Chapter 223: Bonnie, She Can’t Affect Your Position

Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Bonnie, She Can’t Affect Your Position

"Don’t just stand there. You’ll tire out my godson!"

Shiloh Sloan pulled Vesper Grayson down into a seat and shoved a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice into her hand.

Vesper Grayson didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She took a sip of orange juice and spoke, feigning a casual tone.

"So what’s the deal? Today was the first time you two met, but it seems like you have a big problem with her."

"I don’t have a problem with her personally. It’s what she did that’s just so unbelievable."

Shiloh Sloan recounted the whole story: how Bella Thorne was swept away by a rip current, and how Justine Hughes desperately held Tristan Forrester back from going into the sea to save her.

Vesper Grayson was slightly stunned after hearing the story.

"Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"

From her spot under a distant tree, she hadn’t seen it perfectly, but she had clearly seen Justine Hughes holding on to Tristan Forrester, stopping him from going into the sea. The currents in that area were treacherous. A reckless rescue attempt would not only fail but would likely cost another life. For any rational person, the instinctive reaction would be to hold him back.

Shiloh Sloan rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. "They’re a legally married couple. She’s the ex, and she has zero sense of boundaries. Stopping a husband from saving his own wife... what are her motives? If you ask me, she’s a total white lotus."

Vesper Grayson pressed her lips together.

She wasn’t one to judge others based on appearances.

Justine Hughes and Tristan Forrester did have a past, but that was all two years ago. Back then, Justine had chosen her career over their relationship. Given her proud nature, it was unlikely she would resort to petty tricks or knowingly become the other woman.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Shiloh Sloan waved a hand in front of her face.

Vesper Grayson snapped back to reality and asked coolly, "Are you saying Miss Hughes deliberately stopped Tristan Forrester because she wanted Bella to drown?"

"Well, she’s highly suspicious."

"Then how do you explain her personally making soup and bringing it upstairs to check on her? You had some just now, didn’t you? You even said it was delicious."

Shiloh Sloan touched the tip of her nose, instantly feeling like she’d lost the moral high ground.

"She forced it on me! I only had half a small bowl..."

"But you still drank it."

Shiloh Sloan was speechless. "..."

’Accepting a person’s gifts really does soften you up.’

She had eaten Justine Hughes’s soup and was now gossiping about her behind her back. It certainly wasn’t very noble of her.

’But I’m not a noble person!!’

’I’m just calling it as I see it.’

Just as they were speaking, Elena and Zane Rivers walked over side-by-side, followed by a servant carrying a fully prepared whole lamb.

Shiloh Sloan’s eyes instantly lit up.

"Where did the lamb come from?"

"Zane had it specially delivered an hour ago, and he brought some first-aid supplies too," Elena said with a smile. "Everyone’s usually so busy, it’s rare for us all to get together. We can use Vesper’s newlywed status as an excuse to have a little celebration."

"President Rivers is so reliable! Elena, you really picked a good one."

Zane Rivers wrapped an arm around Elena, his eyes full of unrestrained amusement. "You hear that? You’d better cherish a good man like me."

Elena pushed him away in mock disgust. "Give you two compliments and you’re already getting full of yourself!"

She sat down next to Vesper Grayson and looked around.

"Where’s Jared Hawthorne?"

"In his room talking business with President Nash."

Elena nodded in understanding. "The two of them aren’t fighting, are they?"

Elena had also heard about what Noah Nash’s cousin did.

She had met the young woman before—quite cute and charming. She never would have thought that unrequited love would drive her to do something to hurt Vesper.

I heard she even got a prison sentence.

So young, with a good life ahead of her, yet she chose to cross the line with the law and courted disaster.

It’s true what they say: every pitiable person has a detestable side.

"They seemed fine, same as usual," Vesper Grayson said, then turned to Zane Rivers. "President Rivers, in the medicine you brought, is there anything for inflammation and fever?"

Zane Rivers raised an eyebrow. "We have it all. Miss Thorne fell into the sea and caught a chill. Tristan was worried, so he specifically asked me to have someone bring them."

"Bella should be awake by now. I’ll take the medicine up and check on her."

Elena stood up to follow. "I’ll go see her too."

"Wait for me, I’m coming too!" Shiloh Sloan immediately dropped what she was holding and hurried after them.

The three of them went upstairs. Just as they pushed open the bedroom door, they walked right in on Tristan Forrester holding Bella Thorne in his arms, his head lowered to kiss her.

Hearing the sound, the two people in the room looked up at the same time.

Shiloh Sloan was the quickest to react, waving her hands frantically. "Sorry, sorry! Our mistake, please continue!"

With that, she immediately and gently closed the door.

Shiloh Sloan whispered, "They’re already kissing. Looks like she’s definitely fine."

Elena and Vesper Grayson were speechless. "..."

Vesper Grayson hung the bag of medicine on the doorknob, and the three of them turned to go back downstairs.

「Inside the bedroom.」

Bella Thorne, mortified and angry, glared at Tristan Forrester with a flushed face.

"This is all your fault! Who told you to just kiss me like that!"

And of all things, someone had to walk in on them. It was utterly humiliating.

Tristan Forrester’s expression was calm. Seeing her finally show some vivid emotion, a faint, imperceptible smile actually flickered in his eyes.

"We’re a legally married couple, not having an affair. What’s there to be embarrassed about?"

Bella Thorne angrily wiped her lips and turned her head away.

"Go away! I don’t want to talk to you! Stop bothering me!"

When she thought about how he’d forced her to apologize to Justine Hughes without even trying to understand the situation, a ball of anger lodged in her chest. It clearly wasn’t her fault. It was bad enough that he didn’t feel any sympathy for her, but he even took someone else’s side. And now he was acting as if nothing had happened, trying to take advantage of her.

Bella Thorne’s heart was a mess. She couldn’t understand the man in front of her at all.

He didn’t seem to like her, yet he was always so intimate. He seemed to care about her, but then he’d turn around and defend someone else. He was hot and cold with her, leaving her constantly insecure. This intangible feeling was like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water—a beautiful but empty dream.

She watched Tristan Forrester turn and walk away. The light in her eyes instantly dimmed, and she pulled the blanket over her head.

’I told him to go, and he actually left.’

’As expected. He never really cared about me. He couldn’t even be bothered to say a single word to coax me.’

’The difference between being loved and not being loved is crystal clear.’

Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, Bella Thorne’s nose tingled, and a wave of indignation washed over her.

"Bastard..."

"Asshole..."

She cursed softly, her voice thick with nasality. She secretly swore to herself that she would never love him one-sidedly again. When she got back, she would explain everything to her grandfather and end this forced marriage.

"Who are you cursing?"

A deep, magnetic voice suddenly sounded from above her.

Bella Thorne froze.

The surroundings were silent.

She whipped the blanket off, and her red, tear-filled eyes unexpectedly met Tristan Forrester’s dark, deep gaze.

’He didn’t leave?’

Her gaze drifted downward, and only then did she notice the bag of medicine in his hand.

So he had just gone to the door to get the medicine.

Tristan Forrester leaned over and pulled away the blanket she had wrapped tightly around herself. His dark eyes were heavy, glinting with a dangerous light.

"Mrs. Forrester, I’d be very interested to know just how I’ve offended you."

Bella Thorne, both embarrassed and aggrieved, felt her eyelashes tremble. Deciding she had nothing left to lose, she let all her frustrations pour out.

"And you say you haven’t offended me! What right do you have to make me apologize to Justine Hughes? I clearly did nothing wrong, so why do you never believe me!"

Tristan Forrester sighed helplessly. "She kindly came to see you and brought you soup, but you accidentally scalded her. Asking you to apologize—isn’t that the right thing to do?"

"I didn’t ask her to come see me." Bella Thorne sniffled and said in a choked voice, "I saw everything!"

Tristan Forrester’s dark eyes narrowed slightly as he asked in a low voice, "What did you see?"

"She held you back! She deliberately stopped you from saving me!"

"She regrets it! She wants to get back with you and rekindle your old romance!"

"I’m the biggest obstacle between you and her now, so she wants me to disappear! That way, you two can get back together."

Bella Thorne blurted out all of her suspicions in one go.

"That’s just your one-sided speculation. She stopped me from saving you only because she was worried about my safety," Tristan Forrester said, his thumb stroking the wetness on her cheeks. "Whether or not to save you—the decision was mine. Do you think I’m the kind of person whose decisions can be easily swayed by others?"

Bella Thorne bit her lip and shook her head slightly.

Of course he wasn’t. He thought for himself. In the business world, he was decisive and ruthless; no one could influence his decisions.

He was calm, wise, and detached, but Justine Hughes was his first love, his ’white moonlight.’

’In the end, she was different.’

"She’s not as malicious as you think, and I’m not as weak-willed as you imagine." Tristan Forrester’s voice was low and slow. "Bella, she can’t affect your position."

Bella Thorne furrowed her brow. "Are you defending her? Do you think I’m being unreasonable?"

"Those are your words, not mine. That’s not what I meant," Tristan Forrester stated, his gaze calm.

Bella Thorne was so angry her chest felt tight again.

"Tristan Forrester, you are so infuriating!"