The Billionaire Heir She Threw Away

The midnight storm tore through Crown City like someone had ripped open the sky itself, letting sheets of cold, merciless rain crash onto the stone courtyard of the Kane Estate. The rain hammered the slate tiles until the entire ground seemed to tremble from the relentless pounding. In the center of it all, Ace Kane knelt motionless, soaked to the bone. His posture stayed rigid, almost stubbornly straight, but the skin around his knuckles had gone pale from how tightly his hands were clenched. Beneath his knees, the stone felt like frozen iron pressing into him. In front of him, towering over the drenched courtyard like an immovable mountain, stood Frank Kane, patriarch of the Kane Family—and Ace’s grandfather. Around them, dozens of family members gathered beneath umbrellas, their silhouettes forming a silent ring of judgment. Raindrops pattered sharply against the canopy of umbrellas, creating a brittle rhythm that matched the tension in the air. “Ace,” Frank said at last, his tone cold enough to slice through the storm, “I will ask you one final time. Do you truly intend to marry that woman?” Ace held a photograph in his hand. Emily Sunford’s smile looked painfully gentle even as the rain began to seep into the paper, blurring the ink and curling the edges. “Yes.” His voice trembled from the wind, from the cold, from the pressure pressing in from all sides—but it did not falter. Frank’s stare sharpened. “She has no lineage. No family name of influence. She doesn’t even possess a respectable résumé. She fails every standard this family has upheld for generations. And you—” His grip tightened on the dragon-headed cane. “You are second in line to inherit. Only your father outranks you.” Ace lifted his gaze, eyes dark but unwavering. “I like her.” That simple sentence landed like a slap across the entire courtyard. People shifted. People sneered. People whispered, unable—or unwilling—to hide their contempt. One relative snorted. Another murmured something mocking. A few openly rolled their eyes. Their disdain mixed with the rain, a heavy stench of superiority and outrage. Frank’s cane dug into the stone. “If you persist in this ridiculous choice… I will expel you from the Kane Family.” A shock ran through the crowd. “You can’t!” “He’s direct bloodline!” “Ace must have lost his mind. Throwing away his future for a woman? Absurd!” But all the clamor was shattered by a single c***k of Frank’s cane striking the ground. “Ace. You have ten seconds.” Lightning flashed. For a heartbeat, Ace saw the raindrops sliding off the photo like a grim omen of everything he was about to lose. And still—he didn’t hesitate. “Grandfather,” Ace whispered, “if you force me to choose between the inheritance and her… I choose her.” Thunder exploded overhead. Frank closed his eyes. When they opened again, they were filled with a cold combination of anger and disappointment—ice wrapped around fire. “Then from this day forward—” He slammed his cane to the stone so hard the shockwave rippled through the puddles. “Ace Kane, you are expelled from the family. Effective immediately. All heir privileges revoked. All accounts frozen. All assets stripped. No Kane is permitted to assist you. Until your twenty-fourth birthday, you will not receive a single cent.” The storm seemed to swallow the world whole. Pain clenched inside Ace’s chest, sharp enough to steal his breath—yet he did not step back. “I understand.” Frank turned away as if Ace no longer existed. He motioned toward the family enforcers. “Escort him out. From this moment on, he is no longer a Kane.” Two enforcers approached, gripping Ace firmly by the arms. Just as they began to lift him— A small figure burst through the curtains of rain. “Brother!” Fae Kane, rain-soaked and trembling, threw herself onto Ace’s arm. Her tear-streaked face mixed with the downpour until no one could tell where the rain ended and the heartbreak began. “Grandpa, you can’t drive him out!” she cried, voice cracking apart. “He didn’t do anything wrong! All he did was love someone!” “Fae—stop!” Ace tried to push her away, desperate to keep her out of this disaster. But Fae clung to him like a child clinging to the last warmth in a frozen world. “No! I won’t let them do this! How can you all be so cruel?!” Frank finally reacted, his brows sharply pulled together. “Fae! Is this where you think you can throw tantrums?” She lifted her rain-plastered face, eyes burning with defiance. “Grandpa… if you drive him out, then I’m going with him.” A gasp tore through the courtyard. Even the rain seemed to freeze midair. Ace’s expression changed instantly. “Fae, are you insane?!” She choked on her sobs. “Without you, this family is just a prison to me!” Ace shut his eyes. He breathed once—deep, pained, and steady. Then he forced her fingers off his clothes one by one. “Fae… from today on, you must stay here. You must survive this place. You’ll need the family more than I ever will.” He raised his hand and knocked her lightly—yet firmly—on the top of her head, a gesture they had shared since childhood. “I don’t want the family,” Fae whispered, shattered. “But I need you here,” Ace said quietly, just for her ears. “I need you safe.” The enforcers dragged him away. Fae collapsed to her knees. Her body shook violently, as though the storm had hollowed her out from the inside. For the first time that night, Frank’s gaze flickered with something softer—regret, maybe—but he still waved a hand. “Take her inside.” In the distance, Ace’s silhouette faded into the storm until there was nothing left but rain. No one knew it yet, but that night marked the moment he fell from heaven straight into hell.