Read with BonusRead with Bonus

Chapter 5 Bare Desire

Bella was totally freaked out by Sterling's words, thinking he might've done something to James.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Bella snapped at Sterling, her eyes blazing.

Sterling strolled out from behind his desk, towering over Bella with this icy stare.

But this time, Bella wasn't backing down. She squared her shoulders and glared right back at him.

"You actually care about him?" Sterling's eyes were practically on fire.

"He just gave me a scarf 'cause I was cold. Don't you dare take it out on him for that!" Bella yelled, her voice shaking with years of pent-up frustration.

Sterling's eyes flickered with surprise, then pure rage.

He grabbed Bella by the neck, his grip tight. "Everything about you is mine—your marriage, your love, even your future kids."

"If you involve someone else again, you'll be dealing with a corpse!" Bella was beyond desperate now. She wasn't scared of what might come; she just wanted to protect the innocent.

Sterling took a deep breath, trying to calm his fury.

"I didn't touch him. He went abroad." With that, Sterling let go of her neck.

Hearing James was safe, Bella finally exhaled in relief.

She stared at Sterling, waiting for whatever bombshell he was gonna drop next. She knew he didn't come here just to say that.

"Come to my room tonight. I'll be waiting." Sterling's words made Bella's heart race. She knew this day was coming, but now that it was here, she was freaking out.

Bella didn't even remember leaving Sterling's study. She drifted downstairs like a zombie. Zoey had some hand cream and food ready for her.

"I noticed your hands were cracked. Mr. Windsor asked me to get this for you. Here, and these meds." Zoey handed Bella a bag of medicine.

Looking at the meds, Bella remembered how James once got her medicine when she was coughing at school.

These meds felt like Sterling's way of showing he was in control, like he was the only one who could "help" her.

"Mr. Windsor really cares about you. If you just give in, he'll listen to you about everything." Zoey kept praising Sterling, but Bella wasn't hearing any of it.

Her mind was racing, thinking about how to deal with Sterling that night.

Zoey's chatter was driving her nuts.

"Okay, Zoey, I got it. I'm going to bed." Bella grabbed the bag of meds and bolted back to the storage room.

That night, the whole villa was dark and silent. Everyone was asleep.

But the storage room door creaked open, and Bella slowly made her way to Sterling's room on the second floor.

Her steps were slow, her hands clenched in nerves, but no matter how slow she was, she was gonna get there eventually.

When she reached Sterling's door, she barely knocked once before it swung open.

Sterling hadn't locked it, like he was waiting for her.

Previous Chapter
Next Chapter