Since then, Tristan and Aurora have constantly been smiling. This morning, the two of them seemed to be enjoying the breakfast menu and chatting with the Quartararo extended family who had gathered in Paris.
To welcome the arrival of Anna Maria’s grandson, families who live far away even came. Everyone gathered as if they didn’t want to miss a single intimate moment that had been rare these days.
“How was your sleep last night, Tristan? I hope you are comfortable and comfortable here. Just like it was when you were still living with us.”
Tristan, who was spooning Mille-feuille cake into his mouth, was smiling. The undercut-haired man rubbed his lips greasy with butter as soon as he finished chewing. After making sure it was clean, he looked back at his grandmother to respond to the questions.
“There’s no reason for me not to feel at home here, Grandma. I’ve always thought of this mansion as a second heaven after the house I lived in in London.”
Tristan wasn’t bragging or making small talk. In the past, the first time his parents sent him to Paris to go to school, he did feel uncomfortable and even went on a speech strike for a few days. Many evil thoughts haunted his brain. He had accused his mother of deliberately throwing it away because he didn’t think of him as a child.
However, that thought soon disappeared when he received special treatment from his grandparents in Paris. Not to mention that his uncles, aunts, and cousins also greeted him warmly. In addition to making new friends that are easy to get, it only took Tristan less than a month to adapt and finally live comfortably.
“Thank goodness you feel comfortable. Grandma will be happy if you feel at home and even intend to stay here for a long time.”
“Have you also prepared everything for the event this weekend?” asked Roland, who was the husband of his cousin Gisella.
“Of course.” Tristan’s gaze immediately shifted to the man beside him. “I have prepared all the equipment very well. I also can’t wait to see where the event is taking place tomorrow Saturday. It must be according to my imagination so far.”
Celia, the aunt there, also agreed with what Tristan said. “You know how beautiful Le Meurice is, don’t you? We all chose that dream place for the wedding.”
“Good grief.” Tristan shouted. “That’s my dream place, Auntie.”
Then Tristan looked at Aurora, sipping a cup of lemon tea right to his left. “You have to see the place, Aurora. In the past, when I lived in Paris, I had dreams of getting married there. With the concept of a garden party while watching the sunset. Ah, it must be very romantic.”
“Oh yes?” Aurora responded enthusiastically. “Why do you like it? Is that place very special?”
Tristan nodded repeatedly. “Yes. I think Le Meurice is indeed a beautiful place that almost everyone idolizes. In addition to the place that is open and in direct contact with nature, the scenery there is also exotic and pleasing to the eye. In the afternoon or evening, I will take you there to have a look. ”
“What Tristan said was true Aurora,” Celia chimed in. “You have to see Le Meurice directly. Aunty is sure you will also fall in love like the others. Not to mention the sunset view in the afternoon adds to the beauty of the place. Because of that, the theme of the wedding will be according to what Tristan told me just now. Ah, anyway. You’ll see for yourself when you’re there.”
Aurora nodded. Her enthusiasm grew even more after hearing what the people in front of her had to say.
“I’m getting more and more impatient to see the place firsthand.”
***
Sophia kept looking out the window with mixed feelings. She is frustrated and nervous simultaneously because so many questions are now piling up in her brain and are difficult for him to answer independently. Tristan had repeatedly pleaded. But again and again,
Sophia refused. It was as if she was the most persecuted woman on the face of the earth, so she was not even the slightest bit willing to give her a single chance so that her husband could prove that she had changed.
Even though she had been rejected many times, it didn’t make Tristan back down and immediately forget. The man even sent gifts every day secretly. Not to mention his desperation to meet his father. As well as the many responsibilities that turned out to be the husband gave to the Adelaide family without Sophia’s knowledge.
Then, a big question arose in his mind, was what he did to the man a form of ignorance? “Why haven’t you slept, Sophia? It’s late at night,” Mikayla scolded, who was passing right by the princess’s room.
Seeing Sophia’s lights still burning brightly from outside, the woman in gray pajamas decided to go straight in without knocking on the door first. As soon as she saw her daughter silently dreaming not far from the bedroom window, she took the initiative to approach her. In Mikayla’s heart, she also wondered why the princess was late at night but couldn’t sleep.
“I’m still not sleepy, Mom,” Sophia replied lazily. Her gaze was still fixed on the window. She was watching the stars scattered in the sky tonight.
“Not yet sleepy or confused about your husband?” quipped the woman. Then, not long after, she was heard to rectify his words.
“Sorry … Sorry … Mama said the wrong thing. I mean ex-husband.”
“Hah?” Sophia turned her head and gave her a confused look.
“Yes, Sophia. Since you and your husband are in the process of getting divorced, that means Tristan is currently a potential ex-husband, right?”
“Just mentioning Tristan, what’s so difficult, Mom? Don’t confuse me. Why does Mama’s words seem like mentioning the title of a drama series on television.”
“So true.” Mikayla nodded. “Your life and love story is similar to television dramas, right?” “Oh Lord.” Sophia exclaimed in frustration. Why did God give her a fussy mother who likes to be sarcastic like this? Mikayla’s image of a mother like a fairy doesn’t appear.
“But by the way, Sophia,” Mikayla continued. “Mama actually believes you must have been confused, indecisive, or maybe regretting your decision to reject Tristan outright, right?” Instead of giving support, Mikayla sounded sarcastic again.
“Don’t make accusations, Ma,” Sophia replied quietly. “I’m not the least bit sorry for refusing Tristan to come back to live with me. The wound he inflicted in the past is too big. It can’t be that easy to heal either.”
“Oh yes?” Mikayla’s eyes narrowed as if in doubt. “Then what do you want Tristan to do so that the gaping wound can heal quickly or maybe dry up soon?”
Mikayla asked with a serious face. He was also curious about what his daughter wanted all this time. “I don’t know. To be sure, my wish now is simple. I just want to be separated from him.”
“Even though you already know that Tristan has been doing a lot behind your back all this time?”
“All that will not change my decision, Ma.”
After Sophia finished saying that sentence, laughter immediately fell from Mikayla’s lips. There wasn’t the slightest bit of funny thing that his daughter had said before.
“Sophia,” the woman rebuked. “No matter how hard you dodge, Mama knows that your heart is actually in doubt right now. What’s so hard about softening? There’s nothing wrong with being honest with yourself before it’s too late and ends in vain.”
“But I really don’t want to go back with him, Ma.” Mikayla immediately pulled Sophia’s shoulders, so they sat facing each other. After fitting, she then nailed the eyes of the princess. She stared at her constantly, then before long, spoke quietly.
“Look into Mama’s eyes, Sophia. Please repeat the sentence you said earlier while looking at Mama.”
Sophia sighed lazily. From the beginning, he and his mother always used this method to see if the other person was telling the truth or just pretending.
“Ma…”
“You know what you have to do, honey.” Instead of doing what Mikayla asked, Sophia was repeatedly seen sighing. Her expression resembled that of someone who was confused Herself.
“Why? You can’t do it?” Mikayla guessed. She then seemed to let the princess silent for a while deliberately. It was enough. Mikayla spoke again.
“Mama said, the heart never lies in the slightest, honey. Why do you have to be stubborn? Why should you be proud of yourself.”
“I just don’t want to be disappointed for the umpteenth time,” Sophia said. After a long silence, the woman finally wanted to reveal what had been her worry all this time.
“I’m tired of putting false hopes that end up hurting myself.”
“Instead of thinking nonsense, why not try to meet again and talk to Tristan instead?”
Sophia sighed. The woman got up and then moved to sit beside the bed. What her mother said was not wrong. If I’m being honest, I have some regrets because yesterday I was so arrogant. I didn’t want to hear, let alone give Tristan one chance to prove her point. But, if now she suddenly wanted to meet again, why did it feel a little embarrassing?
“Do I still have the right to see him?” Sophia asked back.
“Yes, why not? If you want everything to be clear, you have to meet Tristan in person. If you need to ask again what might be bothering you right now.”
“But—”
“Later,” cut Mikayla. “Mama isn’t done talking yet. Get in the habit of not interrupting your parents.”
Sophia looked even more annoyed. See for yourself, who cut the sentence, but who is to blame here? For God’s sake, Sophia, who was late, was even more helpless due to her mother’s treatment.
“Yeahhh, just finish Mama’s long lecture first.” Mikayla laughed and then spoke back. “If later, after meeting and talking, you still make the initial decision to separate, Mama respects that by not forcing you to go back to her. However, here you are in a position to know what Tristan has done to you and our family. At least say thank you directly. So that people don’t think you are a worldly woman or even ignorant. I don’t want to hear rumors like that.”
Sophia closed her eyes for a moment. She also does not want to be in debt, let alone her mother, because Tristan fully supports her family. Even though the man gave it sincerely and freely, she still felt it was too much.
“Okay. Tomorrow I’ll try to contact him directly. Hopefully, Tristan will still accept calls from me.”
“Mama will always pray for the best for you, Sophia. Hopefully, this matter can be resolved properly without any injuries or regrets in the future.”
Sophia nodded. Then let Mikayla leave her room. At the same time, she chose to lay down hastily. She forced himself to close his eyes so she could wake up early tomorrow and not forget her plan to contact Tristan.
As soon as the next day arrived, after taking a shower and getting ready to go to work, Sophia immediately grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand and remembered her original purpose of contacting Tristan.
Sitting on the chair for a moment, she, without the slightest hesitation, dialed the cell number of the man on the other side. Counted maybe six times, he repeated the call. But no one connected, let alone get a response. Out of curiosity, Sophia decided to leave the room to the dining room immediately.
“How’s Sophia? Have you contacted Tristan?” investigate Mikayla.
“Yes, Ma,” Sophia answered weakly.
“Then? What did your husband say?”
Sophia took a deep breath. She grabbed a glass of milk in front of her, then answered back.
“I’ve tried to call. But not a single call is connected.”
“Good grief.” It was Mikayla’s turn to shout. “Could it be that Tristan changed his cell phone number? Or maybe because he was abroad, he used another cell phone number?”
Sophia, who had just finished gulping down the milk in her hands, shrugged her shoulders. How did she know if her husband had changed his cell phone number, or maybe the man had blocked his contact?
“I don’t know, Ma. I didn’t know about that either. Now that Tristan is in any country, I don’t understand either.”
“Why not just ask Aurora or Tristan’s assistant?” Sophia immediately nodded at her mother’s suggestion. She thought it was better to ask directly to Mario. What about Aurora? Ah, remember that woman made his mood instantly irritated.
“I guess I’ll just ask Mario directly.”
The woman got up and grabbed the shopper bag that she had put on the chair next to the table.
“You didn’t finish your breakfast first?” Sophia shook her head. Approaching the mother and then kissing both cheeks alternately while saying goodbye.
“I’m not that hungry, Mom. I have to hurry to the Foxtail building. Because when it’s too late, Mario isn’t usually in the office.”
“That’s it. Then be careful. Let Mama know if there are further developments.”
After saying goodbye, Sophia hurriedly asked the driver to take her to the Foxtail building. The distance from the housing complex to the office area is not far. It only took him 15 minutes. She had arrived at the lobby of the building and was immediately greeted by the security officers who stood guard at the front.
Without awkwardness, Sophia stepped inside. However, before she could take herself to the elevator, the person she had been looking for had accidentally passed in front of her. Even reprimanded while approaching.
“Mrs. Sophia.”
“Mario.”
“What do you need, madam? Mr. Tristan is not in the office,” said the man.
“Yes, I came here to ask about Tristan’s whereabouts. But before continuing, I also want to know. Did Tristan change his cell phone number while he was abroad?”
Mario’s eyebrows knit together. “Change cell phone number? I don’t think so. The number is still the same as before. It hasn’t changed a bit.”
“Oh, has it?” Sophia confirmed again.
“Yes. I even called him a few minutes ago.”
“But why couldn’t I reach him earlier? Could it be that Tristan blocked my contact number?”
Mario was shocked. He also didn’t know anything about this. Since deciding to go abroad, Tristan had admitted that he wanted to forget Sophia slowly. Yes, maybe blocking contacts is one thing that his boss did.
“I don’t know anything about this, madam,” said Mario regretfully. “But you do know which country Tristan is going to this time, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” nodded Mario. “Mr. . Tristan has been going to Paris for the past few days.”
“When will he return to London?”
Mario shook his head weakly. Seeing Sophia’s hopeful face, he seemed unable. “I don’t know, madam. Mr. Tristan, this time to Paris, is not on business. He even planned to stay there indefinitely. He also brought Mrs. Aurora with him.”
“With Aurora?” There was a tone of surprise there when Sophia heard the name Aurora was with Tristan going abroad.
“If not for business, what are they going to Paris for?”
Mario He was silent. Trying to find the right words so that the woman in front of him wouldn’t feel sad hearing what he was going to say after this.
“Mario?” Sophia chased. “You heard my question, didn’t you?”
Mario reflexively nodded.
“They’re both busy with the wedding, madam.”
This time it was Sophia who was silenced. What Mario had just said made her feel instantly uneasy.
“W-what do you mean, Mario?” Sophia asked. “Is Tristan going to marry Aurora?”
But before Mario could answer, the man’s cell phone rang. He quickly grabbed it from his pocket and picked it up.
“Yes, Mr. Raphael? I’m ready. Shall we go to the airport right now?”
“I’m waiting for you right now, Mario.”
“Fine. I’ll pick you up right now.”
After the call ended, Mario’s focus returned to Sophia. He realized there must be a lot of questions that his boss’s wife wanted to confirm.
“Madam, I’m sorry I can’t give you much explanation. I must immediately pick up Mr. Raphael and then go to the airport. Today’s plan is our schedule to follow to Paris. That’s why I beg you to resign.”
“But, Mario. Do you know when their event takes place?”
“Of course. The event takes place tomorrow afternoon. If you’re interested in coming, I’ll give you the full address of the event.”
Sophia was stunned. No longer able to respond to what Mario was saying. She even let Tristan’s assistant just walk away and leave her. If he did that, would there still be a chance for him to meet Tristan?