Chapter 87 What Are Your Plans
"I ain't feelin' weird or nothin'," Sophia clung to her. "It's just the new room, ya know? Didn't sleep great. Quit buggin' Damon, he's got stuff to do."
Katniss remembered Sophia always had trouble sleepin' in new places. "I'll get the doc to give you some sleep meds. Damon said you gotta rest up; it's good for ya."
"Alright," Sophia grinned. "Go wash me some fruit, then we can chill and chat."
There was a bunch of fruit on the bedside table. Katniss grabbed Sophia's fave and went to wash it.
Sophia let out a breath, got up, and peeked out the window, hopin' Matilda would show up and help her relax.
She almost let Katniss catch on to somethin'.
The window had a view of the hospital entrance. A flashy car pulled up, grabbin' Sophia's attention.
Matilda hopped out, with George right behind her. They were laughin' and jokin' as they pulled out two boxes of supplements from the trunk.
Matilda carried 'em inside, and George waved goodbye before drivin' off.
Katniss came back with the fruit and saw Sophia starin' out the window. "Mom, the fruit's ready."
"Oh, comin'!" Sophia snapped out of it, sat on the bed, and started chattin' with Katniss. "How's it goin' with George lately?"
Katniss saw this comin' and had her answer ready. "George is too young. I don't think it's gonna work, so don't get your hopes up."
Sophia's face fell. "Why not? Didn't he get hurt for you? Weren't you two gettin' along great? Be straight with me, is it because..."
She cut herself off. The room went quiet. Katniss looked at her, confused. "Because of what?"
"Nothin'." Sophia suddenly clammed up. "Eat some fruit. I'm just worried."
Even though she didn't push it, Katniss could see her urgency and said, "Don't stress, I'm gettin' along with him. If there's a chance, I'll make it happen for you. But you can't force things that ain't right."
Sophia smiled and dropped it. Soon, Matilda showed up.
"Mom, Katniss, sorry I'm late." She put the supplements on the bedside table.
Sophia turned and asked, "Who got the supplements?"
"A friend. They knew I was visitin' and asked me to bring 'em," Matilda said.
Sophia's face was blank. "Don't take stuff from people for no reason. You're a girl; you gotta have some self-respect."
She was always lecturing Katniss and Matilda like this, so they didn't think much of it.
Matilda hugged her neck, acting all cute, but Sophia gently pushed her away.
The room was quiet as they chatted warmly. After lunch, they all took a quick nap.
In the afternoon, Katniss had to head over to the Neville family for a face-to-face tutoring session with Kieran, leaving Matilda to keep Sophia company.
"Matilda, you're not a kid anymore. Have you thought about getting hitched?" Sophia suddenly asked.
Matilda was caught off guard and quickly replied, "No way, Mom. You can't be serious about pushing me to marry, right? Katniss isn't married yet; don't stress about me."
"Why shouldn't I worry? Seeing you married would put my mind at ease. Both you and Katniss aren't getting any younger. It's normal to date and get married." Sophia paused for a moment. "I'll find someone suitable for you."
Her tone was firm, and Matilda felt a sudden resistance. "I don't need that. Just focus on getting better," she said.
Seeing that Sophia wanted to say more, Matilda quickly stood up and said, "I'll go buy some more fruit!"
In the ward, Sophia's expression shifted, growing darker and more troubled.
To Katniss's surprise, she saw Tristan at the Neville family.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm glow on Tristan, who was lounging on the sofa.
His features were sharp and noble, and his cold eyes glanced at Katniss.
Cedric noticed her arrival and immediately stood up. "Katniss, glad you come. Kieran's waiting upstairs. You should go up. I have a meeting with Mr. Forbes to discuss work."
After a brief hesitation, Katniss greeted Tristan, "Mr. Forbes."
"Mm." Tristan stood up and put out his cigarette, glancing upstairs. "Go on up."
"Okay." Katniss smiled at Cedric. "Mr. Neville, I'll head up."
She turned and went upstairs, carrying her materials. Pausing at the corner, she looked back downstairs.
Tristan was still chatting with Cedric about work, his demeanor icy and distant.
He hadn't reached out to her for days, and they had barely seen each other.
'Is this the end?' Katniss wondered.
"Ms. Grey," Kieran's voice called out.
She quickly walked forward and saw that the study door had been open all along, with Kieran watching her for a while.
"Come on, let's get started." Suppressing her emotions, she spread out the materials and began the lesson.
Cedric placed a lot of importance on Kieran's education, having a nearly 1,000-square-foot library with all the materials for every grade.
Katniss realized she forgot a reference book, so during a twenty-minute break, she headed to the library to find something similar.
The shelves were packed with books, and the space between them was tight, barely enough for one person to squeeze through.
She planned to start searching from the end of the shelves but immediately spotted Tristan reading a book.
"Mr. Forbes?" She furrowed her brows slightly and stopped a few feet away. "You haven't left yet?"
Tristan lifted his eyes slightly, put the book back on the shelf, and leaned lazily against the wall.
"Mr. Neville invited me to stay for dinner, so I'm just killing time," he said.
It was almost five o'clock, and Katniss had no plans to stick around for dinner. She wanted to quickly find the material, finish the last question, and bounce.
"Okay," she responded, turning to dive into the shelves to find the material, but for some reason, she felt distracted.
Through the gaps in the shelves, Tristan's deep gaze followed her, his clear eyes taking in her glossy red lips and the exposed part of her forehead.
Her loose ponytail was bathed in the golden glow of the sunset, making her look like a student in this setting.
After a while, he moved slightly and went to the end of the shelf where she was, asking, "What book are you looking for?"
"8th-grade math book," Katniss blurted out.
Turning her head, she saw Tristan heading to another shelf, his clear and pleasant voice saying, "It's over here."
She walked through the shelves to his side and saw him standing still.
"Mr. Forbes, after Mrs. Forbes' birthday party, do you have any plans? Do you need me to prepare another divorce agreement in advance?" Katniss asked softly.
In the quiet library, her voice was very clear.
Tristan thought for a moment and said, "Prepare it."
"Okay," she replied, and then there was dead silence.
He didn't look for the book anymore, his gaze fixed on a spot, and after a long while, he suddenly asked, "At this rate, you won't be able to get any money from me in the future. What are your plans?"
He casually mentioned her getting money from him, and her heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly by a large hand, almost crushed into pieces.
She swallowed hard and forced a smile. "I don't know."
As soon as she finished speaking, a book appeared in front of her, the one she needed.
She took it and thanked him. "Thanks, Mr. Forbes. I'll get back to work."
Turning away from the library, she returned to Kieran and started explaining the math problem.
In less than ten minutes, she wrapped it up. "I'll send you a few similar problems later. Once you finish them, we can dive deeper. I gotta bounce now."
"Ms. Grey, my dad invited you to stay for dinner," Kieran quickly said.
Katniss paused while packing her things, then continued. "Nah, I got other stuff to do. Please thank Mr. Neville for me."
She grabbed her bag and left. Cedric was busy and not in the living room, so she told the servant and took off.
Her departure was hurried.
The emotions she had been holding back surged out as soon as she left the Neville family.
He would no longer be hers, not even in private, not even a little bit.
In the future, even if she didn't want money, he wouldn't come to her anymore.
The feelings from her changing relationship with Tristan drowned out all her worries about the coming chaos.
'We're ending this,' Katniss thought.
The suffocating feeling brought by the night made it hard for Katniss to breathe. She didn't even turn on the lights, letting the darkness swallow her.
Unknowingly, she fell asleep on the sofa, shivering all night from the cold wind blowing through the half-open window.
In the morning, unsurprisingly, she caught a cold and forced herself to get up and go to work despite feeling like crap.
With only two days left until Adelaide's birthday party, Tristan actually showed up at the office, and he arrived earlier than Katniss.
Katniss saw Bella's bag at the secretary's desk outside his office, meaning they had come together.
As she arrived, she kept hearing employees buzzing about something excitedly, and the vibe spread throughout the company.
It seemed everyone knew that Adelaide would announce the news at the birthday party.
Besides Katniss, Jessica was also in a funk.
With about ten days left until the end of the month, she was torn about whether to quit!
Unsure of what to do, she suddenly heard a commotion at the door. Two employees who had been out were chatting about Bella.
She quickly asked, "What's the scoop?"
"You don't know? Miss Astor is about to marry Mr. Forbes. She finally got Adelaide's blessing."
Jessica was stunned for a few seconds, then thinking with delight, 'Who does Katniss think she is? Why should I quit just because she told me to? From now on, Bella's gonna be running the show!'
She hurriedly grabbed a random file and went upstairs to find Bella. When she reached the top floor, Bella was in the break room chatting with a group of female employees.
Seeing her, Bella only gave her a cold glance.
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