All Chapters of TOO RICH TO BE MINE.: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The hotel room was cheap. Anonymous. Safe — or at least, safe enough for someone trying to disappear.Catherine had barely slept. The smell of the room clung to the sheets, and the distant hum of traffic outside the window buzzed louder than her thoughts. She hadn’t eaten. She hadn’t called anyone. She hadn’t even looked in the mirror since the night she’d tried to burn her entire life to the ground.She curled up in the scratchy armchair, knees pulled to her chest. The news had slowed for now, but she knew better — scandals didn’t die. They went quiet to reload.A knock at the door startled her.She didn’t move.Another knock, softer this time.Then silence.She crept to the peephole. No one.Cautiously, she opened the door.Nothing — except for a plain white envelope on the floor.She picked it up slowly, hands trembling before she even saw the name on the back.“Catherine.”Elijah’s handwriting.She closed the door behind her like the world might sneak in. Then sat on the bed and s

Catherine stood frozen, a silk robe barely clinging to her trembling frame, heart hammering like a war drum.James’s mother—Margaret Cater—stood still in the doorway, the icy judgment in her eyes more scalding than any slap. James, too stunned to speak, stared at her with something between horror and disgust.Catherine wanted to disappear.“I knew you were reckless,” Margaret finally said, voice as sharp as broken glass, “but I didn’t expect you to humiliate my son like this. Is this how you plan to thank us? By turning our family into a mockery?”“Get out,” Catherine whispered. Her voice cracked, but it was the only dignity she had left. “Both of you. Now.”But Margaret didn’t budge. “You think we’ll let this slide? Your parents may be turning a blind eye, but the public won’t. This is what you offer before marriage? Disgusting.”James finally blinked. His jaw clenched, but instead of exploding, he turned cold. “You’re going to marry me, Catherine. After this? You have no choice.”He

“Welcome back to Society Scoop Live! Tonight’s guest needs no introduction — heir to the Carter Group, the nation’s most eligible bachelor, and the man at the center of what’s being called The Royal Romance of the Decade…”Catherine’s hand clenched the remote as James Carter’s smirking face appeared on the massive flatscreen in her living room.He wore a charcoal suit and a white shirt with the top button artfully undone. Clean-shaven. Dimples on full display. The lighting made him glow like a saint.“I didn’t come here to clear my name,” James began, chuckling softly. “I came to speak my truth.”Catherine rolled her eyes.The host swooned. “You’ve been trending non-stop. Is it true you and Catherine Hale are officially tying the knot?”He hesitated. Just enough to seem sincere. Then gave a small, heartbreaking smile.“I wouldn’t say officially yet,” he said. “She’s… been going through a lot. And I don’t blame her for wanting space. But I love her. I’ve always loved her. Our wedding i

The rain had started without warning.Not a downpour — just enough to blur car windows and drown out thoughts.Catherine sat in the back of a nondescript black sedan, hood pulled low over her forehead, dark sunglasses shielding swollen eyes. She hadn’t slept. Not really. Her phone had remained beside her all night like a ghost whispering Elijah’s words over and over again:“Tell me where you are. I’ll come.”She didn’t text back.She just… showed up.The driver took a turn down a narrow alley in Westbridge — the kind of place nobody photographed for magazines. Elijah had chosen the location: a run-down piano bar turned private loft. No cameras. No staff. Just keys under a mat and memories waiting to explode.She stepped out slowly. Her heels clicked against the pavement, but it wasn’t confidence anymore. It was armor.The door creaked as she pushed it open.And there he was.Leaning against the grand piano, the keys dusty and untouched — but his eyes? They burned like matches.“Cather

The phone buzzed again.JAMES CATER IS LIVE.Catherine’s blood turned cold.She opened the stream.James stood in front of a luxury backdrop, all charm and heartbreak. The lighting soft, his voice calculated.“I never wanted to speak about this publicly, but… after everything she’s done… I can’t stay silent.”The comments flooded in:“You deserve better.”“She’s sick.”“This is what women like her do.”James continued, eyes glassy.“I loved Catherine with everything I had. Even when she ran back to him. Even when I found out about the video… I still prayed she’d come home.”A beat.“But some people aren’t meant to be saved.”That was the moment Catherine cracked.She screamed.She screamed like her soul had claws and needed to tear through her body to breathe. Her phone hit the floor. Her fists balled into the sofa.He’d made her the villain of a tragedy he wrote.⸻Her assistant, Marla, banged on the door minutes later.“Everyone’s pulling out, Catherine! Vogue dropped the feature. E