Chapter 92 Not Meant to Be a Homewrecker
Adelaide was hitting up the Astor couple for their two cents.
The hall, which was buzzing a second ago, went dead silent—you could hear a pin drop.
Katniss shot a glance at Tristan. Dude looked tense, his face all serious and stuff.
Who would've guessed Adelaide's big news wasn't about giving the green light to Bella and Tristan's relationship?
Nope, she wanted to make Bella her granddaughter, turning her into Tristan's sis.
Like everyone else, Katniss pursed her lips and threw a shocked look Adelaide's way.
The Astor couple was totally blindsided by Adelaide's bombshell and didn't say squat right away.
Adelaide grinned and added, "I've already got a lawyer to draft up an agreement about my estate once I adopt her as my granddaughter. Just say the word, and it's a done deal."
"Grandma Forbes!" Bella suddenly jumped up, yanking off her bracelet as she spoke. "I don't wanna be your granddaughter; I wanna be your granddaughter-in-law! Tristan and I are totally in love, why can't you just let us be together?"
But the bracelet, which was a breeze to put on, wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried. Her wrist was getting all red from the struggle.
Eleanor quickly stood up, gently blowing on her hand. "Chill, take it easy, or you'll hurt your wrist even more!"
Henry glared at Adelaide and said, "Mrs. Forbes, everyone here knows about Tristan and Bella being an item. By doing this, you're clearly not down with their marriage, and you're making us look bad!"
"That's not cool. How am I making you look bad? I'm totally saving your family's rep!" Adelaide stood up, walked out from the crowd, and got up in Tristan's face.
"You, come here." She said this to Tristan.
Katniss felt a stab in her heart as she watched Tristan yank at his tie, his brows furrowed in cold annoyance. He pulled himself away from the group of young folks and stood in front of Adelaide.
"My ungrateful grandson is already hitched. If your Bella keeps this up, she'll be a homewrecker. I'm trying to save her rep. Do you really want her to be a homewrecker and marry into the Forbes family?" Adelaide looked at Bella with regret. "Such a good girl, raised so well by your family, but rushing to break up a family is asking for trouble."
After saying this, she pushed the bracelet back up Bella's wrist. "Deal with it, you're not meant to be a homewrecker."
Katniss caught the mix of kindness and slyness in Adelaide's eyes, all tangled up with complicated feelings. Seemed like Adelaide just couldn't get over that hump in her heart.
Man, Katniss had it easy marrying Tristan back then.
But getting a divorce? That was a whole different ball game. Being yanked back and forth between them had left her feeling numb.
"Grandma Forbes, you just can't let it go, can you? But are you really gonna gamble with Tristan's happiness? He doesn't love that woman, you're being way too selfish!" Bella yanked her hand back, her body shaking with emotion.
Michael strolled over, gently patting her back, trying to smooth things over. "Grandma Forbes, Bella was a bit of a handful before, but she's had a rough time abroad these past few years."
"If she's had it rough, that's on her. Our family's rep was trashed. If it weren't for our families' friendship, I wouldn't even acknowledge her," Adelaide said.
In other words, Adelaide was still giving them some respect, but if the Astor family didn't want even that, there'd be no point in keeping up appearances.
Bella was bawling, and Eleanor was tenderly wiping her tears, too busy to even talk to Adelaide.
Henry's face was dark with worry.
"Grandma Forbes, you can't stop two people who really love each other." Michael thought for a sec and said, "Bella and Tristan have years of feelings for each other. You can't just wipe that away with a single 'no'."
Tristan stood there, hands in his pockets, staring at Adelaide, but he didn't say a word.
His eyes showed he was dead set on getting a divorce, so Katniss believed what Michael said.
Whether they ran off together or ignored both families' reputations, no one could stop them.
This was basically a big middle finger to Adelaide.
"Tristan's wife has no background or status. You keep her hidden because she can't handle the heat; she can't be Mrs. Forbes." Michael's eyes crinkled as he tried to lighten the mood, his tone all cheerful. "You can't protect her forever. Tristan and Bella being together is just a matter of time."
His casual words packed a serious punch.
The room got tense, and everyone lowered their heads, barely breathing.
Katniss felt the pressure too. Michael had a point; she could only stand up to Bella because of her role as a special assistant, and had managed to hang on this long by clinging to Tristan for protection.
And what about being Tristan's wife? She was isolated and alone, and Adelaide didn't really accept her either.
"If that's how you wanna play it, then let me lay it out for you." Adelaide's old eyes flashed with a mix of severity and sharpness. "I'll protect my granddaughter-in-law and get rid of anyone who needs to be gone; whether they can handle it or not depends on their own capabilities."
Translation: if Bella kept pushing, Adelaide wouldn't hold back.
If things really blew up, what good would it do Bella? Fighting to be a homewrecker would just make her a joke.
This would definitely mess with the Astor family, and if Bella did manage to marry into the Forbes family, that'd be one thing.
But what if she couldn't?
Adelaide picked up a cup of tea from the table, took a sip, and added, "I don't have many years left, but Tristan isn't an orphan. Can you outlast his parents?"
Bella's face went pale as a ghost.
No hope at all!
"Grandma." Tristan, who'd been quiet for ages, finally spoke up.
But Adelaide shot him down coldly, "Shut up! If you try anything crazy, I'll drop dead right in front of you!"
Tristan's face darkened, his brows furrowed with helplessness, and he clammed up.
This was a far cry from his usual cutthroat business persona.
Katniss tried to blend into the background, but she couldn't avoid someone bumping into her.
"Katniss, look, Bella can't marry into the Forbes family. Happy now?" Nicholas leaned in and whispered, his voice so low only Katniss could hear. "Wanna make a bet?"
Katniss frowned and looked at him, asking, "A bet?"
What was there to bet on?
"I bet you could marry into the Forbes family, but Bella never will," Nicholas said, arms crossed, looking all smug.
Katniss tugged at the corner of her lips and replied, "No need to bet, you've already won."
Nicholas was taken aback, completely stunned.
Saskia suddenly came over, pulling her away from Nicholas, and whispered, "Katniss, I believe in you. I'm waiting for you to bring me good news."
Saskia's features were neutral, her eyebrows playfully twitching as she winked at her.
Katniss had no clue what she meant, so she asked, "Miss Stuart, what do you mean?"
Saskia raised an eyebrow, rummaged through her bag for a bit, and pulled out several buttons.
Katniss immediately recognized them as buttons from her shirt, which had been torn off by Tristan in the car.
She had looked for them later but couldn't find a single one, thinking they had fallen out when she opened the car door.
Who would've thought that Saskia, who'd only been in the car once, had snagged them?
"Don't sweat it, I'm not here to rat you out," Saskia said, putting the buttons away. "I genuinely believe in you. Good luck."
Katniss pinched the bridge of her nose, her gaze drifting back to Bella, who was still a mess despite the Astor family's efforts.
Bella suddenly looked over, locking eyes with Katniss for a few seconds.
Then she pointed at Katniss and shouted, "Grandma Forbes, if you're gonna say that, the person you should get rid of isn't me, it's Katniss!"
She shook off Michael's hand and, under everyone's shocked gaze, rushed over to Katniss, pushing her in front of Adelaide and shouting, "She's pregnant with Tristan's kid! You can't possibly accept the first child of the Forbes family being an illegitimate one! And Katniss is also wrecking someone else's family!"
Katniss's slender body stumbled a few steps, hitting a chair. The sharp pain in her lower back made her slowly crouch down, unable to stand up for a long time.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and back, making her clothes stick to her skin. She couldn't even lift her head to look at Adelaide's expression.
Tristan's eyes narrowed, exuding a dangerous vibe as his icy gaze fell on Bella.
He was about to move to help Katniss up when Nicholas held him back by the shoulder.
"Katniss can't compare to Bella. For every bit you protect her, Grandma Forbes will hurt her tenfold. She can't take it," Nicholas reminded him in a low voice.
Tristan glanced at Adelaide, who was staring in shock at the curled-up Katniss. After a moment, she suddenly looked up at him.
In the blink of an eye, his expression returned to normal, and the emotions in his eyes were suppressed.
Katniss saw this clearly as she lifted her head.
He stood there unmoved, his eyes cold and devoid of warmth.
Her heart clenched tightly, and she lowered her head again.
"Pregnant?" Adelaide pointed at Katniss, questioning Tristan, "Is it true?"
Tristan's thin lips parted slightly. "Whether it's true or not, we can find out with a test."
The butler had some medical skills and occasionally handled Adelaide's minor ailments. Adelaide immediately had the butler come over.
In just a minute, after observing Katniss, the butler told Adelaide, "Mrs. Forbes, Katniss is not pregnant."
Bella swayed, barely supported by Michael, and quickly said, "Even if she's not pregnant, she still slept with Tristan! She's a bigger threat to Tristan's marriage!"
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