Chapter 11

At this moment, Bella tied her hair up in a casual bun and embellished it with a diamond hair clip. She wore a sky-blue costume and sang “Think of Me” from “Phantom of the Opera”, with Asher as her audience. Her eyes were so expressive and charming. After the song ended, Asher applauded and smiled endearingly. “Not bad! Celeste taught you well. If we were in ancient times, you could definitely win the heart of a prince!” “Who wants to be a princess? If I get to choose, I want to be a ruling queen!” Bella snapped her fingers loudly. “Well, our three stepmothers certainly treat you like a princess.” Asher smiled helplessly. Bella lowered her eyes and sat next to her eldest brother. She felt sorry for her three stepmothers. “Bella, they missed you dearly over the past three years. They care a lot about you and have asked me about you in private.” “What did you tell them?” “Bella, when you left home and joined Doctors Without Borders, I knew that you were doing it because you were mad at Dad.” Asher raised his arm and gently held her shoulders. He furrowed his brows and said with a hint of sadness, “But we can’t control our father’s behavior. What’s more, no one in this world is flawless. Even Justin has his faults. You’ve loved him for many years. Didn’t you notice all his faults after being married to him for three years?” Bella’s long eyelashes trembled. She held the cool jade bracelet on her wrist. “The only difference is that you can choose to leave Justin, but you can never sever the blood relationship with our father. Since you can’t cut off ties with Dad, why don’t you try to accept him as he is? Dad loves you very much. His three wives are also kind people. They’ve kept the house in good order all these years, and they've been nothing but humble. I can vouch for them.” In fact, Asher did not know that Bella had already accepted her three stepmothers as early as two years ago. * Ian bandaged Justin’s wound and left the room. Justin got a headache when he thought of Rosalind crying, making a fuss, and smashing things. In his memory, Rosalind was gentle and sweet. She would not do anything out of character. He sighed and thought that it was only natural for people to change. Even so, Rosalind was his childhood sweetheart. She accompanied him through his darkest and most desperate days, so he was obsessed with her. Justin was insistent on marrying Rosalind, no matter what. He endured the pain and signed off on some documents. Inadvertently, Justin’s eyes fell on the suit that was placed on the sofa. Justin stood up and walked over to pick up the clothes. He looked at them carefully. Although he was about the same height as Asher Thompson, his shoulders were a little wider than Asher’s, and he had a bigger build. Justin examined the suit and noticed that it was more his size. “How ugly.” He sneered. A few minutes later, Justin tried on the suit. He stood in front of the full-length mirror and took a look while stretching out his arms. It fit perfectly, and the workmanship was comparable to high-end brands. How could a country girl have such good taste in suits? At this time, there was a knock on the door. Wilma, Justin’s nanny, came in with a glass of warm milk. “Oh? Young Master, you finally wore the suit that the young madam made for you! She’ll be very happy when she finds out!” Wilma could not hide her joy. No one at Tideview Manor, besides Wilma, took Anna seriously. Wilma was Justin’s nanny, who had single-handedly raised him. “What did you say?” Justin was startled. “Isn’t this the suit that the young madam made for you? I don’t think I’m mistaken... The young madam asked me to pick it up from a tailor a month ago and told me to keep it a secret, saying that it’s your birthday gift.” ‘Birthday gift?’ Justin was stunned. His birthday was still quite far off. “Wilma, I know you’re close to Anna, but she has left, so you don’t have to side with her anymore.” Justin frowned. “Young Master, I’ve watched you grow up since you were a baby. If there is anyone I have to side with in this family, it’s definitely you!” Wilma came over and looked at the handsome man in the mirror. “The young madam said that it takes a long time to make a suit. She sewed every stitch by herself and even selected and customized the fabrics and buttons. She is usually busy with household chores and can only spare a little time every day to go to the tailor’s. That’s why she made it a month in advance and hid it in her closet for fear that you’d find it before your birthday.” Justin felt like someone had punched him in the chest. He widened his eyes in disbelief. “If you don’t believe me, take a look at the label. It even has your name on it.” Justin quickly took off his suit jacket and threw it on the sofa as if it had caught on fire. “We’re divorced. I’m not interested in knowing what she has done for me. You should go back to your room and rest.” “Young Master, why do you want to divorce the young madam? She’s a good wife who is completely devoted to you.” “Devoted to me?” Justin sneered. “How could she be devoted to me when she threw herself into another man’s arms right after she left me?” “The young madam wouldn’t do that!” Wilma was shocked. “It takes a while to see someone’s true colors.” Justin stopped thinking about Anna. The blood rushed to his head. “Since she didn’t love me, why did she have to pretend for so long? Did she think that I would fall in love with her over time? Did she think that I was easy to fool and that she could manipulate me easily?!” “Young Master, I think there must be some misunderstanding. I could tell how much the young madam loved you.” Wilma shook her head in regret and walked over to fold the suit. “That’s enough. Stop defending her.” “Young Master, you’ll regret having lost her one day.” * Bella wanted to sleep in, but her biological clock woke her up at 5:00 p.m. Usually, at this hour, she would have to make breakfast for the Salvadors. Now, she no longer had to breathe in cooking fumes and cook for a large family. She no longer had to care about them. Divorce was great! Bella simply washed up and put on ‌tight-fitting sportswear. Then she went paddle-boarding on the lake behind the villa. The lake was surrounded by beautiful flowers, and the birds were chirping away. Bella’s graceful and lean figure crossed the calm lake quickly, leaving behind some ripples. After finishing her exercise, she ate breakfast and washed up. Then she went downstairs, looking rejuvenated. Steven’s eyes widened when he saw Bella on the stairs. Today, Bella tied up her long hair and wore bold makeup. Her skin was flawless, and her eyes were gleaming. She wore a long black coat with a red lace dress underneath that showed off her slim curves. Her long and toned legs made Steven swoon. “Hey, wipe off your drool.” Bella walked up to him and snapped her fingers. Steven blushed with embarrassment. “Ms. Bella, you look beautiful today.” “Steve, you’re Asher’s chief secretary. Can you please stop looking like a lovesick idiot whenever you see a beautiful woman?” Bella shook her head in disappointment. Bella’s Rolls-Royce drove to the KS World Hotel. The beautiful boss appeared in the restaurant without notice. Although she was a world-class beauty, none of the employees dared to look at her. They were frightened, like mice that saw a cat. They did not even dare to breathe too loudly. The employees had learned their lesson yesterday and did not dare to cut corners at work. The marble floor of the hotel was perfectly polished, and all the ingredients prepared were fresh. Bella inspected the hotel, gave some instructions, and returned to the office. “Steve, I’ll be fine here for the time being, so you can go back to my brother.” “I don’t have to go back.” Steven said with a smile, “Mr. Asher said that I will be your secretary from now on.” “What?!” Bella’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. “Asher said that he has a gift for me today. Could it be you?!” Steven blinked his big eyes innocently and nodded. Bella thought, ‘What the hell! Asher really has a knack for giving gifts. He gifted me an actual person!’ Seeing that Bella was silent, Steven panicked a little. “Ms. Bella, do you not want me because I’m a second-hand secretary?” Bella scowled. “That’s bullshit! It’s called having a rich work experience!” “Hehe, right. I hope I’ll learn a lot from you in the future! I won’t ask for much, just a higher salary increment!” Steven joked. “Is money even a problem? If you do well, I’ll make you filthy rich. But If you don’t do well, I’ll make you a third-hand secretary.” Bella rested her chin on her hands and curled her beautiful red lips deviously. Steven gasped and quickly reported on the hotel’s current progress. “As you requested yesterday, all the bedding from Alia Furniture has been replaced. We have also notified all hotels under the KS Group to replace their bedding within a week.” At this time, there was an urgent knock on the door.