Chapter 60 Rival in Love
Sterling shot Bella a look, rolled his eyes, and didn't bother answering. His face said it all.
"Yeah, if you really had a bro, he'd be here fighting for the cash by now," Bella shrugged.
After Xavier's assistant helped him back to his room, Bella and Sterling took off.
Back at the hotel, Sterling fired up his laptop, looking all serious and stuff.
Bella, nosy as ever, tried to sneak a peek, but Sterling caught her and she froze.
"Need something?" Sterling asked, not even looking up.
Bella gave an awkward smile. "Just wondering if we got any plans today? If not, I wanna check out the city."
Sterling waved her off, eyes glued to his screen. "Let Ryan show you around. With your sense of direction, you'd get lost in no time."
Bella pouted, feeling a bit insulted. Sure, she sucked at directions, but hey, there was GPS.
Still, she didn't argue. Having Ryan around was probably a good idea.
Bella hopped in the car, letting Ryan drive aimlessly while she silently cursed Sterling.
'Sterling's probably digging up dirt on his dad's secret kid. Guess he does care,' Bella thought. She got curious about this mystery kid and figured she might ask Owen, the family’s old-timer, for some dirt.
Ryan drove around until Bella spotted a café.
"Hey, Ryan, pull over. I need a coffee. You want anything?" Bella asked, getting out.
"No thanks, Mrs. Windsor," Ryan smiled.
Bella shrugged and walked into the café.
"A cappuccino and a slice of cake, please," she ordered, then looked for a seat and froze.
By the window sat James, someone she knew all too well.
James was glued to his phone but looked up when he felt her stare. He froze too.
Bella instinctively turned to leave, but James called out.
"Bella, wait. Do you hate me that much now?" His voice shook a bit.
Bella sighed and sat down across from him.
"Long time no see. What brings you here?" she asked, keeping it cool.
James gave a bitter smile. "Business. Didn't expect to see you."
After some awkward small talk, they fell into silence for quite a while before James broke it.
"How've you been these past few years?" he asked.
Bella paused, then smiled. "I've been good. Sterling's wife, remember? By the way, I saw your fiancée, Amara, right? She's gorgeous."
James nodded, looking a bit lost. "Actually, I..."
Bella cut him off, switching gears to Anna. "Have you heard about Anna's family? Any ideas on how to help her?" She looked at James, hoping he had a plan so she wouldn't have to bug Sterling.
James sighed, shaking his head. "I wish I could, but my family's in deep too. Marrying Amara was basically a bailout for us."
Bella went quiet. His words made it clear—there was no love between him and Amara, just a business deal.
But why should she care? They were both married now, and the past was the past.
They spent the rest of the time brainstorming ways to help Anna.
Meanwhile, in the fancy car parked outside, Ryan was sweating bullets, watching Bella and James through the window.
"Please, God, don't let Mr. Windsor call me right now! You know I hate lying, especially to him," Ryan muttered, trying to calm himself down.
Of course, the universe had other plans. Ryan's phone buzzed, and it was Sterling.
"Seriously, God?" Ryan's face went pale.
He reluctantly picked up.
"Why'd you take so long to answer?" Sterling's annoyed voice barked.
Sterling had just called Xavier about the illegitimate kid, but Xavier, now sober, claimed he was just drunk-talking, which only made Sterling more suspicious.
Frustrated, Sterling thought of Bella. They'd been out for a while, and he wanted to check if she was up for dinner.
Ryan took a deep breath and, shaking, told Sterling about Bella meeting James.
As expected, there was a loud crash on the other end of the line, and the call cut off.
"Great, he probably smashed his phone again," Ryan muttered, gripping the steering wheel with a bitter smile.
Bella and James were clueless that Ryan had ratted them out. They kept talking about Anna.
Meanwhile, Anna was dealing with her own mess, courtesy of Debra.
Debra had seen the news about Anna's family going bankrupt, complete with photos. She recognized Anna as the woman who spilled coffee on her.
'Can't find that witch Bella? Fine, I'll start with you,' Debra thought, finding out which hospital Anna's dad was in.
When she got to Peter's ward, Debra sneered at Anna. "Well, if it isn't the Powell heiress. How'd you end up in this dump?"
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