Chapter 146 Coming to Get Scolded
In June, the lab was still busy. Camilla had been working non-stop for two weeks and finally had a day off.
Early in the morning, just after feeding the fish, Alistair's call came through. "Are you up?"
"Yeah."
"Why not sleep in a bit? I remember you said you didn't need to go to the lab today and could take a day off."
"Used to it, I guess. Where's Mom?"
"In the study."
"Writing her novel again?"
"You know her, she gets her best ideas in the morning."
Camilla thought about the contract and her eyes deepened. "Dad, has Mom's editor come to her recently?"
"No, why? They usually communicate online."
"Nothing, just asking."
After ending the call, Camilla went to the kitchen to make herself breakfast.
Alistair went to the backyard to tend to his plants.
Bella sat in the study, focused on her computer, typing away. Lines of text flowed smoothly from her fingers, forming one thrilling scene after another.
Everything was peaceful and beautiful.
Little did they know, not far from their villa, outside their old house in the faculty housing area, a woman was impatiently knocking on the door.
"Is anyone there? Bella, are you in there?!" Debra, dressed in a Chanel business suit and carrying a bag, was stomping her high heels on the muddy ground, clearly irritated.
She thought this place was such a mess.
If it weren't for Bella's contract nearing its end and needing renewal, she wouldn't have come all this way!
They could have renewed the contract online, but after their last argument, Bella had blocked all her contact information.
Debra had discovered this and sneered. Over the years, they had argued many times, and Bella always ended up being the one to back down and compromise.
This time, Bella was probably really resistant to writing online novels, which was why she had been so stubborn.
But Debra was confident that after some resistance, Bella would eventually agree.
It was just taking a bit longer this time.
"Bella! I know you're in there! Open the door!" Then she continued, "This is ridiculous! I'm a guest here. We may have work-related disagreements, but how can you lack basic courtesy and respect? Bella! If you keep this up, I won't manage your books anymore!"
Debra's knocking grew more violent, eventually turning into pounding.
But even after her hand turned red, there was still no response from inside.
"What are you doing, banging on the door so early in the morning?!" Next door, Anouk came out in her pajamas, her hair a mess, clearly just woken up and full of anger.
Standing in her small yard, hands on her hips, Anouk glared at Debra through the iron fence separating their properties.
"Yeah! I'm talking to you! Coming here early in the morning to announce a death, is that why you are making a fuss? You look all dressed up, but don't you have any manners?"
Debra hadn't been scolded like this in a long time and was momentarily stunned.
Anouk continued her tirade, "You're both so annoying."
"Watch your mouth!" Debra snapped back, not one to be easily bullied.
Did she just say she was announcing a death?
"You're the one announcing a death!"
Anouk, being superstitious, was most offended by such curses. "You old hag!"
She gave Debra a once-over with a scornful look. "You don't look like a decent woman, all dressed up. Who knows how many men you slept with last night!"
Debra was stunned. She hadn't expected Anouk to be so vulgar.
"You, you!" Debra was trembling with anger. But she couldn't bring herself to curse back in the same filthy manner.
"What about me? Can't even speak properly? Your overnight fee must be discounted, fifty dollars? Seventy dollars? Surely not a hundred dollars? Are you worth that much?"
Debra's cheeks flushed with anger. "I won't argue with a shrew like you. This is absurd, unreasonable, and utterly filthy! I won't compete with you; it's unnecessary. People like you are only fit to be compared to pigs and dogs."
With that, she turned on her high heels and walked away.
"Pigs and dogs are better than you, you bitch!"
Debra stumbled, her high heel sinking into a mud puddle, ruining her expensive shoes.
Her mood was worse. What a dump Bella was living in; today was just a disaster.
As for the contract, there were still two weeks before it expired. Bella wouldn't dare not renew it.
In the past decade, the book market had undergone a major reshuffle. Physical book sales were tough, and Bella's fame had long faded. Plus, Bella had withdrawn from the online world, missing out on the latest industry news and lacking publishing resources.
Who else would want to be her editor? Who would help her publish books?
There was no need to come here. When the contract expired, Bella would come begging to renew it.
The more Debra thought about it, the more she felt coming here was a mistake. Not only did she not see Bella, but she also got cursed out by a crazy shrew.
She'd hold Bella accountable for this!
When Bella came begging, she'd make sure to give her a hard time to vent today's anger!
"Anouk, why are you cursing again? Didn't they move out?" a neighbor passing by teased.
"Maybe it's Alistair's relative, banging on the door early in the morning and waking me up."
"Alistair's relative? Shouldn't they go to the villa then? Why come here?"
Anouk rolled her eyes. "Who knows?"
"By the way, have you seen Alistair's villa? It's huge and grand, with several floors and two gardens. We visited the other day, and the flowers were beautiful!"
Anouk's expression became darker as she heard the words.
"I'm going back to sleep." Anouk made an excuse and went back inside.
After some thought, she pulled out a business card and, after some hesitation, dialed the number on it. "Hello, you mentioned last time that you could help me sell my current house and get a better one. Can you tell me how that works?"
The person on the other end's eyes lit up. "Let me explain, we can do it like this..."
He had recently received insider information that this neighborhood was going to be demolished, and the compensation policy was quite good.
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