After hearing his grandfather’s statement during the live broadcast and after everything else he said, Tristan wanted to get mad. Not to the old man, but to himself.
Again, he was reminded that he was indeed a fool to slap Belle and accuse her of hurting Frederick. He was reminded of how stupid he was for acting rashly toward her.
With heavy feet, Tristan asked Jacob to go straight to Belle’s company. He wanted to see her and apologize to her, if and only if, he could muster enough courage to do so.
“Hi! What are you guys doing here?” Nathalie asked as she welcomed them and led them to the company’s visitors’ lounge.
“I came with Jacob, he wants to visit you,” Tristan answered immediately.
Jacob’s eyes flicked to Tristan, who was now pretending to be reading a magazine. He is sitting casually on the couch, laid back, one leg over the other with a magazine in one hand while the other is busy flipping the pages.
Fortunately, Jacob understood Tristan. ‘He’s using me again because he’s scared of Belle,’ he thought to himself. “Yeah, I just dropped by to see you.”
Nathalie narrowed her eyes at them, she was a little skeptical but chose to ignore it. “Coffee?” she asked.
When Jacob nodded, Nathalie went to the pantry and asked a random employee to prepare coffee for the visitors. She then went straight to Belle’s office.
“You have a visitor~” she informed her, teasing. Belle creased her forehead before turning her attention to her friend. “Mr. De Clarion graced us with his presence,” she announced.
Belle frowned immediately and looked back at her monitor, focused on the presentation again. “What does he need?” she smirked, asking her friend lazily.
“He said he came with Jacob because he wanted to visit me. I doubt that though. I was just talking to Jacob minutes ago, he never mentioned he’s driving by.” Nathalie narrated while picking on her nails. “I think he’s here because he wants to see you.”
Before Belle can respond, her phone rings. After talking to the person on the other line, her forehead creased again, confused.
She immediately opened a browser and checked on the latest news update. There she saw Frederick’s live broadcast. It was recorded and posted on one of the news sites.
Checking further, she also read that the newspaper company that initially posted about her, poisoning the old De Clarion, was shut down. According to the article, the De Clarions have something to do with it, as mentioned by Frederick during the broadcast.
Belle’s eyes widened. Thankful to Frederick, as the client who called wanted to dismiss the cancellation of their contract. She was told that they would continue to work with her company.
“Let’s go!” she told Nathalie, then she stood up from her swivel chair. Belle went straight out of her office, not paying attention to whatever it was Nathalie was mumbling about.
As soon as she stepped out, her secretary approached her. She was informed that another client called to let them know that they’re not canceling their contract either.
Belle smiled and thanked her secretary before proceeding to the lounge. As she is thankful to the De Clarions, she decides to face the CEO of the Empire to show her gratitude.
“Jacob!” she called. The man immediately stood up, but Belle asked him to sit down again, then she sat next to him. “How is Grandpa?” she asked.
Belle was well aware that Frederick had just got out of the hospital, as she had visited him recently. She’s worried about his health, stress won’t do him good and this live broadcast might be too much for him in his current state.
“He’s fine, don’t worry,” Belle sighed in relief after what Jacob said. “So you already know what he did?”
Belle nodded, “A client called, withdrawing his cancellation of the contract. He said he saw Grandpa’s broadcast, so I checked the news. I’ve seen a clip of it, but I haven’t watched the entire video.”
Jacob nodded at her, “He did his best to clear your name.”
Tristan, who is sitting not far from them, can’t help but listen in. Ever since Belle came, she hasn’t even looked at him. As if he doesn’t exist, though he is sitting not too far from them.
He couldn’t help but feel sad. However, he can’t blame anyone for the way Belle treats her. It was entirely his fault.
When Jacob bade Belle and Nathalie goodbye, Tristan didn’t hesitate anymore. He held Belle by the wrist and led her to her office.
As soon as they were inside, Tristan hugged her. “Sorry Belle, I’m really sorry… for everything,” he told her. Belle could sense the sincerity in his voice, so she smiled to herself.
However, before she could respond, the door to her office flew open. “Wow, what a sight!” it was Joyce, followed by the panicked-looking Nathalie and Jacob.
“Why are you here?” Tristan asked.
His expression was a mix of wonder, irritation, and worry, and Belle saw all this. She could only shake her head in disappointment. Once again, Tristan has proven how important Joyce is to him.
“You guys can leave now, we still have a lot of work to do,” Belle told them before walking to her table and sitting on her chair.
Tristan and Jacob exchanged glances before Jacob nodded for them to leave. Before they could get out of the office though, Joyce approached Belle’s table.
“Can you please stop chasing after Tristan? He has already divorced you!”
Belle’s eyes flicked toward her from the computer monitor. She raised an eyebrow at the woman standing tall in front of her table.
“Who told you I was chasing? You’re all in my office, he’s in my office. How was I the one chasing?” she told her, mocking.
Joyce’s face flushed, embarrassed at the fact that they were indeed the ones who came to her space. Regardless, she lifted her chin to face Belle, “If I knew, you called him to come to you, bitch!”
Belle shook her head, laughing at Joyce. “You have a good imagination, I’ll give you that. If it’s not too much to ask, take your boyfriend with you and leave. You’re polluting my office with your trash.”
Joyce was furious. She was about to reach out to her but Tristan was quick enough to pull her by the arm and drag her out of Belle’s office.
“Sorry Belle, we didn’t mean to cause any trouble. We’re leaving,” Jacob’s voice was apologetic, but Belle just nodded in acknowledgment without looking at him.
When the door of her office closed, she heaved a sigh. Sometimes she wonders if it was a good idea to stay in Bree. ‘I should have just opened my company in Dale.’
Vernice and Esme, who were stalking Belle, saw the trio who came out of the building; Tristan, Jacob, and Joyce. They noticed how Joyce looked extremely annoyed with Tristan trying to calm him down.
Both mother and daughter exchanged glances. They knew something unpleasant had happened inside, thus Joyce’s expression.
Tristan wanted to drop Joyce off at where she was headed but she refused. “I’ll take a cab home!” she insisted, so Tristan just let her.
When Vernice and Esme saw her get inside the cab, they quickly asked the driver to follow. When the woman stopped by a restaurant, both mother and daughter stepped out of the car immediately and called after her.
“Who are you?” Joyce asked, confused. She even gripped her purse tightly.
Vernice smirked and rolled her eyes, “We’re not hooligans,” she told her, annoyed at her reaction to them. “We just want to talk to you about Belle and Tristan. We, too, don’t like her!”
What she said piqued Joyce’s interest. She suddenly became friendly to them and even invited them to dine with her.
‘Anyone that is against Belle is my friend, these two are my friends.’