Fallen 32

Fallen 32 Summary

Meadow reflects on the strained relationship between Alaric and his family, noting the tension and the secrecy surrounding Alaric’s recent marriage. She suspects that Alaric’s family doesn’t know about their marriage, which is a marriage of convenience, and this might be why he wants her to stay in his room. Meadow feels a mix of intimacy and awkwardness as she wears Alaric’s shirt and contemplates the large, intimidating bed.

 

Her thoughts are abruptly interrupted when her phone rings—it’s Tyler, the man who nearly assaulted her. Despite her anger and disgust, she answers his frantic calls about his missing sister, Juni. Tyler is desperate and panicked, revealing that Juni has disappeared and that he’s been searching everywhere for her. Meadow struggles with conflicting emotions, realizing the depth of Tyler and Juni’s connection and the deception Tyler was involved in.

 

The conversation quickly turns hostile as Meadow confronts Tyler about his past actions, including his attempt to rape her and his failure to protect Juni. Tyler accuses Meadow of lying about Juni’s whereabouts and mocks her, calling her cold and selfish. The call escalates with Tyler’s cruel insults, pushing Meadow to the edge of her emotional endurance.

 

Just as Tyler’s words become unbearably harsh, Alaric suddenly appears behind Meadow, his eyes blazing with anger. His presence signals a protective and intense response to the toxic conversation, leaving the scene charged with tension and unresolved conflict.

Meadow’s Perspective:

I found myself wondering about the nature of Alaric’s relationship with his family. He hadn’t exactly greeted his brother with joy when he showed up at the house, and the way he didn’t hesitate to punch him left no doubt that things between them were far from good. There was clearly some deep tension there, though the exact reasons remained a mystery to me.

But what really caught my attention was something Nolan said earlier, something that didn’t quite sit right.

“Mother is going to fucking love this,” Nolan had remarked.

At first, I thought maybe I was reading too much into his words, but the tone he used felt dripping with sarcasm—like the real meaning was the complete opposite.

In other words, their mother was definitely not going to love this.

If Alaric hadn’t told his family about getting married over the weekend, then they must have heard it from somewhere else. After all, Alaric Ashford was a well-known businessman—private, yes, but not invisible. The news of the billionaire bachelor tying the knot would have spread quickly.

Apparently, though, he’d managed to keep it a secret from his family. That meant they didn’t know the truth about our marriage.

That it was a marriage of convenience.

I suspected this was why he insisted I sleep in his room tonight.

Not that I minded.

But finding something to wear in his closet was a challenge of a different kind. Amid rows of crisp button-up shirts, locating a simple t-shirt was easy enough. But summoning the courage to put it on—that was another matter entirely.

The black shirt I chose smelled faintly of him. Wearing it felt oddly intimate, like I was crossing some invisible boundary. It was strange, almost forbidden. But once I slipped it over my head, it hung just right—falling halfway down my thighs.

I ran my fingers through my messy hair and glanced over at the bed. It was enormous, sprawling, almost intimidating.

A shiver crept down my spine. Part of me, foolish and hopeful, wished he might reach out to touch me. But I quickly pushed that thought aside. He hadn’t made any intimate moves in days. There was no way he would now.

Suddenly, my phone rang loudly from Alaric’s desk, snapping me out of my swirling thoughts. I hadn’t even realized he’d brought my phone upstairs for me.

I limped over, my stomach twisting with a mix of disgust and anger when I saw the caller ID.

Tyler.

My nostrils flared in disbelief. After everything he had done—after he had nearly raped me—he had the audacity to call?

My eyes burned as I slammed the phone face-down on the desk.

The ringing stopped briefly, but then he called again.

This time, I answered.

“You’ve got some nerve, Tyler,” I spat, struggling to keep my voice steady but failing. “What the hell do you want?”

“It’s Juni,” he said, his voice frantic and scared. “She’s gone, and I—I can’t find her anywhere.”

I pressed my lips together and swallowed hard.

Tyler kept going, his words tumbling out in a panic. “I’ve tried everything—her phone, her old apartment. Fuck, Meadow, I’m losing my mind!”

I flinched and pulled the phone away from my ear, staring at the screen as tears welled up in my eyes.

Until this moment, I hadn’t fully grasped the depth of their connection. I’d refused to believe that Tyler was really sent by Juniper to make me fall in love, only to break my heart.

It seemed absurd.

But hearing the desperation in his voice now made my stomach churn with nausea. He had truly intended to deceive me.

I took a deep breath and brought the phone back to my ear.

“Hello?” Tyler called again. “Meadow? Can you hear me?”

My voice was hoarse when I finally replied. “Yeah, I hear you loud and clear.”

Why hadn’t I thought about it before? I knew Alaric had taken Juniper, but I hadn’t considered how it must look from Tyler’s perspective—waking up from a drugged haze, hungover, only to find his girlfriend missing.

“Then why aren’t you saying anything?” he asked, his tone casual.

His voice used to make my heart flutter, but now it made me want to scream or run away.

“Because I have nothing to say,” I said firmly. “That’s your problem, not mine.”

“But she’s your sister,” he sneered, disgust dripping from his words. “She’s missing, and you don’t care?”

“She beat me up, Tyler!” I couldn’t hold back the rising anger in my voice. “She hurt me, and you just stood there! You… you…” I swallowed a sob and leaned against the table before my knees gave out. “You tried to rape me. And now you expect me to worry about her? About the fact she’s missing?”

A tear slipped down and splattered on the desk. I realized I was crying.

“What did I ever do to her? To you?” I whispered, voice cracking.

Tyler laughed—a strange, bitter sound—even though I knew he could hear the pain in my voice. I didn’t think anyone could truly understand what heartbreak felt like, but this was it.

It hurt. So damn much.

“That’s the problem, Meadow,” he said, sighing with irritation. I could almost picture him running a hand through his hair. “All three of us were in the apartment when some guy broke in and knocked me out. Whoever it was took Juni—and that meant he took you too. So how the hell am I supposed to reach you but not her?”

When I stayed silent, he pressed on. “The police came looking for her. Someone reported her missing. If anyone’d know anything, it’d be you.”

The police report sounded exactly like something Alaric would do. Normally, that would be laughable. But not today.

Anger bubbled from deep inside me, rising to my chest as I wiped away tears.

Tyler wasn’t worth it. Still, it hurt.

“So what did you do to her, Meadow? Where’s my fiancée?” His voice sharpened with anger.

Fiancée. The word stung.

“I don’t know, Tyler.”

“Where are you? I want to see you. We need to talk—right after you tell me what happened to your sister.”

“Well, you won’t find me. And I have no idea where she is!”

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, desperate to end the conversation, yet reluctant to hang up.

Maybe deep down, I wanted to find her too.

I needed to find her. But that was something I’d never admit to scum like Tyler.

A long silence stretched out over the line before Tyler spoke again, his voice now cold and emotionless—like a machine.

“I know you’re lying, Meadow. You know where she is.” He scoffed. “You must think you’re so clever. Is this some kind of revenge? Juni always said you were weak and a coward for running away from her. Said you pretended to be better.”

My throat tightened painfully. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t swallow.

Tyler laughed bitterly. “But you’re not better. You’re worse—cold, selfish, delusional. I should’ve taken you when I had the chance. You don’t deserve to keep that virgin pussy—”

Before he could finish, the phone was ripped from my hand.

I spun around to see Alaric standing right behind me, his breath steady but heavy.

His piercing ink-blue eyes locked onto mine.

And they were filled with pure, unrelenting fury.