On their bed and while lying on Tristan’s arm, Belle recalled the invitation she got earlier. She forgot to mention it to the man over dinner and even after.
“Love, I got a cruise invitation,” she started. “I’m sure you have one too. Are you going?”
Although sleepy, Tristan forced himself to respond. “I am, I know the organizer. He’s a good friend of mine. You should go too.”
“Can we go together?”
“I have a meeting that day and I don’t know what time it will end. The cruise will leave at eight but you have to be there by six for the program. You can go first. I’ll ask Marco to drive you there.”
“Alright then. You look very tired love, go ahead and sleep.”
Belle planted a kiss on the man’s forehead before squeezing closer to him. Minutes later, they were both taken to dreamland.
A few more days later and the day of the cruise came. Just like what they talked about, Belle went ahead. He’ll meet Tristan there.
Surprisingly, when she boarded the yacht docked at the Bree Port, no one was there yet. There are tables and chairs set up, and a violinist playing, but other than that, it’s just her.
Belle sat on the chair closest to her and took out her phone. She tried calling Tristan and even Jacob, but not one of them answered their phones.
She asked the violinist but he would only smile at her. After a while, the yacht started moving. Belle holds on to the railing and after several minutes, they’re already about two meters away from the port.
‘What is going on?’
As she wondered, the lights on the yacht started to dim. When she looked at the makeshift stage, instead of a violinist, it was now a pianist that was playing a song. Moreso, it’s a different person.
“Excuse me, sir,” the pianist looked up at her with his eyebrows raised. “I thought there was an event. Where are the guests?” But like the violinist earlier, the pianist just smiled at her and continued playing.
Belle suddenly felt scared. She suddenly felt like she was being kidnapped and she was now in danger. What’s even more fearful is that there seems to be no one who could save her.
Hands clasped on the table, Belle was uttering a silent prayer. She’s quietly asking for Lord God’s protection. To keep her safe from whatever awaits her.
All of a sudden, someone held her shoulders and she freaked out. Fortunately, the person who startled her was quick enough to hold on to her wrist and pulled her for a hug.
That person was none other than Tristan.
As soon as Belle saw the familiar face, tears started streaming down her face. She hugged her tightly and let out the breath that she’d been holding in.
“Did I scare you?” the man asked and Belle slowly nodded. “I’m so sorry, love.” Then he pulled her to the middle table and helped her sit.
“What is going on?” Belle asked, her voice a bit shaky. To her surprise, Tristan knelt next to her instead of answering her question. “What are you doing?”
“Love, I know we’ve been through a lot. I know you’ve suffered a lot because of me. I’m a little hesitant to ask this because I don’t know if you’d still want to be with me after everything that happened, but still, I want to take my chance. Love, Belle, Belle Roberts, will you marry me?”
Belle slowly lifted her hand to cover her mouth. She didn’t expect this at all. She was expecting an event for all company owners in Bree. It turned out, it was an event for her.
“Yes…” she whispered. Tristan raised his brows at her, “Yes, love. Yes! I’ll marry you!”
Tristan stood up and bowed down to hug Belle. The woman stood up as well to properly hug the man back.
Tears kept flowing down her face and when they distanced themselves from each other, she started wiping her eyes. She blinked several times to get a clear view of Tristan’s face, but then she noticed the people standing behind him.
When Tristan moved out of the way, Belle saw her adoptive parents, Linda and Raymond. Aside from them, Jacob is also there along with his girlfriend and her best friend, Nathalie.
At the table next to them is Frederick, with John standing behind him. The rest of the guests include Belle’s secretary and the family of the guard who protected her from Esme.
Belle’s tears started flowing over again. She thanked everyone for coming and thanked Tristan for inviting all the important people in her life.
Jacob then tried calling everyone’s attention. He asked the guests to sit at their assigned tables so that the food could be served.
Tristan led Belle to the table in the center. She just noticed that the color of their table cover was different from the rest. Weird that she didn’t even notice that earlier.
After eating, the young De Clarion led Belle to the dancefloor. They started dancing sweetly but after a while, Nathalie interrupted them.
She tapped Belle’s shoulder and handed her purse, kissing her best friend before she left the two alone. Confused, Tristan shot his eyebrows at the woman in front of her.
“First of all, thank you so much for the surprise. I really didn’t expect this,” she sighed. “But of course, you can’t be the only one with the surprise,” Belle smirked. Then she pulled a small piece of paper from her purse and handed it to the man.
“What?!”
Everyone was startled when Tristan suddenly yelled. Even the pianist stopped playing after hearing him.
Frederick, who was having a hard time walking, rushed to his grandson, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Tristan wiped his tears. Unable to respond, he just handed the old man the piece of paper Belle gave him.
Frederick looked at the paper and then looked at Belle, “Is this true?” he asked, half smiling. When Belle nodded, he walked closer and hugged her. “Congratulations, little girl!” he exclaimed.
Everyone approached them so Tristan had no choice but to announce the reason behind his tears and his grandfather’s congratulatory remark. “I’m going to be a father!”