Jacob placed a finger over her lips as he looked at Belle, John, and Frederick. Quietly walking out of the balcony, he peeked to see who was listening to them.
Fortunately, Joyce was quick enough to notice that they heard her phone. She ran towards the fire exit and used the stairs to go one floor down.
She hid behind the door, making sure no one would see her. When she was sure that Jacob was no longer looking for her, she headed for the elevator.
As soon as she was out of the hospital, her phone started ringing again. “You almost got me caught!” she told the caller. It was Vernice.
“How?”
“Nevermind, what do you need?”
“What did you do to Tristan?”
Looking around, Joyce lowered her voice, “Not over the phone, meet me at Hugo’s now,” then she ended the call.
She got in her car and drove off towards the restaurant she mentioned. When she arrived, she passed her key to the parking attendant and headed straight inside.
A waiter led her to a table for four and she ordered whiskey while waiting for Vernice. She needed to calm her nerves, she couldn’t be caught.
After twenty minutes or so, Vernice showed up with Esme. They sat down at the same table as Joyce and ordered drinks as well.
“Why did you do that? I thought you loved him? Why would you hurt him like that?” Vernice pried.
Clasping her hands since they wouldn’t stop shaking, Joyce bowed her head as tears started streaming down her face. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to hurt him…” she muttered.
“Then why?” Esme asked.
The woman lifted her face to look at the mother and daughter, “I went to him the other night but he wasn’t home. Then, the next morning, I went to Belle’s office. I had been there since seven in the morning, waiting for either of them to show up. Lawrence came first,” she narrated.
Esme’s brow flicked at the mention of her husband’s name. “What do you mean? Lawrence went to see that golddigger?” Esme sneered.
Joyce nodded at her and Esme let out a harsh sigh, then she continued. “After a few minutes, Belle came but she was alone. I waited for almost an hour, I was ready to leave when Tristan and Jacob showed up. A few minutes after they went in, Lawrence left. That made me furious. I know he’s alone with that bitch again. So when he came out looking happy, I wasn’t able to stop myself. But I didn’t mean to overdo it. I just wanted to scare him,” then she started crying again.
“Girl, you almost killed him!” Vernice exclaimed.
Joyce sighed and frowned at her. “I swear I didn’t mean to. Also, I don’t regret doing it, since he’s safe now.”
“What do you mean you don’t regret doing it?” Vernice asked again.
Joyce turned to face her, she suddenly looked excited to share the news with her so-called friend. “When Tristan woke up, he seemed to have forgotten about Belle.”
Esme and Vernice looked at each other, both looking confused. They turned to Joyce and she was now smiling happily.
Goosebumps crept all over their bodies when they saw the expression on the devious woman’s face. However, they chose to set it aside as they were more interested in what she said.
“When he saw Belle earlier, he even asked Jacob who she was,” Joyce told them smugly.
“You… you mean Tristan got amnesia?” Esme tried to confirm and Joyce nodded at her before she sipped from her glass of whiskey.
“How? I mean, how can she remember you but not Belle? If he has amnesia, isn’t he supposed to forget everything?” Vernice asked.
“The doctor said he had retrograde amnesia due to his head injury. He’s unable to recall the things that happened before the accident. But he can remember older memories and even create new ones,” Joyce explained.
The mother and daughter nodded at her, understanding clearly what she said. “So that’s why he forgot about Belle. Because he just met her recently,” Esme commented.
“Then you have to take advantage of this!” Vernice suggested.
Joyce shook her head at the woman, “I wanted to do that, unfortunately, only Tristan lost his memories. Frederic, John, Jacob, and Belle can still remember.”
“What are you planning to do then?” Esme asked.
“Not sure about Belle, whether she still wants him to remember her or not. Being forgotten by the person you love surely hurts and that’s what I saw on her face earlier. But we can still get rid of her permanently and make her stay away from him, for good. As for the three blind mice, I’m pretty sure they’ll make him remember, so I have to deal with them too before Tristan’s memories come back.”
“Tristan’s memories can still come back?” Vernice was confused. All along, she thought amnesia was a fixed condition.
“It may or it may not. It will depend on the people around him. It will depend on him too, of course. If he wants it back, I’m pretty sure he’ll work on it.”
“Then how can we help?” Vernice asked again.
“I’ll reach out to you when it’s time to get into action. For now, we have to come up with a plan first. One that won’t implicate any one of us. I’m trying to play the role of a good girlfriend, so I can’t get involved in anything against them. You two, on the other hand, need to stay clean too. Because I’m thinking of getting into business with you soon and I can’t have Tristan doubting you.”
Esme and Vernice smiled at each other. They felt like their efforts at helping Joyce were now starting to bear fruit.
Getting into her role as the supporting villain, Esme placed an arm on top of the table and leaned closer. “Just let us know when and where, and we’ll be there,” she whispered.
“I’ll hold on to that. Don’t worry, not one of you will be left behind when I become Mrs. De Calrion,” Joyce declared.
All three women were so engrossed in their chitchat that they didn’t suspect that someone was listening to them. Daniel, Tristan’s trusted investigator, got everything recorded.
He’d been following Joyce since he received the call from Jacob. He trailed her from when she left her apartment to the hospital, then the restaurant.
When Vernice and Esme arrived, he paid a waiter to stick the device to one of their chairs and the waiter successfully did it. From his car, Daniel was busy listening to their conversation.
“I got everything, sir,” Daniel informed Jacob. “I’m on my way to you with the recording.”