31 Proposals Too Late Chapter 15
The driver slammed on the brakes, sending the passengers crashing forward. For a moment, complaints echoed throughout the bus.
The man who had stopped the bus wore a cheerful smile, apologizing with clasped hands as he walked inside.
He walked until he reached the row where Katniss was seated.
“Sir, would you mind switching seats?”
The person sharing the seat was about to refuse impatiently.
Suddenly, a wad of cash was shoved into his hand.
He probably had never seen so much money in his life, and greed and longing flashed in his eyes.
After hiding the money, he immediately vacated the seat and left.
Katniss didn’t say a single word throughout, nor did she look in his direction.
It was as if none of it had anything to do with her.
The seat next to her suddenly sank.
“Wow, why is this chair so hard!” A loud, unrestrained complaint burst into the stagnant air, full of lively energy.
He reached for the lever under the seat, and carelessly, the backrest suddenly reclined, hitting the person behind.
“Sorry, sorry!” He quickly adjusted it back.
Katniss closed her eyes, ignoring everything.
It had been so long since Katniss had ridden a bus; the constant jolting made her feel as if she might vomit from the sourness in her stomach.
Just then, the person beside her suddenly handed her an orange.
He grinned so widely his eyes nearly disappeared, his irreverent attitude almost overtlowing. “Ms. Blondeau, would you honor me by having an orange?”
Katniss pressed her lips together and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
“Hey, don’t ignore me.” He nudged Katniss’s arm, lowering his voice, “It’s my first time on this kind of ‘long–distance sightseeing bus,‘ and I didn’t bring any of my men. At a critical moment, I’ll have to rely on you to protect me!”
Katniss still didn’t respond.
The bus rolled over a gravel road, jolting violently.
Katniss’s body swayed, and she instinctively grabbed the seat in front. Almost simultaneously, a warm hand quickly reached out, hovering protectively on her outer side to prevent her from hitting anything.
She looked up at him, and Octavio quickly withdrew his hand, touched his nose, and put on his playful expression again: “This driving is way more exciting than my own chauffeur’s.”
A slight ripple finally appeared on Katniss’s face.
“Octavio, do you know what you’re doing right now?”
He suddenly dropped his irreverent smile, his gaze unusually serious and stubborn, with a touch more honesty.
He slowly leaned closer to Katniss, lowering his voice: “The agreement between us is to ensure your absolute safety. You’re still in Dallas, and Tyron is searching for you everywhere like a mad dog. I just don’t like owing favors. You can keep pretending I don’t exist; I won’t bother you.”
After speaking, he smiled at Katniss again and straightforwardly placed the orange in her palm. “Eat the orange.”
After that, Octavio truly kept his word and didn’t disturb her anymore.
But he was like a shadow, always following closely behind Katniss, impossible to shake off.
Since that was the case, Katniss stopped being polite with him.
There were too many things to buy for the memorial, so she simply put Octavio to use, treating him like her own sub- ordinate.
Before long, Octavio was loaded down with Katniss’s belongings.
And Katniss also learned about Anastasia’s current situation from Octavio’s scattered words.
She was locked in the basement by Tyron, enduring gang punishment every day.
It was said that the flesh on her wrist, whenever it started to heal, would be dug out again by Tyron’s men. The wound never healed, deep enough to expose the bone.
The basement reeked, and the food Tyron sent her was only enough to keep her from dying.
Even Octavio disapproved of Tyron’s methods.
Back when choices were made, no one held a knife to his throat and forced him to choose Anastasia. Now, he takes revenge and makes sure everyone knows about it–wasn’t it just to let Katniss find out?
Katniss had already heard about all this.
But in her heart, she only found it laughable.
So this was Tyron’s love for Anastasia.
It was nothing more than that.
