Silence filled the air like a heavy shroud.

Mitchel's countenance darkened as if the end of the world had arrived.

A hint of blood tainted his lips, and he regarded her with a contemptuous smirk. "I never imagined someone like you would lack all sense of shame."

This was an insult to her character. Raegan's expression shifted once more, and she lifted her hand to slap him again, only to have it firmly seized by Mitchel's outstretched arm.

"At the very least, we were once husband and wife. Let's consider that slap a parting gesture between strangers. I won't hold it against you. However..." Mitchel tightened his grip, crushing her hand, and issued a stern warning, “If you wish to avoid your studio's failure in Ardlens, I suggest you refrain from physical altercations in the future."

Mitchel callously threw Raegan's hand aside.

Raegan leaned on the car door for support, preventing a fall. Dismay, caution, and intimidation... These were the sole impressions she carried from tonight, memories etched permanently in her mind.

Raegan's breathing calmed from fast to slow, then almost stopped.

The night air felt cool, under desolate moonlight.

Her icy tears lingered, her heart now numb. She fixed her gaze on Mitchel in front of her, her pale lips forming a forced smile as she softly conceded, "Mitchel, you've succeeded."

In just two short weeks, Mitchel had depleted her reservoir of courage. Her once firm beliefs now cruelly betrayed her. How foolish she had been, playing the clown for the past two weeks.

Mitchel observed Raegan's lifeless demeanor, his throat tight, unable to speak. She appeared so fragile that uttering another word seemed poised to shatter her.

"Mitchel..." Raegan's tender voice reached out to Mitchel, as if they were still deeply in love.

Silently, Mitchel gazed at her, offering no response.

However, Raegan didn't need his response. She simply let the affectionate term slip from her lips for one final time.

"Mr. Dixon." Reverting to the formality of their initial encounter, Raegan introduced a sense of detachment greater than anything they had known before.

“Mr. Dixon, I surrender." Raegan beheld Mitchel standing mere inches away, yet he lingered like an elusive mirage, intangible and distant.

Raegan passed by him with a brush of her presence, and her parting words, though soft as a whisper in the wind, resonated with crystalline clarity. "From now on, I won't pester you anymore."

Tears cascaded down Raegan's cheeks, marking her farewell. She made no effort to mask her breakdown. Instead, she regarded her tears as a farewell both to her former self and to him.

She accepted that Mitchel's love had faded. She also acknowledged that love had its limits. This time, she released without reservation, without needing anyone's persuasion. At that moment, fantasies, regrets, bonds, and hesitations all found their resting place.