"You've got it all wrong. I had planned to get a dress made for a trip, which was postponed. I thought it was a good opportunity to..."

"Ah! Ah!" Katie had not finished speaking when she suddenly covered her face and screamed.

“smash!" The sound of shattering filled the room as a porcelain bowl grazed Katie's face and broke against the glass turntable.

“Keep your schemes to yourself." Mitchel had no interest in hearing Katie out. His lips twisted into a cold smile. “If you're not interested in continuing our agreement, you're free to leave."

Katie's expression shifted rapidly to one of panic as she reached out to grab Mitchel's arm. Yet, remembering the recent pain, she hesitated and pulled back her hand.

Katie realized that in front of Mitchel, neither excuses nor tears would work, so she dropped the act. “Mitchel, you promised me a wedding. What's wrong with my defending my rights before then?"

Her confident tone and the quick change in her demeanor were striking.

This was her true self showing.

“Besides, as part of our agreement, I promised to get the Maxwell family to back off from attempting to murder Raegan and to help you find the antidote after the wedding. Aren't those terms significant enough?"

Katie stood tall, her gaze radiating the confident glow of someone having the upper hand. In the deal with Mitchel, she deemed herself as the one in the advantageous position.

When Mitchel came back, Katie was the only one aware that he had been poisoned. Without wasting a moment, she went straight to him to lay out her demands. Obviously, Mitchel would have to comply. After all, his very survival was at stake.

The poison was said to be lethal without a cure, but that wasn't entirely true. Davey had helped Katie track down the scientist who had concocted the antidote.

Mitchel, to Katie's astonishment, set a condition that he wanted Raegan removed from the Maxwell family's hit list. Mitchel even mentioned the Maxwell family by name, making it clear he knew about her connections.

Katie realized that with Mitchel's resources, figuring out Davey's close ties to the Maxwell family wouldn't have been difficult.

Mitchel's demand was manageable for Katie. She had been the one to orchestrate Raegan's inclusion on the hit list anyway.

Katie assumed if she couldn't win Mitchel's love, so be it. She'd bind him with obligations instead, believing that someday, she'd win his heart through them.

“Katie, you seem to be misunderstanding something," Mitchel said, his eyes intense and menacing. “The thing about agreements is they're limited to what's been agreed upon, nothing more. You said you merely defended your rights?"

He clenched and unclenched his fists, his joints cracking crisply.

Then, he slowly walked forward.

With each step he took, Katie's heart pounded wildly.