“What is wrong with you?” Eric asked Tristan as soon as he stepped inside the VIP lounge. Both the boss and assistant looked at him with their foreheads creased. “Why are you always picking on Belle?” he sneered.
Instead of answering, Tristan just downed the contents of his glass before putting it down on the table. Eric furrowed his brows at Jacob but he just shrugged at him.
“You should stop doing that, man,” he warned, “unless you really want her to hate you.”
“I don’t know either!” Tristan finally responded, lightly pulling his hair out of frustration. “When I saw her leaving with you earlier, I suddenly got pissed. I really didn’t mean to say those things to her and I can’t understand myself too!”
“What’s so bad about her being with me?” Eric asked, confused. “Belle doesn’t have many friends here, you’re aware of that. She obviously doesn’t want to go with you for some reason. Of course, she’ll ask me. She wanted to attend the auction badly and she wasn’t invited. Who else will she ask to take her there?”
Tristan faced his friend, brows knitted and frowning, “And what reason was that?”
“It’s because you donated her deceased mom’s gift to the auction!”
Tristan and Jacob looked at each other, both confused. Eric moved his eyes between the two, not knowing what exactly was going on.
“Sir, that is actually a misunderstanding,” it was Jacob who broke the silence. Eric furrowed his brows at Tristan’s assistant as if asking for further explanation. “You see, earlier today, we received an invitation to the auction. Tristan was surprised. According to him, he didn’t donate anything to that auction nor did he ask anyone to donate anything for him.”
“Meaning?” Eric asked further.
“Meaning this could be a setup.” It was Tristan, hands on his face while letting out a sigh. “I didn’t ask Jacob to donate anything, if I ever had anything to send there, it should be through him. We only saw that necklace earlier. I initially wanted to win it to find out who donated it in my place, but Belle seemed so eager to get it so I decided not to outbid her.”
“And that’s the reason why she’s willing to bid hundreds of thousands for it. Because it was a gift from Rose Williams,” Jacob concluded.
“That is why she was so mad at you for calling it junk,” Eric pointed a finger at Tristan while informing him. “Belle doesn’t even know she owns that necklace. It was Lawrence who told her that it was donated under your name and that it’s being auctioned.”
Goosebumps crept all over their skins. As if they uncovered some sort of a miracle. Now Tristan knew why the necklace seemed so important to Belle.
However, it’s too late, he has already said things he’s not supposed to say. Now, she’s mad at him again. Tristan could only scratch the back of his head in regret.
When the clock struck twelve, Eric left the bar while both boss and assistant decided to stay. As Tristan continued drinking, Jacob watched over him.
He knew he was already drunk when he started calling out for Belle. Jacob then helped him out of the bar, taking him to the car and driving him off to his home.
Just a couple more rolls before they reached his penthouse, Tristan suddenly spoke, “Belle, take me to Belle,” his words were slurred.
Jacob’s heart ached for his boss. Without any second thoughts, he turned the car around and drove off to Belle’s place.
Jacob stopped the car right in front of the woman’s gate. As it was already one in the morning, he was quite sure she was already asleep.
Minutes after the car parked, he turned around to look at his boss but it seemed like he was already sleeping. He nudged Tristan’s knee but his eyes were still closed.
“Tristan, should we go?” he asked. The man suddenly shook his head in disagreement.
“Belle…” he muttered.
He stared at his boss’ face and reached out for a tissue to wipe off the sweat on his cheeks. However, when he looked closely, he realized that what he was seeing wasn’t sweat, they were tears.
Perturbed, he suddenly felt like crying too. He can’t believe he was seeing Tristan cry. The last time he saw him like this was when they were about to bury his parents.
When he almost drowned, he didn’t even shed a tear. But now, he’s crying for the girl his heart longs for. He was crying for Belle.
After a few more minutes of waiting, someone started knocking on the passenger’s window. He rolled it down and was surprised to see Belle standing outside.
“What are you guys doing here? It’s late!”
Jacob rolled the window back up and quickly got out of the car. Belle was just looking at him, surprised and in disbelief to see them this late at night.
“Did something happen?” she asked again.
Jacob started telling Belle everything, in full detail. Belle’s reaction softened, she didn’t look as annoyed as she did when she first saw them outside her house.
She opened the door to the backseat and went in. “Belle… Take me to Belle…” Tristan mumbled and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘He’s like a child even in his sleep.’ “I’m here,” she replied, unsure whether he could hear her or not.
Tristan suddenly straightened up and forced his eyes to open to look at her. “Belle?”
“Yes, it’s me,” she responded, cupping his face with her hand. “What happened to you?”
Tristan started crying, hugging her by the waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “Belle, sorry… I’m so sorry…” he whispered.
Belle felt like something had grasped her heart. She was pained to see him like this. Letting go of her apprehensions, she hugged him back.
“It’s okay, stop crying,” she whispered back, and Tristan’s hug tightened.
They stayed in that position for a while longer until Tristan lost his grip. He had already fallen asleep. Belle knocked on the window from inside and Jacob quickly opened the door.
“Can you carry him inside?” she asked. Although surprised, Jacob quickly nodded.
Belle went ahead of them to prepare the guest room for her unexpected visitors. She placed four pillows on the bed and two blankets, one for each.
As soon as she was done, Jacob arrived with Tristan in his arms. Belle helped him lay Tristan down on the bed. She even fixed his pillow and covered him with a blanket.
When Belle stepped out, Jacob followed. “Aren’t you going to sleep yet?”
The man shook his head, “I’ll sleep on the couch in a while. May I ask for water?”
Belle led him to the kitchen and passed a glass to him. They conversed more before Belle asked him to go ahead and sleep.
Jacob insisted he would sleep on the couch and Belle let him. She then went back to the guest room to check on Tristan.
“Belle…” he murmured.
Belle sat next to him, combed his hair, and wiped his sweat and tears. She accidentally placed her hand on top of his chest and noticed that his shirt was wet.
She went to her room to grab something he could wear. When she came back for Tristan, she tried to unbutton his top but young De Clarion kept brushing her hands off.
“Stop… Belle will get mad…”
Belle couldn’t help but smile. Instead of trying to change his clothes, she decided to use the shirt she got to wipe off his sweat.
When she was about to stand up and leave, Tristan held her by the wrist. “Belle… please stay,” he whispered with an eye open. He rolled towards the other side of the bed to give room for Belle to lie down.
Without second thoughts, Belle took off her slippers, grabbed the blanket, and positioned herself next to him. Next to the person he loves and hates at the same time. Next to Tristan.