Tristan entered the venue right after he stepped out of the car. He went in alone as Jacob still needed to pick up Belle and Agnes.He headed to the lounge and found his grandfather, sitting there with a wineglass in his hand. “You’re late,” the old man told him, Tristan chuckled.“No one’s even here yet,” he retorted.“The Williams called me yesterday, they told me they’re visiting next week,” he informed his grandson of the upcoming problem.Tristan’s forehead creased. He called a waiter to ask for a drink, “What do they want?”Frederick shrugged, “No idea, they just said they were visiting,” he chuckled. Implying he knows there is something else behind the visit.Tristan was about to say something when another waiter called for them. They were informed that the visitors were already arriving.The grandfather and grandson duo had no choice but to walk out of the lounge and welcome their guests. They were standing side by side facing the entrance, both looking like royalty.The first
Some of the visitors had already left when Tristan came back. A few more minutes later, everyone else started bidding him and his grandfather farewell too.The old De Clarion kept glancing at him inquisitively. “I’ll tell you about it later,” he told him, but Frederick just snorted in response.Seeing him with Agnes was really an eyesore. When Agnes left, Tristan disappeared as well. That is why the old man can’t help but imagine things.When he saw his grandson looking grumpy when he came back, he dismissed his undesirable thoughts. ‘It’s probably not what I was thinking.’ Once everyone had left, Tristan asked Frederick to go with him to the VIP suite. Along the way, he told his grandfather what had happened.Frederic was also furious at Agnes. “How can she do that when she’s not even a welcome guest?!” he spat.“How is she?” he asked Jacob as soon as they stepped inside the suite. Looking at the empty couch, he creased his forehead at his assistant.Jacob gestured towards the bedro
Meanwhile, at the Williams Villa, Esme keeps thinking about what she saw earlier. At the banquet, when she was about to go to the restroom, he even saw Tristan helping Belle out.De Clarion Empire’s CEO led her to the elevator and even carried her in. She waited to see where the elevator would stop, but it kept going until it reached the topmost floor, the VIP suite.‘What is her relationship with Tristan? Why was she so close to him? It can’t be, this can’t be happening!’The face of the woman she saw earlier is way too familiar for her to deny that she knows her. It is her indeed! It’s none other than Yssabelle Williams, Lawrence and Rose’s daughter.Years ago, after the search and rescue team reported that they failed to find her and announced that Yssabelle was dead, Esme wanted to make doubly sure. He contacted three investigators to look for her in nearby hospitals, not just in Bree, but in Dale as well.Two days later, she received a report that a child around the age of 6 to 8
“I guess no one can accompany Belle tonight,” Jacob stated.As soon as they got inside Eden, their attention was caught by the woman dancing on the ledge. A woman they are very familiar with.The clothes she wears are far from skimpy. However, men won’t be able to refuse to look at her as she is dancing seductively. It was Nathalie.Tristan pressed his temples, as a thought popped into his mind. “Do you think Belle has done something like this before?” he asked out of nowhere. Jacob turned his head ever so slowly. “Let’s go!” Tristan said, walking ahead of him before he could even answer.‘What was he thinking? Why would Belle do something like that? Jacob could only shake his head. He never thought his boss could think of something as weird as that.They went straight to the VIP room on the second floor and a waiter quickly followed. He served both men their drinks before leaving them for their business.“Did you hear everything about Belle’s story earlier?” Tristan asked after drink
At the De Clarion Empire, Tristan and Jacob were busy going thru important documents when Belle came, “Sir, Joyce is here,” she announced as she opened the door wider to let the woman in.“Are you busy?” Joyce asked Tristan before coming over and kissing him on the lips.Tristan was shocked. It'd been a while since Joyce last kissed him on the lips. Although he feels happy, he can’t help but think, ‘What is going on with her?’Jacob found the woman’s gesture a bit awkward as well, so he excused himself. When he comes back to their office, Belle is talking to someone over the black phone.“Just let them up, I’ll go to the lounge,” she told the person on the other line.“A visitor?” Jacob asked and she nodded.“Lawrence Williams is coming up,” she told the CEO’s assistant. Jacob nodded at her.“Please wait for them,” he told Belle before heading back to the CEO’s office to let Tristan know.Belle nodded at him. She went to the pantry to prepare coffee for the visitors, then she took it
“Sir, the Williams are here,” John informed Frederick, who was currently resting in his room.The old man glanced at the clock on his side table. “They’re an hour early. Aren’t they too excited to become my in-laws?” both men chuckled.John helped Frederick out of bed, while a maid helped him dress up. A few minutes later, they are on their way to the living room to welcome the guests.Vernice, Lawrence, and Esme stood up altogether as soon as they saw the old De Clarion. Vernice even kissed Frederick’s hand before rejoining her parents on the couch.“How are you?” he asked the young woman in front of her.Vernice paled a bit after hearing his question. She knows there’s something else he wants to ask, he was just not being frank with her.“I’m fine, Sir. I’m really sorry about what happened in the past. I got scared after Tristan called me and I acted rashly,” she explained.Frederick nodded and Lawrence let out a sigh. He was actually hoping that the old De Clarion would look past w
Meanwhile, at the CEO’s office, Joyce is still crying. No matter how Tristan tells her that the marriage will only last for a year or two, she won’t stop.For her, just the thought of Tristan marrying someone else, other than her, already breaks her. She can’t bear it, even if it’s just for show.Joyce isn’t from a rich family. Her mother was a maid from one of the affluent families living near the De Clarion Villa, which is how she and Tristan met.They would play almost every day before Tristan was hospitalized and even after that. She would even stay overnight at the villa sometimes.Her mother’s employers were generous enough to send her to school. Because of this, she was able to study at the same high school as Tristan.The two got separated when Tristan moved to Shaston for college. When he came back, they finally got a chance to be in a relationship.However, since he is a womanizer, their relationship has been on and off. Their recent breakup was fourteen months ago, the long
“Go to Zarks’,” Tristan instructed his assistant when he entered the car.When they arrived at the restaurant, they were welcomed by a waiter and were directed to a table for two. However, instead of following the waiter, Tristan went the other way.Jacob looked ahead of them to see where they were going. After a couple more steps, he saw Eric. ‘How did he even know they were here? He’s such a stalker!‘ Jacob thought of his boss.“Hey! Who are you with?” Eric asked as soon as he saw Tristan. Belle, on the other hand, was surprised to see her boss. She too turned her head when Tristan pointed at Jacob.“Can we join you?” the young De Clarion asked.Eric glanced at Belle but she wasn’t looking at him, she was just frowning at her plate. To not keep Tristan from waiting, Eric nodded in response to his question.Tristan was quick to sit down after Eric agreed. Jacob, on the other hand, was hesitant as he found it awkward.After placing their orders, Tristan started conversing with Eric. H
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 t
When Tristan and Jacob arrived at the hospital, Belle’s attending physician told them that the woman had been moved to a hospital in Dale. This was the request of the patient, according to him.Upon hearing that, Tristan instructed Jacob to call the company’s pilot and prepare the private jet. They have to reach Dale as soon as possible.Fortunately, they didn’t take that long to reach the hospital where Belle’s confined. Jacob did the honor of approaching the nurse’s station to ask where the woman’s room was.When Tristan found out that Belle was staying in a ward, he ordered Jacob to move her to a private room. And there he spent all his time taking care of her.“What happened to her?” Lydia asked.Tristan was a bit startled as he didn’t hear anyone opening the door. He stopped wiping Belle’s arm and placed the towel back in the basin.He sat on the chair next to Belle’s bed, and let out a sigh, before facing Belle’s adopted parents. “I’m really sorry about this,” he started.The yo
Tristan dropped Belle off at her company. She was about to enter after greeting the guard when someone called her. She immediately turned around and, to her horror, it was Esme and she was holding a gun.“Finally, we’ve met! I’ve been trying to see you for days!” Esme sneered.“Put the gun down Madam!” the guard shouted, walking over in front of Belle to protect her.However, instead of following the guard’s order, she shoots him. The guard immediately dropped right in front of Belle and it freaked her out.“What are you doing?” she screamed, but Esme just smiled at her. The crazy woman gestured for her to go in and Belle quickly followed.When they reached her office, Esme locked the door and pushed Belle to her table. “I still can’t believe that you’re alive…” she whispered.Belle wanted to say something but no voice would come out of her. She’s been inhaling and exhaling since they got in, but it won’t calm her nerves.Esme made her sit on her swivel chair, while she was pacing bac
It was already bright and shiny when the police finished their investigation. Belle feels like her head is not attached to her neck. Everyone else looked like they were floating."According to the investigation, the guard said that a woman in her late 40s entered the village saying she was a visitor to Luisa Villa," the investigator stated.“Why did he let her in? He didn’t even ask for identification?” Frederick asked irritatedly.“Actually Mr. De Clarion, he did, but what’s weird is that he received a call from someone claiming that the woman should be allowed in. The person who called introduced himself as the butler of the family, John.”Frederick looked at John and so was the rest of the people in the living room. The man raised both hands and spoke, “I have nothing to do with that call.”The police nodded at him, “We believe that Sir, we checked your background and we found out that you’ve been serving the De Clarions for almost four decades already. In addition, you do not have
The past days and weeks have been peaceful for everyone. Joyce was locked up and there was no news about Esme either.Seeing that it’s safe to go back to work, Belle and Tristan decide to resume their posts, Him as CEO of De Clarion Empire and her as CEO of Sweet Sue.All is well for them or that was what they thought.Little did they know, someone was watching all their moves. Someone was hoping to take revenge on them, all of them.A week after Belle came back to the company, she received a package with a dead rat inside. It also came with a note that says ‘You’re next.’Instead of taking it seriously, she decided to just have it thrown away. She also ordered the guard not to receive any packages, unless he knew who they came from.After one more week and three more packages with warning notes, it stopped. To not cause any worry, Belle decided not to tell Tristan about it.However, on her way home one night, as soon as she turned left to the next street, she saw one of the homes in
Everyone was surprised to see Lawrence Williams. No one expected him to show up at the De Clarion Villa.“Dad!” Belle exclaimed before rushing to her father. “How are you?”Ignoring his daughter, Lawrence turned to Frederick first. “I apologize for coming without notice. I just wanted to check on my daughter,” he explained.“That’s not a problem,” the old De Clarion responded. “Please sit down.”As soon as they had settled down, Lawrence turned to his daughter. “What were you saying earlier? What did Esme do last night?”Belle, Tristan, and Jacob repeated the story for Lawrence to hear. After learning everything, the man started bawling and no one stopped him.Everyone in the living room let him pour out his emotions. They understood what he was going through, they understood his pain.When Lawrence calmed down, he apologized again for the scene he had just caused. Then again, he was forgiven right away.“I don’t understand why she keeps doing things she’s not supposed to do. I try my
As the news was about to start, Lawrence grabbed a plate and placed some food there. He leaned back and started eating, while the maid placed his coffee on the end table.A female newscaster was then shown on the screen and behind her was a villa with a beautiful landscape. Lawrence can’t help but be impressed.‘News Flash! Just this morning, a cleaner called the police station to report a murder case. According to the informant, she arrived at this villa as part of her daily schedule. She has the key and has access to the main door and all the other rooms. As she was used to no one being home early in the morning, she proceeded to open the master’s bedroom and was horrified by what she saw.On the bed, a man was lying down, looking wasted, and next to her was a woman bathing in her blood. According to the police, the woman sustained 18 stab wounds on her neck, chest, and stomach. The man with her was taken to police custody for further investigation.The police cannot give any inform
Belle nervously opened the door to the villa. She was quietly praying that when she got home, Tristan would be there waiting for her.When she got in, it was only Frederick and John talking in the living room. Still hopeful, she quickened her pace and sat next to the old man.“Is Tristan home? What about Jacob?”The old De Clarion exchanged looks with the butler. “They’re not here, what happened?” John asked, worried and confused.Belle started narrating what happened. Fiddling with her fingers, she couldn’t stop worrying although John had already told her that he was coming with her to look for them.Meanwhile, outside the villa gifted to Vernice, Esme’s car was parked in a dark spot. Waiting for who knows who, she took out her phone and started dialing.“Where are you?”“We’re on our way. We got the girl.”A smile broke on Esme’s face, she was already feeling triumphant.Minutes later, a car parked next to Esme’s car. “Go right in. Tristan’s already there. CCTVs are everywhere in th
Days passed and Thursday arrived. Belle’s going to meet Vernice at Eden. She was nervous initially, but after she told Tristan about it the last time they met, he assured her that he'd be there too and that dissipated her worries.When the clock strikes 6 in the evening, Belle starts preparing. Since it was just a casual meet-up, she decided to dress casually as well.After taking a shower, she dried her hair and applied a thin layer of face powder on her face. Then she grabbed a red cardigan, black jeans, and a red slip-on. She just tied her hair in a high ponytail and set off.Belle arrived past 7 and the bar was already packed. As soon as she stepped in, she looked up to check the VIP room that was assigned to Tristan. She secretly smiled and sighed in relief when she saw that the lights were on.After confirming Tristan’s presence, she proceeds to walk in, looking around. She then saw Vernice waving at her, so she approached her table and sat in front of her.“I thought you were n