“Sir, the Williams are here,” John informed Frederick, who was currently resting in his room.
The old man glanced at the clock on his side table. “They’re an hour early. Aren’t they too excited to become my in-laws?” both men chuckled.
John helped Frederick out of bed, while a maid helped him dress up. A few minutes later, they are on their way to the living room to welcome the guests.
Vernice, Lawrence, and Esme stood up altogether as soon as they saw the old De Clarion. Vernice even kissed Frederick’s hand before rejoining her parents on the couch.
“How are you?” he asked the young woman in front of her.
Vernice paled a bit after hearing his question. She knows there’s something else he wants to ask, he was just not being frank with her.
“I’m fine, Sir. I’m really sorry about what happened in the past. I got scared after Tristan called me and I acted rashly,” she explained.
Frederick nodded and Lawrence let out a sigh. He was actually hoping that the old De Clarion would look past what happened during the first wedding plan.
He glanced at Vernice and held her hand after noticing that she was fiddling with her fingers after responding to Frederick. She is obviously a nervous wreck.
“Seeing all three of you here, I assume that you’re visiting me to talk about the wedding between your daughter and my grandson?” Frederick asked, looking straight at Lawrence.
The head of the Williams family cleared his throat, “We’re very sorry about what happened before Sir, but yes, if you can maybe reconsider?” he asked awkwardly.
Frederick snorted, ‘They really are shameless’, he thought to himself. The old man leaned back, holding his cane with both hands.
“I was not happy when Vernice ran away. If the media reported it, De Clarion would lose face. But of course, as I promised Philip, I’d be willing to reconsider. However, as we’re giving you a second chance, we have our terms as well and you should wait for Tristan to know what he wants,” he explained to them.
As Tristan is still in a meeting, Frederick ordered the maids to prepare drinks and snacks in the meantime. While waiting, they engaged in random conversations.
The talks between the four people ended, however, when Tristan finally arrived with Jacob. That young man walked straight to his grandfather to kiss his hand.
Before he sat down, he bowed to the Williams as well, without glancing at Vernice, who was seated next to his father. After he had greeted everyone, he sat next to his grandfather and gestured for Jacob to hand him the folder they brought with them.
“I don’t have much time, I still have meetings to attend,” he spoke coldly. He then opened the folder and laid it down on the table, showing it to the Williams. “Before the wedding, I wanted Vernice to sign a prenuptial agreement. Aside from that, I also want her to sign a divorce agreement,” he told them straight-faced, his voice was chilling.
Esme’s mouth fell open. Lawrence’s hand stopped mid-air as he heard Tristan’s words. He was about to reach out for the documents in front of him before the young De Clarion spoke. Vernice remained quiet at her father’s side.
Lawrence cleared his throat and went on to pick up the documents. He still looked into it although he was already told of its contents.
“We understand,” he told the man in front of him before putting down the documents again. “We have no problem with these.”
Tristan nodded, “You should sign it now, so we can take it back to the office. We’ll send you a copy but we’re keeping the originals,” obviously instructing Vernice. He then paused to face Esme, “Mrs. Williams, you may proceed with the marriage registration anytime you want. Just drop by my office if you need anything, but don’t expect any reception, we already had one before.”
Jacob took the documents as soon as Vernice was done signing them. Tristan then stood up and bid everyone farewell. He immediately left the villa with Jacob and they both traveled back to the office.
“That was rather easy,” Jacob said as soon as they arrived.
Tristan chuckled at what he said, “I was thinking they’d refuse, good thing they didn’t waste any more of our time.”
As soon as he sat down, the door of the office flew open, it was Joyce. “Is it true?” she asked furiously. “Is it true you’re marrying Vernice!?” she screamed.
When Joyce first heard of this wedding, she tried ending her life by overdosing on sleeping pills. Fortunately, it got canceled so she didn’t have to do it again just to stop Tristan from getting married.
After what happened to her, Tristan took care of her. He even made her stay in the VIP suite of the Royal Palace.
But just half an hour ago, the maid serving the De Clarions called her. She was informed of the meeting between families regarding the wedding between the two.
Fortunately, she was at a nearby spa and Tristan was already in the office. As soon as she heard the news, she rushed over to the Empire.
“Sorry Sir, I tried to stop her,” Belle said, and Joyce glared at her. Tristan then gestured for her and Jacob to leave and they both followed.
At the executive office, “Is Joyce Tristan’s girlfriend?” Belle asked the assistant who was busy with his phone.
“No, they’re childhood friends,” Jacob told the prying woman.
Belle nodded, but then she asked again, “What about his wedding to Vernice Williams? Was it an arranged marriage?”
Jacob put down his phone before facing Belle. He couldn’t help but wonder why she was so curious, but still, he nodded.
“Actually, when Tristan was young, he had aplastic anemia and Philip Williams was his bone marrow donor. That’s how the deal came up between the two families. Joyce, on the other hand, was also Tristan’s savior.” She narrowed her eyes at Belle, trying to weigh her reaction, but she just stayed quiet.
“Two months after Tristan came out of the hospital, his grandfather arranged a thanksgiving party for him. Kids from different families were invited. We were playing outside the villa, and then we heard someone shouting. When we went out to the garden, we saw Tristan being pulled out of the pond with a long stick by a little girl, and that little girl was Joyce,” he continued.
Belle, who’d been quiet since Jacob started telling her the story of Tristan, let out a sigh. “Between the two women, who does Tristan like?” she asked while picking on her nails.
Looking at her, Jacob wanted to tell Belle that Tristan actually liked her, but he didn’t dare to say it. Instead, “I don’t know, why don’t you ask him yourself?” he said.
Belle looked at Jacob then smirked. “He won’t tell for sure. Besides, I’m not that interested,” then she turned around to sit on her chair.
She was standing in front of her table and her legs were starting to feel numb. Good thing they have a foot massager in the office, it was really handy.
“I’m sure if you asked him, he’d tell you,” Jacob urged. He really likes playing Cupid between these two.
“I won’t, I don’t really need to know,” dismissing Jacob’s idea. She frowned at him before turning her attention to her computer monitor, pretending she wasn’t being nosy about her boss.