"Do you intend to break our agreement? Do you want Nicole to go back to the detention center?" Mitchel asked, his voice deep and devoid of humor.

Raegan abruptly froze. She couldn't let Nicole endure that dreadful fate again.

With a trembling voice, she pleaded, “Mitchel, you never mentioned this before. I... I'm sorry. I can't agree to this."

Their failed relationship had left wounds much deeper than visible scars. It cast a shadow on her soul, and even Luciana was no longer by her side.

The thought of a marriage, despised by his parents, was suffocating her.

“Mitchel, I am willing to go to great lengths to keep my promise, but marriage is a line I cannot cross," Raegan said, her voice quivering.

With each word she uttered, Mitchel's features grew more frigid, his anger reaching its peak.

“Any length?" His grip tightened on her coat, his voice seething with rage.

"Can we do it here, right now? Huh?"

Raegan clung to his hand, pleading, "No!"

Feeling her shake, Mitchel's hold eased, his expression returning to its usual calm as if he was not the person consumed by fury.

His lips barely moved as he coldly proposed, "Three months."

Raegan looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I need three months of marriage. After that, you can choose to end"

Raegan was baffled by Mitchel's suggestion of a temporary marriage.

She wondered why Mitchel had chosen her, when so many others would have jumped at the chance to be by his side, even if just for a day.

Mitchel looked at Raegan with a calm intensity and explained, "My grandfather's health is failing. The doctors say he has less than two months."

Raegan felt as if her world had just shattered.

The Dixon family was not known for warmth, except for the love she received from Mitchel's grandfather. This news was a devastating blow.