After her rebirth

Simon was super annoyed. Out of all his brothers, he was the only one with a free schedule. Lucas was swamped with work, Dylan was stuck in surgery, and Nathan was too frail to handle anything.

So, it was up to him.

After getting a call from Dylan, he took a break from his teacher to head over.

But by the time he got to the hospital, Katniss had already checked out.

She must've done it on purpose!

"Simon, if you're sick, go see a doctor," Katniss sneered. "Since when do I need your permission to leave the hospital?"

"Are you deaf or just not listening? I said I was cutting all ties with the Manners family. I want nothing to do with you anymore. Your brain and ears are both useless, beyond saving," she continued. Last time, she was nearly beaten to death, and Simon had a hand in it.

Hearing this, Simon's anger flared up. "Katniss, you're so ungrateful! Our family has treated you well all these years, and yet you turned out to be such a troublemaker, always causing problems and ignoring everyone's kindness!" Katniss held the phone away, listening to Simon's rant, her smile growing more mocking.

They treated her well? By making her wear old, faded clothes and sleep in a broken, cold junk room where the chill seeped into her bones?

"Today, to welcome you home from the hospital, Clara personally cooked for you. Is this how you treat someone's genuine effort?" Simon frowned, feeling even more annoyed.

They usually wouldn't let Clara cook, but today she insisted on making a meal to welcome Katniss, so they agreed.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought Katniss home on Clara's special day, causing a mess.

"She cooked?" Katniss scoffed, not hiding the sarcasm in her voice. "I wouldn't dare eat her cooking. I'm afraid of being poisoned. Enjoy it yourself."

In her past life, she had taken on the cooking duties, leaving Clara no chance to cook. The few times Clara tried, it was utterly inedible.

Once, Clara said she baked a cake for her, trying to please them, and Katniss forced herself to eat it.

That night, Katniss had stomach pain, feeling completely drained. She had to drag herself to the phone to call for an ambulance and ended up in the hospital for several days.

No one believed Clara had tampered with the cake; instead, they blamed Katniss for being weak and wasting money.

Thinking of the past, Katniss's heart grew colder.

"How dare you criticize Clara's cooking? Clara's cooking is way better than yours!" Simon was thoroughly enraged. Katniss rolled her eyes and said, "Is that so? If it's so good, you should eat more. I'll contact the crematorium for you." With that, Katniss hung up the phone.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice downstairs.

Katniss hurried downstairs to see a man in a black hoodie pushing Maximilian into the living room.

Hearing her running down, Maximilian looked up at her and calmly reminded, "Walk slower, you just recovered."

"We'll go out later, and someone will pick up Wesley's family at the Starry Night Hotel to discuss the engagement," Maximilian paused, his tone indifferent. "You haven't forgotten, have you?" Engagement?

Katniss's eyes widened. She was about to get engaged, and she felt strange.

"No, I haven't forgotten," she coughed, stammering. "Maximilian, isn't it a bit rushed to discuss the engagement today?"

Katniss hadn't expected to discuss the engagement on the day she was discharged.

Did that mean she and Maximilian would register their marriage in the next few days?

Seeing Katniss standing there obediently, Maximilian found it particularly amusing.

He chuckled lightly and said slowly, "Samuel and Carlton think today is a good day for an engagement."

Hearing that, Katniss's earlobes turned red, "It really is a good day."

Maximilian looked her up and down and said, "Go upstairs and change into something else."

Katniss felt a bit nervous. Although she had lived a long life, she had never been married and had always been alone in her past life. Whatever Maximilian said now, she would do.

Katniss nodded and glanced at her cheap clothes, which together cost less than $50.

How could she let Maximilian lose face?

Katniss understood and went upstairs to change. She could lose face, but Maximilian couldn't!

Maximilian looked at Mira, who immediately followed to help Katniss.

Downstairs, Maximilian stayed in the living room, and Felix handed him two long lists. "Sir, these are the gift lists prepared by Samuel and Carlton." Maximilian raised an eyebrow, "Why are there two?"

Felix looked conflicted, "Samuel and Carlton were not satisfied with each other's lists, so they each made their own and said they would give their own gifts." Maximilian rubbed his temples in frustration.

At the Manners Villa, Clara was twirling in a new dress she got as a birthday gift from Lucas. She showed off the elegant design and her youthful, beautiful figure. Clara stopped, her small face full of anticipation, and asked softly, "How's this dress?"

Elodie smiled at Clara and praised, "It's beautiful, of course! My daughter is so cute and pretty!"

The others naturally echoed, and Lucas, full of affection, said, "Clara, tell me what style of dress you like, and I'll buy it for you."

"I don't need that many dresses. What I want most is for our family to always be happy together," Clara said, holding his arm, smiling brightly.

Hearing this, everyone praised her good sense.

Lucas was pleased and suddenly remembered something, snorting, "Clara is so sensible, unlike that troublemaker..."

"Lucas, let's not mention her," Simon said, still upset about the phone call earlier. "Clara invited her to her birthday, but that ungrateful Katniss didn't come. Good riddance!" When would Katniss ever be as obedient as Clara?

Thinking of Katniss's aggressive tone on the phone, Simon felt uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Nathan took a small gift box from the table and handed it to Clara, "Clara, it's your birthday today. You're twenty now. I had this necklace brought from abroad for you. See if you like it."

"What a beautiful necklace," Clara exclaimed, delighted. It was a new, expensive, and hard-to-get design from a fashion magazine. Grateful, she thanked Nathan, "Thank you, Nathan. I'll wear it often." As she thanked him, she noticed another gift box beside Nathan.

Clara asked, "Nathan, what's in that box?"