Broken Friendship

"Tristan…"

His body stiffened after hearing that soft familiar voice of the woman he loved. The person who followed him was Hannah.

Tristan immediately turned around to face her, he almost tripped on his ankle because of his sudden movement.

"H-Hannah?" Tristan said exasperatedly, the disbelief could be seen in his face.

"W-What are you doing here?" Tristan asked her, his voice was quite shaky because of his nervousness.

Hannah giggled upon noticing his uneasiness.

"I should be the one asking you that. Why are you here? Alone? Everyone is enjoying the night. Can you hear it?"

They could hear the live music coming from the main hall accompanied by people's laughter. Dancing was one of the highlights of their family dinners. Elders loved to dance the Cha Cha, Ballroom, and Waltz together with their loving partners.

This was a source of entertainment for them. The elders were also using this opportunity to teach the younger generations these different dance steps.

Tristan shook his head with his ugly expression as he imagined what was happening inside right now. He was not fond of dancing.

Hannah giggled once again. Then she moved closer to Tristan. The balcony was well lighted. In front of them, there was a beautiful landscape of flower gardens.

His late grandmother was very fond of gardening. She loved plants and flowers, that's why grandpa Lu made sure that this garden was well taken care of.

Tristan finally calmed down a little bit. He also moved his gaze to the flower garden. This place also held an important part in his heart. He could still remember the times when he and Hannah were still young. They often played around this garden.

He would always pick his grandma's favorite flower giving it to Hannah. Since then, Hannah began to like the flower tulips. Later on, it also became her favorite flower.

Hannah and Tristan were just standing side by side, silently reminiscing their childhood memories together. They were both very happy at that time. And Andrew was not yet around.

But everything had changed the moment he arrived in their life. Tristan found a rival for Hannah's attention. At first, the three of them became friends as in real friends.

Tristan and Andrew also became close brothers with the help of Hannah. Time passed by, the three of them grew up. Instead of having a stronger bond and friendship, the three of them suddenly became distant to each other.

The brothers both fell in love with her. Tristan had always loved her before Andrew. But love is not first come first serve. Their feelings for Hannah, that's the main cause of breaking their beautiful friendship and even the brother's bond.

The competition between Andrew and Tristan intensified as time went by. Even the Davis Family and their other friends couldn't help but compare the two of them.

Who is more handsome, Andrew or Tristan?

Who is more intelligent? Who is more talented?

They both had different strengths and weaknesses. They had different and unique ways of impressing someone. It was fifty-fifty!

But Hannah became the deciding game that would determine who was better between the two men.

Tristan lost the moment Hannah told him that she liked Andrew.

He was lost in his train of thoughts but when Hannah spoke up, her voice pulled him back out of his deep thoughts.

"Tristan… actually… I am dying to ask you this. What happened to us? We are childhood friends, best friends. But how come we ended up being a stranger once again?" Hannah asked him softly. Her voice was filled with sadness and regret.

Tristan was taken aback by Hannah's direct confrontation. He didn't expect her to ask that question, especially now.

"I know… you are trying to avoid me for several years now. I even forget how long we haven't seen each other. Why did you do that, Tristan? Do you hate me?"

"No! Hannah, No! I don't hate you." Tristan promptly said to her.

"Then why?"

When Tristan faced her, he already saw the tears falling from the corner of her eyes. His heart felt like being squeezed at that moment. He didn't want to see her cry.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Tristan felt alarmed.

"Because I'm sad. Because I lost you and I didn't know why." Hannah said as she began to sob.

Tristan was dumbfounded. Never he imagined that Hannah would be hurt like this because of what he did… because he chose to avoid her and distance himself away from her.

Seeing her like this, now he wondered if he made a wrong decision before.

"Please… tell me, Tristan… I deserve to know the reason why." Hannah demanded while tugging the sleeves of his suit.

Tristan looked away. He couldn't bear to see her crying. He was clenching his fist. He was contemplating whether to tell her about his feelings for her or not.

"Because… you liked Andrew," Tristan told her truthfully.

This time, it was Hannah who was rendered speechless. She looked up, giving him a questioning gaze.

"Because… I-"

"Hannah!"

Tristan was about to tell her 'I liked you' but he was interrupted the moment they heard that voice. It was Andrew. He was looking at them with his bloodshot eyes.

Andrew didn't like the scene he was witnessing in front of him. His fiancee was in tears while holding his brother's arms tightly. There were only two of them outside. Of course, who wouldn't be mad seeing that?

Andrew immediately dashed towards Hannah and gently pulled her away from Tristan. Hannah didn't notice Andrew's chilly aura and darkened expression because her mind was still absorbing Tristan's last words.

'D@mn! What are you doing, Tristan? Are you nuts? Dummy, you are not supposed to say that? You will just make yourself more pathetic in her eyes.' Tristan scolded himself inwardly.

Andrew was still looking daggers at him. "What did you do to her? Why did you make her cry?" He asked him coldly.

Tristan merely sneered at him but didn't respond. Then he just turned around, leaving Andrew and Hannah at the balcony.

"Why is he getting mad? I didn't do anything to her. I have no obligation to explain myself to him. Tssssk. I am the one who has the right to be mad at him. Geezzz." Tristan irritatingly mumbled to himself while going back to the main hall.