Chapter 457 Humble Mr. Windsor
But Sterling clearly had no intention of letting her stay silent like this.
He suddenly spoke, his voice low. "Bella, I hope you can try to get to know me again and accept me."
Bella slowly opened her eyes, her gaze falling on Sterling's profile. In the dim car light, his face appeared blurred and deep, with only his perfect contours visible, adding an indescribable sense of mystery. This version of him made Bella feel both familiar and strange.
She gently bit her lip, her heart a jumble of emotions. She didn't know how to respond to Sterling's request.
True, she had once known his habits and was familiar with his temperament, but all of that stayed on the surface. She had never truly entered his heart, never touched the softness and vulnerability deep in his soul.
Therefore, she had to admit that she didn't really know him as a person.
And now, when Sterling asked her to get to know him again and accept him, Bella felt somewhat lost. She didn't know if such understanding still had meaning, but she no longer had the courage or determination to accept him again.
After all, the moment he dealt her that crushing blow, her heart had been deeply wounded. That pain still haunted her to this day, impossible to let go.
She lowered her eyes slightly, her voice low and tinged with bitterness. "Sterling, do you know how much I trusted you? I thought I understood you, I thought we could weather any storm together. But what happened? The hurt you caused me—I still can't forgive myself for being so foolish and naive back then."
After a moment, Bella spoke again, as if mocking her past self to Sterling. "Sterling, when did you become so humble? This feeling is just like how I used to be in front of you—humble as dust."
The word "humble" was like an invisible knife, lightly cutting across Sterling's heart, leaving a mark.
Sterling understood that these two words not only hurt him but also deeply wounded Bella's sensitive and fragile heart.
Sterling took a deep breath, his gaze fixed firmly ahead, as if speaking to himself. "I know what I want."
Hearing this, Bella's heart churned with mixed emotions. She lowered her eyes, her long lashes hiding the emotions within, and her mind conjured up the kind face of her father who had died unjustly. Those long-buried memories came flooding back like a tide, making her feel suffocated.
"I also know what I shouldn't do." Her voice was low and sorrowful, as if stating an unchangeable fact. "I can't forget my father's death. He died unjustly back then, and we didn't even have his body. I was so young then, I couldn't do anything. All these years, I could only mourn him in my heart, commemorate him in my own way."
Hearing this, Sterling felt an inexplicable surge of guilt and heartache. He knew that Bella's father was forever a pain in Bella's heart, and also an insurmountable chasm between them.
Sterling gently pressed the brake, and the car slowly decelerated, as if he was also slowing down time at this moment, unwilling to take Bella back so quickly.
"I won't give up on you." His words were firm and deep, like his most profound promise carved in stone.
"I said it long ago—no matter what happens, I'll be by your side, never leaving."
A flash of complex emotion crossed Sterling's eyes—nostalgia for the past, hope for the future, and deep attachment to Bella.
Sterling knew that without Bella, he would die. In this world, only Bella could keep him here. He was the person in power at the Windsor Group, but he was also Bella's prisoner. From that first time he brought Bella home at age eight, he had already begun his descent into the abyss.
For these ten years, Bella had supported him through those dark moments. She was like a beam of light he encountered in the darkness. Without Bella, he would have long ago lost any attachment to this world.
From the moment his mother personally orchestrated that plane crash, he had lived like a walking corpse. All these years it was Bella who stayed with him—whether tormenting each other or occasionally being sweet—as long as she was by his side, that was enough.
But Bella kept going on and on about her father. She hated him and wouldn't forgive him.
But what did that matter? What he feared most was Bella not even hating him anymore—that was what scared him most.
In the darkness, Sterling's face was outlined by the weak streetlight, creating deep contours. Complex emotions in his eyes crossed like tides, revealing a trace of pain. "In your eyes, am I really that evil? That hopeless?"
Bella's answer came without hesitation, her voice calm and resolute, as if stating an indisputable fact. "That's right."
These two words were like a sharp knife, stabbing fiercely into Sterling's heart. He felt a sharp pain spread from his chest, making it almost impossible to breathe. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his fingers turning white from the force, as if trying to vent all his pain and unwillingness onto this cold metal.
Sterling said nothing and pulled the car over to the side of an empty road.
After a brief silence, Bella's voice rang out coldly in the car, like a cold wind on a winter day, without any warmth. "I've made things clear enough. I don't think there's anything else for us to say. From now on, let's each be well and not interfere with each other."
Her tone was decisive and cold, each word like a carefully carved ice blade, striking precisely at Sterling's heart.
Bella didn't know that at this moment, Sterling's heart was churning with turbulent waves. His eyes flickered uncertainly in the darkness, as if going through an intense internal struggle.
Sterling wanted to use the most direct and forceful way to bring her back to Harborvale, to keep her tightly confined by his side, to make up for past mistakes with endless affection and care.
He longed to lock her firmly in his world, so she could never escape again.
However, this thought had barely surfaced before it was crushed by his deep desire for an ordinary, peaceful life.
He knew that true love wasn't possession and confinement, but understanding and respect. He also hoped to spend the rest of his life with Bella, but he hoped even more that she could live the life she wanted, rather than being bound by him.
Sterling was conflicted and in pain—on one hand wanting to hold her tightly, on the other hand unable to bear seeing her lose her freedom and happiness because of his selfishness.
Finally, reason, like the brightest star in the night sky, illuminated Sterling's chaotic thoughts, and he gradually calmed down from the whirlpool of messy emotions.
His eyes became deep and firm, and a confident smile curved at the corner of his mouth. "I don't believe you can be completely detached. I bet you have feelings for me."
This confidence wasn't baseless, but came from his understanding of Bella and the emotional bonds between them that couldn't be severed.
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