next time, no matter how we argue, you need to hold back when there are people around. We can talk about it privately."
"I promise," George said quickly. "I won't mess up again. Don't be mad; getting angry makes you age faster, and then you won't be a beauty anymore, just an ugly duckling."
He tried to cheer Matilda up. Her rare, playful side came out, and after some lighthearted banter, George let Matilda head to the educational center for work.
By the time she was done, it was already evening. The receptionist handed her a beautifully wrapped gift box. "Matilda, your boyfriend asked me to give this to you. He said he didn't want to disturb you since you're busy with work."
It was a necklace, a style Matilda liked, with a note inside filled with sweet words.
Matilda felt like her heart was filled with honey. When she got home, she couldn't stop smiling.
She still didn't know what had happened with Katniss. When she got back, Katniss was helping Sophia with dinner.
Matilda quickly rolled up her sleeves to help. "Katniss, I thought you wouldn't be home tonight and would be hanging out with Saskia and the others," she said.
"No, I didn't go," Katniss said, guessing that the Stuart family and the Kennedy family were still in chaos.
After dealing with the hotel issues, they would have to visit the Forbes family or the hospital to check on Tristan.
The three of them finished making dinner, and Aaron came back too.
After dinner, Aaron helped clean up the dishes. While Sophia was taking a bath, Matilda brought up George's issue with Katniss. "George is just too impulsive and speaks without thinking. We've been arguing a lot lately, so he couldn't control his emotions."
"I don't mind. After all, I don't interact with him much. You spend much more time with him than I do." Just as Katniss finished speaking, her phone beeped. It was a sincere apology message from George on Facebook.Katniss said, "He sent me a message to apologize. Let him know I'm not mad anymore."
She replied that it was okay, and then George brought up the idea of living together with Matilda.
George: [I guess Matilda doesn't know how to bring it up with you, so I thought I'd mention it. If she moves in with me, I'll need you to take care of Sophia more.]
Seeing this, Katniss was stunned and fell silent.
Seeing her expression, Matilda quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did he say something inappropriate again?"
"He said he wants to live with you and asked me to take care of Mom more," Katniss said, putting her phone aside.
Matilda's face flushed with embarrassment and annoyance. She said, "He did discuss this with me, but I didn't agree. Mom needs someone to take care of her, and you're pregnant and need help too. I can't leave you both."
After thinking for a moment, Katniss said, "Mom and I aren't the issue. You'll eventually get married, and you can't take us with you. This is your decision. I can only give you advice. Living together might improve your relationship by giving you more time together, but it could also intensify your conflicts. So think it through before deciding."
She glanced at the bathroom and whispered, "Also, if you decide to live together, you need to tell Mom, okay?"
"I know." Matilda nodded quickly. "George said if we live together, we'll sleep in separate rooms."
To Katniss, this sounded a bit naive, but she said, "Anyway, protecting yourself is the most important thing." With that, she left.
After Sophia finished her bath and Aaron cleaned up the kitchen, they went home.
Recently, George had been exhausting Matilda. The thought of this situation continuing if she didn't agree to live together made her reconsider.
Before bed, she brought milk to Sophia and hesitated for a long time before bringing it up.
"No," Sophia refused without a second thought. "If Katniss hadn't spent seven years taking care of me, she wouldn't have ended up heartbroken and pregnant. Even though you're in a free relationship now, aren't you afraid of something going wrong?"
Sophia hoped Katniss would miscarry so she could start over.
But it was Katniss's choice, and she respected that.
"Mom, we'll sleep in separate rooms. There won't be any accidents," Matilda explained.
Sophia shook her head with a smile. "Matilda, that's not the point. The point is that the Forbes family accepted Katniss, but George hasn't even acknowledged you in front of his mom. Do you think this will end well?"
Whenever she thought of Adelaide's kind and gentle smile from the Forbes family, she felt a pang in her heart.Back then, they had promised to take good care of Katniss and put her at ease, but in the end, they went their separate ways.
Matilda fell silent, recalling the moment George denied their relationship in front of Odette.
"How about this? You're not getting any younger. If George agrees, let's have both families meet and discuss your marriage. The sooner you get married, the better. What do you think?" Sophia thought George was a good kid, but she couldn't get over the fact that he denied their relationship in the mall.
Matilda replied, "Let's talk about it later. I'll find an opportunity to ask George."
She hugged Sophia and said, "Mom, I'm also very sad about Katniss, but she's always been independent. All we can do is take good care of her and the baby. Don't keep sighing, or Katniss will have to pretend to be strong in front of us."
Sophia sighed again, patting Matilda. "We've burdened Katniss too much in this lifetime. I don't want to, but I can't help it."
As she spoke, Sophia was about to cry again, and Matilda quickly comforted her.
Back at home, Katniss found that Aaron had bought a small cake.
It was on the table. Aaron smiled at Katniss and pushed her to sit at the dining table.
He remarked, "I noticed you've been craving sweets lately. There's a dessert shop on my way home that always has a long line, so I thought their stuff must be good. So I bought you one, but I didn't have enough money to buy more."
He scratched his head awkwardly, feeling embarrassed for only buying one.
Katniss couldn't help but laugh. She had indeed been craving sweets lately. She said, "Are you complaining that your allowance is too little? I'll give you an extra five hundred dollars next month."
Aaron quickly waved his hand. "No, I usually have some money left over each month. I saved up to buy this."
Katniss was teasing Aaron, but seeing him take it seriously, she couldn't help but laugh. "In the future, use your leftover money to buy whatever you feel like eating. Make sure to get enough nutrition. High school is tough, and you need to stay strong."
"I'm in good shape," Aaron said, leaning on the table with both hands, looking at her expectantly. "I just want to know, when your baby is born, can I be the baby's uncle?"
The hopeful light in his eyes made Katniss's heart melt.
Her throat felt tight, and she couldn't speak for a moment.
Seeing this, Aaron adjusted his emotions and smiled. "I forgot, the baby already has an uncle."
Katniss said, "Of course, you can be the baby's uncle. But let me tell you, as an uncle, you have responsibilities. After you graduate from college, you'll need to buy gifts, food, and drinks. If it's a boy, you'll play with him. If it's a girl, you'll spoil her and buy her pretty clothes. It's all on you."She took a bite of the cake, filled with anticipation for the future baby.
Although the baby wouldn't have a father, they would have an uncle, an aunt, and a grandmother who would all love them dearly.
Rupert wasn't in Velvet City, but if he knew Katniss was pregnant, he would surely love the baby too.
Aaron grinned happily. "So you'll probably give birth around June or July next year. I'll be on summer break then, and I can help take care of the baby."
He chattered on, seemingly very fond of the baby in Katniss's belly.
Katniss ate the cake in small bites, a faint smile on her lips, but a wave of sadness washed over her.
If it weren't for that incident, she would have married Tristan. He would have been even more excited and happy than Aaron.
In their new home, he had personally designed a children's room, one for a boy and one for a girl. He had always hoped for their child's birth.
Past words and images suddenly flooded Katniss's mind, making her heart ache so much that it was hard to breathe.
In the afternoon, Saskia had sent a few photos of Tristan in the ICU, saying that Eudora was staying to take care of him.
Katniss didn't reply, but Saskia still reported any news about Tristan to her immediately.
At dinner, Saskia said Tristan had woken up and had called Ryan to the hospital, asking Eudora to leave.
However, Eudora, in addition to going to Synergy Global Corporation during the day, still went to the hospital at night to stay by Tristan's side.
Ryan had tried to persuade her several times to no avail, so he gave up.
This continued until Tristan was transferred from the ICU to a VIP room, where he had a few bodyguards at the door, not allowing Eudora to enter.
Then Eudora stopped staying outside the room at night. She would make soup for Tristan every day, deliver it to the bodyguards, and then leave.
The warm early winter sun shone into the hospital room, and Tristan's face looked a bit pale as he sat on the bed, lost in thought.
He had been in this state recently. When Ryan came in, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Since leaving the ICU, Tristan had only asked about Katniss once. Knowing she had gone home and hadn't left the house, he didn't ask about anything else.
Even though Ryan had reminded him multiple times, during Tristan's days in the ICU, Travis had been privately trying to win over Synergy Global Corporation's executives and shareholders, hoping to give Eudora some real power as the general manager. Tristan remained indifferent.
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