Chapter 10 Free Labor
At some point, Moses had leaned in.
His sharply defined features were inches away, and in his pupils, Stella‘ could see her own reflection.
The next moment, she felt his hand grasp her chin.
His fingers were long and well–defined, and he tilted her head upward with a quiet force.
Until their
eyes met.
Moses parted his lips.
“But now, you’re my wife. Those old cards–you should clear them out. Okay?”
His deep voice, like a cello’s low noté, rang out. Surprisingly, there was no trace of anger in it. If anything, he sounded… gentle.
Stella’s lashes trembled slightly as she felt his hand move away.
She picked up the card again.”
Those once–sweet memories…
Now all that remained was pain.
She heard her own voice.
“I was going to clear them out anyway. I don’t need you to tell me.”
“Mm.”
Moses responded lightly, the storm in his eyes fading
So she still hadn’t let go of that man.
Soon, the car stopped in front of River Villa.
The villa was understated but luxurious. Its balcony looked out onto the river, flanked by lush green mountains. It was elegant, no question.
Outside the door were over a dozen large cardboard boxes.
Stella had just sent for them–her mother’s ceramics, carefully packed and delivered.
The housekeepers stepped forward, ready to help.
But Stella waved them off.
“I’ll do it myself.”
She’d already lost two of her mother’s pieces thanks to Shane.
She didn’t want any more accidents.
Ceramics were fragile.
She didn’t trust untrained hands.
She was about to call a specialist and wondered if anyone would even take a mountain job this quickly. If she had to wait too long, the temperature swings in the hills could easily damage the pieces.
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Chapter
But beside her, Moses had already taken off his jacket. Wearing only a thin white shirt, he rolled up his sleeves.
“You’ve got free labor right here. Don’t want to use it?”
He… knew how to joke?
Stella glanced at the strong curve of his forearm and pressed her lips together.
“Sure. It looks like a lot, but it’s mostly small stuff.”
She began unpacking.
Box after box emerged, filled with fragile items wrapped in paper and foam.
Moses didn’t ask a single question. He simply took the boxes from her, dismissed the hovering housekeepers, and walked them inside to the room she’d pointed out.
Every time he set one down, he made sure to support the base with his fingers, laying it gently on the floor.
He didn’t know what any of these items were.
But they mattered to Stella.
Outside the room, Stella watched him work. Her gaze softened without her realizing.
Maybe Moses wasn’t as cold as the rumors claimed.
When they finally finished unpacking, Stella felt this man was capable of both calm restraint and genuine engagement. If marriage terms could be negotiated with him–then maybe business could, too.
Eager to establish herself again at Johnson Corp, she worked up the nerve to ask:
“Do you want to take a break? Maybe talk about the Johnson Corp Simplicity Bay project?”
She’d already asked the housekeepers to prepare refreshments.
But Moses’s expression turned cold.
First she made him carry boxes for free.
Now she brought out her family’s business interests.
There was nothing personal about this for her.
The air around them seemed to drop a few degrees.
Stella hesitated.
First she set ground rules, now business. It really was a bit heartless.
She didn’t have any feelings for Moses, but since he was being respectful, she didn’t want to offend him.
“I mean… we can talk about it later…”
“Go on.”
Moses’s voice was flat again. The chill in his eyes vanished, and he calmly rolled down his sleeves, ready to listen.
As if that coldness a moment ago had never existed.
Still, since he was willing to listen-
Stella was happy to talk.
“Our Johnson Corp has been rooted in Capital City for three generations. We have deep cultural insight into this region.”
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landmark. From cohesive street design to
“The Landons have the wealth and vision to turn Simplicity Bay into a creeds expectations…”
integrated local culture, Johnson Corp is confident we can deliver a project that exceeds expectations…”
She might not currently work at Johnson Corp.
But she hadn’t forgotten–back when the company was barely surviving, it was her mother’s ceramics that kept it afloat.
Johnson Corp was part of her mother’s legacy. Stella had always paid close attention, and she was determined to take on this project.
Moses listened, watching the light return to her previously dull eyes.
Compared to a bird trapped in another man’s cage-
A free bird was far more captivating.
A smile tugged at his lips without warning.
Stella, caught mid–pitch, glanced up and saw the almost indulgent look on his face.
And suddenly, a distant memory stirred.
مر
Someone had once looked at her like that too–gently, full of care.
She stopped talking.
Moses seemed to snap out of it as well, his smile fading.
“Why did you stop?”
“Have we… met before?”
Stella furrowed her brows. Her eyes searched Moses’s face, trying to find something familiar–some piece to fit into the puzzle of her faded memory.
But the harder she tried to remember-
The blurrier it got. Like an old photograph, worn and dusty, yellowed and cracked. No original detail remained.
She frowned, frustrated.
Moses waited a moment, then finally said:
“I’ll approve the Simplicity Bay project.”
Stella looked up sharply.
He agreed–already?
She hadn’t even finished.
Did Moses not hear what she said? Or was it just because of their marriage?
Most likely the latter.
At the end of the day, this marriage was still a business deal.
Stella let go of that flicker of curiosity and stepped forward, serious again.
Thank you for agreeing to work with Johnson Corp.”
“As part
of the deal, you can also ask me to do one thing in return.”
Moses went quiet. His lips pressed into a near–invisible line.
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She couldn’t remember their past-
But she was quick to draw a line between them now.
Knock knock-
A housekeeper appeared at the door, Liam standing behind her.
Both Stella and Moses looked over.
Stella was first to speak. “If you have other things to do, go ahead. I can handle the rest here.”
It was their first real meeting. She didn’t want to take up too much of his time.
To Moses-
That was clearly a dismissal.
No reason to stay any longer.
“Alright.”
He left not looking back.
Through the thin curtains, Stella watched the car’s taillights fade down the hill. She turned to start unwrapping the ceramics -but something on the windowsill caught her eye.
Flowers.
Fresh green leaves, soft petals, arranged loosely in a row.
Exactly like the rare flowers she used to love.
“Moses’s housekeepers are pretty thoughtful.”
She couldn’t help but say it aloud.
Wendy had yanked her flowers out by the roots.
But Moses’s staff had gone out of their way to plant these rare seedlings for her.
Even the struggling students she once sponsored-
Couldn’t compare to the housekeepers of her marriage partner.
Back then, she really had trusted the wrong people.
The mood for admiring flowers vanished. She turned around and began carefully unpacking and arranging her mother’s
ceramics.
Then James called.
His tone was far from pleasant–but he sounded desperate for answers.
“Where are you and Moses at? Have you eaten together? Met the parents? Got the license?”
