Chapter 9 Do All Men Like This?
With one sentence, the chaos in the living room fell completely silent.
The Landon Corp headquarters towered over Unity Corp’s building–many times larger.
At 4
p.m., Stella stood inside the top–floor executive office. The man she was about to marry–the one rumored to be impotent–was sitting at his desk reviewing documents.
Unlike Shane’s cold sharpness, this man radiated pure gentleness. The sunlight pouring through the floor–to–ceiling windows wrapped around him like a halo, making him seem completely nonthreatening.
His pale skin made his features appear even more defined. His nose was tall and straight, and beneath it, his lips were clearly lined and tinged with healthy pink.
Maybe she was staring too intently.
The man slowly looked up.
In an instant, the entire gentle, harmless aura shattered and reversed.
A quiet but undéniable force surged from his eyes. Stella’s chest tightened. She suddenly realized–it wasn’t supreme gentleness. It was supreme
indifference.
“You’re not Luna.”
His voice was low and magnetic.
Stella snapped out of it and straightened her back.
“No. I’m Stella. I’m here to marry you.”
Something flickered in Moses’s eyes.
The woman standing before him, so bright and striking, began to overlap with the stubborn, wild little girl from fifteen years
ago.
Still fierce. But no longer happy.
He closed the file in his hands, his voice deep and quietly entrancing.
“Last–minute swap? Why should I agree?”
Stella answered without a hint of hesitation.
“Because Luna didn’t want you.”
Outside the door, Mu Chen had just raised his hand to knock when he froze on the spot,
Was the Johnson family out of their minds?
How dare they talk about their prince like that?
Moses didn’t seem fazed by the rumors. He simply raised an eyebrow.
“And you don’t?”
Stella let out a light smile and answered with total honesty.
This is a marriage of convenience. There’s no love involved. Why would I care?”
Love?
Moses’s fingers curled slightly.
1/4
Was that man in Cloudtopia the one she loved?
Was that also why she no longer smiled?
He stared at Stella for a full thirty seconds. His dark eyes churned with hidden emotion, but when he finally spoke, his tone
was as calm as ever.
“You bring your documents?”
Stella hadn’t expected that on the same afternoon she returned to Capital City, she’d be registering a marriage with a man she’d never met–one who even had a medical condition.
They got there just before the office closed.
As she stared at the bright red marriage certificate in her hand, a strange sense of disconnection washed over her.
But at the same time, it felt like she’d finally severed things with Shane.
“Your contact info.”
Moses’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
He stood by her side, silhouetted by the light, his expression cold. Yet the way he handed her his phone was surprisingly
courteous.
After exchanging numbers, the first thing Moses sent her was a city map, with a few places circled in red.
There was a luxury penthouse in the heart of the business district, a cozy townhouse on the outskirts, and a refined River Villa.
“Pick whichever you like.”
His tone was still perfectly even.
A true marriage of convenience–without even the pretense of love.
Stella didn’t mind. She chose a high–rise apartment near Johnson Corp, and also selected the secluded River Villa.
There were still some of her mother’s ceramics left. It would be a good place for them.
She was about to explain her reasons to Moses.
But he had already called his assistant to send someone over and clean the properties.
She was impressed by how fast he moved–and surprised he hadn’t asked a single question.
“You’re not going to ask why I picked those two places?”
“You were the one who said it: no love, just mutual benefit.”
Moses’s brow lifted slightly. In his calm eyes, her reflection shimmered–as if waiting for her to confirm her own words.
Stella fell silent.
Right. That had been her condition.
But the years she spent with Shane had left her with certain habits–habits she hadn’t shaken.
Shane always said he didn’t want to lose track of her.
So she always told him where she was.
At expos, or in quiet cafés.
She did everything to be the perfect girlfriend.
2/4
But Shane had never truly cared about her whereabouts.
The thought tightened her chest. But strangely, her soul felt lighter.
She gripped her phone and asked him:
“Since this is a partnership… what do I have to do in this marriage?”
“For now, go check out the places you picked. Be my wife.”
Moses opened the car door for her.
He really was playing the gentlemanly husband role.
The driver stepped on the gas and headed toward the apartment near Johnson Corp.
But she didn’t want to go.
That place was just a base–for her to take back control of Johnson Corp.
It wasn’t a home.
“Let’s go to River Villa first. I need someone to drop off a few things.”
Her voice was calm.
She thought the driver would ask for Moses’s opinion first.
But instead, he turned the wheel without a word and followed her instructions.
Strange.
She’d expected Moses to be like her father–controlling. Like Shane–unable to let go of the smallest bit of power.
Especially on things like this.
Moses must’ve noticed the flash of confusion in her eyes.
“You’re my wife. Not some decoration. Your decisions are my decisions.”
Power.
He offered it like it was her birthright.
Moses wasn’t stingy with anything.
And yet, even though they sat together in the small car, their arms were far apart.
Love–he probably couldn’t offer that.
Stella sat quietly for a long time.
Then, surprisingly, she realized–maybe marrying Moses wasn’t such a bad idea.
Her body slowly relaxed.
As the car turned into a tree–lined road dappled with shadows, she spoke casually:
“Since we’re married, shouldn’t we set some ground rules?”
Moses let out a soft chuckle.
But the air in the car suddenly turned a few degrees colder.
“Go ahead.”
3/4
“The wedding should be three months from now.”
She’d rather get to work at Johnson Corp than plan some fancy ceremony.
“Until then, we live separately.”
She needed some time alone.
No Shane.
No men.
Moses’s knuckles tightened slightly.
Stella was already his wife.
But maybe she hadn’t completely let go of that other man.
He could’ve said no.
But when he turned to her, her eyes looked so dim.
Eyes that had once been bright–now dulled from heartbreak.
Moses’s face turned cold.
“Fine. I rarely go home anyway. Do what you want with the houses.”
Then he handed her a card.
“Spend freely. Buy whatever you like.”
Black with gold trim.
No spending limit.
It looked just like the card Shane had given her back when he first made serious money.
Stella blurted out instinctively:
“Do all men like doing this?”
As soon as the words left her mouth-
Moses tossed the card onto the seat.
Stella blinked, suddenly aware of how rude her question sounded. She quickly reached for the card.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I just remembered something-”
“Sounds like my wife’s had a lot of experience with men.”
