Time-limited Engagement Novels & Stories

“I’ll remember this when you’re begging for mercy.” “Careful,” she said. “It’s delicate. The formula doesn’t keep. And there’s only one drop in there. Can’t have you taking it before our deal is done, can I?” I stared at the pouch, desperation a new and unwelcome feeling. She leaned forward, voice silken. “You have until sundown tomorrow. If you don’t agree to the engagement by then… I destroy it. No cure. No second chance. No recovery for your mate.”

As long as this woman treated him right and made him happy, who was I to interfere? Jack was a little less open to the whole live-in situation. He was fiercely overprotective of our father, and he was certain that Denise was just another scheming woman after our father's money. I'll admit that it was moving suspiciously fast. Two months was a pretty short span of dating before deciding to move in together. But Dad insisted that at his age, time was short, and you had to make the most of it. Besides that, he'd known this woman a long time. Her late husband had also been a professor from the sciences department at the university. So it wasn't like she was a total stranger he had picked up on t

"The board is satisfied for now, but they will demand more proof of legitimacy. We need a plausible timeline." "A plausible timeline," Dylan repeated, staring at the photo where his eyes were fixed solely on her. "A real engagement lasts months. We can’t endure months of this charade, Anna." “Then we don’t,” she said, her voice dropping. “We ‘date’ publicly for a few weeks to solidify the story, show we’re a united front, and then we strategically ‘cool off’ and say we're prioritizing our careers. It’s a clean break.” The phrase hung heavy in the air. Clean break. It sounded professional, logical, and utterly devastating to Dylan. The anxiety he’d managed to suppress after the kiss surged ba

48 hours Stay tuned

Rhydian asked. “I don’t know,” the older Mira said quietly. “Truly, I don’t.” “Then guess,” I said. She looked past me at the silver light. “The window closes when the transfer’s done. Fastest way to block a second engagement is to finish the first.” She held my eyes. “You don’t have time to wait.” “I wasn’t planning to,” I said. “Good. Because three hours is optimistic if she’s running.” I glanced at Rhydian.

Delay meant unpredictability. The exact thing the system had once eliminated. The replica’s voice cooled further. “Negotiation increases vulnerability.” Reeves responded calmly, “So does concentration.” The line went quiet. The skyline outside shifted again—live polling data now overlaying districts in subtle color gradients. Public engagement numbers climbing. Participation rising. The newcomer checked their phone again. “Engagement up twenty-two percent in under an hour.” The replica looked almost… offended. “They’re reacting to novelty.” “Maybe,” I said.

Timeframe? ‘Forty-eight hours. The message should be that his next meeting with me is his only chance to avoid a permanent solution.’ ‘Understood.’

He began outlining the terms, his voice like a corporate memo: “One. The term is six months. We announce the engagement next week. There will be an appropriate public romance narrative. We will be convincing. You will smile. You will wear my ring.” “Two. There are to be zero real feelings. Zero personal expectations. We are business associates only. Discretion is absolute. We share no physical intimacy; we share only a stage.” “Three. The compensation. I will immediately deposit an amount sufficient to cover your father’s outstanding debt and the projected cost of the Meritus treatment, plus a retainer for six months of your public service. Consider two million dollars settled immediately.”

"I don't want to marry you." "Don't worry, it shouldn't come to that." He gives me a small smile that isn't very comforting or convincing. "Although we will need to make our act very convincing. They need to believe we're having sex regularly. And the act will need to be believable." We move to a bench as he continues to explain the parameters of our new arrangement, should I agree to the updated terms. "And if we did get married, It wouldn't be forever, just until everything is safe again. This engagement would be no more than a year, maybe two. And in the end you'd have enough money to do whatever you want. Go to school, travel the world. You'd have no limits."