Chapter 63 Why Didn't You Come Home
Sunlight poured in through the big-ass windows, making Katniss squint as she walked in.
She dropped the papers in front of Tristan and, for once, decided to talk about something other than work. "Mr. Forbes, why didn't you come home last night?"
Tristan's eyelids twitched, but he didn't even bother looking up. "Who told you I didn't go home?"
He had gone back to Serenity Estate. But she meant her place.
Feeling a bit awkward, Katniss fiddled with the hem of her shirt, frowning slightly.
After what felt like forever, she mumbled, "I..."
"Didn't we already sign this document?" Tristan flipped through the papers, looking bored. "When did you start slacking off like this?"
She couldn't believe he didn't get that she was just using the document as an excuse to talk. Maybe she shouldn't have been so hasty, bringing this up during work hours. No wonder he was pissed.
"Sorry, Mr. Forbes." She nodded, grabbed the document, and left.
Tristan stared at the closed door for a long time.
He let out a big sigh, tossed his pen on the table, and closed his eyes, but he couldn't stop thinking about Katniss.
Katniss didn't get another chance to talk to Tristan. At lunch, he went out with Michael and Bella. She figured she'd catch him later.
But before the day ended, Tristan called her into his office and handed her a document. "Take this to the secretary's office and get a copy for each department."
"Okay." Katniss took the document, hesitated, and asked, "There's a meeting tonight. Are you having it here or at home?"
Tristan's gaze turned icy, making her heart race.
She quickly added, "I mean, if it's here, I'll order dinner."
Tristan stayed silent, his stare making the room feel tense.
Then Bella burst in, all cheerful, and stood next to Katniss. "Tristan, I've ordered dinner for you."
Katniss's eyelashes fluttered, and she frowned at Tristan.
He glanced at Bella and said, "Okay, you both can go. I'll handle the meeting alone."
"Michael's here to pick me up, so I'm out!" Bella waved at Tristan and left.
In the big, bright office, Katniss's long eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks.
Watching Tristan already buried in his work, Katniss took a long pause before finally turning and walking out.
It was still early, so she decided to hit up the hospital. Since it wasn't the weekend, her visit caught Sophia off guard.
"Katniss, what are you doing here at this hour? Something up?"
Katniss tossed her bag on the table, smiled, and shook her head. "Nah, just got off work early and thought I'd drop by. It's been a minute."
Sophia let out a sigh of relief, then couldn't help but smile. "I know you're a good kid, but if you got off early, you should be resting at home. What's so great about hanging out at a hospital? It's bad vibes. If I could, I'd be home too."
Sophia's treatment needed the chief physician's personal touch. Even though it was just a couple of hours a day, the doc wouldn't make house calls.
So, she had to stay in the hospital long-term.
"Wherever you are, that's home." Katniss smiled, grabbing an apple from the bedside table and peeling it.
Those words brought tears to Sophia's eyes. With a loving and guilty look, she reached out and touched Katniss's head.
"Sorry for being a burden on you. Otherwise, we could've had such good times together with you and Matilda. Maybe you'd be married with kids by now, and I could help you take care of them."
She rambled on about the life of ordinary folks.
But Katniss's life was anything but ordinary. She handed the peeled apple over and softly said, "Taking care of your health now is helping us."
Taking the apple, Sophia wiped her tears, took a bite, and seemed to think of something, sniffing and forcing a smile. "I talk too much. Every time you come, I say these things. You're probably sick of hearing it. I'll stop."
Katniss's eyes curved, a faint sadness in her gentle smile.
After having dinner with Sophia, she headed to Damon's office.
Seeing her, Damon quickly put down his work and asked, "Katniss, come sit. Got the medical fees sorted?"
"No." Katniss sat down across from Damon and asked, "I want to understand my mom's condition. How long can she last with the best meds?"
Damon thought for a moment and gave an uncertain answer. "At most five years, at least three, but if things get worse, it could be shorter. Keeping a good mindset is key, and I think your mom's mindset is pretty solid."
At most five years, costing seven to eight hundred grand a month, which adds up to nearly ten million a year. Over five years, that's fifty million bucks.
Even three years would cost thirty million bucks. Once the meds go back to their original price, it’d be impossible to afford.
"Katniss, it's crazy hard to gather that kind of cash. You need to figure out who's messing with you. If the price could go back to the discounted rate during the trial phase, the total cost for five years will be less than what you'd pay in a single year at the original price. Even if you could scrape up the money, there's no need to blow it," Damon advised.
Katniss got it, but how could she take on the Astor family?
Her only shot was Tristan, but fifty million dollars was a massive chunk of change.
She just wanted to confirm how much more was needed. After getting a clear answer, she thanked Damon and left.
The hallway lights were dim, and in a hidden corner, a figure crouched. Seeing her turn into the stairwell and leave, Sophia emerged from the shadows.
Her face was already streaked with tears, but she held back from crying out loud. How could her illness cost so much?
She turned and barged into Damon's office without knocking, startling him. "Damon, didn't you say my monthly meds were around a hundred grand? How did it jump to two hundred grand, and even seven to eight hundred grand?"
Seeing this, Damon knew she had overheard. "Sophia, don't get worked up. Let me explain. Recently, the hospital introduced a trial medication, which naturally costs more. Two hundred grand a month is the trial phase price; the original price is seven to eight hundred grand."
"So expensive! How is my life worth that much?" Sophia cried anxiously. The thought of Katniss working herself to the bone to earn money for her made her heart ache.
Damon didn't know what to say as she cried. Finally, he tried to comfort her. "It's clear that Katniss is very devoted. I've heard about your relationship. You are the only person without blood ties but more important than family to her. You are her emotional anchor. She doesn't care about the money; what's important is that you can stay with her longer."
Sophia cried into her hands for a long time, then calmed down and asked, "You mentioned someone was making things difficult for her? Deliberately jacking up the price of my meds?"
"Yes," Damon didn't expect Sophia to have heard everything.
"I understand, Damon. Thanks." Sophia thought for a moment and said, "Don't tell Katniss that I know. I'll head back now."
She left Damon's office but didn't head straight back to her room, worried she'd break down in front of Katniss. Instead, she wandered over to the hospital's small garden.
Half an hour later, Katniss jogged to the garden, relieved to see Sophia sitting alone on a bench under the moonlight.
She brought a thin blanket and draped it over Sophia. "Mom, why are you out here alone?"
Sophia's face showed no signs of distress. She scooted over and patted the spot next to her. "Come on, I warmed it up for you. Let's sit and chat for a bit."
"Okay." Katniss sat down, feeling the warmth on the cold bench. Before she could react, Sophia draped a thin blanket over her.
Sophia shared half of the blanket with her, holding her close. "It feels cozy now."
Katniss leaned her head against Sophia's, feeling like she was back on that night she got kicked out of the house by her dad for messing up.
When Sophia first married her dad, Katniss couldn't accept it and wouldn't talk to her.
Later, when her dad kept beating and scolding her, it was Sophia who protected her, and she started talking to Sophia, though still not much.
Until that day, her dad wanted to visit Rupert but got turned away by her mom. Enraged, her dad drank heavily.
When he got home, he took his anger out on her, saying that if it weren't for her, he would have custody of Rupert.
She got kicked out of the house, wearing thin clothes in the freezing winter, nearly turning into an icicle.
Sophia, coming home from work, saw her outside and immediately took off her coat to give to her. She tried to unlock the door but found it locked from the inside by her dad.
With no neighbors around, they spent the night outside in the cold, with Sophia constantly talking to her.
Luckily, Matilda had been sent to her grandmother's house; otherwise, Sophia wouldn't have been able to give all her clothes to Katniss.
Sophia also promised that if Katniss could stay strong until morning, she would buy her favorite doll with her paycheck.
Sophia kept her word and bought Katniss her favorite doll, but got beaten by her dad for it.
Katniss called Sophia "Mom" for the first time.
And she kept calling her "Mom" ever since. In her heart, Sophia had become her true mother.
"Look at you, your eyes are red. Thinking about the past?" Sophia saw right through her and said, "When you were little, you needed me, and I was there. But now you've grown up and don't need me as much. You can take care of yourself even if I'm not around, so there are times when you shouldn't cling so tightly to things."
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