Chapter 224 Derek
Sterling grabbed Bella, who was trying to leave his side. "Let me apply it for you."
His tone left no room for refusal, which made Bella a bit annoyed.
She wanted to say something, but Sterling pulled her onto his lap and said, "If you don't apply it properly, it will leave scars."
Bella had no choice but to say, "On my back."
Sterling squeezed some ointment onto his hand, and Bella half-removed her nightgown, revealing the scars on her shoulders and back.
Sterling's eyes darkened involuntarily. Bella's skin was covered with crisscrossing scars. Although the scars had faded, they still shocked him.
Sterling thought of those dangerous moments, his throat tightened, and he asked in a tight voice, "Does it still hurt?"
Bella shivered slightly. "No, it doesn't."
It hadn't hurt for a long time.
Sterling carefully applied the ointment for her and then said softly, "After a while, I'll take you to Oakridge to relax."
Bella looked up at Sterling with confusion. "Why go there?"
Sterling dressed Bella. "Haven't you always liked the environment in Oakridge? I'll take you there to relax. If you like it, we can stay there for a while."
Bella's eyes showed a bit of suspicion, and Sterling knew what she was thinking.
He gently stroked Bella's face and explained softly, "Bella, as long as you don't mention divorce, you can go wherever you want. I'll listen to you."
Bella paused and said, "But the Windsor family has no heir. The fact that I can't have children is true, and I don't want to be the Windsor family's sinner."
This was Bella's biggest fear. Her father had already ruined Sterling's family, and she couldn't let him have no heir.
Sterling immediately interrupted her, "Bella, don't you understand? I want you more than an heir. If you really like children, we can adopt one or choose a child from distant relatives to raise."
Bella didn't expect Sterling to think this way. She felt both happy and bitter.
"I'm sorry I can't give you a child. You don't understand my feelings. More painful than being the Windsor family's sinner is that I can never give you a child again." Bella cried in his arms.
Even if they adopted a child, it wouldn't be her own. She didn't have the confidence to give much motherly love to someone else's child. No one could understand that feeling.
"Bella, who said you never gave me a child? You gave me two children. It was I..." Sterling's throat tightened, and he couldn't continue.
It was his fault for not protecting Bella and the children. He brought this upon himself.
Bella knew Sterling wasn't willing to let her go yet. She naively thought that maybe with time, Sterling would be willing.
Sterling didn't want to continue this topic. He picked up Bella and placed her on the bed, saying, "Compared to the Windsor family's heir, no one is more important than you, understand?"
These words weighed heavily on Bella's heart. The more Sterling said this, the more uneasy she felt.
Sterling said, "You sleep first. I have some work to do in the study."
Bella fell asleep groggily. She didn't know how long she had slept when she was awakened by some noise.
She picked up her phone and saw it was past 2 AM.
Usually, no one dared to make such a noise in the middle of the night when Sterling was home.
She saw that Sterling hadn't returned to the bedroom.
Bella couldn't sleep. She opened the door and walked to the staircase, seeing someone in the house.
Owen was talking to that person in a low voice, so she couldn't hear what was said.
But the person had their back to her, so she couldn't see their face, only knowing it was a man.
She soon lost interest and went back to her room to rest.
After this disturbance, Bella naturally didn't sleep well.
She already had some insomnia and poor sleep quality. Sterling didn't return to the bedroom last night, probably to avoid disturbing her.
Bella didn't get up until after 10 AM the next day.
Zoey had prepared food for her as usual. Zoey said Sterling had gone to the company early in the morning.
Bella didn't say anything but suddenly thought of the person from last night.
Bella couldn't help but ask Zoey, "Zoey, did someone come to the house last night?"
Zoey was stunned for a moment, then snorted heavily. "Yes, a bothersome person came last night. Mr. Windsor didn't want to see him, so he had Owen send him away."
"But he really has no shame, being kicked out by Mr. Windsor's grandfather and still having the nerve to come asking for money."
Bella asked in confusion, "Who was it?"
Zoey lowered her voice deliberately. "It was one of Mr. Windsor's uncles. He wasn't a good person when he was young, broke family rules, and got into trouble. Mr. Windsor's grandfather saved him from the police station and then kicked him out."
"Later, when the family went through so much, and Mr. Windsor's parents passed away, he didn't come back. Now, probably because he's broke, he came to ask Mr. Windsor for money."
"When he was kicked out by Mr. Windsor's grandfather, it was notarized that all Windsor family property had nothing to do with him. Now he has the nerve to come back asking for money. Truly shameless."
Bella didn't know what to think after hearing Zoey's words.
She had no impression of this "Sterling's uncle" that Zoey mentioned, probably because he was kicked out before she entered the Windsor Villa.
Bella didn't take it seriously. The Windsor family had many distant relatives, and she hadn't recognized them all yet.
She thought it was just a small episode, but a few days later, the "Sterling's uncle" Zoey mentioned showed up again.
This time it was during the day, and Bella was home.
Sterling was upstairs in the study handling documents, and she was playing with Sunny in the living room.
Sterling's uncle barged in. Bella grabbed a shawl from the sofa and draped it over herself.
At first sight, she felt an inexplicable dislike for him.
But looking at his features, he did resemble Sterling somewhat.
Maybe it was because of his demeanor. The Windsor family men had good genes, and Sterling's uncle must have been a handsome playboy in his youth.
The man had a frivolous look but smiled gently. "You must be Bella, the girl Sterling brought back. I didn't expect you to grow up and marry Sterling. Not bad."
"I heard you just had a miscarriage. What a pity, the Windsor family heir is gone just like that."
Bella initially wanted to smile politely, but hearing his words, her face immediately turned cold.
His gaze made her uncomfortable. No elder would stare at a younger female relative's body so intently.
Bella was about to reprimand him.
"Derek Windsor, stay away from her." Sterling was suddenly standing at the staircase.
Even in casual clothes, he exuded a suffocating pressure, his cold eyes unfathomable.
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