Chapter 43 A New Misunderstanding
Bella thought Sterling would totally flip out on her for picking up his call and making decisions for him. But nah, he just grabbed his clothes back and gave a little nod.
"Next time, just give me a heads-up if something like this goes down," Sterling said, then turned and headed upstairs to his room.
Bella stared at his back, totally baffled. 'Is this really Sterling? Why does it feel like he's a whole new person?'
She tilted her head, trying to figure it out, but came up empty. She finally decided Sterling was just too wiped out to argue.
The next day, Bella had the day off. She wanted to call Anna to check on the whole thief situation at their place, but Anna's phone was dead, which made Bella super anxious.
After thinking for a bit, she decided to call Anna's boyfriend, Caleb.
"Caleb, have you heard from Anna lately? I can't get through to her. Is she okay?" Bella asked, her voice full of worry.
Caleb was quiet for a moment before saying, "Come over and see me. I need to tell you something."
He gave Bella an address, and she realized it was a hotel. Caleb sounded pretty serious, so Bella figured something must be up with Anna. Without overthinking it, she asked the villa's security guard to drive her to the hotel.
Bella got to the hotel room and knocked lightly. Caleb, in a bathrobe, opened the door.
He looked beat, with dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in days.
"Where's Anna? Is she here? What happened?" Bella asked, trying to peek inside.
Caleb opened the door wider and let Bella in. But there was no sign of Anna.
"Stop looking. Anna's not here right now," Caleb said, flopping onto the couch and rubbing his temples.
Bella was confused. "If Anna's not here, why did you call me over?"
Caleb sighed and pointed to his dark circles. "Look at my eyes. I've been swamped. Anna's got it even worse."
Hearing that, Bella got even more worried.
"Didn't Sterling say he wouldn't go after the breach of contract thing? Why hasn't the Powell Family's situation gotten any better?" Bella asked, her voice urgent.
Caleb let out a deep sigh. "That only fixed the immediate crisis. If we don't catch the thief, the company's rep is gonna take a hit, and finding new partners will be tough. Anna and her dad are freaking out about it."
Caleb looked at Bella and said, "Seeing Anna so stressed, I want to do something for her. I think proposing and giving her a sense of home would help."
Bella's eyes went wide. "You want to propose to Anna?"
Caleb nodded seriously. "You know Anna best, so I wanted to ask you how I should do it to really show her my love."
Bella didn't expect this at all. But she quickly realized this might be exactly what Anna needed right now.
Caleb grabbed the hotel wine and poured two glasses, handing one to Bella. "Want some wine?"
Bella shook her head. Ever since that incident three years ago, she was super cautious about drinking.
Caleb nodded and set the wine glass on the table. He glanced at the clock on the wall and then turned towards the bathroom.
"I'm beat. Gonna take a shower to chill out. Think about the proposal for me, will ya?" Caleb said, nodding to Bella before heading into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of running water filled the room.
Bella sat on the couch, seriously mulling over what kind of proposal would be perfect. But she had this gnawing feeling in her gut.
'Why do I feel like something bad's about to go down?' Bella frowned. Her heart skipped a beat when she glanced at the bathroom.
A guy and a girl in a hotel room, with wine and a shower? Yeah, that could easily get twisted.
Bella quickly stood up from the couch. She needed to bounce out of there ASAP to avoid any drama. With all the recent buzz, she might still be on the reporters' radar.
'Since it's about planning a proposal, I can think about it anywhere. I should head back to the villa,' Bella thought, quickly opening the door to leave.
But as soon as she opened the door, she froze. The first thing she saw was Sterling's icy face.
'Damn, Sterling's totally got the wrong idea,' Bella thought, panicking.
She hurriedly explained, "Sterling, let me explain. I came here to help Caleb plan his proposal. Don't get the wrong idea."
But Sterling kept staring at her coldly, clearly not buying it.
"So, now you're messing around with your best friend's boyfriend? I should've never let them come back," Sterling's voice was like a ticking time bomb.
Bella felt super wronged and snapped back.
"How many times do I have to say it before you believe me? Or have you never trusted me since that thing three years ago?" Bella angrily stared at Sterling, feeling totally wronged.
Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Caleb, wrapped in a bathrobe, walked out.
Sterling's sharp gaze zeroed in on Caleb, who was momentarily stunned to see Sterling but quickly understood when he saw Bella at the door.
"Mr. Windsor, please don't misunderstand. I asked Ms. Grey to help me plan my proposal," Caleb said in a deep voice.
"Planning a proposal needs a shower?" Sterling tilted his head, his gaze growing colder.
Caleb didn't like Sterling's tone and his voice dropped. "I took a shower because I felt gross. If you don't believe me, that's on you."
"Fine," Sterling said with an angry smile, then grabbed Bella's wrist and yanked her out of the hotel.
Sterling moved fast and with a lot of force, making Bella feel like her wrist was about to snap.
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