Chapter 90 I Got Blackmailed
Tristan's eyes were so deep, you could get lost in 'em.
It was obvious Katniss was stirring the pot, wanting to split and never look back.
"For cash, she'd do anything," Tristan thought, shaking his head.
"No, Tristan, is it really worth it? Is Bella that amazing? Worth all this mess..." Nicholas trailed off, silenced by Tristan's icy glare.
He froze for a sec, realizing he might've gotten it all wrong.
"I got blackmailed," Tristan said, dripping with sarcasm.
Nicholas pieced together the gossip he'd heard on his way over and finally got it. "Katniss is all about the money. But you know her mom's sick; she's got no other options," Nicholas said.
Even if her mom's sick, does that make it okay to shake him down?
Nicholas decided to cut to the chase, "She messed up, big time, but why didn't you just can her? So, she still means something to you. But if Grandma Forbes and the Astor family catch wind of this, she..."
"Enough," Tristan stood up, grabbed his coat, and stormed out, "Let's hit D.V."
Clearly, drinking here wasn't cutting it; he needed a new spot to blow off steam.
Nicholas had no choice but to follow, jogging to keep up while rambling, "Katniss is in a real bind, stuck between the Astor family and Grandma Forbes, and now you're putting the squeeze on her. How's she supposed to survive?"
With every word Nicholas said, Tristan's eyes got darker.
At the hospital...
The sharp smell of disinfectant hit as Katniss slowly woke up from a killer headache.
Her lashes fluttered before she snapped her eyes open, staring blankly at the white ceiling for a few seconds.
"Katniss!" Matilda rushed over, worry all over her face, "You're awake!"
Her forehead felt cool; Matilda was checking her temperature. After a quick check, she said anxiously, "The fever's still there. I'll get the doc."
"I'll go. You stay here," George's voice came from the foot of the bed.
Katniss only caught a glimpse of his back as he hurried out. She tried to speak, but her throat felt like it was on fire, dry and raw.
She frowned, and Matilda quickly handed her a cup of warm water.
There was an IV in the back of her hand, and as she sat up, blood started backing up into the tube. Matilda quickly held her hand to stop her from straining too much.
Katniss had never felt this weak before, so weak that even sitting up was a struggle. After downing two cups of warm water, her throat felt a bit better.
The doc came in and said her high fever was from a cold and she needed IV fluids.
And the burn on her other hand had been treated while she was out cold, bandaged up so tight her fingers couldn't even wiggle.
"When the fever spikes, take some antipyretics. Once the virus is under control, the fever will drop." After dropping these instructions, the doc bounced.
Katniss's frail body leaned against the headboard, her pale lips barely moving. "How did I end up in the hospital?"
"You have no idea," Matilda started, her voice cracking with tears. "If George and I hadn't come looking for you, you would've been toast! I heard your phone ringing inside but you didn't answer the door, so I knew something was up. Luckily, I knew your house's password."
They had shown up around six in the evening; Katniss had been out cold since the afternoon and hadn't woken up.
If they hadn't come, she might've died alone at home without anyone knowing.
"I'm fine now, aren't I?" Seeing Matilda in tears, Katniss raised her hand to comfort her, only to find it wrapped in bandages.
George handed Matilda a tissue, saying, "Wipe your tears, don't make Katniss worry. But Katniss, what happened to your hand? How did it get burned so bad without being treated?"
Katniss's eyes fell on her bandaged hand, and she couldn't help but think of Tristan's cold face, making her eyes sting.
"I accidentally burned it. I was too tired to treat it and crashed, didn't expect to get a fever." She chuckled lightly. "At least I can rest now, which is a good thing."
Matilda quickly said, "If you need rest, you can take a leave. Why go through all this? What about Mr. Forbes? Did he agree to your leave?"
"He agreed," Katniss said, smiling faintly as she changed the subject. "Did you two come to see me for something?"
"George said it's been a while since we hung out and wanted to invite you to dinner." Matilda glanced at George and quickly looked away.
They stood on either side of Katniss's bed. Katniss's gaze shifted between their faces, and she chuckled lightly. "Thanks, you guys."
Maybe because of the fever, her head felt heavy, and her eyelids were drooping. After a few words, she fell asleep again.
Matilda stayed to keep watch, saying, "George, thank you. I wouldn't know what to do without you. It's late; you should go home and rest. I'll stay and take care of Katniss."
"No need to be so formal with me, but I don't think Katniss is really okay," George, being more observant than Matilda, had keenly noticed that Katniss's untreated injury and her collapse at home were unusual.
Matilda immediately got anxious. "George, what do you mean by that? Has Katniss run into trouble again?"
"I'm just guessing. I'll stay here with you to keep an eye on her. There's a place to rest here anyway." As he spoke, George set up the accompanying bed for Matilda to sleep on, then turned to the sofa.
On the cabinet in front of the sofa was Katniss's phone; its red light flashing non-stop, showing missed calls and messages.
It was already past eleven when the hospital room lights went out. Just as the room quieted down, Katniss's phone buzzed again.
Matilda, still awake, whispered, "George, should we check who the message is from? If it's work-related and Mr. Forbes can't reach her, it would be her fault."
"I'll check." George opened the phone and saw a Facebook message from Nicholas.
There were two pictures, both showing Tristan drinking alone in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, his back radiating infinite loneliness and desolation.
His tall figure was shrouded in darkness, exuding a heavy sense of oppression.
Nicholas: [Katniss, I can't side with you on this one. Look at how you've tormented Tristan.]
So, something did happen to Katniss, and it was related to Tristan.
'But how could it be Katniss tormenting Tristan? It must be Tristan bullying Katniss and then playing the victim,' George thought.
Thinking this, George immediately replied: [He's worse than a scoundrel!]
On the other end, Nicholas stared at the screen, rubbing his eyes hard. 'Did Katniss really send this?'
Before he could react, the light in front of him suddenly dimmed. He looked up, and before he could respond, Tristan had already snatched the phone.
Seeing the message on the screen, Tristan threw the phone into the fish tank.
The ornamental fish inside scattered in all directions, almost scared out of their wits.
Nicholas sprang to his feet, exclaiming, "That is my phone! Why are you taking it out on me?"
"Too much talking." Tristan's chest was filled with anger.
'In Katniss's heart, I'm worse than a scoundrel?' Tristan thought. 'Fine, she has some nerve. She's ready to leave Synergy Global Corporation, and she doesn't even need to pretend to be submissive anymore?'
Nicholas, too scared to confront him, could only climb onto a stool to fish his phone out of the tank.
The next morning, Katniss's fever had subsided, and her throat felt much better, though she still had a heavy nasal tone.
The first thing she did after waking up was to look for her phone.
George had already deleted the chat history with Nicholas and handed the phone to her nonchalantly.
There were tons of messages and calls from all sorts of people, but none from Tristan.
However, she did notice Adelaide had called her twice yesterday afternoon, so she quickly called back.
The call was picked up fast, and it sounded lively on Adelaide's end. "Katniss, where have you been? And Tristan, are you both trying to disappear on me?"
"Mrs. Forbes, I'm sorry, there were some minor issues. Mr. Forbes should be at the company," Katniss explained.
"On leave? Then rest up today. Come to the hotel tomorrow to help," Adelaide said, adding, "Contact the company's lawyer and have them come to the Forbes Mansion to see me."
'The lawyer? It must be to discuss Tristan's divorce,' Katniss thought.
Katniss's grip on the phone tightened; she replied, "Okay, I'll have the lawyer go to you right away."
After hanging up, she realized she had been suspended. She wondered if Tristan would be pissed and kick her out if she went to the hotel tomorrow.
But with Adelaide being so busy before the birthday party, she decided to go anyway. She had already been in embarrassing situations more than once.
The company's group chat was eerily quiet. Usually, there would be some chatter, but after what happened with Katniss, it was like everyone had been silenced.
Privately, it was probably chaotic, with people gossiping about her and Tristan.
Taking a deep breath, she scrolled through Facebook and saw a message from Kieran.
She was supposed to prepare materials for Kieran last night, but she hadn't sent them. Kieran had made several voice calls, all of which were automatically declined.
She quickly messaged Kieran back, telling him that after tomorrow, she could come to his house for face-to-face tutoring every day for a while.
Kieran was probably in class and didn't reply.
After handling two urgent tasks sent by Daphne, she turned off her phone and looked at Matilda and George, who were staring at her from the sofa.
She moved her lips. "I need to..."
"No way," Matilda interrupted without thinking. "The doctor said your fever subsiding is only temporary. It has to stay down for seventy-two hours to be considered truly gone."
She hadn't even spoken yet, but Matilda already knew she wanted to be discharged.
After a brief standoff, Katniss gave in. "Alright, I'll rest well today. But tomorrow is Adelaide's birthday party, and I have to go to the hotel. I might be busy all day, or I might come back quickly."
"As long as you get your IV fluids today, I'll let you go to work tomorrow. But you have to come back after work." Matilda compromised.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
