Chapter 397 She Will Hate You for a Lifetime
When Nicholas and Emory caught up to him, Tristan had only walked a short distance.
"You heard it too, it's not that we didn't try to persuade her, it's just that we couldn't," Emory tried to support him, but he refused.
"If we can't persuade her, then we won't. Once I marry Maddy and she stays here long enough, she'll naturally leave," Tristan's voice was slightly hoarse, his words filled with suppressed emotions.
Nicholas, with his hands in his pockets, followed behind and said, "The hospital said they haven't cracked this drug yet, but according to the people from Duke's lab, if the uncertain drug fails, it will have an impact, but not a significant one. Haven't you thought about what if the drug eventually fails, and you've married Maddy? How will you go back to Katniss? She'll hate you for life!"
Tristan paused, turned to look at Nicholas, and remained silent for a long time.
How significant was "not a significant impact"?
With this broken body, he couldn't even hold Katniss, and in the future, he wouldn't be able to give Evie a warm embrace, becoming a burden to them... He couldn't accept any of it.
Suddenly, a cry came from a half-open window. He turned and slowly raised his head, listening to Katniss softly comforting Evie.
The familiar voice continuously stimulated Tristan's nerves. After coming to his senses, he turned and wanted to leave quickly, but couldn't move a few feet away.
Emory and Nicholas watched his desolate figure, their eyes reddening.
In the evening, everyone who came to Maddy's house had left, leaving behind a room full of gifts but no sense of joy.
Especially when Tristan entered, the Nguyen family quickly stood up, looking at him somewhat awkwardly.
"Mr. Forbes, are you going to marry Maddy?" Maddy's father, Delbert Nguyen, complained, "With your condition, marrying my daughter is a grievance for her. Besides, you've been married before, and that woman doesn't seem easy to deal with. I'm afraid you'll bring trouble to Maddy."
Before Tristan could say anything, Maddy quickly spoke up, "Dad, I'm willing to marry him. No matter what Ms. Grey's situation is, we live in a society governed by law. She can't break the law, can she?"
Delbert kept giving Maddy meaningful looks, but she ignored them completely.
Instantly, Delbert's face fell, "We saved you back then, not expecting anything in return. You said you needed a place to stay, and your friends were willing to give us money, so I agreed to let you stay. But now your condition is deteriorating, and you still want to marry my daughter."
"Don't forget, our agreement was not to disclose any information," Tristan said, sitting down on the bench, his posture upright.
Even when sitting still, he exuded an air of nobility. Despite months of exposure to the elements, which made his skin rough, it added a wild charm to him.
Maddy, looking at his beautifully contoured profile, had a hint of ambiguity in her eyes.
"If it weren't for her breaking the rules, there wouldn't be so much trouble," Tristan's tone was cold, his deep eyes glancing at Delbert.
After all, Delbert did this out of love for his daughter, so Tristan spoke again, "The marriage is fake, but as long as she agrees, I will give her a sum of money in the future, enough for her to live comfortably for the rest of her life."
Delbert was worried that Maddy, already hard to marry off with a missing arm, would have an even harder time remarrying after a divorce, leaving no one to care for her in old age.
Hearing Tristan's words, he looked at Maddy.
Maddy nonchalantly said, "I agree, I don't want your money."
"Then what do you want?"
Tristan's cold eyes swept over her for a moment, and she suddenly shivered, becoming a bit more sober.
She had made a mistake.
Seeing Emory and the others being generous, she knew Tristan must have money too, so she sent out a missing person notice to extort money.
But unexpectedly, after attracting Tristan's wife, Tristan avoided meeting her.
Later, she overheard Emory and Tristan's conversation and learned that Tristan didn't want to reunite with his wife to avoid burdening her.
Instantly, she developed an indescribable affection for Tristan, which grew stronger with each passing day.
Unfortunately, such a devoted man already had a wife.
However, if she could marry him, anything could happen!
"But... Ms. Grey said you are legally married. If she reports it, won't my daughter become a homewrecker? And you would be committing bigamy!" Delbert raised another question.
Tristan moved his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing twice, and succinctly said, "We're already divorced."
Upon hearing this, Maddy's eyes lit up again. Divorced?
Then she had even fewer concerns!
As night fell, the sea breeze blew over the hills, dispersing the warmth in the small village.
It got excessively cold at night, but unfortunately, there was no heating here, and the small village didn't have air conditioning. Katniss couldn't adapt.
She was worried that Evie would kick off the blanket and catch a cold, so she barely slept, spending the night in a daze.
She dreamt of Tristan marrying Maddy, and of being swallowed by the sea, her limbs cold and unable to breathe.
She woke up around four in the morning, sitting by the window, staring at the dark scenery outside, listening to the howling wind, lost in thought.
It wasn't until daylight, with golden rays shining on the sea, that she gradually came to her senses.
Taking advantage of Evie still being asleep, she freshened up and went downstairs to make some breakfast.
Ryan, who lived on the first floor, scratched his back and said, "Ms. Grey, this place is awful, cold and damp... What's that on your neck?"
When he entered the kitchen, Katniss was bowing her head, her neck covered in red spots.
When Katniss looked up, Ryan noticed her neck was also covered.
"Are you allergic?"
"Not sure," Katniss instinctively scratched a couple of times.
Ryan quickly stopped her, "Don't scratch it. The doctor will be here soon, let him take a look. And we need to find a way to get Mr. Forbes to agree to a physical examination."
Katniss responded, "I have a way, just make sure the doctor comes."
She then turned and went upstairs. "I'll check on Evie, you go notify everyone in the village to gather."
Without Sophia, Katniss had to take care of Evie herself. Now that she had things to do, she had to wake Evie up early.
Fortunately, Evie didn't cry or fuss when she was around. When woken up, she wasn't angry, smiled at her, asked for a hug, and then let her dress herself and followed her downstairs.
The doctor had arrived and first checked the red spots on Katniss's neck, finding them all over her arms and body.
"It should be an allergy, not adapting to the humid climate of the South."
Katniss said, "I used to stay in Nightfall City and didn't have this issue."
"Nightfall City isn't by the sea, and without air conditioning here, combined with the cold and damp winter season, it's different from Nightfall City," the doctor patiently explained and then prescribed some medication.
Katniss accepted it gladly, "Thank you. These days will be hard on you. Please give everyone in the village a check-up, and do a thorough examination on Tristan."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
