Chapter 52 Misunderstanding Deepened
Tristan caught a glimpse of her and George standing way too close, looking like they were about to hug it out.
He had a cig hanging between his fingers, smoke curling up but not blocking his view.
Katniss couldn't say no to George in the end. After his car drove off, she walked into the house wearing his coat.
She tried to shut the door, but something stopped her. She jumped a bit and saw Tristan shoving the door open, flicking his cigarette butt outside.
He marched over, grabbed the back of her head with his long fingers, and planted a hard kiss on her lips.
With a quick flick, George's coat hit the floor. Tristan scooped her up and headed straight for the bathroom.
He cranked up the heater and the shower, letting the warm water pour over them.
Katniss was still freezing, pressed up against Tristan's burning hot body.
"Katniss," he kept murmuring her name, each time sounding more seductive.
He looked like he wanted to crush her and make her a part of him, thinking she was his.
By the middle of the night, Katniss had warmed up, but her head was still heavy and dizzy. Probably caught a cold, she slept deeply, her soft breaths tickling his ear.
His eyes glinted in the dark. After a while, he pulled the thin blanket over her and got up, heading downstairs.
He was just in dress pants, barefoot and shirtless, his tall frame sinking into the sofa as he lit another cig.
Katniss dreamed her parents never split, and she went to school with Rupert. They both got into good colleges and started their lives.
Life was tough, but her fighting spirit kept her going, and she was happy.
The sweet dream got cut off by a sudden ring. Katniss frowned, and without opening her eyes, she grabbed the ringing phone and answered.
"Hello, who is this?" Her voice was lazy and sleepy, clearly still in bed.
There was a few seconds of silence before a sharp voice cut through. "Katniss! Why are you answering Tristan's phone? Where is he? Were you together last night?"
Katniss's heart skipped a beat, and before she could react, the phone was snatched away. She looked up to see Tristan standing by the bed.
His gaze was intense, his lips pressed tight, showing he was pissed.
A bunch of noise came from the phone, but Katniss couldn't make out what was being said. She just saw Tristan's face getting darker by the second.
The next second, he hung up and shot her a frosty look. "Katniss, know your place. Don't push it!"
With that, he stormed downstairs, slamming the door so hard the whole apartment shook.
Katniss's heart shook right along with it.
He totally got her wrong; she wasn't asking for anything.
His cold stare and harsh words felt like a knife to her heart. When Tristan got to the hospital, Bella was still in the ER. The hallway was filled with Eleanor's cries and her angry curses at Tristan.
Henry was holding her back; otherwise, she would've probably hit him.
"Where's that yourassistant? Why isn't she here? She caused all this mess and now she's hiding? Tristan, if you protect her, don't expect Bella to marry you!"
Tristan stood tall at the operating room door. Hearing Eleanor, he turned to her. "This has nothing to do with her."
That one line made Eleanor furious. Just then, the operating room door opened, and Eleanor rushed to the doctor.
"Doctor, how's my daughter?"
The doctor took off his mask, wiped his forehead, and said, "Eleanor, relax. We stopped the bleeding in time. Miss Astor's out of danger, but her lungs are a bit infected from being in the water last night. She needs rest."
Eleanor sighed in relief, her eyes on Bella as the nurse wheeled her out, following her to the VIP ward.
Henry went with the doctor to talk about the follow-up treatment, leaving just Michael and Tristan outside the ER.
They headed to the hospital rooftop. Michael handed Tristan a cigarette. "Didn't think Bella would go that far, trying to off herself."
He'd seen Bella, all happy calling Tristan, then suddenly cut her wrist with a fruit knife before he could react.
Blood soaked the bed, and he freaked out. "My parents are heartbroken. This is gonna be tough."
Tristan took a drag, blowing out a long stream of smoke. "This has nothing to do with Katniss. I'll stay and take care of Bella for now, keep her calm."
Michael squinted, noticing a shadow not far away, and smirked. "What? You serious about Katniss?"
Tristan's eyes darkened, and he gave a light smirk. "Nah, she's just a tool."
His words got carried away by the wind, but they landed right in Katniss's ears at the rooftop entrance.
Her face went pale, and her lips lost all color. Her fingers, gripping the fruit basket, turned white.
Just a tool.
So, those two lines Tristan threw at her this morning were actually him being nice.
After Tristan left, she pulled herself together and got up, planning to explain to him that she didn't mean to answer Bella's call.
But then she got hit with the news about Bella's suicide.
In just a few minutes, the news spread like wildfire. The media was all over it, speculating it had something to do with Tristan, but no one knew for sure.
She knew Bella's suicide was linked to that call she answered. Even if it wasn't on purpose, it was still connected to her, so she decided to come and check things out.
Behind her, Samuel stood not far away, watching her frail body sway in the wind. He said softly, "Mr. Astor's ways are not something you can handle."
Katniss didn't care that Michael had guessed she'd come and had Samuel bring her up to hear those words.
After all, it wasn't Michael who forced Tristan to say those things; Tristan said them himself.
"Please pass this to Mr. Astor for me. I'm out." Katniss handed the fruit basket to Samuel and turned to leave. Samuel glanced at Michael, who looked over and nodded slightly before heading downstairs.
In the elevator, besides feeling hurt, Katniss's mind was surprisingly clear.
She asked, "How's the resignation process for Matilda going?"
"She can't resign. Matilda signed a three-month internship contract with the company. Unless the company lets her go, she'd have to pay a huge penalty fee." Samuel looked at Katniss's reflection in the elevator wall. "Mr. Astor has cut off all your escape routes."
Katniss gave a bitter smile and said, "I never had any escape routes to begin with, so it doesn't matter."
Samuel looked like he wanted to say something, but the elevator doors opened. Katniss had already walked out, her back stubborn and unyielding.
The elevator doors slowly closed. Samuel leaned against the wall, pressing the button to go back up after a while.
The news about Bella's suicide made the whole Synergy Global Corporation go quiet. Everyone crowded around Katniss, bombarding her with questions.
"Katniss, did Miss Astor really try to kill herself?"
"Why'd she do it?"
"Is it really about Mr. Forbes? Did she force him to marry her?"
As soon as Katniss stepped out of the elevator, she was swarmed by several secretaries.
Her eyes were distant, and she said coolly, "Get back to work."
Seeing this, everyone backed off, realizing Bella really did try to off herself, and didn't dare ask more.
The company was still buzzing. Except for the stuff that needed Tristan's personal touch, Katniss handled everything else.
From morning till night, she didn't even get a lunch break, just managing to reply to a couple of messages from Matilda.
Matilda was freaked out by the news and asked what went down.
Katniss didn't know where to start, so she just said it was kinda related to her and they'd talk later.
Matilda replied: [I'll come find you after work.] As soon as Matilda heard it was about Katniss, she got even more worried.
Katniss tossed her phone aside and kept working. She didn't leave until after ten at night, fixing Tristan's schedule before she left.
She thought Matilda would've been waiting for a while, but to her surprise, her car and Matilda's taxi pulled up at the house at the same time.
Matilda got out, and they went inside one after the other.
Matilda had brought some food. "I got off work late, and I figured you probably didn't eat much, so I grabbed some food."
Katniss rolled up her sleeves, cleaned up the coffee table, and went to the kitchen to get some plates and bowls before sitting down.
Matilda couldn't wait to hear the whole story, and Katniss spilled everything.
"You didn't answer Bella's call on purpose. If he hadn't crashed at your place, how could you have answered his phone?" Matilda was fuming after hearing the whole story.
Katniss only took a few bites before losing her appetite. She hugged her knees, sitting on the carpet, her long hair covering most of her face.
Katniss said, "Even though it wasn't on purpose, I'm still tied to Bella's suicide. But I don't think she needs my apology."
After this mess, Tristan would probably be done with her and cut ties, which would be the best thing for Bella.
She rested her head on her knees, her curled lashes casting shadows on her lower eyelids, hiding her teary eyes.
Matilda threw the utensils aside, walked over, and hugged her. "Katniss, let's stop working for them. You should quit too! Stay far away from Tristan, or you'll just get hurt more!"
Hurt more?
Katniss thought about Matilda's words and slowly shook her head.
She said, "How could it hurt any deeper? In the end, it's just parting ways with Tristan. The only thing I needed to consider was whether to stick it out for some extra cash or give up and have none."
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