After her rebirth

Despite the removal of obstacles to his marriage with Clara, Desmond found himself inexplicably uneasy, his joy not as boundless as he had expected. With a heavy heart, Desmond forced a smile. "Thanks, Maximilian."

But Maximilian's words only made his doubts grow. Was he stepping in for him or for Katniss? "Stay here until Katniss wakes up and apologize to her," Maximilian said, his voice low but firm. "Maximilian!" Desmond's fingers clenched. He didn't want to, but he was scared to argue, too.

Sure, he missed the call, but he wasn't the one who hurt Katniss. So why should he apologize?

Maximilian's sharp eyes bore into him. "You still think you're blameless? It's fine to cherish Clara, but what has Katniss done wrong? You couldn't stand up for yourself, so you took it out on a girl. Is this what the Boleyn family taught you?" Maximilian went on, "Your engagement is still on, yet you're messing around with your fiancée's sister. Do you have any idea how scandalous this looks for the Boleyn family?"

"I'll ask you again, where were you tonight?" Maximilian's gaze was intense.

Desmond's heart skipped a beat. If Maximilian found out he was with Clara, it would only make things worse for her.

Grinding his teeth, Desmond felt a wave of frustration. "I'll apologize to Katniss."

Katniss was badly hurt and didn't wake up until two days later.

Around five in the afternoon, the sunset poured through the hospital window, lighting up the room.

Katniss slowly opened her eyes, her fingers twitching. It felt like her insides had been rearranged, causing sharp, intense pain.

It reminded her of when she had cancer in her past life.

By the time she was diagnosed, it was already late-stage. Her whole family, including herself, had given up on treatment. Dylan, being a doctor, only gave her meds to ease the pain.

She endured night after night of agony, foolishly worrying about her family's concern.

No one really loved her; they were just waiting for her to die so they could use her organs for Clara.

The anesthesia had worn off, and Katniss's face was as pale as a ghost from the pain.

Blinking her long lashes, she took a slow breath and let out the discomfort.

"Ms. Manners, you're awake?" The nurse noticed Katniss stirring and rushed out to get the doctor.

Soon, the doctor came in to check on her and told the Manners family, who had hurried over, "Be careful in the next few days. Make sure she gets enough nutrition and take good care of her. Protect her hands and avoid any injuries during recovery."

A surgeon's hands were everything. If the nerves got damaged, it could end a career.

Elodie nodded over and over. "Got it."

The doctor gave some basic instructions and left with the intern assistant.

After the doctor left, Elodie sat down, her eyes red, carefully looking at Katniss in the hospital bed. Her face was still bruised, the marks standing out against her pale skin.

Katniss hadn't eaten in days, surviving on IV fluids, and she had lost a lot of weight, her cheeks slightly hollow.

"I've already told your dad and brothers you're awake. They'll be here soon," Elodie said, reaching out to hold Katniss's hand but stopping herself. "Why are you so stubborn? Just admit you were wrong and come home. Wouldn't it be nice for everyone to be happy?"

"Look at you, you've only been out for a bit and ended up like this," Elodie sighed.

Katniss's hand, clutching the blanket, stiffened. She opened her eyes and looked calmly at Elodie. "Only you all will be happy, not me. You are the real family."

She should never have been brought back, intruding into a family that never accepted her.

Elodie was hurt by her words, her emotions surging. "You are also my daughter, the one I gave birth to. Katniss, I want to care for you too, but you're so full of thorns. I'm exhausted. Can't you be a little more obedient?"

Yeah, they were family. Every time Katniss was hurt, she comforted herself, reminding herself that she was Elodie's biological daughter.

She and her four brothers were connected by blood.

But in the end, it was they who repeatedly disappointed her, leading her to despair.

Katniss was too tired. She let out a light laugh, her gaze mocking as she looked at Elodie. "If that's the case, then we're better off going our separate ways. You can't be fair, and I'm not gonna put up with this favoritism crap anymore." Elodie was stunned, anger rising within her. "You still have injuries. We'll talk about this later."

They fell into silence.

Soon, as Elodie had said, the Manners family members arrived at the hospital one after another.

Dylan had surgery and couldn't come, and Nathan was still at school.

The others all came, making the room feel cramped.

Elodie told everyone the doctor's diagnosis, and knowing that Katniss just needed to recuperate, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing Katniss, Oliver's heart softened a bit. He turned to Lucas and asked, "How's it going? Did you catch the culprit?" Katniss didn't move but slowly opened her eyes.

In her previous life, she hadn't encountered this situation. Some things had changed because of her rebirth.

The news that Laura was the culprit surprised her, but it made a strange kind of sense. Yet, she couldn't understand. While they didn't get along, she never wished her dead."

Laura's sudden hatred seemed inexplicable.

Oliver, hearing that the culprit had been caught and was a former classmate of Katniss, was furious. "Laura's a psycho. We must not let her off. She needs to be properly educated in prison for a few years." Simon had been at the police station for a solid week and felt a sense of schadenfreude seeing Katniss beaten like this. "Why would Laura target Katniss specifically? Katniss must have done something to provoke her." Lucas's face was also grim. Based on what Juniper had said that day, he knew Katniss had spoken ill of them.

Lucas's lips tightened, his voice laced with icy disapproval. "You caused quite a scene out there, embarrassing us all. Are you satisfied now?"

To repeatedly cause trouble and end up at the police station, Katniss was truly the first.

Several business friends had asked him about it, and he was too embarrassed to explain.

"Lucas, don't talk to Katniss like that. She's already very upset about being injured," Clara gently advised.

Simon pulled Clara aside, glaring at her. "You're still defending Katniss? We're the ones who have to clean up her mess!"

Clara bit her lip. "Simon, maybe it's not Katniss's fault. No matter the conflict, such a heavy hand shouldn't have been used."

Oliver had been extremely busy lately, and with Katniss's incident, he was even more frustrated.

Fortunately, Clara had always been well-behaved and didn't cause any trouble.

Oliver's face darkened as he spoke to Katniss, "So, do you now understand what it's like to be bullied without the protection of the Manners family? Are you still going against us?"