Chapter 108: Without censoring

A few minutes later, the duo had packed their luggage and Tom was driving them back toward the city. The mood in the car was sullen.

The farther the villa fell behind them, the quieter Stella became. She was disappointed that the vacation which had been going on sweetly had been cut short, that coupled with the loss of the ambassadorial deal Adrian had destroyed made Stella looked totally devastated.

At first she only watched the road with her arms loosely folded. Then her responses shortened. By the time the stretch of city light began to show ahead, she was no longer simply tired. A deep frown had settled into her face, and whatever softness the vacation had left on her had evaporated under the return of Adrian’s shadow.

Tom noticed. He glanced at her once, then again when she shifted in the seat without speaking. He did not fill the silence with empty comfort. He could tell from her body language that she was not the kind of woman who wanted soft noises while she was angry.

A moment later, the System dinged;

```

[RELATIONSHIP MAINTENANCE MISSION]

Harem member 001: Stella Marchetti

Objective: Put Stella back into a good mood.

Deadline: 24 hours

Reward:

• +10 Stability

• +5 Loyalty

• +5 Affection

• $50,000

Penalty:

• -15 Stability

• -15 Loyalty

```

Tom’s eyes squinted, her brows furrowing in ignorance as he read through. Before he could fully absorb the mission, another panel layered beneath it.

```

[RELATIONSHIP METER — STELLA MARCHETTI]

Slot: 001

Status: Recruited

Affection: 30%

Loyalty: 20%

Stability: 20%

```

"What are those again?" Tom thought the question in his mind and the system replied immediately;

[Host is confused,] [Expected.]

"I just recruited her."

[Recruitment and relationship maintenance are not the same.] The system paused to let that sink in before continuing;

[Recruitment means the target has been claimed. The relationship meter measures the present state of that claim. Affection is how warmly she feels toward Host. Loyalty is whether she will side with Host when pressure comes and whether she will support host in every sense when the need arises. Stability is how secure the bond currently is.]

Tom’s eyes flicked briefly toward Stella, still frowning in the passenger seat and heaved silently.

[A recruited woman can still be shaken. If Host leaves the meter neglected, the bond weakens. If Host maintains it, the bond hardens. That is why these missions matter.]

Tom understood enough. Claimed did not mean finished. Claimed meant he now had something worth protecting.

He glanced at Stella again. There were many soft ways to improve a woman’s mood. None of them would touch this. Not properly. The thing souring her was not fatigue and not leftover romance. It was the deal Adrian had stripped from her to teach her a lesson.

He knew that If he wanted her mood restored, he had to restore what had been taken.

He blinked slowly as he calculated ideas in his mind. He arrived on one and he lifted his chin...

He drove her to the penthouse first.

It was only when the familiar building came into view did Stella seem to jolt out from her thoughts. She blinked and ran her hands through her hair, an act that Tom had never seen on her before. Her hair was always well styled and Tom knew she was very much aware of that to want to ruin it by running hands through it. She would rather flip a finger through it when she was talking. And even that was elegant just as her every other behavior unlike the carefree one she just did.

From that alone, Tom could see how much the lost deal affected her.

"You okay?" He couldn’t stop the question from leaving his throat. Stella nodded in response without bothering to turn to look at him.

Tom parked, stepped out, and walked around to open her side before taking the overnight bag from the back.

They walked toward the entrance together. For a few steps neither spoke. Then Stella finally broke the quiet without looking at him.

"I hate that he can still reach into my work like that."

"I know," Tom replied quietly.

"It wasn’t even about the deal alone." Her voice remained controlled, but the anger under it was clear. "It was the reminder. That he can give something and take it back whenever he wants me smaller."

Tom adjusted his grip on the bag. "Then we don’t leave it like that." he said firmly.

"Hey..." He called out when they reached the door, she turned to face him fully. The frown was still there, though her eyes were clearer now, sharper with attention.

"Get some rest. Don’t sit up all night turning that conversation with him over in your head." Tom said warmly.

Stella’s mouth tightened. "Easier said."

"I know." He held her gaze. "But you don’t need to carry this one alone. That ambassadorial deal will come back to you before the end of tomorrow."

That made her peer at him more carefully. "You sound very confident."

"I am."

"Confidence is cheap." she countered.

"Not when it’s backed by something, I didn’t ask you to come back to the city just to watch you stay angry. Trust me." Tom said.

For a moment Stella only watched him, searching his face for bluff. Whatever she found there did not remove the anger completely, but it steadied her enough to nod slowly.

"Alright, I’ll trust you. Don’t make me regret that." she replied.

"I won’t."

He waited until she was inside before returning to the car and pulling away.

As he drove off, he saw the relationship maintenance mission timer ticking down in the corner of his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~

When Tom reached the house, it was quiet.

No sign of Sienna in the living areas. No movement upstairs that suggested she was home and simply avoiding him. Her non appearance suited him so he did not go looking for her.

He went straight to his bedroom, shut the door, and crossed to the drawer where he had kept the card from the wine evening and pulled out an important item...

Adrian’s card.

He turned it once between his fingers. The name, the number, the polished little claim of status printed on it... all of it looked smaller now than it had on the night it was handed over and Tom scoffed in pure disgust.

He typed the number into his phone and dialed.

It rang, once, then again, again, and again...

On the fifth ring, there was still nothing.

Tom’s face tightened. He ended the call, opened a new message, and typed without censoring his words.

*Mr. Senator, do you know you weren’t alone at the manager’s office in the Goldy Realty Company?

Call me.*

He sent it.

Then he dropped the phone and walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

He was certain his phone would ring soon... Very soon.