Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Edward's eyes darted around the train station, scanning the crowd like he was on a mission.

His assistant, trying to keep up, said, "Mr. Mellon, we still need to get through security..."

Edward stopped, his voice cold, "Find her first."

The assistant felt a wave of panic.

Ever since Bella disappeared, Edward had been on edge. Anytime he saw someone who even remotely looked like her, he'd drop everything to investigate.

But this was a train station. What were the odds Bella would be here?

The assistant didn't dare argue. When Edward told him to check the left side, he went.

Seeing Edward's intense focus, Bella, feeling uneasy, approached a man wearing sunglasses.

"Hey, can I buy your sunglasses? My eyes can't handle the light."

Bella put on the sunglasses and headed to the restroom.

Suddenly, Edward's gaze zeroed in on the women's restroom.

The assistant, out of breath from running back, saw where Edward was looking and stammered, "Mr. Mellon, you're not thinking of going into the women's restroom, are you?"

Without a word, Edward walked over.

The assistant was stunned.

People around gave the distinguished-looking man heading straight for the women's restroom curious glances, but soon lost interest.

Edward stood outside the restroom, not going in.

Seeing this, the assistant sighed in relief and tried to reason with him, "Ms. Obelon really isn't here, Mr. Mellon. We need to catch our train. The head of the company in Oceancrest City is waiting for us."

After a long pause, Edward finally looked away.

"Alright."

Inside the restroom, Bella waited until she heard no more noise outside before she felt safe to leave.

She didn't linger, took off the sunglasses, and hailed a cab to leave.

What Bella didn't know was that Edward's destination was also Oceancrest City.

A few days later, Fallon had been resting at home and was starting to feel better. Bella packed her bags and headed to Oceancrest City.

Hatty had already found an office building and was showing it to her.

"I'm planning to renovate this floor into our office. This room will be Simon's recording studio, and this side will be the office."

Despite their debt, Hatty didn't seem burdened.

Bella looked at the place, which had only been slightly cleaned, "It's nice."

They spent the afternoon cleaning.

Later, workers came to renovate, and Simon brought them drinks.

"The place is rented, but the renovation will take another half month," he said to Bella.

Bella nodded, "I'll find a place to stay in the meantime."

She hadn't planned to stay long in Oceancrest City, but plans change, and there was no helping it.

Bella rented an apartment near the studio and spent several days settling in.

...

Half a month later, the studio officially opened.

Hatty immediately decided to celebrate.

She booked a hotel, and besides Bella, Hatty, and Simon, there were two high-profile PR professionals they had hired.

Hatty raised her glass. "From now on, let's work hard together. Cheers!"

Everyone's faces were filled with smiles. For them, this was the beginning of a great venture.

Seeing everyone drinking, Bella hesitated about joining in.

Hatty noticed her concern and reassured her with a smile, "It's okay, we're all friends here. And a little drink won't hurt, just to celebrate."

Bella thought it over and had two drinks.

After that, no matter what others said, she didn't drink more. When asked, Bella simply explained, "I just don't like getting drunk. Plus, getting home would be a pain if I overdo it. I live pretty far from here."

Bella couldn't help but remember the night she and Edward had gotten drunk and things spiraled out of control. Since then, she never let herself get drunk again.

She kept her head down, focusing on her food so no one would notice her expression.

Only Hatty seemed to catch on. When Bella stepped out, Hatty called her back, "Bella, take this."

Bella was surprised to see the hangover medicine in Hatty's hand.

Before she could ask, Hatty explained, "I get it. A woman needs to look out for herself. I didn't like drinking at social events when I was younger either."

Bella took the medicine. "Thanks, Hatty."

After a few rounds, Simon got drunk and started acting up.

Hatty, exasperated, pulled him down from trying to stand on the table and told Bella, "I need to take him home and deal with him. You should get a cab home too."

In no time, Hatty was gone.

Bella also took a cab home, arriving very late.

The neighborhood was dark, with only distant streetlights.

Just as Bella was about to go upstairs, a car drove in.

The bright headlights flashed briefly before the car quickly entered the parking lot. There was nothing particularly noteworthy, but Bella recognized the license plate.

Even after the car had long gone, Bella's heart hadn't calmed down.

Why was Edward here too?

Bella opened her apartment door and placed her keys on the shoe cabinet, still couldn't figure it out.

The only thing she could be thankful for was that Edward's parking spot was far from here, meaning he hadn't discovered she was here.

That night, unsurprisingly, Bella couldn't sleep.

On the first day the studio opened, she showed up with dark circles under her eyes.

Hatty was surprised. "Does drinking keep you up?"

Bella shook her head and smiled apologetically, "It's my own issue."

Hatty didn't ask further.

The studio was still small.

Their job ads were still posted on various job search platforms, and the internal team consisted of only five people.

Simon immediately dove into composing.

Hatty even set up a bed in the break room, staying late to work with him and sleeping at the studio.

Seeing them work so hard, Bella felt she couldn't slack off either. She learned techniques from the two PR professionals, commuting between home and the studio every day.

Seeing her working so hard, Hatty suggested, "Why don't you just stay here? There's more than one room in the break area."

Bella was tempted. Staying here would mean she wouldn't have to worry about running into Edward.

But after thinking it over, she declined, "I'm fine where I am now."

She couldn't hide forever.

Coming to Oceancrest City had opened Simon's mind, and his composing was smoother than before.

A week later, the new song was recorded.

Hatty started networking to get the song and album released, but soon ran into trouble—no one wanted to release Simon's song.

After being rejected by the fifth company, Simon locked himself in the recording studio.

When Bella arrived, Hatty was banging on the door, "Simon! Come out! How long are you going to hide in there? This isn't like you. So what if you got rejected? We'll just find another company. Someone will appreciate your talent!"

The recording studio was eerily quiet.

Seeing no response for a long time, Hatty was also getting frustrated.

Bella walked over, glancing at the closed door. "Has Simon been like this since last night?"