Chapter 47 That Depends on How You Behave
A shadow loomed overhead, and Katniss squinted up to see Tristan's face, all blurry from the backlight.
His deep eyes caught the glow from her phone screen. She sniffled, looked away, and handed him the phone. "Can you show me how to play this game?"
"Why?" Tristan took the phone, messing with it. The account level was super low.
But George had hooked Katniss up with all the game characters and gear, which were worth a ton if sold.
"I'm terrible at it." Katniss didn't want to admit George was pushing her to learn; Tristan might not take that well.
Guys have their pride, and Tristan would definitely go toe-to-toe with George.
Tristan's deep eyes locked onto Katniss's small face, with her curled lashes and delicate features, which he knew all too well.
But every time he saw her, he was floored by her beauty.
Her words were like a soft plea, tickling Tristan's heart like a feather.
His breath got heavier, and he leaned in to kiss her. "Well, that depends on how well you behave."
His voice was already husky, making Katniss nervous. Where were they?
Downstairs was Bella's birthday bash!
She pushed him away. "Is Miss Astor's party over?"
"Nope." He was brief, already in the zone, not wanting to waste words.
How could he dare? Katniss wondered, biting her lip and whispering, "Can we go home?"
"What are you scared of?" Tristan tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear, his breath carrying a faint hint of smoke.
Katniss lowered her eyes. "Afraid of causing trouble for you."
After all, he had just given his beloved Bella a birthday gift, and now he was here, all cozy with her.
If they got caught, she'd be worried for Tristan!
Tristan's eyes darkened, as if deep in thought. He stood up and looked at the distant scenery, pulling out a cigarette.
Katniss took the lighter from his hand and lit the cigarette for him. The flame lit up his face, reflecting in his eyes.
The night breeze gently blew past them as they stood on the rooftop, staring into the distance in silence.
Tristan didn't go back down. After soaking in the rooftop view and getting a call from Michael saying the dinner was over, he left the hotel straight away.
At the hotel entrance, Mr. and Mrs. Astor were seeing guests off, and Bella was chatting with Isla, occasionally glancing over.
"Go get the car." Tristan slightly turned, his deep eyes scanning the crowd, but he was talking to Katniss.
Katniss nodded and headed to the underground parking lot. After a few steps, she suddenly heard someone getting chewed out.
She paused and tilted her head to see a couple laying into a short-haired girl.
"You're just useless. What can you do to help us?" The woman was super emotional, almost hitting the short-haired girl.
The man was also impatient, waving his hand and saying, "You're way worse than Isla. Spend more time learning from her instead of burying your head in books. What's the point?"
From Katniss's angle, she could only see the back of the short-haired girl, who seemed indifferent, her voice equally detached.
"When you kick me out, the books I've read will be useful. I won't starve," the girl said.
"You want us to kick you out?" The woman raised her hand and hit her on the back. "We've raised you this long, and you can't bring any benefits to the family? Give up on that idea!"
The short-haired girl didn't dodge. "Don't push me, or I'll die right in front of you."
Her tone was still light, but it enraged the man, who slapped her across the face.
Her frail body was knocked to the ground. The man, still unsatisfied, cursed a few more times before angrily getting into a luxury car.
The woman glared at her and then left.
Katniss saw the short-haired girl's face clearly and remembered seeing her around Bella and Isla. She must be a relative of the Astor family.
Katniss accidentally stumbled upon such an awkward scene and didn't want to show herself to avoid embarrassing the girl, but she had to pass by the girl to get her car.
"Stop hiding, come out." The short-haired girl propped herself up and turned to look at the car where Katniss was hiding, able to see her feet.
Katniss walked out slowly, awkwardly pointing to the car next to her. "I'm here to get the car."
She then walked over and extended her hand to the short-haired girl, who hesitated before taking it and standing up.
"Saskia." Saskia introduced herself and added, "My mom is Bella's aunt."
Katniss nodded. "Katniss, assistant to the president of Synergy Global Corporation."
"I know." Saskia was concise. "I'm not on Bella's side, so you don't have to guard against me."
Her unexpected words hit Katniss like a bolt from the blue, and Katniss didn't know how to respond.
"Can you give me a ride home?" Saskia pointed to the exit. "My parents left me, and I have no money."
"I have to take Mr. Forbes home. I'll need his permission first." Katniss couldn't make the decision on her own, though she had a good impression of Saskia after their brief conversation.
Saskia nodded. "Cool, let's add each other on Facebook. I'll wait by the roadside. If he says no, just let me know. If he says yes, come get me."
Katniss pulled out her phone and sent a friend request to Saskia.
Once the request was accepted, Katniss hopped into the car.
At the hotel entrance, Mr. and Mrs. Astor had already seen the guests off, but Bella was still chatting away with Tristan by the roadside, looking super happy. Tristan looked stone-faced, while Michael had a doting smile.
Seeing Katniss drive up, Tristan cut Bella off, "It's getting late. Let's head back. I'm out."
Through the window, Katniss caught Bella's resentful glance. It wasn't until Tristan got in the car and Katniss turned around that Bella's figure disappeared from the rearview mirror, along with that sour look.
"Mr. Forbes, I ran into Miss Astor's cousin, last name Stuart. Her parents ditched her, and she's got no cash. She asked if I could give her a ride home," Katniss voiced.
Katniss drove slowly, spotting Saskia waiting by the roadside, waiting for Tristan's response.
Tristan, sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, half-opened them when he heard Katniss and then gave a nod.
Katniss stopped the car next to Saskia, who hopped in without hesitation. "Thanks, Mr. Forbes."
Tristan didn't respond. Katniss turned around, smiled at her, reminded her to buckle up, asked for her address, and then drove off.
Saskia stayed quiet during the ride, her eyes scanning the car interior. Suddenly, she noticed a few white buttons in the corner.
She frowned, bent down to pick them up, examined them, and then, with an amused look, put them in her bag.
It took an extra half hour to drop Saskia off, and by the time they reached Oakwood Hills, it was already 11 PM.
The first thing Tristan did when they got home was take a shower, then he played games with Katniss.
Coincidentally, Nicholas was also online and created a three-person group to play together.
Katniss stayed quiet, while Nicholas kept talking about Bella's birthday in the voice chat.
That's when Katniss found out that Nicholas had also been at the party, but he showed up after she had gone to the rooftop.
He had given Bella a piece of jewelry worth $200,000.
"I have no real connection with her. Does she really need to compare me to you? She said the necklace you gave her was a limited edition, something she had wanted for a long time, and worth a million dollars!" Nicholas complained indignantly, "I don't have close relationship with her. If it weren't for Michael, I wouldn't have given her a gift at all! When I heard her say that, I left without even eating."
Katniss's hand paused on the screen, her thoughts a bit scattered.
It wasn't until the game notified her of her character's death that she snapped back to reality.
Several players who had killed her in the game were being mercilessly beaten by Tristan. He lounged lazily on the sofa, with Katniss lying on his lap. He showed no emotion as he effortlessly killed their opponents.
Nicholas cursed, "Damn it! Playing games with you is no fun. Out of 18 kills, you got fifteen, Katniss got three, and I got none! Zero kills, zero deaths, zero assists. Next round, I'll play support and follow you."
Tristan replied mercilessly, "I don't like men following me around."
"I'm bound to get on your nerves!!" Nicholas retorted fiercely.
True to his word, Nicholas picked a support character in the next game, even though Katniss had also chosen a support role.
Despite the complaints from the other two matched teammates, Nicholas remained unfazed, sticking close to Tristan.
The scene reminded Katniss of how she and Matilda had followed George around earlier, giving her a headache and making her think they were bound to lose.
But surprisingly, Tristan managed to kill the opposing team's main player and cleared out all the monsters in their jungle area within a few minutes, taking control of the game.
Katniss realized it wasn't her fault that George lost that game; George just wasn't good at playing.
After the game ended, Tristan kicked Nicholas out of the room and played solo with Katniss.
Nicholas, being mischievous, kept calling Tristan repeatedly. Tristan retaliated by blocking Nicholas's phone number and Facebook.
Katniss shook her head with a smile. Since she was playing a support character, which didn't require much thought, she soon felt sleepy.
She didn't know when she fell asleep, but when she woke up the next morning and checked her phone, she found that they had won the game. Somehow, she had managed to kill all the enemy players.
On a whim, she saved the game video but didn't have time to watch it. She got up to wash up, as it was time for work.
At the office, a cheerful atmosphere greeted her as soon as she walked in, and Katniss immediately felt it.
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