The Fallen Heiress: Contract Marriage with the CEO Who Hates Me
Chapter 24: Why Didn’t You Refuse?

Chapter 24: Why Didn’t You Refuse?

Jane could almost feel her blood draining from her body. She was not scared or anxious but rather flustered, after all, the ribbon was still pretty much a secret and although it was a part of a rather old tradition, it was customary to not bring the topic of that little ceremony up until the moment of its execution.

The girl covered the ribbon with her pale hand and was about to shove it back inside her purse when Felicity snatched the ribbon with one swift motion and stretched it in front of her face, examining it with her curious eyes.

"Why do you have a ribbon in your purse? And what is it... embroidery? Since when are you a fan of handicrafts?"

"Alright, g-give it b-back!"

Jane grabbed the ribbon and threw it inside the purse, closing it tightly as if afraid that it might escape on its own. She then shifted her guilty eyes to her boyfriend, whose face turned unexpectedly serious.

If Felicity could afford to be oblivious to the fine traditions of the learning establishments, Charles had to practically memorize the history of their University before even applying to it, therefore, the sight of the ribbon and his girlfriend’s suspiciously alert behavior were making him reasonably uneasy.

"So they did pick you for that ceremony, huh."

"Yeah..."

"What ceremony?"

Felicity kept turning her head left and right, shifting her wondering eyes between Jane and Charles, clearly unsatisfied with the lack of knowledge she had about the current situation, especially since it looked like the mere appearance of that ribbon caused the overall mood of their company change from lighthearted to somewhat awkward and tense.

Jane shook her head and waved her hand as if trying to erase her friend’s soaring curiosity,

"It’s n-nothing, just a s-stupid t-tradition."

The terrace fell silent, inviting the outside noise to fill in for the lack of words amongst the friends, and Felicity, a stranger to the word "patience", took a deep breath, and almost shouted,

"Hey! I am already cut off from everything that is going on with your lives, tell me what is this all about or I swear to God --"

"That’s enough, Felicity, you’re acting like a child."

Charles placed his large hand on the girl’s shoulder and offered her a rather stern look. He then ran his fingers through his thick blond hair and sighed.

"Jane has been chosen to participate in the Graduation Ceremony, she will have to embroider and gift a blue ribbon to the star graduate from her department."

Felicity looked at Jane, who was nodding her head, confirming her boyfriend’s words, then rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

"Geez, what a bullshit. Are they even aware that we’re now living in the twenty-first century? I’m so fucking glad I’m not a part of that circus anymore!"

Felicity proceeded to bash the ridiculous ancient ways of their University for quite some time after that, inviting a rather heated argument with Charles, who was an avid defender of the old traditions and their value, while Jane could only feel grateful that her friend unintentionally changed the subject, saving her from having a rather awkward conversation with her boyfriend.

Or so she thought.

***

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

Still focusing on the road, Charles asked that question in a rather cold tone, clearly still upset by the fact that his girlfriend kept it secret from him. Jane was expecting that unpleasant conversation to resurface once again, but deep inside she was still hoping that her boyfriend would let it go. Now she had no choice but to revisit the topic of the ceremony again.

"I’m s-sorry..."

"You could have refused, you know that, right?"

Now even the temperature inside the car seemed to be dropping with each word that was uttered by the guy.

"Why didn’t you refuse?"

Jane did eventually realize why she did not refuse that "honor", however, right now, for a reason unknown even to her, she decided to respond with a simple but believable excuse,

"You know... It’s a v-very old t-tradition... And b-besides... P-People are already c-calling me a l-lazy and spoiled P-Princess who d-doesn’t care about anything, I j-just thought it would help with m-my reputation a l-little."

Charles did not say anything, instead, he pulled his car over, then turned around, and took his girlfriend’s hands in his, stroking their soft skin with his thumbs, while looking straight into her deep green eyes.

"Jane, I told you time and time again that you should never pay those rumors any mind. People who spread them simply envy you, that’s it. As long as you’re rich, people will always talk behind your back, you just need to learn to rise above it."

Charles was right, Jane had been subject to countless baseless rumors ever since she was little, however, despite what everybody chose to believe, she was never fazed by them even in the slightest. She felt bad for lying to Charles, especially since he was so good to her.

The guy leaned closer to Jane and covered her lips with his, engaging her in a rather passionate kiss. She could feel a hint of desperation in his movements as if that kiss was meant to erase that unpleasant anxiousness created by the girl’s unusual behavior, and when she finally felt like she was having difficulty keeping up the pace, their lips parted, and Charles smiled, looking strangely relieved.

"Alright, Princess, I still have some time before I need to get back, is there something you want to do? Maybe shopping?"

Jane briefly touched her lips, still reliving the whirlwind of sensations caused by Charles’ deep, passionate kiss, then placed her hand on top of the guy’s arm, and said, her voice filled with playful confidence,

"N-no. Let’s g-go to the h-hotel. I... want t-to spend m-more t-time with you. Alone."

Charles, taken aback by her unexpected boldness at first, replied with a warm smile, then kissed the back of her hand that was touching his arm just a moment ago, and started the car.

"Your wish is my command, Princess."