"I wish I could be there with you and Dax. But I won’t be able to, as I can’t cancel this business trip..." He continues.
"Oh, come on, Tristan," Bella chuckled when she heard his gloomy tone. "I find it amusing to hear you say those words. In the past, you were always on your business trips and never had time for me."
She tried to tease him so he wouldn’t feel annoyed, but it turned out that her efforts actually made Tristan even more sad.
"I feel like I need to beat my past self. I can’t believe I ignored someone as beautiful, graceful, kind, and intelligent as you, Bella..."
Her face flushed with redness after hearing such a sweet word from Tristan’s mouth.
’Geez! Did I give him the wrong signal? Why did he start flirting out of the blue?’
"Tristan, thank you so much." She sincerely said, ignoring the questions echoing in her mind.
"For what?"
Bella smiled as she gently touched her forehead, discreetly massaging it without being too obvious, and said, "I appreciate what you did to Dax and me. But I’m a bit curious, though….Why are you so kind to me? If you spoiled Dax alone, I would understand, and I wouldn’t mind. You are his father, after all. But I can read between the lines, Tristan."
"Damn! Am I that obvious and easily read, Bella? Hahaha... It’s, maybe, because I’m trying my best to show you the real me. Not someone who planned to divorce you five years ago. I hope you understand by now, Bella.
I often told you I want you to return to me as my wife. And that is the truth."
Bella’s pulse quickened as she heard his soft, sincere voice and laugh.
"Please, give me a chance. As I promised you many times, I won’t let you down this time. I won’t hurt you; no one in my family can hurt you because I will protect you from anything bad that comes from any... I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life... and that goes for Dax, too."
How could she ignore him when he expresses his feelings like this?
Bella closed her eyes when she heard him continue his confession.
"I won’t force you to accept me. But please never doubt my words, Bella. I’m different from Tristan from the past."
Silence hung in the air as Tristan waited for Bella to respond.
After a moment, she finally said, "Tristan, may I ask you..."
"Yes. Whatever you want to ask." Tristan immediately said. He evidently tensed but tried so hard to sound gentle and soft.
"Are you really not coming from the future?"
"Huh!? What do you mean? I don’t get it."
"I know it may sound silly. But I need you to hear me and read between the lines. You see, from Chinese novels I often read, a person could transmigrate into his or her body in the past to correct their past mistakes. That’s how I see you in the last several weeks. You are not the person whom I lived with five years ago. Because that person was cold and indifferent to me."
"Hahaha, I don’t exactly understand what you mean. But it has a positive vibe. And if it means you believe I’m not like you remember the last time, you are free to assume I transmigrate from my future self. Because I’m correcting my past mistakes. Hurting you so profoundly was a terrible, terrible mistake, Bella."
Bella, "...."
She was rendered speechless. And for almost a few minutes, she was silent.
"Bella? Are you still there?" Tristan asked again after he hadn’t heard her say anything.
"I’m here."
"This conversation really means something to me, Bella. For something this important, only hearing your voice is not enough. May I video call you, Bella?" Tristan asked, almost begging. Still, he was actually asking this because he wanted to see her face. He misses her so much.
"V-Video call... No! Not now, Tristan." Bella rejected it firmly. She opened her eyes wide, staring at the ceiling, too suprised to hear his request.
How can they make a video call now?
She was sure he would be on video calls until morning if they did.
"Why not?"
There’s nothing from Bella but her silence.
She didn’t want to answer him.
"I miss you, Bella. Please let me video call you. I want to see your face..."
"Sorry, Tristan. Maybe another time. I’m so tired of looking at any kind of monitor right now. Also, I’m desperate for a good shower. Let’s talk again tomorrow, okay? Good night!" Bella said without giving him a chance to continue what he was saying.
Beep!
Bella ended the call and threw her cell phone on the sofa. She immediately rushed to the bathroom to clean herself with a warm and comforting shower. The shower in Tristan’s Villa was so good. It enables Bella to meditate during the shower and calm herself down from thinking about Tristan.
After almost half an hour, Bella dried herself and wore silk pajamas. She didn’t rush to sleep; instead, she took her iPad and read some files about the next meeting.
Bella climbed into bed after turning off the light and leaving only the bedside table lamp. She sat with her back against the headboard, reading an essential file until she lost track of time. Her mind was so calm and away from thinking about Tristan that she could focus on her work.
Later,
She started to yawn several times. Her eyes were so drowsy. But not long after, her cell phone vibrated on the bedside table. When he saw Tristan’s name appear there, she frowned.
She checked the time and realized it was already 11.45 PM.
Is it too late to pick up his call?
After a few more seconds, her cell phone still rang, so she decided to pick up his phone call.
"Tristan, why did you call again? It’s almost midnight here, and I almost fell asleep."
"Bella, thank god you picked up. This is a video call, by the way..."
"WHAT!?"