“Can I take you to your office?” Tristan asked.
Belle looked behind her shoulder and saw Tristan approaching her. He stood right next to her, both of them looking at the pond.
“I can’t believe it was you who saved me,” both of them chuckled. “And it was you who I was arranged to be married with,” he added, glancing at the woman beside her.
“Me too,” Belle answered. She too glanced at Tristan, who was now looking at the pond again.
“Belle…”
“Hmm?”
“I’d like to ask you a really huge favor,” he started.
“What is it?”
Tristan let out a long sigh, “I know this is too much to ask. But, can you please not file a case against Joyce for what she did to you at the restaurant?”
If Belle was to decide, she would want to file a case, especially now that she found out that Joyce faked being Tristan’s savior. She hates her and Vernice, for stealing from her.
However, just by thinking about it, she already feels exhausted. Whenever she recalls what happened at the restaurant, she suddenly wants to go back to Dale and settle there.
“I don’t have plans to sue her,” she answered before smiling lazily though she wasn’t looking at him.
Belle was surprised though, when Tristan suddenly turned to face her, held her by the shoulder, and turned her to face him. “Thank you, Belle, thank you so much,” glee evident on the man’s face.
Belle’s heart, on the other hand, broke into pieces upon seeing Tristan’s reaction. ‘He loves her that much?’ she thought sadly. Despite the heartache, Belle forced herself to smile.
“You’re welcome,” she answered unenthusiastically. “I’ll go back inside.” Before Tristan could respond, Belle had already turned around.
Looking at Belle’s departing figure, Tristan felt heartbroken as well. When he looked into her eyes, he could only see disappointment. There is no love, none at all.
Back then, Belle used to look at him beautifully. It’s like he was the greatest thing to ever exist in the world.
But recently, he could only see hatred and annoyance, and now, disappointment. He couldn’t help but wonder if he could still make her love him.
Tristan felt weak. ‘How did it come to this?’ he asked himself, but he couldn’t answer his question either. It could be because of Joyce, because of Vernice, and Esme, or likely because of him.
Unbeknownst to the couple, who were talking quietly earlier, someone was watching them. Behind the huge post outside, in the corner of the villa, Joyce had been hiding.
She was already there when Belle came out. She saw it when Tristan followed her and she witnessed it when he turned her to face him. She saw everything and now she’s furious.
Hailing a cab, Joyce asked the driver to take her to Eden. It was only four in the afternoon. When she got there, she walked straight upstairs and into one of the VIP lounges.
As soon as the waiter served her drinks, she started drinking until she couldn’t anymore. She struggled to stand up, a waiter even assisted her in going downstairs.
She went out with a bottle of vodka in hand. Before reaching the main road, she drained all its content. Joyce then approached a cab that was parked along the line of cars in front of the bar.
“Where are we headed to, Miss?” the driver asked. But instead of getting an answer, he got hit with a bottle on the head.
The driver immediately lost consciousness. Joyce then dragged him to the backseat before she moved to the front.
Starting the engine, Joyce tried her best to keep her driving straight, eyes on the road, both hands on the steering wheel. She stopped near Belle’s company.
She waited for Belle to show up. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait that long. After nearly an hour, Belle came out of Sweet Sue. Joyce trailed behind her as the woman drove to who knows where.
When both vehicles reached the section where there is no light and there are only a few pedestrians, the cab accelerated and hit the car in front of it. The impact was rather strong, as the car spun several times before the driver’s side hit a light post.
Smiling to herself, Joyce slowly climbed out of the car. She ran as fast and as far as she could from the accident site.
Blood dripping from a cut on her head, she went to a nearby clinic to get herself treated. Although in pain, she can’t help but feel proud after what she did.
Bystanders started gathering around the car, looking for any sign of life from its driver. Belle’s head was bowed down on the steering wheel, her other arm got caught between the seat and the car door.
Blood can be seen gushing out of her head, glasses are visibly stuck on her forehead. Her exposed cheek is bleeding as well, due to the cut it sustained from the broken glasses.
When rescuers came, they pulled the car away from the light post to be able to take the driver out. The door of the car was removed carefully to avoid adding more injuries to the driver’s arm.
Belle was then moved on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. After proper treatment was administered, she was moved to a private room.
Lounging on her couch, watching Netflix, Nathalie was disturbed by the sudden ringing of her phone. It was a call from the hospital informing her that her friend, Belle Roberts, had got into a car accident.
She was frozen for a few seconds, shocked by the news she had just received. When it sank in, she started bawling.
Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking so it took her a while to finally call Jacob. “Belle… Belle had an accident,” she told him, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Jacob’s eyes flicked toward Tristan, who was in the middle of a staff meeting. When Tristan noticed the shocked expression on his face, he waved a hand at him and creased his forehead.
“S-Sir,” he stuttered, not sure how to break the news to his boss. “I-I received a call from Nathalie.”
“And?” Tristan asked impatiently.
“B-Belle… B-Belle got in an accident.”