Chapter 34 The Mute
Bella never expected that she'd get a call from Sterling, and what really threw her off was him asking her to come home for dinner.
Sterling didn't even wait for her to say yes; he just hung up. That bossy tone made Bella's brow furrow.
"What's up, Bella? Who was that?" Anna asked, curiosity all over her face.
Bella shrugged, feeling a bit helpless. "It was Sterling. He wants me home for dinner."
Anna's eyes went wide. "Isn't your hubby having dinner with his side chick at that restaurant right now?"
Bella thought for a sec and figured Micah must've told Sterling about their run-in, making Sterling realize she hadn't eaten.
She shared her hunch with Anna and sighed, "Looks like I gotta bail on you for now."
Anna just nodded, not much else she could do.
Bella grabbed a taxi back to the Windsor Villa. Sterling was already there, sitting at the dining table.
Just by looking at him, Bella could tell he hadn't eaten earlier either.
'Weird, why didn't he finish eating with Debra?' Bella wondered but didn't dwell on it. She headed to the bathroom to wash up and then joined him at the table.
"Mrs. Windsor, try this. It's the romantic dinner I whipped up for you," Zoey said, placing the utensils in front of Bella and giving her a playful wink.
Bella awkwardly picked up the utensils and started munching on the food.
"When you saw me at the restaurant today, why'd you bolt? Did I scare you?" Sterling asked, wiping his mouth after finishing his meal and looking at Bella.
Bella thought back to seeing Sterling and Debra walk into the restaurant hand in hand; they looked like a real couple.
"I just thought the service there was too slow, so I went somewhere else. Didn't even see you two," Bella lied, shaking her head.
"How'd you know I wasn't alone?" Sterling sneered, eyeing her.
Bella realized she messed up but decided to keep quiet.
Her silence just ticked Sterling off more. He got up and stomped up to the second floor, his footsteps loud and angry.
Zoey walked over, looking a bit helpless. "Mrs. Windsor, did you and Mr. Windsor have another fight?"
Bella shook her head, confused. She had no clue why Sterling was so mad. They hadn't even argued today.
Zoey sighed, seeing Bella's innocent face. She knew both Bella and Sterling were emotionally clueless.
'If it weren't for this job, I'd tie you two up and starve you for three days until you spill your true feelings and break free,' Zoey thought as she cleaned up the table.
After eating, Bella headed up to the second floor too. Her steps were light, like she was walking on clouds, but her heart was anything but calm.
Bella told Anna she bailed from the restaurant to dodge the awkwardness of seeing Sterling, but truth be told, she felt super bummed and ticked off seeing him with Debra, like a woman scorned.
'Why am I feeling like this? There's no love between Sterling and me, so why am I mad? Is it just my bruised ego as a wife?' Bella couldn't wrap her head around it and felt trapped in her thoughts. Every time she tried to dig deeper, she just got more irritated.
Just as Bella reached Sterling's bedroom door and was about to push it open, she heard his cold voice from inside.
"For the next couple of days, sleep in another room. Don't come near me," Sterling said, followed by a few rough coughs.
Bella frowned. Sterling sounded like he had a nasty cold, and his coughing was pretty bad.
Bella immediately dashed downstairs to grab some cold meds from Zoey and a cup of hot water.
Then she hurried back upstairs and placed the meds and hot water in front of Sterling.
"Take it away. Didn't I say not to come near me?" Sterling snapped, frowning at Bella.
"Zoey and Owen asked me to bring this. They're both worried about you," Bella said, putting the meds and hot water on the table before turning to leave.
Sterling glanced at the meds and water, a slight smile tugging at his lips. He knew everyone in the house well; if it were really Zoey or Owen, they wouldn't need Bella to bring it up.
The next day, when Bella went to wake Sterling, she found him already dressed, and the meds on the table were gone.
Sterling still had that cold, distant vibe and left the villa without even a nod to Bella. She was used to it. After getting ready, she headed to the company too.
After Felix got canned, his replacement was Clara Watson, someone Micah personally brought in.
As soon as Bella got to the office, Clara told her to go see Micah, who was waiting for her.
To Bella's surprise, when she walked into Micah's office, she saw him wearing a mask and coughing like crazy, looking like he had a cold too.
"Those are the new projects on the table. Take a look at them. These projects are all tied to your husband's company, so I trust you the most with them," Micah said, pointing to the documents on the table.
Micah's voice, all messed up from the cold, sounded like Donald Duck. Bella almost burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Micah asked, confused.
"Nothing, I just suddenly find you kinda cute," Bella said, tilting her head.
Micah looked startled and leaned back. "I warn you, don't fall for me. I can't afford to mess with Sterling."
Bella rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I won't fall for you. I don't even like Sterling."
With that, Bella grabbed the file from the table and left Micah's office. But as she closed the door, she heard a familiar name from inside. "The Brilliant Corporation."
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