Chapter 301 Do You Regret Marrying Me Seven Years Ago
Tristan's whereabouts abroad were all told to Katniss by Saskia.
It seemed he also had work here, but she didn't listen carefully to where exactly he was working.
All she knew was that he got off work at five o'clock every day and would stay at the intersection near the White Corporation branch for three hours.
Every day, even the owner of the café at the corner of the intersection knew him.
Although the recovery period was only a month, Katniss had a good foundation and her figure was still slender.
Except for a C-section scar on her lower abdomen, it was not apparent that she had given birth a month ago.
She wanted to go out, and Natalia had no objections, only reminding her not to overwork herself because she had just given birth not long ago.
Sophia didn't say anything, probably knowing what she was going to do, and watched her leave with a look full of unspoken thoughts.
After nine months of a nerve-wracking pregnancy and another month of recovery, she suddenly felt a bit unaccustomed to being so free.
Sitting in the car, she adjusted the seat, took a few minutes to get used to it, and then drove off.
It was rush hour, so what would normally be a twenty-minute drive took her forty minutes.
By the time she arrived at the café, it was already half-past five.
There weren't many people, just a few businesswomen of similar age gathering in a corner.
There were also two or three scattered men and women sitting on the first floor.
Tristan wasn't there. She pursed her lips and sat by the window on the second floor.
From there, she could see the entrance and the street outside. She hadn't told Tristan she was coming here.
Logically, Tristan should have been here by this time.
Maybe, the one day he didn't come was today?
If so, she and Tristan were just not meant to be.
She couldn't drink coffee, so she only ordered a glass of milk and kept glancing at the door from the second floor.
In that hour, many customers came and went, but Tristan was not among them.
It was almost seven o'clock, and the sky outside was completely dark, with the city lights coming on and neon lights illuminating the entire city.
The café was very quiet, and the low conversations of others had a hypnotic effect.
Katniss felt a chill run through her body, and the hot milk in her hands gradually cooled.
She still hadn't seen Tristan.
Gradually, there were fewer and fewer customers in the café, and the waiter asked her several times if she wanted more milk, but she refused each time.
Every table with customers had a glass lamp lit, and the only lamp on the second floor was at her table.
The intricate and brilliant light shone on the table and reflected on her hands.
At half-past eight, she sighed softly and got up to leave.
When she walked out of the café, she realized it had started to drizzle.
Pedestrians were hurrying with umbrellas.
There were also a few people like her, standing under the eaves waiting.
There was also someone standing under the streetlight across the road, smoking.
The white streetlight illuminated Tristan's figure, his black shirt slightly wet and clinging to his body.
His short hair was covered in rain mist, and the cigarette between his fingers glowed intermittently.
His clean and slender fingers flicked the ash off the cigarette, and he looked up, meeting her gaze.
Under the eaves, Katniss was wearing a black long dress and holding a small bag.
Her once waist-length hair was now cut to her shoulders, slightly curly, and though it was her natural color, it exuded an extreme allure.
He suddenly moved, extinguished the cigarette, and took the coat from his arm, walking towards her while unfolding it.
He wrapped it around her, his hands also encircling her body as he bent down to hug her.
The faint smell of tobacco on him instantly enveloped Katniss, and his embrace was still as warm as ever.
Half of his body was in the rain, and Katniss watched as the rain mist fell and wet his clothes.
She moved slightly and said, "Let go."
"Give me ten more seconds."
His head was buried in her neck, inhaling her familiar scent, which seemed to have a hint of milk?
Maybe it was because she had just come out of the café.
He didn't think much of it, and after ten seconds, he reluctantly let go of her.
He scrutinized her intently, as if trying to memorize every detail of her appearance.
"Can we talk?" Katniss's eyes reflected his deep features.
As soon as she said this, his gaze darkened, and he frowned and refused, "No."
"Then why did you come to see me?" Katniss frowned.
Tristan whispered, "Because I miss you."
"What are you afraid of?" The coat he had draped over her slipped off, and Katniss quickly caught it, saying, "You came all the way here and spent so much time just to see me?"
"If you want me to do something else, that's fine too." Tristan's hand reached out and landed on her waist.
He was just casually changing the subject; he didn't mean to do anything.
She could feel it and handed the coat back to him, "You should go back, Synergy Global Corporation is in trouble."
"What about you?" Tristan moved to the left to block the wind coming from the alley for her.
Katniss smoothed her short hair that just reached her ears and said, "I'll go back too. At most, I'll finish the project at the White Corporation branch in half a month, and then I'll leave."
This answer seemed to satisfy him, and he smiled slightly, but still didn't say much.
Except for his gaze never leaving her, many words were suppressed by his rationality.
"Then let's go back." Katniss saw that he was determined not to speak, took his hand, and draped the coat over his arm.
He didn't refuse, but the disappointment in his eyes was hard to hide, and he just looked at her.
Katniss hesitated for a while, then turned and walked towards the car.
He finally couldn't help but speak, "Katniss, do you regret marrying me seven years ago?"
If she hadn't married him, she wouldn't have gone through so much, nor would she have been caught up in the dirty battles of the wealthy families, getting hurt in the process.
Katniss paused, her black dress fluttering in the wind, her short hair covering half of her face but not the sadness in her eyes.
After a moment, she turned to him, "No regrets."
A glimmer of light appeared in his eyes.
She added, "After all, without you, my mom wouldn't have made it this far."
This was the only thing she could take away from this marriage, and in that sense, she had no regrets at all.
"Is that the only reason?" Tristan's eyes dimmed again.
He wanted to ask her if she regretted all the entanglements with him.
But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to ask.
"Go back." She avoided answering that question, turned around, got in the car, and watched Tristan's silhouette gradually blur in the rearview mirror.
Her heart ached, and long-suppressed memories resurfaced.
Their meeting seemed like a simple encounter between friends.
It felt both like a prelude to separation and a new beginning.
The day after she met Tristan, he returned to the country.
On the third day, Synergy Global Corporation and Runyon Corporation accepted court mediation. Eudora and Milan did not attend in person; instead, their lawyers and assistants attended to communicate and handle the matter.
Faced with the heavy evidence presented by Runyon Corporation, Eudora's lawyer dismissed it as falsified, but the video did not capture Milan's face, and she lacked more direct evidence.
So the court mediation advised Eudora to withdraw the lawsuit due to insufficient evidence from Synergy Global Corporation.
Eudora refused, and the matter escalated to a court case. Such a significant issue should have been handled by Tristan, the president.
But he avoided discussing it, continued to slack off at the company every day, and left the trouble to Eudora.
He occasionally contacted Nicholas, trying to find out the exact day Katniss would return.
Sometimes, he would call Nicholas in the middle of the night on a whim to ask.
Nicholas got angry, "Tristan, you may not have a wife, but I do, and she's pregnant. It's already hard enough to get through the pregnancy, and you keep calling every night to disturb us. Can you tone it down a bit?"
"Don't you know to report to me every day?" Tristan retorted matter-of-factly.
Nicholas was at a loss for words.
"You know very well that pregnancy is challenging, why should you sleep comfortably? I'm asking you to be considerate of her." He teased.
Nicholas, furious, left the bedroom and shouted downstairs, "Tristan, you deserve to be single. I bet you'll be lonely for the rest of your life, with no wife or kids to care for you!"
Tristan was curious about where babies come from.
"Forget it, I'm so mad I'm confused. Katniss is coming back in three days. I just found out tonight and planned to tell you in the morning. Don't bother me again!"
Nicholas quickly corrected himself and then hung up the phone.
In those three days, Eudora lost the case because Milan had a solid alibi.
In the end, Travis stepped in to meet with Milan and reached a settlement, barely preventing Milan from suing Eudora for defamation. The matter concluded amid public sighs.
Travis gave Eudora a severe scolding and then convened a late-night meeting with Synergy Global Corporation's top executives and shareholders.
They discussed whether the project was still viable and how to save Synergy Global Corporation.
Tristan, sitting at the head of the table, seemed like an observer, listening to their heated discussions while occasionally fiddling with his phone. His indifferent attitude was evident to everyone.
Travis didn't expect him to come up with any ideas, as Tristan was probably hoping Eudora would mess up, so he could win.
He also took this opportunity to criticize Tristan for his lack of consideration.
"Tristan, even though our bet means Eudora lost, and I have to sell my shares to save Synergy Global Corporation, it would still cause significant losses to the company. Yet, you remain indifferent, watching Synergy Global Corporation fall into crisis. You're too cold-hearted!"
Tristan raised his cold eyes, playing with a pen in his fingers, and said in a cold voice, "If you're so noble, then hand over your shares now to make up for it and leave Synergy Global Corporation. I'll save it."
These words left Travis speechless.
He had anticipated Eudora's inability to control Synergy Global Corporation but hadn't expected it to be this bad!
He also anticipated Tristan's indifference but hadn't expected it to be so complete!
Now that Synergy Global Corporation was in such a state, it was useless to him. What was the point?
However, he thought of the documents he had Tristan sign. If worse came to worst, they would all go down together!
"Everyone, you see his attitude. You can't blame me for not considering father-son ties. But before that, let's discuss how to salvage the current situation."
Immediately, a shareholder responded, "Given the current situation, the Runyon family is unlikely to cooperate with us. White Corporation has the best chance of collaborating with Runyon Corporation. If we can persuade White Corporation's leader to let us participate in this project, we can turn things around!"
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