The Fallen Heiress: Contract Marriage with the CEO Who Hates Me
Chapter 25: The Duty

Chapter 25: The Duty

Jane shifted her eyes from the laptop screen to the large wooden clock on the opposite wall right above the blackboard and felt her shoulders tense up even more.

Today was "D-Day", the final test of the freshman year’s Theory of Computation class, the class that was both scaring Jane off while also boring her to death until she met Vernon Lin who not only managed to impart an unfathomable amount of knowledge to her but did it so effortlessly and effectively that it only took Jane a little bit less than three months to catch up on all the lessons that she had missed before.

’Although I did well on the mock test prepared by Vernon, I still could not help but feel anxious this whole time...’

Taking the mock test with Vernon was the last tutoring session they had together. Vernon was graduating which meant he had a lot on his plate as well, and he simply could not find time in his extremely packed schedule to quote on quote "waste it on Princess Jane". Therefore, despite his clear reassurance that she was well-prepared for the real test, the girl’s confidence in her own abilities was just not that strong.

’Nevertheless... I’ve already gone through sixty percent of the tasks and so far, everything was relatively easy. Unless my mind is playing weird tricks on me and I will end up messing up every single task, I think I can expect to get a high score on this one.’

Thinking about acing the test brought Jane back to the memory she had been desperately trying to push out of her pretty head ever since it successfully planted itself there.

’He said I would have to grant him a wish if I get at least eighty percent of the answers right... Knowing how sly and scheming he can be, I am now not sure if I should aim for a higher score...’

Jane did not even know why she ended up agreeing to that ridiculous request in the first place, but then again, whenever it came to Vernon Lin, she could never tell what was happening inside her head, it almost felt like he had some kind of unfathomable control over her, and it was making her uneasy.

The thought of failing the test was tempting, especially since it would not require much effort to do so. However, Jane could not help but feel some kind of duty––the duty as the only daughter of Ian Devold, one of the most successful software engineers in the world, the duty to make her father proud, even if he keeps repeating that he only expects his daughter to be happy doing what she likes.

Or perhaps that was exactly it––the duty to make her father believe that he can still have expectations. And she can meet them.

***

"So, how did it go, Princess?"

Charles wrapped his strong arm around Jane’s petite waist and pecked her on the forehead, brushing a thin lock of her dark chestnut hair away from her beautiful face.

"I th-think I d-did well. How ab-bout you? Was the t-test hard?"

She knew that her question was rather silly since Charles was the top student amongst his fellow freshmen in the Business Department, but she still figured that asking him that would push the guy to brag about his achievements, and Amelie always enjoyed watching his face light up every time he was talking about his studies and work.

Having read through his girlfriend’s intentions, Charles planted a kiss on the top of Jane’s head and smiled rather happily,

"You really like it when I brag about my studies, huh? You always know how to make me happy, Princess."

Jane buried her face into his chest and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the guy’s body––her favorite cologne mixed with Charles’ scent was almost intoxicating, especially now that the warm summer breeze was blowing it, veiling it around his body like an invisible veil.

The soft trance of the idyll that Jane gained from that intimate hugging session was shattered when she heard heavy steps behind her back. She turned her head almost instinctively but the only thing she saw was a dark shadow that quickly disappeared behind the corner of the old campus building.

Somehow, the familiar uneasy feeling made its return and distorted her inner peace once again.

’... Why do I feel so anxious and alert?.. It must be stress, I need to get some rest.’

***

The serene atmosphere of the small garden behind the Devold family house was almost surreal. It was initially created for Jane’s late mother who loved flowers and cherry blossom trees, but now that she was gone, Mrs. Kim was in charge of its flora, planting all kinds of strangely-looking flowers and bushes that bloomed in a myriad of wild colors and filled the air with a mixture of sweet and refreshing scents.

Jane was enjoying a sweet mocktail brought out by Mrs. Kim while watching the sunset set her surroundings on fire with its rich orange light.

She still had two more exams before the end of the school year but she figured that she could afford to have some rest before getting back to studying, the initial elevating buzz from today’s test still had not worn off, making her confidence levels soar, and she felt that soaking up the beauty of the setting sun from her garden was the perfect ending to that wonderful day.

Or so she thought.

The quiet ambiance of the garden was disrupted by a loud pink that escaped from her cell phone almost like a thunderstrike, pulling the girl from her dream-like state back to reality. Rather reluctantly, Jane picked up the phone and pressed on the green notification strip, widening her eyes upon seeing the sender of the message. It was Vernon Lin.

"Good evening, Your Highness. How did you do on your test? I hope you did not forget about our little deal, I already have something intriguing in mind. I hope you will oblige."