Chapter 6
"What…!?"
"Yes. I gave it back to them," Stella said quietly.
Her grandmother froze in the middle of the living room, her tired eyes widening as if she had misheard. "You… gave it back?" Her voice rose sharply. "Stella, are you out of your mind? That cheque was fifty billion. Fifty billion! Do you even understand what you did?"
Her grandmother had just returned home from the restaurant, still smelling of oil and smoke, never expecting to hear such words. In all her years of struggling, she had never imagined that her own granddaughter would return money powerful people had willingly offered.
Stella stood near the window, her fingers clenched tightly at her sides. She didn't raise her head. "I understand exactly what I did."
"Then why?" her grandmother demanded, anger shaking her voice. "Why would you return it? Are you trying to ruin us?"
Stella finally turned around. Her eyes were calm, but something heavy rested behind them. "Don't worry, Grandma. I'll work hard. I'll earn money for us myself."
Her grandmother scoffed bitterly. "And who will pay for your college? Who will handle the debts? Dreams don't pay bills, Stella."
"We earn money at the restaurant, don't we?" Stella replied. She tried to sound confident, but her voice trembled slightly. "Please don't stress yourself. That money wasn't ours to begin with."
"Even so," her grandmother snapped, "they gave it to us!"
Stella lowered her gaze, biting her lip. "I don't want money that comes with strings attached."
Her grandmother stared at her as if she were a stranger. "Oh heavens," she whispered. "Why do I have such a foolish granddaughter?"
Overwhelmed, the old woman sank to her knees, striking the floor in frustration, her hands clutching her head. Stella rushed forward immediately, panic flashing across her face.
"Grandma! Please, don't do this," she begged, helping her up. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, but I can't accept something that doesn't feel right."
Silence fell between them, heavy and aching.
The afternoon
By noon, the house had settled again. The anger faded into exhaustion. Stella prepared tea while her grandmother sat quietly, staring into nothingness.
"I promise you," Stella said softly, kneeling beside her, "once I finish college, I'll find a good job. I'll make more money than we ever dreamed of. You won't have to borrow from anyone ever again."
Her grandmother sighed deeply.
Stella knew the truth she didn't say out loud—that her grandmother had borrowed money from dangerous people to keep the restaurant alive. Loan sharks who didn't forgive delays. Stella had been paying that debt silently, serving customers with a smile while fear lived in her chest.
This was why she couldn't accept Noir's money.
Because once she did, she feared she would never be free.
On the other side of the city, the sun slowly sank behind towering walls of glass and steel.
Noir remained seated in his mansion, shadows stretching across the marble floor. His phone buzzed repeatedly.
Zeth's voice broke the silence. "Sir, the shareholders are pushing back. We need to adjust the strategy—"
Noir interrupted calmly, "Then counter them. Divide their influence and cut the weakest link."
Zeth paused. "That will cause internal conflict."
"Good," Noir replied coldly. "Fear keeps people obedient."
Zeth hesitated before asking, "And if it spirals out of control?"
"Then resign," Noir said flatly. "If you can't manage chaos, you don't belong here."
There was silence on the other end.
Finally, Zeth spoke again, his tone quieter. "Are you really going to live like this forever?"
Noir's jaw tightened.
Before Zeth could say another word, Noir ended the call.
He leaned back on the sofa, lifting his coffee cup only to realize it had gone cold. His thoughts drifted—unwanted, sharp—toward a pair of defiant eyes that refused his generosity.
Stella.
The doorbell rang.
Annoyance flickered across his face. He set the cup down and stood, moving toward the door with slow, deliberate steps.
When he opened it, a fox sat calmly on the doorstep, its eyes unnervingly intelligent.
Noir stared at it. "What are you doing here?"
In a shimmer of light, the fox transformed into a woman—elegant, dangerous, her smile laced with familiarity. She stepped past him without permission, her fingers brushing his shoulder.
Noir grabbed her wrist instantly and shoved her hand away. "Don't touch me."
She laughed softly. "How long are you going to keep treating me like this?"
"What are you doing here?" he demanded again, his voice sharp.
"You know why," she replied smoothly. "I'm here because I want you."
She moved closer, wrapping her arms around him, clinging as if she belonged there. "Don't be so cold. I've missed you."
Noir pushed her away forcefully. She stumbled and fell to the floor.
"I told you," he said darkly, towering over her, "get out. I don't want to see you again."
She winced, then smiled, brushing herself off. "Harsh… so harsh. See what you did?"
Noir turned away and walked back inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
Outside, the fox woman's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with obsession.
"You know nothing," she murmured to the closed door. "But I know this—I will have you."
And somewhere far away, a girl who refused his money unknowingly occupied his thoughts, unsettling him far more than any enemy ever had.