Waking Up Before It's Too Late

Tristan's POV

I turned to leave and encountered a waiter carrying a tray of drinks.

I was just about to grab another glass of champagne when someone caught my hand in midair and handed me a glass of warm water.

Delilah looked at me with a reproachful expression, saying, "You're not allowed to have alcohol anymore. Have some warm water instead."

I smiled and lightly stroked her cheek in a flirtatious manner. "I'll do whatever you say, Delilah."

I heard a low gasp coming from behind me, followed by Simon's dramatic exclamation. "W-What's the meaning of this, Tristan?"

I looked over my shoulder with a scowl, finding that Simon's constant presence was becoming relentless and utterly irritating.

Willa finally showed a rare spark of emotion, her face flushed with a hint of rage. "We're not divorced yet, Tristan."

"It'll happen soon if you're willing to sign the divorce agreement," I stated flatly, having absolutely no patience left to deal with either of them.

I was just about to take Delilah by the arm and leave when Simon blocked my path.

He wheeled over with two glasses of champagne, looking entirely insincere as he apologized. "I'm sorry for acting so willfully earlier, Tristan. I'd like to offer you this toast as an apology.

"Also, to show my sincerity, Jensen Group is willing to concede another 5% on the resort project."

Willa, standing nearby, also took the rare step of offering a truce and said, "It was wrong of me to humiliate you in public, Tristan. I'll agree to a 70-30 profit split on the previous project if you forgive Simon. I'll take 30, while you take 70."

I sneered inwardly at their offers. I weighed the situation briefly and chose not to let personal feelings get in the way of profit.

I was going to divorce Willa anyway, so leaving without taking what I could would only mean losing out.

Delilah held down my hand, whispering a reminder, "You haven't recovered from your injuries yet, so you shouldn't drink for this bit of money—"

I couldn't help but lift my brow slightly, unable to hide my surprise at Delilah's viewpoint. "Is 200 million dollars considered a bit of money to you?"

I took a courtesy sip before Delilah could even finish her sentence, noting an unusual bitter taste in the champagne.

I was just about to speak when a massive coughing fit seized me, and my body began to shake uncontrollably.

I groaned in pain. Immediately after, bright red blood actually seeped out from between my fingers, dripping to the floor and creating a startling scene.

In that instant, everyone looked at me in shock—even Simon, who had offered me the glass, was scared out of his wits.

"How could this happen?" Willa sounded completely stunned. She instinctively reached out to support my limp body as it slumped toward the floor.

Delilah, however, beat her to it and caught me. She no longer had that carefree smile on her face as she bellowed, "Hurry up and call for an ambulance!"

I was in so much pain that I was past the point of being able to say anything and could only huddle against Delilah as fresh blood flowed continuously from my mouth and stained her dress.

I lost all sense of awareness, succumbing to a deep state of unconsciousness.

…

Willa's POV

In the hallway outside the ER, Delilah moved like a raging beast as she seized me by the collar and slammed me hard against the cold wall with a muffled thud.

She slapped me and bellowed, "What the fuck did you actually do to Tristan, Willa? What did you put in that drink?

"Do you have any idea that he almost died not long ago? How could you target someone who is still recovering from a previous injury?"

My head snapped to the side from the slap, blood dripping from the corner of my mouth.

I was more shaken and frantic than ever before as I yelled, "You'd better let go of me this instant! Simon was the one who prepared those drinks! I—hold on.

"What are you talking about? What injuries is he still dealing with?"

Delilah slapped me again, snarling through gritted teeth, "You're actually acting all innocent here, huh? Tristan was involved in a high-speed collision that sent his car flipping off the highway when you brought Simon home!

"I checked his call logs and saw that he actually called you 15 times, looking for help! You actually ignored every single one of them, Willa!"

She pointed toward the firmly closed ER doors, her voice trembling with despair while saying, "Did you know that because he lost too much blood and wasn't treated in time, they issued three critical condition notices?

"His heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys were all ruptured and damaged, so surviving was a miracle in itself! How could you possibly target him after all that, Willa?"

My pupils constricted sharply as my vision blurred. I felt my blood run cold as I stammered, "W-What car accident? What do you mean by critical condition? W-What are you talking about?"