Jannah sat frozen on the edge of the bed, her face completely pale. The words echoed in her ears, sending a terrible chill straight to her bones. Her mind refused to accept the terrifying reality that Dorrent had just thrown in her face.

"No... you are lying," Jannah gasped out, her voice trembling as she shook her head. She gripped the white sheets with her left hand until her knuckles turned white. "You are lying to me! My grandfather would never do that! He would never give me away to a monster like you! What did you do to him? What sick method of manipulation did you use on an old, helpless man to make him agree to this nightmare?!"

Her breathing became frantic, her chest heaving as tears of panic and rage threatened to spill over. She tried to scramble further away from Dorrent, but her sudden, violent movements caused her right arm—still heavy and restricted by the thick plaster cast—to jerk painfully against her side.

Before she could injure herself, Dorrent moved forward. His frame instantly closed the distance, and he caught her by her shoulders. With an unyielding but surprisingly careful grip, he pulled her trembling body directly against his chest. Jannah struggled against him, kicking her legs and trying to push him away with her good left hand, but it was like trying to move a solid mountain of granite.

Dorrent didn’t let go. Instead, he wrapped his arms securely around her, pinning her flailing limbs gently to his chest. He began to pat her back with slow, steady strokes, his voice dropping into a rumbling murmur right beside her ear.

"Calm down, Jannah," Dorrent murmured, his chest vibrating against her cheek. "Watch out. Stop thrashing around before you hurt your hand again. The cast comes off tomorrow, and you are going to ruin all the progress you’ve made if you keep acting like a wild animal."

"Let me go! Don’t touch me!" Jannah shrieked, her voice muffled against his expensive shirt. She detested his warmth, and she hated the heavy, winter-frost scent that rolled off his skin, threatening to suffocate her senses. With a desperate surge of strength, she managed to push her elbow against his ribs, forcing him to loosen his grip slightly so she could look up at his handsome face.

Her dark eyes flashed with an intense, burning fire of hatred. "My grandfather is sick! The old man is losing his memory, and you know it! You can’t buy anything he says right now! He doesn’t even remember the layout of our own street half the time! This isn’t fair... this is a cruel trap! You are just using your massive influence, your wealth, and your terrifying family name to manipulate the weak and the vulnerable!"

Guron Grefo, who had been standing silently near the foot of the bed watching the chaotic display, stepped forward. His eyes looked down at Jannah with unbothered calm.

"You are wrong about that, girl," Guron stated flatly, his booming voice cutting through her words. "Your grandfather is actually doing very well. The medical experts have been working on his brain, and his mind is perfectly functional. He is recovering some of his old memories with complete clarity. He knew exactly who I was, and he knew exactly what he was agreeing to when we spoke."

Jannah’s heart skipped a beat, a deep, sickening dread settling into the pit of her stomach. No... it couldn’t be true. Her grandfather would never betray her. He knew how much she valued her freedom. He knew how much she hated the predatory Alphas of the upper districts. Why would he sign her away to the worst one of them all?

Guron adjusted his jacket, his expression completely unreadable. "My son is only trying to help you by marrying you, Jannah. You are a solitary, defenseless girl from the lower sectors. You have no protection, no family status, and no future out there. You might not understand the value of what we are offering you right now, but you definitely will later."

Jannah let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her eyes locked onto Dorrent’s flawless face. He was looking down at her with those piercing eyes, his expression completely stoic.

"Help me?" Jannah spat out, her voice dripping with venom. "Is that the pathetic lie you are telling yourself, Dorrent? Look at me and tell me the truth! I know you don’t like me at all. You despise me! Why on earth would a billionaire Alpha like you want to get married to a piece of slum filth like me? That is what you always call me, isn’t it? Slum filth! A dirty little herbalist from the gutters! So why this sudden urge to play the savior?!"

Dorrent didn’t answer right away. Instead, his gaze dropped to her trembling, pink lips. The defiance radiating from her tiny frame didn’t annoy him this time; it only fueled the dark, possessive need growing deep within his core. He leaned in slowly, his face casting a shadow over hers, and before she could turn her head away, he pressed his mouth firmly against hers in a brief, possessive kiss.

Jannah gasped against his lips, her eyes widening in shock before she violently pushed his face away with her left hand. "Don’t you dare kiss me!"

Dorrent pulled back just an inch, a cold, dangerous smirk playing on his handsome lips. He looked down at her flushed, angry face, his voice smooth as silk. "You don’t need to worry about why I am doing this, Jannah. But let’s look at the practical side of this arrangement. At the very least, you can rest assured that you won’t be sexually deprived as my wife. Unlike Joanne... that beautiful beauty queen that my mother picked out for me. I can’t even get hard for her. My body feels absolutely nothing when she is near me."

He leaned in a bit closer, his hot breath brushing against her cheek. "But with you? My system reacts completely differently. You will benefit immensely from my great bed matches, and so will I. We are highly compatible in that department, and you know it. We can have beautiful, strong kids together. It’s a natural match."

"Continue dreaming, Dorrent!" Jannah hissed, her voice shaking with disgust as she glared into his eyes. "I am never marrying you! You will never win my heart, you will never earn my respect, and I will absolutely never carry your kids! I would rather tear my own womb out than let a monster like you put a child inside me!"

The harsh, venomous words struck Dorrent in the chest. He felt the sharp sting of her rejection cutting deep into his pride, more than he cared to admit. For a brief, fleeting second, looking at her small, trembling body wrapped in the oversized hospital blanket, a strange wave of genuine pity washed over him.

Deep inside his mind, his mother’s chilling warnings from their previous conversation began to replay like a dark nightmare.

Because nine years ago, during that terrible black cycle rut... you were the one who brutally slaughtered Jannah’s parents in the 3rd Street gutters.