Chapter 58

Zoe blinked,rapidly at the information. “Since he’s your best pal,you must know Cora.”She drawled. Noah nodded.”She’s his ex-wife.How do you know them?” “Cora is my friend.My closest friend and the one I’ve been with this past few days because…”Zoe paused,panting hard. She had to calm her nerves.No matter how upset she was,it wasn’t in her place to talk about Cora’s pregnancy and miscarriage especially as it has now become a very sensitive topic for Cora. But she felt so mad.Personally,she felt that if Tristan hadn’t put Cora in so much mental,financial and physical stress,she wouldn’t have lost the baby! And now she was standing in front of a man who was “best pals” with someone who almost ruined her best friend. Wasn’t there a saying that birds of the same feathers flock together? What if Noah was just like Tristan? What if he ends up treating her like trash? Zoe swallowed hard as this was a bit hard to accept because she was already liking Noah. But it was better she found out early,right? At the very least,she didn’t have any strong feelings for him. Sensing her sudden change of mood,Noah probed,”Are you okay?” “I…I think we shouldn’t see each other anymore.” “Is this because of Tristan?Because I’m friends with him?” “Well,if you aren’t biased,you’d acknowledge the fact that he was a total asshole to Cora.” “I do acknowledge that fact.Hell!I told him to his face but it’s has nothing to do with me,or us.” “I am saving myself!” “You do not have to save yourself from me,Zoe.I am not Tristan.” “Noah,I have witnessed the past few months of how Tristan has treated Cora,it broke my heart and I can not imagine that happening to me.” Noah felt helpless.”I’m not Tristan.”He repeated. “You’re his best friend and since I’ve had my doubts about you now,I rather not do anything I’ll regret.” “C’mon,Zoe…” Instead of going back to her house to get her car,she hailed down a cab and got in. “Zoe.”Noah called as the cab sped off. And then,he ended up going to the club. ****************** *TRISTAN* I frowned as I saw Noah walking up to me at the wine bar. “Thought you weren’t coming.”I sneered. Noah eyed me and sat beside me. He said nothing to me and just started drinking what the bar man gave him. “I can’t help but feel you’re upset.” “I might’ve just lost my chance with a woman.” I grimaced.”Then get yourself another one.” He glared at me.”I…I was captivated by her.I still am and I…”He sighed.”You might her.Zoe,she’s Cora’s friend.” I recalled the face.”Yeah,she’s one of her friends who’s always got her back.They’re always ganging up on Phoebe.” “Ganging up on Phoebe?”Noah scoffed.”I might not I’ve been there but I know for sure that Phoebe might have started anything troublesome.” I scoffed.”When did you become some hateful of Phoebe?I thought she was your friend.” “I’m not hateful.You’re just too easy to deceive.” That was insulting.”Noah,watch your mouth.And do not transfer your anger at me for getting dumped.” “I wasn’t dumped!”He snapped.”I am going to prove to her that I am nothing like you.I have my head straight and I know how to treat a woman right!”With that,he dropped his glass and walked off. My lips parted. Did he just come here to insult me? And annoyingly enough,his insults hit a nail in my head. ********************* *CORA* Since Zoe got here this evening,I’ve noticed she’s been quite out of it. She looked sad. I know it has not been easy coming here every time to be with me even if I keep telling her I was okay,she would still come by. Even Dylan calls frequently to tell me jokes and make me laugh. Rejecting his business proposal didn’t affect our friendship,I was quite grateful for the friends I have. And even if I was going through so much,I also had to make sure they were okay. I slowly got off the bed and Zoe didn’t seem to notice,she was staring at the wall. I walked up to the couch and sat beside her. “Zoe.”I called,tapping her on the shoulder and that snapped her out of her reverie. She turned to face me.”Oh,Cora,do you need anything?” I shook my head.”What’s going on with you,Phoebe?” “Nothing…” “You can’t lie to me.” She sighed.”Remember I thought you I went on a date some time ago,well,we kept texting after that and I was starting to really like him.Not just because of the fact that he’s handsome but because I wanted to get to know him more.We haven’t been in contact much for the past week but he somehow found my house address and he came to see me.He’s called Noah.He’s Tristan’s best friend.” I shrieked.”Tristan’s best friend?Like Tristan Tristan?” “Yeah,Tristan Tristan.”Zoe laughed.”Your ex-husband.I found out today and I flipped.I just…I told him we shouldn’t see each other again and now,I’m starting to think I might have overreacted.I mean,I don’t know much about him but I feel he’s a good person.Do you think I overreacted?” “A little.But I can’t blame you.Knowing Tristan,anyone would think the men around him were as arrogant,selfish and evil as he is.I mean you wouldn’t want Noah crumbling your family’s business someday if you ever annoy him.” Both of us laughed at that.It wasn’t meant to be funny and that made us laugh more. “I do not know much about Noah as well.I didn’t know he was back in the country because the most I knew when I was still married to Tristan was that Noah was his best friend who had been abroad for years and they spoke occasionally on the phone.I had also seen pictures of Noah and he didn’t look gloomy like Tristan.” “I know,right?He has such a warm smile.”Zoe gushed. I smiled at her.Zoe was fond of finding lots of guys attractive but she never took them seriously,this was the first time she looked very interested in her guy,the interest was more than physical and I was happy for her. I held her hand.”I genuinely think you should get to know him.He might be Tristan’s friend but he’s not Tristan and if you find out that he might be something like Tristan,do not hesitate to leave.Don’t be like me,Zoe.Do not ignore the red flag and hope to change any man.Do not lose yourself to him so you can always stand your ground.I made that mistake once and you can see where it led me.” “Oh Cora.”Zoe cooed and hugged me.”You’ll find love again.The kind of love that is pure and true.” Tears filled my eyes.At this point,I just wanted to get better,mentally. “I think I need a trip.” She disengaged from me.”Do you want me to come with you?” I shook my head.”No.I just want to take a solo trip,to clear my head for a while.” She smiled.”Will you be alright all by yourself?” “I am not going to hurt myself,Zoe.I know I might have seem so out of it but I’m all my dad has,plus,I still want to believe that I have beautiful years ahead of me.” “You do.”She assured me.”You have so many beautiful years ahead of you.” I told my dad about going on a trip.I had wanted to scheduled it after helping him out with the business proposal but he warned me not to work at all for now.He assured me that he could handle everything, one at a time. And he also agreed to letting me go on a trip after watching my condition for another week. Zoe shot an apology text to Noah that night and she barely got any sleep for the rest of the night because he didn’t reply.