Chapter 38: A Life Partner

Tristan thought he felt a familiar presence, the air he breathed in seemed to carry a familiar sweet fragrance he hadn’t been able to forget. Swiftly, his eyes turned towards the gate but there was no one there. His sharp brows pulled together in a frown.

He could have sworn he felt something just now, as If a pair of eyes were watching him from a distance, as if the presence he quietly longed for in his bed every night were somewhere near.

Had he started to grow wishful thinking?

Was it his mind playing tricks on him to create images and feelings of her around him when she wasn’t there at all?

Why couldn’t he stop thinking about that woman?

Why was she repeatedly returning into his mind like a redundant dream his subconscious didn’t want to end?

“You always think about work Tristan.” The woman clinging against his chest muttered.

A look of irritation flashed past his hazel eyes as he felt the pair of arms still hugging him tightly without letting go.

“It seems I’ve not been clear enough, do I need to reiterate it when I say I don’t want to see you in my home unannounced?” There was displeasure in his voice as he spoke.

In the past, he never had a problem if she came to his house with unfinished work, because despite work hours ending he had no problem staying awake all night to finish pending affairs from the office.

Erica was the daughter of an important collaborative investor and she handled all the work for her father, hence he dealt directly with her rather than her father however, there were lines to be drawn when it came to business. He never once mixed business with personal affairs, work remained work and his personal life remained his personal affairs to deal with.

But the news Erica just told him was going against that principle seeking to mix his personal life with his work life, something he didn’t like doing at all.

Erica seemed taken aback by his words. She had noticed a strange change in him lately…at first she had assumed that she had grown successful in her endeavors for these past few years, but it seemed wrong.

Her goals with Tristan hadn’t been to just get in his bed, she wanted something more permanent, something stable, a final relationship that would tie her to him for good.

Erica had endured the pain and jealousy of seeing him with other women, women he would never be seen with more than once. That had done something to reassure her that she still had a chance. Men liked to have their fun, but once they found their woman, it would be forever.

That was what she used to constantly tell herself. She would smile and look the other way when she saw a woman hanging around him, knowing that once it was her time, she would make sure to rule his heart.

Many said Tristan Grayson didn’t have a heart to love a woman. And the fact that he wasn’t interested in committed relationships indicated just that, but Erica believed she would be the woman to perform the impossible and win his heart. She had no doubt in her heart that she would walk down the aisle to him someday.

And that dream was about to come true, but the fact that he was still this cold to her even after hearing the news shattered her heart.

They weren’t living together like she tried to make the public believe but Erica made sure to come here often enough to leave bits and pieces for the media to carry and spin into romantic tales. Just like she always left bits and pieces of hints that would make people’s thoughts stray towards a certainty of her being in a relationship with Tristan.

Erica hadn’t seen him with a woman in a few weeks lately which was strange because he always seemed to have a woman to warm his bed, she thought that he was finally seeing her and she had felt triumphant. Of course the rumors she allowed to spread about them both, she made sure he wouldn’t hear about them, not that he had the time to listen to gossips when he was a strict workaholic.

She had come here with a triumphant news to share with him. After a lot of effort, she had finally gotten what she wanted. A marriage agreement secured between her father and the Blakewood family for her and Tristan.

He might enjoy his women, but he never once touched Erica even when she had put herself out to him and literally seduced him, because according to him, he didn’t mix business with pleasure and since they had work relations together, he wouldn’t even look at her as a woman.

Earlier when she had hugged him, she had told him of their arranged engagement, at least now he would touch her right? But he seemed shocked then genuinely repulsed by her nearness, without saying a word to her he walked past her into the house.

Erica followed him but it was as if he barely saw her behind him. The interior of the mansion looked grand, it gave one the feel of being in a modern day European palace.

He suddenly glanced at her without saying anything, then pulled out his phone to make a call.

“Hello, grandma.”

Hearing that he called his grandmother, Erica was overjoyed. The marriage had been arranged by his grandmother whom Erica had made sure to get close to and found ways to get in her favor.

“So you remember that you still have a grandmother? You brat, you have avoided the Blakewood family enough, no matter what, you’re still a Blakewood. Your grandfather and I said nothing when you abandoned the Blakewood name and chose to use your mother’s surname instead, we said nothing when you renounced your own father, but we can’t watch you live the rest of your life alone.” An older woman’s voice sounded from over the phone, it was clear she knew why he called and must have been expecting this call from him after the decision they had just made for his future. Tristan’s expression stiffened momentarily when his father was mentioned, but his expression quickly returned to normal, cool and controlled.

“Since when have you started entertaining the idea that I want to get married?” He asked his grandmother instead, ignoring everything else she said about renouncing the Blakewood name, a topic he didn’t like to discuss.

The Blakewood family had an extensive number of second generation kids born from Tristan’s uncle’s and aunts, however there was no one in the family the Blakewood matriarch and patriarch had their eyes on as a successor but Tristan, but the latter wasn’t interested which was a very frustrating situation for the old couple.

From what he knew, his grandfather was keen on that so called bride selection tradition of their family, while his grandmother wanted to have a say in every spouse her grandchildren would end up with.

“How much longer do you want to remain unmarried? You’re a successful young man, you have everything you could ever want in life, a life partner should be next on your radar. Quit fooling around with women and stick to one. That Williams girl doesn’t seem bad, we’ll make it official at your grandfather’s bride selection banquet.”

“I won’t be getting married, I’m saying this for the last time. Tell grandfather not to bother with his banquet because I won’t be showing up. If the Williams girl is so great, give her to one of my cousins.” Tristan deliberately said those words so Erica could hear him, he said them while looking straight at her, then without waiting to hear what his grandmother would say next, he hung up the call.

“Does that stand as an answer to your so called arranged marriage offer? I’m not interested.” He said to her before walking away, his expression totally emotionless even when Erica showed a look of heartbreak as tears welled up and poured down her face.

He left her with these words as he turned his back on her. “Show yourself out.”

It took a while for Erica to recover from his blatant rejection right to her face.

Did he really not like her?

She was beautiful, sexy and irresistible to men, so why did Tristan dislike her?

Erica couldn’t believe that he would be able to resist her if she went the whole way of showing him what he would be missing if he continued to reject her.

Stubbornly, she rushed up the stairs and made her way to his bedroom.

Many times she had come to his home with the excuse of wanting to talk to him about business, but she had never been in his room before. When she spotted a particular door slightly ajar, she knew it must have been the room he just entered and followed him in.

The master bedroom was a vision of luxury, themes of deep brown wood and silver decorated the interior in a majestic way, perfectly befitting the man who owned the place.

The sound of running water came from a door in the room that Erica realized must be the bathroom.

She immediately began to unbutton her shirt, by the time he would come out of the bathroom, she would make sure he wouldn’t be able to tear his eyes off her.

She would make absolute sure of it!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep