When Tristan woke up, the first person he saw was Jacob. “What happened?” he asked, trying to massage the throbbing pain in his head.“You and Belle were drugged,” Jacob informed him.“What are you talking about?” he asked, trying to lift himself from the bed.“I received a call last night, a staff member from this hotel told me that you checked in with your secretary. She said you’re both drunk and were carried to the VIP suite. I came over immediately. I knew something was wrong. You don’t drink to the point that someone needs to carry you,” Jacob narrated.Tristan looked around after hearing the word ‘secretary’, but no matter where he turns his eyes, he couldn’t see Belle.“I took her to the other room,” Jacob informed him, as he noticed that his boss was looking for the woman he was supposed to be with. Tristan furrowed his brows at him, “You were starting to take your clothes off last night with Belle lying next to you. Who knows what could have happened if I left her with you?
Days after the incident, Jacob received a call from his father, John. He was told that the old De Clarion wanted to see Tristan.He was also asked to bring with them a copy of Tristan’s marriage license. Jacob informed Tristan, who just nodded at him in understanding.They left an hour before lunchtime to drop by the City Hall and get their copy, before driving to the villa. Tristan plopped down on the couch when they got there.“What do you need it for?” Tristan asked his grandfather, handing the old man an envelope.“I need it to transfer some properties under your name,” he then sipped on his tea.John placed a couple of documents on the table. As Jacob arranged them for Frederick, he also opened the envelope to take out the copy of the marriage license.Placing it right in front of the old man, Frederick glanced at the license and did a double-take. He leaned closer to look at it, but he wasn’t content.He picked it from the table and looked at it closely as if checking its conten
After what happened between her and Tristan, Belle tried her best to get in touch with Lawrence. It took her a few more days to find out that he was already back from Dale.With the help of Jacob, Belle managed to secure an appointment with Lawrence at Williams Corporation. As soon as she gave her name to the front desk, she was led to the elevator up to the CEO’s office.“What can I do for you, Miss Roberts?” Lawrence asked as soon as he saw her walk into his office. “Have a seat,” smiling at Belle, he pointed toward the couch.As she sat down, she placed a copy of the marriage license she got from Jacob on the table. Lawrence took it and his eyes widened immediately.“Who submitted Tristan and Vernice’s marriage license to the City Hall?”Lawrence put the paper down and leaned on the backrest. “It was Esme,” he answered truthfully.“As you can see, Mr. Williams, the name signed on that license was mine and I must admit, that it is my handwriting too. This is a copy of the original l
“He’s already sure about divorcing Belle?” Frederick asked for the third time. He still can’t believe that his grandson was stupid enough to let go of someone like Belle. He can’t believe he would rather go with a woman who doesn’t know anything but shop and travel at the expense of his own money than someone who can actually work for herself.Jacob nodded, he was also sad about his boss’ decision, but just like the old De Clarion, he couldn’t do anything about it either.Frederick’s frown deepened, he let out an exasperated sigh, took the paper from the table, and put it back again.He’s feeling uneasy from all of these. He still can’t think of what Tristan and Joyce will become once they get married. ‘I doubt she even knows how to cook’ he mumbled to himself.“Call Belle, ask her to visit me here…” Frederick instructed Jacob, who immediately stood up. Before he could take another step, the old De Clarion cleared his throat, “tell her to bring me some mango cake.”Jacob turned around
After dropping by the City Hall to submit the documents, Jacob went straight to the hospital. “Sshh…” as soon as he stepped into Joyce’s room, Tristan glared at him.Looking around, he noticed Joyce sleeping on her hospital bed, while Tristan was sitting on the chair next to it, holding her hand. ‘How sweet! I wish it was Belle instead,’ he muttered.Jacob rooted for Belle, he wanted her to be his boss and friend’s future partner. Unfortunately, things turned out unexpectedly and Tristan had already made his choice. He could only feel sad for the love team he was cheering for.Tristan slowly removed Joyce’s hand from his so as not to wake her up. He then walked towards the couch, not far from Joyce’s bed. Jacob immediately sat down next to him to give him a report.“I visited your grandfather, he asked me to tell her to visit him. Maybe whatever it is he has for Belle, he wants to give it personally.” Tristan nodded before gesturing for him to proceed. “I’ve also submitted the divorce
“Hey Alfred, I know it’s late, but can you still come to the office?” Lawrence asked his lawyer.The person at the other end of the call immediately agreed. Minutes later, he arrived at Williams Corporation, still confused as to what he was calling him for, this late in the evening.“Did something happen?” Alfred Cooper asked as soon as he sat down.“I want to rewrite my will.”The lawyer immediately lifted his head, brows furrowed at Lawrence. “Sure, we can do that,” he told him, still wondering as to what happened.Lawrence reached out into his pocket and handed Alfred a paper. Upon looking at it, Alfred immediately understood the reason why Lawrence suddenly wanted to rewrite his will.“She’s not dead?” he asked, brows knitted.Goosebumps crept all over him as he read what was written on the paper. No matter how he looks at it, he still can’t believe that Yssabelle is still alive.Lawrence and Alfred have been friends since college. He was aware of everything that had happened to L
After leaving the De Clarion Villa, Belle visits her new house as it’s not far from there. When she got in, she immediately looked at how she should have it set up, what furniture she needed, and all that.From there, she went straight to the mall, up to the floor where the furniture section is. Using the card Tristan gave her, she purchased everything she needed.She was told that it would all be delivered to her new house the next day. All she could do for now was wait for everything to arrive.As there was only an hour left before her set meeting with Lawrence, she went straight to the Williams Villa from the mall. She was already feeling anxious about this dinner meeting.While on her way, she kept thinking about how else she should spend her money. However, no matter how hard she tried to squeeze her brain, she can’t come up with anything.Looking out her car’s window, she realized that she had already been in front of the villa for several minutes. As her thoughts were somewhere
“How is this happening?” Vernice asked Esme as soon as they stepped inside her bedroom.“Shh! Your father might hear you,” she scolded her daughter for being careless with her actions. “You need to pretend you’re fine with everything while I come up with a plan.”“From what I heard, she has already received two billion dollars from the De Clarions alone. Now she’s getting seventy-five percent of what’s supposed to be ours. Isn’t she being too lucky?!” Vernice was furious.Esme went out of her daughter’s bedroom and headed to their own. She opened her dresser and took something from her wallet before coming back to Vernice’s room.“Take this,” handing her daughter a bank card. “This has five hundred million, take it to Hans and make sure to work for your company in the meantime. We can’t do anything at the moment or your father will get suspicious. Let’s take a break for now.”Vernice snatched the card from Esme, “What are you planning to do?” she asked. She’s aware of how vicious her
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