Chapter 170: Stunned into silence

"What?" Stella’s voice cut through the car sharply.

Tom did not answer immediately, he couldn’t, he was still choosing his words. And that silence from him was enough to make her park by the side of the road without another word. She turned fully toward him, one hand still on the wheel, and shook her head in confusion...

"No. I definitely did not hear that right."

"You did," Tom replied gently.

He turned to her carefully, planning to keep his voice level but before he could continue, the System interrupted.

```

[SYSTEM ADVICE]

Handle this conversation gently.

Target’s attachment is high.

Harsh delivery may damage Stability.

```

Tom swallowed in understanding, then spoke more softly.

"I can’t be yours alone."

Stella stared at him and asked sharply; "Why?"

He opened his mouth, but she did not wait.

"Why can’t you?" she pressed on. "Sienna is only a contracted wife. Even I, who was engaged to Adrian, am willing to cut it off. So why can’t you?"

"It’s not because of Sienna. Or anyone else. It’s because of me." Tom maintained gently but firmly.

Stella’s furrowed her brows together. "I don’t understand."

"I can’t be a one-woman man," he said quietly. "That isn’t the kind of man I am. I can give you attention. Sex. Care. Equally. But I can’t belong to you alone."

For a long moment, Stella only looked at him. The fury in her eyes did not disappear, but it shifted into something heavier. Calculation and hurt she refused to name. Outside the window, traffic continued as if nothing important was happening inside the car. Then, without answering, she nodded once and started the engine again.

Tom said nothing either. There was nothing useful left to add, by the way.

As the car moved back into traffic, Stella exhaled slowly through her nose. Her posture remained perfect, but her silence had weight. Tom glanced at the System panel and checked her meters.

Nothing had dropped. Affection? Remained locked. Loyalty also remained locked. And the stability wss still holding at 65%.

He let out a quiet breath of relief, then studied her from the side. She was thinking. He could see it in the set of her mouth and the way her fingers gripped the wheel. Whatever conclusion she was reaching, she was reaching it alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Stella dropped him off at the club site without a single word.

She did not look at him when he stepped out. She simply drove away, still pulling an unreadable expression, as if the conversation in the car had already been filed under decisions already made.

By the time she reached her home, the afternoon had begun evaporating into evening. She checked the time, set her bag down, and told herself she still had a few hours.

Adrian was returning tonight in name, but after their earlier call, she knew better. He would come to her house before the day ended. Men like him always did when they felt control slipping.

She knew what she needed to confirm.

~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, Adrian walked into Stella’s living room and stopped short.

She was already standing in the middle of the room in a dress designed to do damage to men’s composure. The dress clung where it needed to cling and left a lot of skin exposed to make the intention obvious. It was a beachwear that left a lot of cleavage and had slits by the side. In each hand, she held a glass of wine. When he stepped farther inside, she extended one toward him.

This was not the reception he had expected.

Adrian blinked, then took the glass after a pause. Stella’s mouth curved slightly in a small smirk.

"Bottoms up," she murmured.

He peered at her face with open suspicion, but drank the wine. She did the same, never breaking eye contact. Then she set her glass aside, walked to him, and put her arms around him with confidence.

Adrian stiffened. "What are you doing?"

Stella did not answer instead sheet her perfume did the answering. She hugged him tightly, letting the perfume cloud his senses. But did it?

"Didn’t you say you were cutting off the engagement?" he asked quickly as if he just couldn’t see the sexiness at his front, being pushed into him.

She tipped her head slightly, still holding him. "What does this look like?"

"An invitation to sex?" He answered bluntly.

Stella’s smirk confirmed he was correct but Adrian shook his head and stepped back.

"I’m not in the mood. I just got back from a work trip. A work trip, Stella."

Stella blinked but she managed to keep the smirk on. She had predicted this response, but she had still needed to hear it from him directly.

"You’re not even aroused... From this?" she asked gently.

Adrian scoffed. "You’re always childish when you want sex."

He moved past her and sat down, already reclaiming the room with posture alone. "We have issues to settle. Not sex. Go and put on proper clothes so we can talk."

The dismissal in his voice was sharp and familiar. Stella’s expression tightly and she dropped the smirk.

"You’re always like this." she pointed out , still gentle.

"Like what?" he countered.

She shook her head as if to say he should forget that and added instead; "I am letting you know that I want sex right now. Not a discussion."

"No," Adrian said flatly. "We are not having sex. And after the wedding, we are going to have a serious conversation about your sexual attitude. You’re too wild."

That was all she needed. Stella swallowed, then straightened. Whatever small hope she might have left for compatibility died quietly in that sentence.

"Adrian..." she said called out and held his gaze. "we are not compatible. We should not get married for publicity."

His mouth opened but Stella already knew what he would say so she added sharply;

"It isn’t only the sex," she continued. "There are other reasons. And you know them unless you want to act clueless. I believe we are mature enough not to drag this into bad blood. A broken engagement is better than a broken marriage."

She turned toward the hallway before he could answer, already done with the performance.

"I’m going to change."

Then she walked into her room and left him seated there, stunned into silence.