"Hi, It’s been a while, Bella." Tristan’s enchanting voice came from the other end. Causing Bella to hold her cell phone tightly. "How are you?"
"What do you want?" She said coldly.
Tristan’s smile slowly turned wry when he heard her cold response. "Can we meet? There’s something I need to talk to you..."
Bella didn’t say anything.
"I know about our son. We need to talk about him, Bella," he said calmly, though his heart felt hardened as he waited for her answer.
Bella was shocked to hear his words. Countless questions now fill her mind: How could he know about Dax? Did Grandpa Sinclair tell him?
Despite her shock, Bella couldn’t find the words to respond. She just stood where she was while holding her cell phone tightly.
"Please give me a time and place. I’ll come to you," he said patiently. "If you need more time, just let me know when you’re willing to meet."
"I can’t right now. I have so much to do. I’ll let you know later," Bella said, ending the call. She could feel her knees weakening after she hung up the phone.
After speaking with Tristan, she didn’t immediately enter the house. Instead, she tried to calm her upset heart and mind first. Bella didn’t want her grandpa and Dax to see her gloomy expression now and worry about her, especially Dax.
Later, she finally walked inside the house.
She saw Grandpa and Dax still sitting in the living room as if they were waiting for her.
Trying to hide her anxiety about meeting Tristan behind her warm smile, she joined them in the seating area.
"Dax, do you like this house?" Bella asked in a cheerful tone as she sat next to Dax. Her smile grew wider as she watched him munching his chocolate cake, his eyes blinking at her.
"M-Mom—" Dax couldn’t finish his words, his mouth still full of cake.
"Ugh, sorry baby..." Bella chuckled, finding him adorable. "You can finish your cake first, then talk..." She gently ruffled his smooth black hair.
After Dax finished his cake and drank his milk, he finally responded to Bella, "Yes, Mommy. This house is huge, and the backyard is also spacious. There’s a swimming pool there too. And, look... Look... at the sea view.
It’s wonderful. I want to go there, mommy."
Bella felt emotional seeing her son so happy. She stared at Dax for a while, mesmerized by his cuteness. Just looking at him was enough to calm her mind, and for a brief moment, she forgot about Tristan.
"Mommy, glad you like this place. We can go to the beach later. But for now, let’s check our room upstairs..." She said and excused herself to her grandpa.
Bella already knew from her grandpa that she would occupy the entire second floor while he would stay on the first floor.
...
After accompanying Dax to his new room and helping him settle, Bella finally had time to settle into her own room.
When she entered, Bella was surprised to see Noora still there, unpacking her suitcase.
She smiled at Noora before answering, "No. I’m fine. Nothing bothers me. Aunty, you can take a rest, too. I will take care of everything here."
Noora didn’t leave the room right away because she knew Bella was hiding something. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
"Miss, I have known you since you were a child, and I can see you are not telling the truth now..."
"Oh, please, Noora..." Bella chuckled, unable to hide anything from her. She walked to the sofa and gestured for Noora to join her.
Bella took a deep breath before saying, "You are so right. Something troubles me now."
Noora started to worry, hearing the gloomy tone in Bella’s voice.
She still remembered Bella’s vulnerable side when they moved to Sweden. She recalled the most challenging part of moving to a foreign country — the first and second years were tough without any friends or family there, unable to contact anyone outside. Only in the third year did Bella begin to improve and enjoy her life there. She started to open up to her friends and contact her grandpa again.
However, Noora sensed that since returning to their home country, Bella had started to show signs of uneasiness and worry again through her gaze.
Several times, Noora had wanted to ask, but they never had much alone time as Dax was always around.
Today, however, Noora couldn’t hold it anymore. She had to ask, fearing Bella might keep it to herself, which wouldn’t be good for her mental health.
"You can share with me. Maybe it will lessen your worry," Noora said sincerely.
"Tristan asked to meet…"

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