After Belle gathered her things, she immediately left the suite. Eric chased after her but she didn’t even bother looking back.
Dispirited and guilty at the same time, Eric let out a long, frustrated sigh before he turned on his heel and headed back to his suit. He walked straight to Tristan, eyeing the man from head to toe.
“Does it hurt?” he asked. Tristan nodded without second thoughts. “Good for you, you very well deserved that!”
Tristan glared at him. “Thompson, I really don’t like you right now!” he spat at him.
Eric snorted, “The feeling is mutual. I bet even Jacob here hates you at this very moment.”
Jacob, who’d been quiet since Eric and Belle stepped out of the bedroom, suddenly looked up. He glanced at Tristan and saw him glaring at him.
He wanted to say something but he chose to stay quiet instead. ‘Why is Thompson dragging me into this? Is he trying to get me killed?’ he asked himself.
“Do you even know what happened last night? Do you know why I brought her here? Do you?” Eric’s voice was loud as he was furious after what he did to Belle.
He was well aware that Belle didn’t deserve to be insulted like that. Tristan doesn’t have an inch of a right to do that to her. He felt sorry for her and, at the same time, he felt guilty.
If he hadn’t brought Belle to his suite, Tristan wouldn’t have seen them, this would not have happened. But it’s too late now. Tristan had already said things he shouldn’t have said.
Tristan, on the other hand, kept repeating the questions Eric asked him in his head. What exactly does he know?
All he knew was that he was mad after seeing them get into the suite. More so when he saw them lying on the bed, next to each other.
But those were all his personal feelings. He should have considered Belle or even Eric, who is his friend.
But no, he chose to be selfish and insult the woman he loves for personal reasons. The truth is, he was jealous of his friend for getting to spend a night with Belle.
Eric plopped on the couch, he loosened his tie, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his polo shirt. He let out a harsh sigh before he glared at his stupid friend.
Tristan, who finally realized everything he had done since last night was wrong, slowly bowed his head. He cupped his face with both hands while his elbow rested on his knees.
“Belle knows she’s a Williams,” Eric started. What he said caught Tristan and Jacob’s interest. They then started to pay attention to him.
“How?” Tristan asked.
Eric sighed, leaning on the backrest of the couch. “Lawrence invited him for dinner at the Williams Villa. He showed him their DNA test results, his and Belle’s. He also told Belle, Vernice, and his wife that she’s giving Belle 75% of all his fortunes.”
Jacob was about to speak but Eric continued. “Not only that, before the said dinner, Belle went to Lawrence to talk to him about what his wife and Vernice did, when they told you that it was Belle who set up everything regarding the marriage license. Lawrence took her to their villa and confronted his wife and daughter. Guess what they told them?”
Tristan shot his brows up, too lazy to open his mouth, so Eric went ahead to tell him what he knew. “Mrs. Williams told them that it was you who asked to set her up in exchange for money.”
Jacob suddenly lifted his head to look at his boss. Tristan, on the other hand, clenched his fist. He suddenly felt like he already knew who exactly the schemer was.
“When your grandfather got poisoned, I called her by chance the same day. She can’t even speak straight, she’s crying the whole time, and I can’t even understand what she’s trying to tell me until I ended the call. Last night we talked about that and she told me she’s furious at you.”
“I know,” Tristan sighed. He’s well aware that Belle’s mad at her after what happened. That’s why she avoided him as much as she could.
“She said your grandfather didn’t ask her for a cake that day, so there’s no reason for her to send him one. Also, she would always bring him the cake herself. She never had it delivered.”
After that incident, he never had the guts to show up in front of her. All he could do was try to get a chance to see her, passing by her apartment.
After going there several times and not getting a chance to see her, they asked the guard about Belle. Then they found out that she had already moved to the bungalow he had gifted her.
Tristan did the same thing, passing by the house to get a chance to see her. But they weren’t lucky enough.
Whenever John tells Jacob that Belle’s at the villa, they would immediately head over, but when they get there, Belle has already left. Tristan feels desperate but there’s nothing he can do.
The first time he saw her again was at the hospital. And what did he do? Instead of talking to her, asking about her at least, he slapped and accused her of poisoning Frederick De Clarion.
“Now, as to what happened last night,” Eric continued. “We went out for dinner as I just got back from a business trip. We ate out and discussed the contract I’m planning to sign with her company. After dinner, we went to Eden to grab some drinks. When the waiter served us, I excused myself to go to the bathroom. When I came back, Belle was already asleep, on the couch. She only had one drink. You guys know her capacity, and so am I. So I got suspicious. I decided to take her here because I’m afraid that something might happen to her when she’s home alone, drugged…”
As he tried to process everything Eric told them, he agreed with Belle. He was indeed trash and he didn’t deserve to talk to her, come near her, or even show up in front of her.
‘Can I do that though?’ Tristan asked himself. No matter how he thinks or how he tries to convince himself, he can’t do it. He can’t bear not seeing her.
He loves her, he knows that for sure. He just can’t understand why he always acts rashly toward Belle.
Whenever he is in front of the woman, he can’t get a hold of his emotions. Whether he was happy, mad, or sad, he just had to let it out.
He wants to make it up to Belle, but he doesn’t know how. He was not even sure if she would let him. Hopefully, yes, maybe not now, but hopefully she can in the future.