Chapter 69

Noah and Zoe walked back to Winnie. A doctor informed them that Tristan’s condition was partially stable now but he wasn’t completely out of danger. Winnie got food for the three of them and by evening,Noah talked both ladies into going home to rest. Though,Zoe was unwilling to leave,Noah begged her to so she had to go home. That night,Noah slept on couch in the ward.He wanted to keep an eye on Tristan but exhaustion overtook him and he fell asleep. Noah woke up to the sound of a voice.He quickly said up to see Tristan murmuring in his sleep. Tristan looked so distressed in his unconscious state.Noah bent down and gently held his hand,trying to comfort him. He could vaguely hear Tristan calling Cora’s name. He sighed,wishing Tristan hadn’t been so mean to Cora.Why didn’t he realize his true feelings for Cora sooner. Now he was injured and still calling out to Cora in his sleep. It was heartbreaking to witness.He couldn’t ever imagine being hostile towards Zoe.He loved Zoe so much and his only wish was to make her happy. Why was Tristan so prideful? Why didn’t he open his head and heart sooner to see how beautiful love was? While Tristan returned to being motionless,Noah walked back to the couch and laid down. He hadn’t had a good rest for the past two days. As for Cora,he couldn’t hold a grudge against her if she decides not to come back.Tristan hurt her too much.He had gone too far. Noah sighed,not wanting to think about that right now.He finally fell asleep and didn’t wake up until dawn. He was awoken by a sound from the door,he sat up to see Phoebe walking into the ward. “Good morning.”She began.”I didn’t mean to wake up.You look a mess.”She commented. Noah only offered her a small smile,noting that he really needed a bath. “I brought food for everyone.”Phoebe announced. “Winnie and Zoe aren’t here.” “Oh,you can have some.”She offered and sat beside him. Wanting to be polite,he nodded and ate a little,he didn’t have much of an appetite. Phoebe volunteered to look after Tristan while Noah goes home to freshen up.Noah only agreed to that because Winnie was on her way to the hospital. He felt too tired to even drive so he had his assistant to come pick him up. As soon as he got into the back seat of his car,he fell asleep immediately. When they got to his house,the assistant didn’t have the heart to wake him up so he just let Noah sleep until he woke up on his own,eventually. Noah hadn’t gone to the company,recently.Fortunately,his father was in charge so he didn’t need to worry much. The first thing Noah did at home was to have a shower.After taking a shower,he felt much better.Life was just like this. Sometimes enjoyable,something exhausting. He fell asleep again trying to get as much rest as possible. *************************** *CORA I stared at the food on the table.I had ordered my favorite French dinner but it didn’t feel like my favorite anymore. Ever since I heard about Tristan’s accident,my interest in everything has reduced,drastically.I didn’t feel like going anywhere. And now,I didn’t feel like eating.I really wanted to be cruel and not give a fuck about his situation.The coin I had tossed had made it clear that I shouldn’t go back.I had tried to tell myself countlessly that it meant nothing to me if he lives or dies. But the sadness in my heart surged out like a burst flood and I couldn’t stop it. I had loved him,deeply,recklessly and completely.It was a kind of love that couldn’t be easily forgotten. If forgetting was to become ruthless,to abandon everything and not go back,to make me forget my previous love,then I would rather not forget it.Being heartless and ruthless was not something I could do. I sighed,heavily. Or was this a sign? Maybe I shouldn’t settle down in Paris? Maybe I should go back,continue helping my dad at the company and then possibly rebuild my life again. After all,I couldn’t stay running forever when I did nothing wrong. And I couldn’t let down Zoe,Noah and Winnie.They just needed me to come see him,right? I could stop by the hospital just once. Once just be enough. I decided to go back,to go back home and continue my life. No matter how he had treated me in the past,I would just go see him once at the hospital. After that,I do not wish to see him again.Even if we meet coincidentally,I wanted us to pretend we don’t know each other. The thought of going back made me feel unexpectedly happy.Afterall,I would be seeing my dad again and Winnie and Zoe and maybe Dylan. They were the people who were important in my life and who had done a lot for me. It didn’t take much time to pack up my belongings.I couldn’t understand the sudden excitement to go home.Maybe it was because I’ve never truly felt at home the past two months,perhaps I had wandered for too long that I had a deep sense of return now. The advantage of traveling was freedom.No one knew you and no one restricted you.You could walk around aimlessly,but because of this freedom,it would make people feel a big blank space as if I had no one to rely on. After packing up my luggage,I came by the window.Looking at the night of Paris,I couldn’t describe how I felt. But I really didn’t regret the past two months.I had enjoyed my time away from home. Looking at the orange lights in front of me,I felt inexplicably calm. Maybe I could travel again in the future.I hope that time would be like a vacation and not an escape from my reality. I thought about the day Tristan finally let me go.When Phoebe had framed me for breaking the heirloom.The hate and anger in his eyes. I quickly shook my head.I didn’t want to think about the past anymore.I didn’t want to be sad about it. I had been having the time of my life so I could forget about the past so I couldn’t afford to be sad about it. When I thought about it,I wanted it to be a lesson.A big lesson about not ever letting that repeat itself again. I was never going to let Tristan or any other man treat me like trash. The past few months has been surreal,from the beautiful places to the great food. I had a taste of everything I could lay my hands on.I had been in good moods,eating well and sleeping well.When I stood on a scale last week,I realized I had added some weight,but when I looked in the mirror,I was a little plump but still well proportioned. I looked around my apartment,now starting to feel sad about leaving. But I had to. I had to go back.