Chapter 38 The Heartbroken Wife
Bella was freaking out in the car 'cause Sterling was all over her, trying to get frisky.
She finally found the guts to shove him off.
"Drunk or not, we're in a freakin' car! We'll talk about this at home," she snapped, her face all red.
Sterling's head cleared a bit, and he just nodded, leaning against the car door, silent.
Bella let out a breath and turned to Owen, who was driving. "Owen, step on it, will ya?"
Owen nodded and sped up.
'Why am I even here? They need their space,' Owen thought, feeling a bit guilty.
Soon enough, they pulled up to Windsor Villa. Bella and Owen dragged Sterling out and got him to his room.
As soon as Owen left, Sterling grabbed Bella and tossed her onto the bed.
He pinned her down, staring right into her eyes. "You shy or something? Not in the car, fine. But we're in a room now, so what's the deal?"
Bella blushed, staying quiet. But Sterling was on fire.
He suddenly ripped her clothes open, exposing her pale skin and most of her chest.
Bella gasped, covering herself instinctively.
Sterling sat up, yanked off his shirt, and pressed his booze-soaked lips against hers, kissing her hard.
His roughness hurt, and Bella struggled, finally breaking free from his mouth.
"It's late, and you gotta work tomorrow. Let's just sleep," she said, fixing her clothes and turning off the light.
In the dark, Sterling's eyes flashed with anger.
"Why? Tell me why? Why can James have you, but I can't?" he growled, gripping her shoulders.
Bella was shocked, her mind flashing back to that night three years ago. She still didn't know what really happened.
"I'm sorry, I'm just scared," she finally admitted. She felt more fear than anything else towards Sterling, and in this state, she couldn't bring herself to sleep with him.
Sterling sneered, got off the bed, put his clothes back on, and stormed out to another room, locking the door behind him.
The noise woke the servants downstairs, and Zoey came up to check.
"What happened now?" Zoey asked, looking at the mess. Sterling had clearly lost it again.
Bella just shook her head, not saying a word. She was filled with regret, worried that she'd pissed Sterling off and he wouldn't help Anna.
Zoey sighed, helped Bella tidy up, and then went back downstairs.
Bella lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She knew she wouldn't sleep that night. She'd already decided to go to Sterling's office the next day to beg him.
The next day, Bella planned to ask Micah for leave and then go find Sterling.
Micah handed Bella a stack of papers. "These are the design drafts we did for their company. Take 'em to Sterling."
Bella shot Micah a grateful look and headed to Sterling's company with the drafts.
When she got there, Sterling was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his secretary, Juniper Parker, took the drafts from her.
Bella watched as Juniper disappeared into the office. Not long after, she came back out with the drafts.
"Ms. Grey, Mr. Windsor said your company's design drafts are too poor. He wants you to redo them," Juniper said politely, handing the drafts back.
Bella felt like Sterling was just messing with her. She asked Juniper if she could see him, but Juniper shut her down.
"Sorry, I might've forgotten to mention, Sterling's not just my client, he's my husband. And now, I'm gonna see him as his wife," Bella said, pushing past Juniper and barging into Sterling's office.
Juniper was startled and tried to pull Bella back, but Sterling waved her off.
"Alright, leave us. I'll handle this," Sterling said. Juniper left, closing the door behind her.
Bella walked up to Sterling, tears streaming down her face. "I know you hate me, but don't drag innocent people into this."
Sterling frowned, looking at the drafts in her hand. "You think I'm just making things hard for you? What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Don't you hate me? You wanna keep me around to torment me? Fine, I'll play along. Just help Anna. Do that, and I'll let you do whatever you want to me," Bella said, starting to undress right there.
Sterling rushed out from behind his desk, grabbing her clothes and choking her. "What the hell are you thinking, you crazy woman?"
His eyes were blazing with rage.
Bella kept crying, staring stubbornly at him.
"If you don't agree, I might do something even more extreme!" Her meaning was clear; she might even threaten him with suicide.
"You're threatening me!" Sterling's presence was so intense, Bella's heart nearly stopped.
"Take it as a threat if you want!" Bella finally found the courage. She realized begging wouldn't get her anywhere. If Sterling wanted to torment her forever, her life might be the only leverage she had.
Finally, Sterling let go. He picked up the office phone and made a call. "Peter Powell should still be in the reception room, right? Send him to my office."
Peter was Anna's dad. Bella didn't expect he'd be at Sterling's company even earlier than she was.
Soon, Peter, led by Juniper, walked into the office.
Seeing Peter, Bella felt a pang of sorrow. She'd met Anna's dad before. He used to be a lively middle-aged man. Now, his eyes were bloodshot, he was thin, and his hair was a mess. He looked completely worn out.
If Peter was in such bad shape, Anna must be even worse.
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