Chapter 256 Help Me Act
Bella's eyes landed on Sterling's black coat, and she noticed a suspicious dark stain.
She froze for a second, then snapped back to reality.
Her heart skipped a beat—it looked like drool. How could she have drooled in her sleep?
Bella swore she never did this normally. She couldn't believe it had happened this time.
She quickly rummaged through her bag for a tissue, desperate to wipe the stain off Sterling's coat.
Sterling, unaware of what Bella was up to, just watched her quietly.
It wasn't until Bella reached out to wipe his coat that he glanced down and couldn't help but laugh.
"You said you're not a little pig," Sterling chuckled, his tone filled with affection and teasing.
Bella was mortified by his words. She wanted to find a hole to crawl into. She wished she could jump into Luminous Lake to hide her embarrassment.
But Sterling gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"Don't worry about it. Let's eat before the food gets cold," Sterling said, his eyes full of warmth and indulgence.
Bella felt a moment of awkwardness, but they hadn't enjoyed such a peaceful and cozy time together in a long while.
After dinner, they took a boat ride around Luminous Lake.
The scenery was indeed as beautiful as its reputation.
Bella leaned on the boat's railing, watching the bustling shops and tourists along the shore, and couldn't help but smile.
In recent years, formal dresses had become increasingly popular. Bella saw many girls in dresses taking photos by the shore and quickly signaled Sterling to look.
Sterling glanced over but still thought Bella looked the most beautiful in a dress. He decided he would get her various styles of dresses when they got back.
Bella leaned against the railing, her profile bathed in sunlight, her hair fluttering in the wind, making the scene even more picturesque.
She then sat down next to Sterling.
Her eyes sparkled. "Sterling, do the wealthy people here live in those grand, garden-style mansions like in the TV shows? Huge estates?"
Sterling smiled. "Not that exaggerated. Oakridge is a private estate with only a dozen or so houses. Do you want to stay there?"
Bella continued to ask, "Does the Windsor family have a place here?"
Sterling thought for a moment. "Sort of, but it's not big. Do you want to go?"
Bella was eager. "Can we? Didn't we book a hotel?"
Sterling raised an eyebrow. "Sure, we can. You can invite Anna, and we can all go to the Windsor Villa."
When Sterling mentioned the Windsor Villa, his tone and expression turned cold, but Bella, caught up in her excitement, didn't notice.
"Can we stay overnight?" Bella asked happily.
Sterling hadn't answered when Bella remembered another question. "The Windsor Villa? How come you never mentioned it before? Who lives there now?"
Sterling replied calmly, "Derek."
Bella was stunned, looking at Sterling in surprise.
She remembered the scruffy, ill-intentioned uncle who had once tried to extort a hundred million dollars from Sterling.
"Him? Wasn't he...?" Bella recalled that Derek had been imprisoned.
"Someone got him out," Sterling said, knowing what Bella was thinking.
Bella thought for a moment and then asked calmly, "Your purpose for coming to Oakridge isn't simple, is it? What's going on?"
Sterling hadn't planned to hide it from Bella. He said seriously, "It's related to Caleb. I suspect he's colluding with someone inside the Windsor family to traffic drugs."
Bella was completely taken aback. It took her a while to find her voice. "What? Someone in the Windsor family is involved? Do you suspect Derek?"
Derek wasn't that powerful on his own; he was probably working with someone influential in the Windsor family. Derek was just a go-between, which was why they sent him to the Windsor Villa.
The Windsor Villa had originally been bought by Sterling's grandfather as a gift for his grandmother.
After they passed away, the villa had remained empty, managed by the Windsor family.
Recently, Sterling had discovered that Derek had been living there since his release.
It seemed there were significant issues within the Windsor family.
Sterling's people had repeatedly spotted Caleb entering and leaving the Windsor Villa.
Sterling looked at Bella. There were some things he didn't want to tell her, fearing she would get hurt.
But after everything they'd been through, he didn't want to hide anything from her anymore. He suddenly said, "Bella, can I ask you for a favor?"
Sterling leaned on the boat's railing, tilting his head with a smile.
Bella looked at Sterling, confused and not understanding.
Sterling smiled. "Let me rephrase. How's your acting? I need you to help me with a little performance."
"Acting? You mean you want me to help you deceive someone?" Bella pouted.
"Yeah, you could say that. This is really important. It concerns the Windsor family and Anna's happiness," Sterling said seriously.
"That serious? Okay, I'll help you," Bella said, worried by Sterling's serious tone.
"What do I need to do?" Bella asked, looking at Sterling.
Sterling smiled and asked, "We need to stay at the Windsor Villa, but what reason can we use to stay there?"
Bella was puzzled. "Isn't the Windsor Villa part of the Windsor family? As the head of the family, don't you have the right to stay there?"
"I just told you, Derek is living there now. If I go there suddenly, Caleb's people might get suspicious. So, it has to be you who suggests it. I'll take you there. Think about how we can act this out so we can stay at the Windsor Villa."
Bella thought for a moment and tentatively asked, "So, I should beg you to take me to the Windsor Villa?"
"Yes. Have you thought it through? Let's rehearse," Sterling said with a smile.
Bella looked at Sterling skeptically. Sterling gave her an encouraging and serious look.
Bella thought for a moment, then tried to act genuinely excited. "I've always wanted to experience living in a big mansion like the ones on TV since I was a kid. You're related to Derek, so if you ask to stay at his place for a night, he won't refuse. Sterling, can you take me there?"
Sterling's smile deepened as he played along. He propped his head on his hand, looking at her. "We have our own hotel in Oakridge. Why would we stay at someone else's place? How do I explain that? Mischief? Or do you want to experience the life of a medieval heiress?"
Bella thought for a moment, trying to come up with another excuse.
She raised her eyebrows, thinking of a solution. "We could go there later, have dinner at his place, and chat until late. Out of courtesy, he would definitely invite us to stay. We could just accept the invitation, right?"
Sterling laughed. "You're quite the schemer, aren't you?"
"What do you think of that reason? That way, we can stay there," Bella said excitedly.
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