After her rebirth
Chapter 85

Katniss rolled her eyes a bit. "Maximilian, if we gotta go through this, can we talk to my Uncle Wesley about the engagement? If my parents find out I'm marrying you, they'll try to squeeze money out of you." Maximilian stayed calm and added some food to Katniss's plate. "If they want to blackmail me, let them try. Now, stop being so picky. Where'd you pick up these bad habits?" Katniss opened her mouth to argue but just muttered, "Okay," and stared at the food.

She was almost 20, and if you counted her past life, she was pushing 60. Yet here she was, getting a lecture about being picky with food. Couldn't she just eat what she wanted? Wasn't that one of life's few pleasures? Suddenly, the phone on the table buzzed. Looking for an escape, Katniss grabbed it to check the screen. It was that unknown number again.

"A quick snap, sharing today's good mood with you," it said, with a picture of a city park attached.

How ridiculous. In 2004, phones with cameras were just becoming a thing. Was Ramon showing off that his phone could take pictures? Big deal.

By today's standards, it was indeed something to brag about. Her phone could only make calls, send texts, browse the news, and didn't even have a camera, let alone games.

As someone who'd seen the internet age explode, this kind of showing off was just embarrassing. She deleted the message without a second thought.

"What's up?" Maximilian asked.

"Nothing, just spam," Katniss replied lazily.

But it reminded her of Kieran. Saskia's son was born in winter 2005, and now it was early December. She had maybe two or three months to let Saskia know Kieran's true colors. Thinking of this, Katniss turned to look at Maximilian. She didn't say anything, but her big, watery eyes were full of a silent plea.

Maximilian wiped his hands with a handkerchief. "Go ahead, what's wrong?"

Katniss smiled awkwardly, thinking that even before they were married, she was already starting to trouble Maximilian. She wondered if he'd find her annoying.

She hated bothering people and was always afraid of being a nuisance, probably a leftover trauma from her past life.

"It's 1:20 now. I gotta leave by 1:30," Maximilian said, rolling up his sleeve to check his watch.

Seeing this, Katniss quickly said, "Maximilian, can I borrow the two people at the door?"

She glanced at the door as she spoke. Maximilian looked at her calmly, not saying a word, so she quickly continued, "Don't worry, it's nothing illegal. Remember my cousin-in-law Kieran? I think he's cheating, but I have no proof. I want them to follow him, take some photos, and make my cousin see the truth and divorce him!"

Maximilian asked, "Are you and your cousin close?"

Katniss nodded and then softly said, "When I first came back to the Manners family, I was a mess. My parents and classmates all looked down on me, so I became even more withdrawn. That's when my grandmother took me in, and Wesley often brought Saskia and Micah to see me."

"By the way, Wesley's a teacher. Pretty smart guy," she added.

Unlike the Manners family, Wesley's family actually treated her like she mattered, like she was one of their own.

Even after Katniss played matchmaker, setting up the girl Micah liked with Dylan to win his favor, Micah still cared for her deep down. He'd scold her but still slip her some pocket money and buy her snacks now and then. He was more of a brother to her than her actual brothers.

Many times, she wished she was Wesley's daughter, to be Saskia and Micah's sister, rather than being born to Elodie.

Even though it was a painful situation, when Katniss talked about it, she sounded like she was recalling some distant memory, calm and composed, like it was no big deal.

"Have some fruit!" Mira said, placing a plate of cut fruit on the table.

Katniss tried a piece and found it surprisingly sweet!

Maximilian pushed the fruit plate closer to her and said lightly, "Then I don't think you should get involved. It might mess up your relationship with your cousin." With Maximilian's reminder, Katniss got what he was worried about, and it warmed her heart.

She smiled gently, "Do you think I'm that dumb? Once I get the evidence, I'll send it to Saskia anonymously and then nudge things along from behind the scenes."

Family scandals shouldn't be aired out. Kieran's cheating was a private and embarrassing matter for Saskia, and the fewer people who knew, the better.

Even though she was close to Saskia, she wasn't dumb enough to confront Kieran and tell Saskia to divorce him. Everyone's got their own story, and it's up to them to tell it.

Maximilian looked a bit surprised, his thin lips curving into a smile. He reached out to touch her hair, "As long as you get it. I gotta go now. Don't be picky."

Maximilian's large, warm hand covered her forehead, and Katniss didn't dare move. What else could she do but agree? Rebel?

After Maximilian left, Katniss felt relieved and immediately picked out the food she liked, finishing her meal.

Then she walked around the hospital room, thinking the pills she had prepared for Maximilian should be almost gone. She needed to make new ones and get back to the weekly acupuncture treatments.

After getting out of the hospital this weekend, she not only had to make new pills but also set up the acupuncture schedule again. She was confident she could heal Maximilian's leg enough for him to walk, but his body was in such bad shape that it would take years of treatment to really improve.

He was born with a congenital illness, made worse by later conditions and some people's malicious actions. An ordinary person wouldn't have survived this long. Honestly, Maximilian was purely sustained by medication.

The more Katniss got to know Maximilian's body, the more she realized that in his previous life, Maximilian's death was probably inevitable.

After writing down the treatment plan, Katniss folded it and put it in her small backpack.

Meanwhile, in the hospital basement parking lot, Maximilian got into a black car. Emilio, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and handed over a list and some photos.

"These are the people Katniss has met in the hospital over the past few days, along with their conversation details," Emilio said. "And this is Ramon's information."