After hearing the audio, Tristan can’t help but get furious. After everything the trio has done, he still can’t believe that they’re capable of doing something as stupid as they did.
Above all else, he couldn’t believe that Joyce could do something like that to him. She almost got him killed and if he wasn’t lucky enough, they’d all be gathered for his funeral.
“So what’s the plan?” Frederick asked after a few minutes of silence.
“We didn’t let you listen to this, but I got it the day after the accident,” Jacob informed Tristan. “We decided to hold on to it since we don’t want you to get confused with the information in this audio and the stories Joyce’s fed you.”
Tristan sighed, “Should I pretend that I haven’t gotten my memories back?” he asked, and Jacob quickly nodded.
“We can’t take any action right away or Joyce will be suspicious and it might be dangerous for Belle.” Turning to the woman, he asked, “For now, maybe we can hide you in the meantime?”
“Where?”
“You can stay here while they deal with the trio of witches,” Frederick suggested.
“Can I stay here too?” Tristan asked excitedly.
“No!” Frederick, Jacob, and John responded.
Tristan scowled at them before turning to Belle. “Will you be okay here, love?” Belle nodded at him, then he turned to Jacob. “Let’s stay at the penthouse then and please inform Nathalie of the plan.”
After further discussion, Jacob and Tristan left for the office. To their surprise, Joyce was there, waiting for them.
“Hi Honey! Where have you been?” the evil woman asked.
Tristan had already discussed it with everyone but he still couldn’t force himself to be courteous to Joyce. When she was about to approach him, he quickened his pace and sat on his chair right away.
Joyce creased her forehead, unsure why Tristan was acting weird, but she quickly straightened her face when he looked at her. “Why are you here?”
“Let’s go out for dinner!”
“It’s still early…”
“What about some snacks?”
“We still got tons of contracts to review,” after saying that, he picked up the phone and called his assistant. “Bring over the documents.”
Joyce frowned at his subtle dismissal. ‘Something seems off with him,’ she thought to herself but chose to set it aside as she didn’t want him to get annoyed at her.
The woman approached Tristan and planted a kiss on his cheek. She decided to just leave since he was busy, but as soon as she stepped out of the CEO’s office, she called her comrades.
“Meet me at Gastro!” she told Vernice on the other line, then she headed to the elevator. Minutes after she sat inside the snack house, Vernice showed up. “Where’s your mother?” she smirked.
“She’s busy helping my dad pack his stuff. He’s leaving for Dale in two days,” Vernice informed her before sipping from his iced tea. “Thanks for this,” she told Joyce as she gestured to the glass before leaning on the chair. “What do you need, by the way?”
Joyce sighed, moving her eyes from her glass to Vernice. “I was at the Empire before I came here,” she started. “Tristan was a bit off but I can’t point out what exactly is going on.”
“How?”
The woman shrugged before pouting her lips, acting well-victimized. “I asked him out but he turned me down saying he’s got work to do,” Joyce informed Vernice.
“And?”
“What do you mean? That was it, you dummy!”
Vernice rolled her eyes and bit her inner cheek to calm herself. “You’re overdramatic!” she sneered. “In case you’ve forgotten, Tristan may have amnesia, but he’s still the CEO of De Clarion Empire! Naturally, he’d still be busy with business stuff. Let me remind you, he only forgot about the recent events in his life, meaning, he still hasn’t forgotten that he got the top position in their company, duh!”
Joyce was silenced for several seconds. Processing everything Vernice said, she couldn’t help but admit she knew she was right.
To be honest, she was acting all worried because she was afraid that Tristan was already back to his old self and the truce between the two of them was over. Thinking about it, Joyce realized that Vernice was right. There’s nothing she needs to worry about.
Meanwhile, at the Villa, Frederick, John, and Belle were busy chitchatting while the woman was sorting out her stuff in the guestroom. As they’ve agreed, Belle will be staying with Frederick and John, while Tristan’s sorting things out with Joyce.
“Will everything be okay?” Belle asked out of nowhere and she was answered by a duo of sighs.
Frederick reached out for her hand and gave it a light squeeze, “Let’s just hope for the best. I want all this to end too.”
Belle sighed and nodded in agreement. “It’s all been tiring.”
At the Empire, on the other hand, Tristan was relieved when Joyce left. “What are you planning to do now?” Jacob asked him, but he could only shake his head. He has no idea what to do with Joyce.
Although Tristan was infuriated, he couldn’t act harshly toward the woman, as he is scared for Belle. If she could almost murder him, what more could she do to the woman she hated to the bone?
“Maybe you should just pretend that you’re getting your memories back,” Jacob suggested, but Tristan just gave him the eye. “Go out with Joyce for some time, then slowly change your actions toward her. Or better yet, pretend that your memories are coming back, one by one, while you’re with her. She will be your trigger warning.”
Rubbing his chin, the side of Tristan’s lips moved up. “That’s a good idea.” And just like that, they’d decided to proceed with the plan.
At dinner, Tristan took the initiative to call Joyce and invite her out. After that, he called Belle to let her know of their plan and that they were taking action right away.
Belle, on the other hand, informed Frederick and John of what she had talked about with Tristan. The old De Clarion then sent a message to Tristan, reminding him to take care of himself and John did the same to Jacob.
“Honey?” Joyce called. She decided to go straight to the CEO’s office an hour after she received the call from Tristan.
Surprised as he didn’t expect the woman to show up, Tristan quickly changed his reaction and pretended to be excited about seeing her. He even kissed the woman on the cheek to make it more convincing.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, but since I’m not feeling well, we’re taking Jacob with us. He’ll drive us to the restaurant and home.”
Joyce pouted in disappointment after hearing what Tristan said but forced a smile to not spoil the atmosphere, as the man seemed to be in a good mood. She hooked her arm to his as they went out of the office.
“We’re leaving?” Jacob asked. Tristan nodded at him while Joyce rolled her eyes. Ignoring the vile woman, he went ahead and entered the elevator, followed by the two.
Jacob immediately entered the car and waited for the couple. He’s happy that they’re now working on getting rid of her, but at the same time, he’s annoyed that he needs to spend a couple of minutes with Joyce.
He hates her for what she did to Belle, Tristan, and Natalie. He hates her existence but he needs to hold back for now or their plans will fail and that’s not an option.