Sterling was straight-up pissed, all because he was green with envy. In his mind, Bella was his and his alone, and no other dude should even think about getting close to her.
Even though Sterling went to the same school, he had already aced all the courses on his own. There was nothing left for him to learn there, and he showed up today just to get the lowdown on Bella from Principal Oliver Johnson.
"Ms. Grey is a stellar student, and she busts her butt on her assignments. All the teachers rave about her," Oliver said, trying to be all polite and smiling at Sterling.
Sterling didn't crack a smile. Instead, he whipped out a check, scribbled a number on it, and slapped it on the table. "Glad to hear it. Use this cash to spruce up the school."
Oliver's eyes lit up as he folded the check and stuffed it in his pocket. As the principal, he was probably the one who had scored the most dough for the school over the years. His name would definitely go down in the school's hall of fame.
"Also, I've got two more things," Sterling said, holding up two fingers.
"I am all ears," Oliver replied, sitting up straight and leaning in, eager to hear what Sterling had to say.
Sterling said, "First thing. I'll cover all of Bella's future school expenses. I'll donate anonymously, and you can't spill the beans about my identity to her."
Oliver nodded. Piece of cake; he could handle that no problem.
Sterling pulled out his phone and showed a pic of James.
"I don't want to see him around here anymore. Make it happen," Sterling said, ice-cold.
"Got it, Mr. Windsor. Consider it done," Oliver said, looking dead serious.
James' family had some cash too, but they were no match for the Windsor clan. Oliver figured if he passed Sterling's message to James' dad, the guy would make the smart move.
And sure enough, things went just like Oliver imagined. After school, James found out from his dad that he was being shipped off to study abroad. He was floored when he heard the news.
James wanted to ask his dad why, but all he got was that it was for the family's safety and his own good.
James stood in his room, staring out the window with a heavy sigh. He wasn't totally against studying abroad; he just couldn't get over a certain girl.
James stayed quiet in his room for a long time before finally making up his mind.
That evening, after school, Bella got back to her room and Zoey told her, once again, that Sterling wanted to see her.
Feeling a bit on edge, Bella headed to the study to see Sterling.
But Sterling's first words were a jab. "Where's that scarf around your neck? Should be warm, right? Why aren't you wearing it?"
Bella frowned.
James had put the scarf around her neck, but she had asked Anna to return it after school.
She couldn't help but think, 'How does Sterling know about the scarf? That means he's been stalking me!'
"You didn't call me here just to mess with me, did you?" Bella asked coldly, staring at Sterling.
Sterling narrowed his eyes and said, just as coldly, "Starting tomorrow, James won't be showing up in front of you anymore."