Frederick was still in his room when Belle arrived. She went to the villa as soon as she received Jacob’s call early in the morning. He said the old man wanted to see her.
“Good morning,” Frederick greeted him as he walked down the stairs.
Belle quickly stood up to help the old man, smiling at him like she always does. “Good morning, Gramps!” she giggled.
“Thank you for coming, Belle, I know what happened wasn’t easy for you,” Frederick started when he sat down on the couch.
Belle sat opposite him, she bowed her head to blink away the tear that almost escaped. “I’m fine, so far,” she stated.
“Are you on your way to the hospital?”
“I’ve no plans to go,” she smiled hesitantly. “I’m on my way to my company. I decided to come here first because I might get busy in the afternoon.”
Frederick nodded, obviously looking down after hearing what the woman said. But then again, she can’t blame her. He wouldn’t even be happy if his love forgot about him.
The old man leaned closer to reach out for Belle’s hand. Tapping it lightly, he looked at Belle as if he was apologizing on behalf of his grandson.
“My little girl, I know this might be difficult for you, but I have a favor to ask,” Frederick started. He was hesitant but there was no one else who could help them but Belle.
The woman looked at him, forehead creased, “What is it, Gramps?” she asked.
“Jacob told us he re-introduced you to Tristan as his executive secretary,” Belle nodded in confirmation. “Can you continue doing that? Can you still be his executive secretary until we get his memories back?”
Belle withdrew her hand from the old man. She let out a sigh, not knowing whether she should agree or not. Personally, she doesn’t like the idea.
Since Tristan can’t remember anything about the two of them, he’s back with Joyce and it’s painful for her. She gave herself up to him, yet he forgot her.
She’s well aware that it was because of the accident. But she also believes that what the mind forgets, the heart remembers. Still, that wasn’t the case with the man she loved.
“W-Why should I do that?”
Frederick leaned back, placing both hands on his cane, and he let out a sigh. “Joyce is up to something,” he informed her. “We’re not sure how she’ll execute her plan, but it will help to have you and Jacob close to Tristan.”
Belle raised her head to look at the old man. “She’s up to something? Again? When will she stop?” she asked furiously.
If she could kill her, she would. She’s already done so much, not just for her but for Tristan as well, and it maddens her.
Yes, she knows. Belle knows that only Joyce is capable enough to hurt Tristan like that. And now, she’s reaping the benefits of her scheme. She made him forget about her.
Belle nodded slowly, still hesitant to agree with Frederick. But what the old man said made sense. It will be easier for them to deal with Joyce if they’re all together.
“Thank you, Belle, thank you so much,” Frederick’s smile broadened after Belle agreed to their plan. However, he doesn’t have any plans to disclose to her anything about the recording.
The old man doesn’t want her to worry further. It’s enough that she’s staying for his grandson. The rest, it’s for them to take care of.
“Now you go to the hospital, my little girl. Tristan needs you there,” Belle nodded. She stood up and kissed the old man’s hand as she said goodbye. “And please Belle, please be extra patient with him.”
Belle smiled lazily and nodded at the old man. There’s nothing she can do anyway but to be patient. That’s all she can do, for now.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Jacob was going thru the contracts with Tristan when someone knocked. Jacob excused himself to see who was at the door and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling when she saw Belle outside.
“Come in,” he invited as he made way for her.
Belle came in and sat straight on the couch. She didn’t even bother glancing at Tristan as she was still pissed at him.
“Hi…” Tristan greeted. It was rather awkward and Belle could only nod and smile timidly at him. “H-How are you?” he asked, almost wanting to slap some sense at himself for asking something as nonsense as that.
“I’m fine, Sir,” Belle replied without looking at him. Her eyes were focused on Jacob as if she wanted to tell him something.
“Are you here for these?” Jacob showed him the papers they were discussing.
Realizing Jacob was playing the role of someone treating her as the secretary, Belle nodded. “Yes, I need to make a copy of those. That is if you’re done discussing it.”
Feeling naughty, Jacob shook his head at her. “Not yet,” he said. “It’s almost lunchtime, I’m going down to get us food,” he told Belle before turning to Tristan. “You just have to wait for the meal the hospital will bring over.”
Then he hurried outside, afraid his boss would say something as he too saw how Belle was focused on her rather than him. Once outside, he let out the breath he’d been holding in.
‘Now you can see if she’s really obsessed with you,’ he muttered.
The air was still between Tristan and Belle inside the room. As no one spoke, Belle chose to check her phone instead, pretending to be doing something there.
After a few minutes, Tristan cleared his throat, “How long have you been working for me?” he asked, though he already knew.
“Less than a year ago sir, I came over from Dale to look for an IT job. I landed as your secretary instead,” she replied.
“Sounds like you don’t like the job,” Tristan pried.
“It’s not that I don’t like it, but it’s not something I enjoy,” Belle responded truthfully.
Tristan finds it rather confusing. ‘If she’s obsessed with me like Joyce said, why is she so cold? As if she doesn’t even want to talk to me,’ he thought to himself.
Thinking about it, he suddenly feels like Joyce lied to him. Recalling the first time he saw Belle when he woke up, he remembered how shocked she was when he asked about her.
Tristan believes there’s something between them. They’re not just the CEO and secretary. There’s something deeper but he can’t pinpoint it, more so he doesn’t want to assume.
‘Something’s not right here. Something’s amiss.’