“A year,” he said after a little pause. “All I need is a year with you, with the exception of being by my
side. That cannot be changed. For the rest, I will suit your needs.” Stella’s gaze shifted.
She knew all too well that his words weren’t sacrosanct, but there was nothing she could do even if she
didn’t trust him one bit. “You will suit me for the rest?” she asked with some hesitation. He combed her
hair and said, “If I can, I will.” Stella sucked in a deep breath and asked tentatively, “Would you agree if
I said I want to become an actress?” Just like her prediction, she felt him stiffen for a moment. She
closed her eyes and laid down, mocking, “Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill. I will…” “Sure.”
Before she could finish, he interrupted her.
He turned to her and dropped a gentle kiss on her hair and the scruff of her neck “Sure. If you want, I’ll
find you the best production team.” She didn’t think that he would agree so quickly. There was a
moment there when she actually doubted what she heard. He turned her around, where their gazes
met. “Any other requests?” Knowing that she needed to grab this opportunity, she pursed her lips. “In
this one year, you can’t force me…”
Weston suddenly burst out laughing. It was a deep and genuine laugh. “Which part do you mean?”
Undoubtedly, he knew what she meant and deliberately wanted to tease her. “You can’t force me to
have sex with you,” she stated bluntly without thinking. “What if you beg me?”
“I won’t.”
“It’s too soon to judge.” He suddenly reached his hands out to touch her. But she grabbed his wrist and
held him in place before he could reach her. “You haven’t promised me anything yet.” “I can only
promise you that if you don’t like it, I won’t force myself on you.” He let go of her. His long fingers
traveled on her face before he tapped on the corner of her lips. “The words you say aren’t what your
heart truly wants.”
When it came to this topic, she knew that there was no point in arguing with him on this topic since he’d
still use logic to manipulate her in the end. “And one more thing. No one can ever know about us. In
exactly one year, we’ll be living our own lives, you can never bother me anymore.” Stella sounded very
serious when she said that, as if she wanted to cut all ties with him. Weston didn’t like how she was
looking at him right now and reached out to cover her eyes.” Don’t look at me like that.”
She wanted to know his answer and continued asking, “Do you agree to these terms.” He chuckled
looking at how serious she was. “Where did you get the confidence that a year later, I would still be
interested in you, like right now?”.
Stella was quiet for a while before suggesting, “Let’s sign a contract. When the deadline is over, so will
our relationship, regardless of whether you’re still interested in me.”
“If you lose interest in me before the deadline, you can terminate the contract at any time. But if the
deadline hits, you must let me go. This is protection for both of us, right?”
“You’re talking about conditions with me?” When it came to business, Weston always had the upper
hand, but he never showed it in front of her.
This was something new to him.
Nonetheless, she seemed really serious this time. “If you want something from me, at least give me
some hope. If you keep me trapped by your side for the rest of your life, I don’t think I can hold on…”
Stella meant exactly what she said.
It was either staying by his side like this, in a half-dead state, or giving her a year’s time before letting
her go.
He would get what he wanted, and she could live with hope.
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