The Secret Affairs of the Fake Duke Couple (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Cain was utterly flabbergasted. It was the first emotion that struck him—before any sense of relief.
“Yes, it’s Jane. Could you please put that gun away?”
Jane’s voice trembled faintly.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
Cain tucked the revolver into his coat. His voice dripped with exhaustion and disbelief.
Jane tightened her grip on the stair rail, but collapsed like a newborn fawn anyway.
The shock of the cold barrel pressing against the back of her head had drained every ounce of strength from her body.
Cain merely stood with his arms crossed, watching Jane struggle to get up.
Jane finally let out a resigned sigh, then hesitantly extended her pale, slender hand.
“Could you help me a little?”
He’d been waiting to see when she’d finally ask—and was surprised she gave in so quickly.
Cain’s large hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. Jane clung to his arm like it was a lifeline, her tiny fingers unable to fully encircle it.
He pulled.
In an instant, Jane was yanked upward—and nearly lost her balance again.
Certain she’d tumble down the stairs, Jane squeezed her eyes shut.
Instead of hitting the floor, however, her face ended up buried in Cain’s chest.
“Ugh.”
Her cheek pressed against his firm chest, her small frame completely enveloped in his broad embrace.
He felt immense and solid as a fortress wall—like he could shield her from any storm.
Now she understood why so many women fell helplessly for him.
Jane realized Cain had fully become a man.
“I’m sorry…”
As Jane wriggled slightly, she suddenly froze completely.
Beneath his neat attire, his muscles felt startlingly, vividly defined.
He radiated heat—and his warmth overwhelmed her.
Cain smelled of women’s perfume, its strong scent stabbing at Jane’s nostrils as if to announce their physical closeness.
How many women had melted under this very heat?
“How long are you planning to cling to me? Or… is this the answer you couldn’t give me in the study?”
“I’m sorry. I lost my balance.”
Jane hastily pulled away and barely managed to stand upright.
Cain scanned her disheveled state with eyes so cold they seemed to freeze everything around them.
Clouds drifted away from the moon, brightening the area slightly. Only then could Cain properly see Jane.
She wore only a thin nightgown, draped with a shawl. Every movement revealed the full, lush curves of her body.
So the sensation of something clinging tightly to him earlier hadn’t been his imagination after all.
Supple, soft, and brimming with elasticity…
Some part of Cain’s body—long unresponsive during his time at the gentlemen’s club—now sent him a subtle, unmistakable signal.
Cain’s mood plummeted instantly.
“What exactly are you doing here dressed like that?”
Jane looked down at herself. She didn’t think her outfit warranted such harsh criticism.
It was the middle of the night; all the servants would have retired to their rooms by now.
Feeling somewhat unjustly scolded, Jane replied,
“I was headed to the dining room.”
“The dining room?”
“I skipped dinner. I’m starving.”
“So you mean to tell me you’ve been sneaking through the house like a thief in the dead of night, half-naked, just to grab a piece of bread?”
Cain’s words were full of points Jane could contest—but she remained silent.
For one, that “mere piece of bread” was all that stood between her and going an entire day without food.
Two, missing a meal would negatively affect her ability to endure Lady Themis’s lessons, which began early the next morning.
And third—and perhaps most importantly—she wasn’t “half-naked” at all. She wore an expensive nightgown that cost an entire year’s salary as a governess, and even wrapped a shawl over it.
Wasn’t that modest enough for the middle of the night?
Still, Jane simply lowered her head instead of arguing back. Anything she said would only make her situation seem more pitiful.
Above all, she couldn’t bear the lingering scent of perfume on him.
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
She’d just have to look out for herself.
Jane placed her foot on the stair. Coming down had been hard enough—now climbing back up felt like torture. She clung to the banister and slowly dragged herself upward.
She could feel Cain’s eyes on her back, but she resolved not to look back unless he spoke.
In truth, she desperately hoped he wouldn’t say a word.
Every exchange with him grated on her nerves. This wasn’t the Cain she once knew.
The boy who used to smile so brightly he’d outshine the sun was gone.
Even knowing that, she hated herself for still desperately searching him for traces of the past.
“If you’re hungry, where are you going? Come with me. I don’t want to hear that someone starved to death in the Hastings household.”
Cain strode down the stairs without hesitation.
Was he talking to me?
Jane stopped and turned around. Cain had already walked far ahead, but he was watching her. Though the surroundings were dark, his gleaming eyes were unmistakably clear.
They held a look of utter disdain.
“No, thank you. I’ll go back upstairs now.”
“Another one of your moods? I heard you threw a fit over dinner. Enough already, Jane. No one in the Hastings household has time to coddle your whims.”
Had it been daytime, or had she not been starving—or had Cain not reeked of perfume—Jane might have brushed off his sarcasm.
After all, ignoring him was one of the better ways to avoid conflict.
But it was night, she was ravenous and on edge, and the scent of perfume still hung thick in the air.
And worst of all—he knew. He knew about the silent battle between Jane and Michelle. He’d chosen to act as if he didn’t.
A surge of hurt welled up in her throat.
“Was I really the kind of person who throws tantrums? You know me, don’t you?”
“I know you? Who exactly am I talking to? Jane Whitney, is that you?”
“……”
“I don’t know anything about you.”
“Not now, maybe. But in the past—”
“No, Jane. I never knew you—neither in the past nor now. And I have no intention of getting to know you in the future.”
He’d just denied her past.
That golden era of her life—the time she’d believed herself blessed by the gods—was now dismissed as meaningless.
Jane’s body swayed unsteadily, barely holding itself up.
“Seems you’re in a mood. I’ll take my leave now.”
It was Cain who was acting capriciously. He left Jane alone in the dark hallway and returned to his room.
Left behind, Jane slid down the banister and sank onto the stairs.
That brief encounter had left a deep wound in her.
Jane looked up at the ceiling and made a vow: she wouldn’t cry while she was here.
Yet her resolve had already begun to crumble—after barely a single day. Ashamed, she bit hard on the inside of her cheek.
[This is the timeline separator]Back in his room, Cain undid his cravat, his fingers heavy with irritation.
Jane, wandering a dark, empty mansion simply because she was hungry, was the worst in every possible way.
There were dozens of servants at her beck and call, and the pantry was overflowing with food—yet she’d gone hungry. It made no sense.
It felt like deliberate defiance. And her method of protest didn’t sit well with him either.
She was his fiancée—the future Duchess. If she went on a hunger strike and collapsed, it would only cause him trouble.
Why starve yourself at all?
Cain roughly ran his hands through his hair and rang the bell.
“You called, Your Grace?”
“Have the bathtub filled.”
The servant answered quietly, careful not to aggravate his master, and headed toward the bathroom. Watching him go, Cain squeezed his eyes shut briefly, then reopened them.
“Wait.”
Cain called him back.
“I’m hungry. Bring me something to eat.”
“Shall I bring wine?”
“No wine. Bring something that won’t trouble me in the morning.”
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
The servant turned on the bathwater and went down to the kitchen. He returned shortly with soft bread and a bottle of warm milk.
“You may leave. I don’t need help bathing.”
After sending the servant out, Cain stared at the bread and milk on the table for a long while—his gaze sharp, as if they were his sworn enemies.
Lately, strange thoughts kept creeping into his mind.
It felt as if another person lived within him—and right now, that feeling was stronger than ever.
He wasn’t even hungry, yet he’d ordered food—and now found himself thinking of taking it to Jane.
Cain gritted his teeth, then snatched up the bread and milk and strode out of the room.
‘The Hastings aren’t heartless. Didn’t Father always offer meals even to strangers who came calling?’
He was simply upholding his family’s tradition.
Cain placed the bread and milk bottle outside Jane’s door and turned to leave—but not before giving her door a light knock.
[This is the timeline separator]Jane had returned to her room last night almost as if she’d been waiting for it—and greeted the dawn early the next morning.
“You’re awake, Miss.”
Michelle bowed politely.
‘What did she tell Cain?’
Jane stared blankly at Michelle. Under that steady gaze, Michelle’s eyelid twitched.
Despite having nothing, Jane carried herself with an air of old-world nobility.
No matter how expensive Michelle’s earrings were or how fine her perfume, she could never replicate that aura.
How could a mere governess, working in someone else’s home, still exude the dignified presence of a high-born noblewoman? Michelle couldn’t understand it at all.
‘Maybe she’s not really a governess—maybe she’s been sharing intimate moments with the master of the house.’
Such things were common in high society—a governess and her employer carrying on an affair.
Watching Jane, who showed no signs of hardship, Michelle let her imagination run wild.
The more she fantasized, the stronger her resentment toward Jane grew.
“Michelle.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Though she tried her best to sound polite, hostility still seeped through.
Jane shot her a sharp look—but this time, she wasn’t dragged back into the hellish loop of “again.”
Whether her mindset had changed overnight, or she’d simply realized that no one would care if she skipped dinner, Jane let it go with a weak voice: “Just give me a straight answer.”
‘So she’s finally realized her place.’
Jane’s drooping face and listless demeanor delighted Michelle.
“I’ll have breakfast downstairs. Go ahead and let them know.”
Michelle believed Jane had surrendered—but Jane had merely changed tactics to survive.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Sure later Cain wil regret everything he’s done to jane..he only looked the bad side from opposite but never looked inside