Tristan’s POV
The candle flickered between us on the table of the restaurant, the shadows dancing on Elona’s cheekbones. She looked beautiful tonight, effortlessly so. Her hair fell in soft waves, and the black dress she wore only made her eyes stand out more. Her fingers toyed with the edge of her wine glass, her lips curved in a subtle, content smile. But across the table, I felt like I was failing to hold it all together. She didn’t notice at first. I was good at hiding my thoughts...too good. But tonight, it all sat in my chest like concrete.
“I heard back from my attorney today,” I finally said, pushing my steak around my plate like a man who had suddenly forgotten how to eat. “About Estelle. Apparently... she amended the Will before she died.”
Elona looked up from her plate, her brows gently furrowed. “I see.” She nodded.
I leaned back in the chair, exhaling heavily. “She amended the Will with a different lawyer, not the firm we always used and not the one Estelle and I built our estate plans with. She went behind my back.” Just thinking about that hurt me.
Elona didn’t flinch. She sat upright, being attentive. “So Camille will be living with us.” She stated.
“Yes. She left Camille something more permanent,” I said. “Her lawyer filed the paperwork before Estelle died. He held onto it all this time, but my lawyer is still on this case.”
Elona blinked slowly, absorbing it all. “Maybe... she wanted to make sure Camille would be safe. You know how close they were,” She said.
“I know,” I said, the words dry and bitter in my throat. “They were practically sisters. Estelle looked after Camille like she was blood. I just...” I dropped my fork. “I wish she told me. That’s all.”
“I get that,” she said gently. “I’m okay with Camille living with us, Tristan. She doesn’t bother me. It’s a big house. I’m not threatened.” She gave me an encouraging smile.
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” I muttered, rubbing a hand through my hair. “It’s about what Estelle felt like she couldn’t trust me with.” That was like a punch to my gut.
She reached for my hand across the table. Her hand was warm. “Maybe she just... didn’t want to burden you more with Camille.”
I nodded, but my jaw tightened as she pulled her hand away from mine. My eyes kept drifting to the window, it was raining softly outside. The city lights blurred against the glass, but my mind was still tangled with Grace, VFS, the lawsuit waiting to explode.
The waiter appeared, breaking me from my thoughts, and he took our plates. I hardly ate my steak. “I can put this in a takeaway bag for you,” he offered. I only nodded with a small smile. “Would you like anything else?” he asked. I looked over at Elona. She was smiling, shifting comfortably in the chair.
“Two chocolate cakes, please,” I broke my gaze from Elona to look at the waiter.
“Coming up, Sir,” he walked off with our plates.
I watched Elona across from me. I took in her beauty and engrained her into my mind. “You’re beautiful,” I said, holding my gaze intensely on her.
Her cheeks grew pink under my gaze as she smiled shyly and beautifully. “Thank you. I guess that’s why I’m a model, right?” she asked.
I shrugged, “Everyone else gets to stare at your beauty and perfect body while they can’t have you... I have you.”
The waiter disturbed the moment, breaking my gaze from her yet again. He placed our chocolate cakes in front of us before he left our table. I cut a piece of chocolate cake and tried to distract myself. It tasted like cardboard tonight. Chocolate cake was supposed to be mine and Elona’s favorite, which we hadn’t had in a long time.
Elona took a bite of hers and then set the fork down. “What’s wrong? I mean, really.”
I hesitated, then sighed. “Cris wants to meet up tomorrow. She found something in Estelle’s files. She said it’s important, so we plan to meet up tomorrow and talk in person.”
Elona perked up. “That’s good, though, right? You two talking again?”
“I hope so,” I muttered. “I want my only daughter back. I hope that this meet up...will change things. Things have changed since you came into the picture as more than her best friend.”
I caught the flicker in her eyes...the pain, but I added quickly, “I wouldn’t change a thing. I don’t regret anything. I mean that.” I held her gaze again.
She nodded slowly, her lashes sweeping down. “How’s the cake?” she asked softly, changing the subject.
“I’ve mostly just stabbed it to death,” I said dryly.
She cracked a smile, then reached for my fork and fed me a bite of hers. “There. At least eat something sweet tonight.”
I chewed and offered her a crooked smile. “What do you want to do for your birthday next month?” I asked.
She tilted her head. “I haven’t really thought about it.”
“Well, I have,” I said. “There’s a few artists playing in town. I could book us tickets. Or a private getaway. Just you and me.”
“I would be happy with cake and music,” she said. “You know I’m not picky.”
“I know,” I smiled. “But I still want to spoil you.”
We sat in silence for a moment…almost comfortable. Then I exhaled again. The weight still hadn’t been lifted. “There’s something else,” I said.
Elona’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What?”
“It’s Grace.” The name changed her expression instantly. Her spine straightened and her shoulders tensed.
I took a deep breath. “There will be a court case about me confronting her and...it doesn’t look good for me.”
She stared at me. “I told you not to do anything...not to confront her and...” she shook her head in disbelief. “I wish you had listened to me from the beginning.”
“I know, but I had to do something. I’m sorry. You might be dragged into this too.” I let out a shaky breath.
Elona’s chair scraped suddenly. “Fuck,” she muttered under breath, before she stood up, shaking her head.
“Since when are you cursing like that?” I asked with a scoff.
She glared at me, “I learn from the best,” she said, clearly upset with me before she turned to walk away.
“Wait...Elona...” I called out. I didn’t want to draw more attention to us. I took my wallet out of my pocket and placed the money on the table for our meals, and then I stood up, going after her.
She was standing by my car, waiting for me. She turned away, breathing hard. It was still raining softly. I unlocked the car with my remote, and we got inside the car. I was going to wait until she soaked all this in to elaborate further about this case.