Belle prepared the guestroom for Nathalie’s aunt and uncle. Jacob and Tristan, on the other hand, stood in the living room, waiting for both women.
“You can rest for now. I’ll ask Nathalie to accompany you tomorrow to the mall so you can buy some clothes,” she informed them.
Fely walked closer to Belle, reaching out for her hands, “Thank you, Belle, thank you so much for all this,” she was teary-eyed.
The middle-aged woman never liked Belle. She always thought that she was not a good influence on her niece.
That is why she’s very thankful, as she didn’t expect such a gesture from her. From the moment Belle offered help, Fely knew she was wrong about her.
When the couple finally settled in, Belle and Nathalie went out to the living room. Tristan pulled Belle to sit next to him and Jacob did the same to Nathalie.
“How are you?” Jacob asked, holding his girlfriend’s hand, as they were still shaking.
Nathalie let out a long sigh, “Fine, I guess,” she replied, smiling lazily at him.
Jacob hugged her lightly, whispering something into her ear. Tristan then pulled Belle up towards the kitchen to give the other couple some privacy.
“Coffee?” he asked, and Belle quickly nodded.
She had already nodded before she realized that Tristan had just offered to serve her coffee. “Do you even know how to?” she chuckled.
Tristan frowned, “I’m no prince honey, of course, I can prepare coffee,” he responded, shaking his head at her.
Belle was quiet while Tristan worked in the kitchen. The man noticed it so he glanced back at her, “You’ve been quiet since we left Nathalie’s place. What’s bothering you?”
The woman lifted her gaze, then he took the cup of coffee Tristan was handing over to him. She tried to smile but she didn’t have the energy to do it.
“I just can’t take the incident off my mind,” she answered truthfully. Sipping on her coffee, she let out a long, frustrated sigh.
Before they could continue with their conversation, Jacob and Nathalie joined them. Jacob made coffee for himself and his girlfriend as well.
“What’s eating you?” Nathalie asked her friend, as she lightly squeezed her hand.
Belle glanced at her, “I just feel like what happened to you wasn’t an accident,” letting them in on her thoughts.
Jacob glanced at his boss, whose brows were now furrowed. He wanted to say something as he shared the same thoughts as Belle, but he decided to just let her do the talking.
“Who are you suspecting?” Tristan asked before sipping his coffee and sitting next to Belle.
Belle looked at him, straight into his eyes. She’s weighing whether she should tell him her thoughts or not.
She’s worried that Tristan will get hurt. If not, she’s scared that he will be furious and might end up hurting Joyce instead.
“Who, Belle?” Nathalie repeated Tristan’s question, as her friend was taking a while to respond.
Clasping her hands on the countertop, she let out a short sigh, “Joyce.”
Nathalie slammed her mug, causing it to break into pieces. Jacob quickly fetched a rug and pulled Nathalie away from the countertop.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jacob asked as he wiped the spilled coffee and picked up the broken pieces of glass.
Nathalie starts inhaling and exhaling a few times to calm herself. “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I had an encounter with her and Vernice earlier,” she narrated.
“Are you sure about this?” Tristan asked, clenching his fist in fury.
Tristan thought it was possible and if it was true, he didn’t know what he could do to Joyce. He could kill him for hurting Belle’s closest friend and his friend’s girlfriend.
Belle shook her head, “It’s just my suspicion. I don’t have any concrete evidence to prove this. But…” she trailed, pondering whether she should tell them more or not.
“But?” Jacob parroted, urging her to continue.
Belle sighed, since she had already started, there was no turning back now. She’ll have to tell them everything.
“But I saw her during my car accident.”
All three people looked shocked. Nathalie’s mouth fell open, Jacob’s eyes widened and Tristan clenched his jaw.
“What do you mean?” Tristan asked, obviously wanting more details.
“The cab that deliberately bumped into my car started following me after I left the office. I already saw Joyce then. She’s the one driving the cab. At first, I thought she wasn’t really following me, but she trailed until we reached an almost deserted area. That was when she accelerated and hit my car,” Belle narrated, recalling everything that happened on that dreadful night.
Tristan threw his mug towards the sink. Belle was startled, as she didn’t expect him to react like that.
Belle suddenly regrets telling them what she knows. She never expected he’d react this violently once he found out.
“Hey…” she called, holding his hands to calm him down.
“Why are they doing this?” Jacob asked no one in particular.
Nathalie let out a harsh sigh, plopped on the chair, and clasped her hands tightly. “They’re evil, pure evil,” she sneered.
Everyone was quiet for a couple of minutes. It was like they were all thinking about why Joyce does the things she does.
Tristan suddenly stood up, hugging Belle tightly, letting her head rest on his chest. “Sorry… I’m so sorry Belle…” then he started sobbing.
Belle wriggled out of his embrace to face him but he just tightened his arms around her. She then reached out to his back, running his hand up and down to calm him.
“What are you sorry for? It’s not like you asked them to do those things, you never did. Ssshhh…” she coaxed him to stop crying, as it pained her to see him like that.
Tristan calmed down a bit. He hugged her tightly once again and sniffed. “Still, if it weren’t for me, Joyce wouldn’t have treated you badly. I should have settled my affairs with her first. I should have made things clear to her.”
Nathalie shook her head, “Even if you did, that woman’s obsessed with you and she will continue obsessing until she gets you in the palm of her hands.”
Jacob nodded in agreement. He has known Joyce for quite some time now, so he’s already familiar with her.
Belle looked at Tristan, who still avoided her eyes. She cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “Please, never blame yourself for all this. If it weren’t Joyce, I’m sure Esme and Vernice would do something against me anyway.”
Tristan nodded at her, Belle smiled and lightly pressed a kiss on his lips. Jacob and Nathalie averted their eyes, making Belle chuckle.
“You guys are so childish!” she snapped.
Jacob looked at his watch all of a sudden. “Tristan, it’s already one in the morning,” he notified his boss, as he looked like he didn’t want to go home yet.
“Can’t you come with me?” he asked Belle, giving her his cute puppy eyes.
Belle then glanced at Nathalie, “Go ahead,” her friend told her. “I’ll take care of them,” referring to her aunt and uncle.
“I can stay over too,” Jacob chimed in.
Belle narrowed her eyes at them. She’s a little suspicious but she doesn’t want to put them in an embarrassing position.
“Let’s do this, Tristan and I will stay in my room, while you two use the other guestroom,” Belle suggested, wiggling her brows at them.
The couple smiled as if Belle had just made the best suggestion they’d ever heard. Tristan starts teasing the couple, who quickly run away from him.
“Let’s go, you look tired,” Tristan then pulled her towards her room.
Belle went straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When she came back, Tristan was already lying on her bed with his eyes closed.
“Aren’t you going to wash up?” she asked.
Tristan pouted his lips at her. “I’m too tired to move. Can’t you do it for me?” he smiled naughtily.
Belle chuckled, “Enough of your antics. Go take a shower! You have clothes in my closet, Jacob brought them,” pulling Tristan up from the bed.
As soon as Tristan stepped into the bathroom, Belle started drying her hair. She wasn’t done yet when Tristan came out, so he helped her.
“There you go!” he announced as soon as her hair was dried.
Belle took the hairdryer from him and placed it on the side table. She grabbed the blanket but Tristan didn’t move. He remained sitting next to her on the bed.
Belle looked at him, brows furrowed. The man just smiled sweetly at her before inching closer, until no space was left between their lips.
Tristan started kissing her, slow and steady. He laid her down, positioning himself on top of her without breaking the kiss.
Belle returned his kisses with equal fervor. Sending a message that she likes it, she’s not refusing, he can continue.
As Tristan’s kiss deepened, Belle hugged him by the waist. Tristan’s hand started moving down from Belle’s shoulder to her leg.
His every touch sent a shiver down Belle’s spine. It sent her into momentary euphoria and although she felt scared, she chose to let go of her inhibitions.
She enjoyed it, she wanted it. But in her mind, she couldn’t help but think, ‘I thought he was dead tired?’