It was evening...
Bella sat in her room, crying. Tears rolled down her face, soaking her clothes, but not a single sound escaped her lips.
Silence filled the Evans mansion. The people who had come for Mr. Phillip Evans' last rites had slowly started to leave. Mr. Phillip Evans had earned more respect and honor in his life than wealth, so it was no surprise that so many people came to pay their respects.
By the end, only Bella's uncle Nick's in-laws remained, and even they were about to leave. Throughout it all, Bella hadn't stepped out of her room even once, and no one had said anything to her. When her grandfather's funeral procession left for the cremation ground, she had locked herself in her room.
Richa, tired from being busy with everyone, finally found some time to think for herself. She was exhausted.
Once everyone had left, Richa, dressed in white, sat on the sofa, lost in thought. She quickly checked her phone but found no news apart from her grandfather's death. Surprised, she wondered how that could be possible.
She quickly called her friend Pearl. As soon as Pearl answered, she said, "I was going to call you, but when I heard about your grandfather, I felt terrible. I'm really sorry."
Cutting her off, Richa said, "Yeah, okay, but tell me, why hasn't there been any news about Bella anywhere?"
Hearing this, Pearl replied, "That's exactly what I was going to tell you. I sent several reporters to that hotel room you told me about. We thought we'd get the scoop, but the man Bella was with was very powerful. His bodyguards chased off the reporters and confiscated their cameras."
Hearing this, Richa became furious. She had worked so hard to ruin Bella, but all her efforts had gone in vain. She quickly ended the call and began to think. She then walked over to her parents.
Approaching them, Richa said, "Mom, Dad, you both know Bella disappeared from Henry's party last night without telling anyone, right? We looked for her everywhere but couldn't find her. She didn't come home the entire night."
Surprised, Nick asked, "What are you saying?" Richa's mother confirmed, "Yes, Bella didn't come home all night. I was going to tell you in the morning, but then all of this happened, and it slipped my mind."
Richa then added, "I just got a call from Pearl, whose father owns a news agency. She said they got a tip that Bella spent the night at a hotel with a man. Their reporters went there, but the man's bodyguards seized their cameras and chased them off."
Nick became furious upon hearing his daughter's words. He shouted for Bella, "Bella… Bella…"
Terrified by her uncle's angry call, Bella emerged from her room. As she descended the stairs, her aunt began hurling accusations, "Do you have any shame at all? Or have you completely taken after your mother, you shameless girl?"
Bella, shocked by her aunt's words, tried to defend herself, "Please believe me, I have no idea how I ended up there or what happened after. Something wrong happened to me."
Before Bella could finish, Richa interjected sarcastically, "Oh, something wrong happened to you? Did he force himself on you? If that's the case, let's go to the police and file a complaint."
Richa's father scolded her, "There's no need for that! Do you realize how much damage it would do to our reputation if people found out?"
Richa's mother chimed in, "Yes… yes… Your mother's misdeeds have already left us struggling. Back then, it was difficult to even step outside, as everyone talked about us. And now this illegitimate girl, do you really think something wrong happened to her? She must've gone there willingly. At least, she could've thought about her grandfather's remaining honor once."
Listening to her own family insult her like this, Bella broke down, collapsing on the floor in tears.
Her uncle, ignoring her pleas, yelled, "If you step outside this house without my permission again, you'll have me to answer to."
Bella ran back to her room in tears. Everyone was angry with her.
Five days passed like this, and Bella hadn't stepped out of her room. One morning, her friend Ruby called, "Bella, how are you now?"
Bella replied, "I'm fine. Why are you calling so early?"
Ruby excitedly said, "Bella, the merit list is out, and you've topped it! You've also been accepted into your dream college for your master's degree!"
Without saying a word, Bella hung up the call.
Bella had many dreams. She wanted to achieve a lot in life, and her grandfather had always supported her, wanting to see her succeed. But now, he was no longer in this world.
With a determined look, Bella came out of her room. She saw her uncle, aunt, and cousin Richa having breakfast. She walked over to them and noticed how happy they seemed.
No one had noticed her yet, as they were engrossed in their conversation.
Richa was saying, "I never imagined I'd get admission into the city's top MBA college! I'm so happy!" Her father, Nick, responded, "I knew my daughter would have no trouble getting in."
Just then, Richa noticed Bella and thought to herself, "It's such a good day; I hope she doesn't ruin my mood this early in the morning." Richa knew that Bella had ranked higher than her and had secured her seat in the same college before her. This thought made her sad.
Everyone turned to look at Bella as she approached. Bella stood in front of her uncle and said, "Uncle, I've also been accepted into the same college, and I want to continue my studies there. But to confirm my admission, I need to pay the tuition fees, so can you…"
Nick cut her off and stood up, yelling, "Do you even know how expensive that college is?"
Bella quickly responded, "But Richa is also going to study at the same college…"
Nick cut her off again, raising his voice even more, "Richa is my daughter, the daughter of Nick Evans. Nothing is too difficult for her. But you, you've been spoiled by my father. If you had stayed with your father, you'd know that no one in his entire family could afford to send you to that college."
Hearing her uncle speak so harshly to her, Bella felt deeply hurt. She ran back to her room, crying, and locked the door, sobbing uncontrollably. Holding her grandfather's photo in her hands, she cried, "Grandfather, why did you leave me like this?"
Watching Bella cry like that, Richa felt a surge of happiness. She thought, "Now Bella will never stand in my way." Nick left for the office without finishing his breakfast, and seeing this, Richa's mother, Rose, muttered, "That girl is such bad luck. She ruined everything this morning. Poor your father left without even eating breakfast."
Richa, hearing her mother's words, made a face and resumed eating.
Two more days passed. No one from Bella's family checked on her. No one cared whether she ate or not. The old maid, Kasey, who had been working in the Evans mansion for years, took care of Bella. She had been looking after her since childhood. Even Mr. Phillip, Bella's grandfather, had entrusted her with Bella's care, knowing that Rose didn't have good intentions for her.
Kasey continued to feed Bella despite her refusal and looked after her because she knew that with Mr. Phillip gone, no one else would care for Bella in the house.
Meanwhile, Daniel Smith had returned from abroad after finishing his work. He was driving toward his villa, with Jacob, his driver and bodyguard, having picked him up from the airport.
As Daniel's car pulled up near the villa's entrance, a guard opened the car door. Daniel stylishly stepped out and entered his home.
He was about to head to his bedroom when he noticed a powerful-looking man sitting on the sofa in the living room.
Daniel quickly approached the man and said, "Good morning, Uncle! It's been a long time. How have you been?"
The man stood up and embraced Daniel, who hugged him back before sitting on the sofa across from him.
Jacob, who had followed Daniel inside, was terrified to see Jackson sitting there again. He feared what Daniel would do if he found out that Jacob had shared all the information about the girl with Jackson.
Jackson turned to his assistant and said, "Steven, hand me that file."
Steven handed the file to Jackson, who passed it to Daniel, saying, "What do you have to say about this?"
Daniel opened the file and found photos of the girl from that night, seemingly taken from her social media. There was also another picture, taken the morning after, with him and the girl together.
The rest of the documents contained detailed information about the girl. Daniel wasn't surprised, knowing it was no big deal for his uncle to dig up such information. He placed the file back on the table, stood up, and, avoiding Jackson's gaze, said, "Uncle, forget about it. I made a big mistake that night."
Now, what will Jackson say to Daniel? What is Jackson going to do with that girl?
To find out, keep reading, "From Lust to Love..."