"Don't catch a chill. I'll ring up Jackson."

Handing her back the phone, he tucked her in.

Claudia, lips tight, grabbed the phone again. A flood of messages bombarded her, all about the marriage agreement with Bennett.

After the initial panic, she regained her composure. She messaged Joann, advising her to stay quiet until Bennett sorted it out.

To Aurora, she wrote, “Let's chat about this later." And to Zaria, she simply said, "It's complicated. I can't explain now." She ignored the rest.

After all, this was their private business.

More than the online hate, Claudia fretted over whether Jace was in the Loop.

She shrugged off the online trolls-they were just keyboard warriors and not anyone she'd meet in real life, so Claudia brushed it off.

But Jace was another story. She'd never pulled a stunt like this before.

And explaining how she and Bennett went from a contract marriage to the real deal was a tough nut to crack.

After mulling it over, Claudia resolved to call Jace.

Chapter 746 I Never Planned To Divorce...

Claudia grabbed her phone and headed out onto the balcony.

The wind was blowing hard and cold, so she wrapped her coat tighter.

As her phone buzzed, she bit her lip, feeling a rush of nerves she wasn't used to.

She'd never felt this rebellious in her life.

After a few seconds, Jace's voice crackled through the line.

"Cece?"

"Dad..." Claudia answered, but then words failed her.

Jace already knew about the online mess before Claudia had called.

There was a quiet pause, then Jace sighed.

“Cece, are you calling about you and Bennett?"

Claudia held onto the phone tighter, adjusting her collar, and whispered, "Yeah."

Seeing Claudia struggle, Jace asked, “Is the agreement real?"