The Fallen Heiress: Contract Marriage with the CEO Who Hates Me
Chapter 32: It’s Been A While

Chapter 32: It’s Been A While

Come on... please, pick up...!

Jane nervously bit her thumbnail, her feet tapping a quick, anxious rhythm against the floor of the taxi.

The sound was sharp and constant, so loud that the driver kept glancing up at her through the rearview mirror, clearly annoyed. But she barely noticed him. Her entire focus was on the phone in her hand, her mind consumed by the endless dial tone on the other end.

Felicity said she’d go straight to the filming studio, so she might not pick up until tomorrow... But... Charles has been ignoring both my messages and calls since yesterday... Is it because of what happened too?

Jane’s heart refused to accept that possibility.

Charles had gone abroad right after their graduation to continue his studies, while Jane had decided to take a year off to rest and clear her head. It had always been normal for him to take hours to reply to her messages or calls. But now, with everything crashing down around her, Jane couldn’t shake the feeling that Charles had abandoned her, just like everyone else.

His parents had always been wary of me... From the very beginning, they didn’t trust me. I guess for such high-profile businessmen, it’s natural to avoid any association with a scandal like this...

With a soft, resigned sigh, Jane turned her gaze to the window. The rain had started, droplets smearing across the glass, blending with the gray sky.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her hand, a quick warning about the dying battery. Before Jane could even get upset about it, the screen went black, and the phone died completely.

Perfect...

Jane slumped back against the worn upholstery of the car seat, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to block out the oppressive weight of everything around her. The smell of the fabric—damp and musty—seemed to mirror the heaviness settling in her chest.

She was utterly exhausted.

The grueling hours spent on the plane paled in comparison to the grueling hours at the prosecutor’s office, but when combined, they had formed a suffocating storm of fatigue that made her head pulse with pain.

Her father was gone. Her money and assets had been seized. She had no family to turn to, and even her closest friends had become unreachable, like distant stars she once counted on.

The crushing hopelessness of her situation felt unbearable. She couldn’t help but fantasize about stepping out of this cruel reality, lying down on the wet road, and letting the cold embrace her.

"We’ve arrived," the taxi driver grumbled, his eyes narrowing in annoyance as he glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

Jane flinched at his voice, momentarily snapped from her daze. She turned her gaze to the window once more, her eyes landing on the tall metal gates of her mansion, glistening ominously under the heavy rain. She sighed, a bitter taste settling in her mouth.

"Th-thank you," she muttered, her voice faint as she handed him the last of the cash in her wallet. Stepping out of the car, she pulled her designer purse tight against her chest, the weight of it now feeling heavier than it ever had before.

Earlier that day, when she stood in front of her mansion, even her travel luggage had been taken from her without hesitation. Now, all that remained—everything she had left—was the contents of that leather purse, a lifeline she clung to desperately, as fragile as it seemed.

Her passport and ID, a wallet full of useless credit cards, a dead phone, a charger, and the melon-scented lip balm she never left the house without.

This is all I have to my name now, Jane thought, her fingers gripping the purse tightly, her knuckles turning white with the effort.

The rain had only worsened, now pouring down in relentless sheets, but Jane refused to seek shelter. Standing in front of the imposing gates leading to the Devold residence, her wide blue eyes were fixated on the large yellow seal hanging above the lock. The officers from the IRS, along with the police, had already sealed off the mansion, making it impossible to enter.

It stung. She had hoped there would still be a chance to say goodbye to the house she had once called home. The house that, just hours ago, had been her entire world.

Now, what was going to happen to it?

Do you have a place to go? Mr. Wade’s voice echoed distantly in her mind, urging her to think.

Jane hugged her purse tighter against her chest, the bitterness of the realization sinking in. Apparently, I don’t, she thought, the words tasting like ash in her mouth.

She had spent her entire life surrounded by people, by family, by friends—yet, at this very moment, she had never felt more alone. What was the point of all those relationships if they could be torn away so easily when everything collapsed?

A sharp pang of anxiety gripped her. Had her family’s downfall already made it to the news? She reached for her purse, her trembling fingers fumbling with the zipper, but a wave of frustration crashed over her as she remembered her phone had died back in the cab.

Now, Jane could barely summon the strength to hold onto her purse. Her hands, trembling with exhaustion and despair, dropped it, letting the only possession she had left fall to the ground.

What am I supposed to do now? she silently lamented, standing in the downpour as the cold, heavy spring rain soaked through her clothes, washing over her like the weight of her own hopelessness. I have nowhere to go, no one to turn to... Will Felicity take me in? What if, just like everyone else, she turns away from me now that I’m nothing but a burden?

Her heart clenched in a tight, painful grip, and Jane couldn’t even tell if the tears streaming down her face were her own or the rain that blurred everything around her.

She was utterly helpless. She didn’t even have enough money to hail a cab, let alone make her way to Mrs. Kim’s place. The housekeeper—who had been a part of her life for so many years—might offer her help, but would she? Jane didn’t know. All she knew was that she was alone, more alone than she’d ever felt.

For a moment, the rain seemed to fade into the background, as though the world around her had silenced its relentless assault. The cool droplets no longer pelted her skin, and it was as if an invisible shield had been placed between her and the cold.

Startled, Jane lifted her head, her heart thudding in her chest. Above her, a large black umbrella hovered, its presence a stark contrast to the rain-soaked misery around her.

Who...?

In a fluid, instinctual movement, she spun around, only to freeze in place, her breath catching in her throat. There, standing before her with a look of quiet detachment, was the last person she ever expected—or wanted—to see again.

It was him.

"It’s been a while, Your Highness."