Destiny of the Substitute Bride
51. Truths.

Tristan could not hide his surprise, when he found a series of neatly arranged photos in an old photo album.

There are three photo albums containing portraits of a beautiful baby girl adopted by the Gladwin family. The photos are neatly arranged according to the growth period of the baby.

Tristan opened the photo albums one by one and looked at them slowly. At first, the man could not recognize the photos in the previous two albums, until suddenly, when opening one last album, Tristan suddenly brushed.

How not, there are clearly displayed some photos of Bella as a child. The same photo he had seen on the wall of the Werner family home. Moreover, the name given by the Gladwin family is exactly the same as the name Bella. The difference is only in their surnames.

To justify his belief, Tristan asked where the child was.

"Nobody approved of Arabella's presence in this family. Because, they have absolute rules about the original descendants of the family heir. So, after Mr. Nicholas and Mrs Donna died, I was forced to leave the poor girl in an orphanage." Tearing up, Elizabeth said what she had known.

"It took me a long time to really get to meet Arabella. However, when I got there, Arabella was adopted by a new family, and from what I know, the family was a good friend of Mr. Nicholas."

Hearing all Elizabeth's explanations, Tristan can no longer dismiss the fact that Bella is indeed Harold and Zara's real daughter.

In that instant, Tristan called Noah, after leaving Elizabeth. Not to forget, the man asked for some photos of Bella as a baby and promised to return them again.

...**********...

Noah wakes up in a hospital bed. The man exhaled, when he realized he was unconscious.

Assisted by Tristan who had just arrived at the hospital, Harold immediately approached the son. "Noah, are you okay?" ask Harold to worry.

Noah turned to his father and nodded. The man also tried to get up from his position.

Realizing Tristan's presence, Noah's memory returns to the news of Bella. Noah looked at Tristan with a hard-to-read look.

Unbeknownst to Harold, Tristan shook his head once.

Years of knowing Tristan, Noah knew very well some of the man's body gestures, including this one.

Tristan has certainly not said anything to Harold about Bella's truth. His best friend would have wanted Noah to tell his father all by himself.

The problem is, can Noah see Harold's reaction? What if the middle-aged man suddenly turned to hate him, knowing that Noah had always been hostile towards Bella?

Harold never really judged himself, despite knowing he never liked Bella. However, after learning that Bella is his daughter, anything Harold can do.

Fear suddenly shackled Noah. For a moment the man acted like a lowly peng3cvt.

"Pa," called Noah in a slightly quivering tone.

"Yes, Son. Is there something you need? Let Papa call the nurse. You're getting enough rest, aren't you? Your body is not in good enough shape."

Hearing the affectionate words that came from Harold's mouth, Noah's eyes suddenly wet. Her heart aches at the thought of how compassionate Harold has been, whereas Bella has had to experience the opposite during her dozen years of living with them.

"There's something I want to say." A moment after saying so, a drop of tears flowed down Noah's cheeks.