Jacob wasn't always like this.

I met him at a dinner party. At the time, he was the prince of Kingsbury's high society whom everyone was eager to please. I, on the other hand, was constantly looked down on for being a daughter of a nouveau riche family.

The heirs and heiresses who ran the upper-crust society had known each other for a while. They had formed cliques that thrived on sidelining those who were below their leagues, which made me the target of their cruel remarks and denigration.

"I was wondering who she was. I can't believe she has the face to show up at a party like this, considering her family's nouveau riche. You agree with me, don't you, Jacob?"

Jacob had only frowned at the question being thrown his way. He turned his handsome face to the crowd and fixed them with an irritated look. "Go find something to do if you're bored. You're annoying me with all the noise you're making," he chastised the sycophants.

The crowd dispersed after that, and Jacob spun to look at me. He snorted. "At least you're pretty, for whatever that's worth."

I slowly tossed away the brick I had been secretly holding behind my back. If Jacob hadn't stepped in earlier and dismissed the crowd, the scion who had insulted me earlier would have had his skull cracked.

I returned the cold, assessing look Jacob gave me and drawled with matching sarcasm, "And you're just plain stupid."

I never expected my casual retort to pique his interest in me. In his words, no one had ever dared call him stupid to his face before, and he was determined to make me sorry for it.

When I heard his reason, I merely snorted and said, "Did he ever think no one said it to his face because they've only been calling him stupid behind his back?"

Unfortunately, my witty argument wound up in Jacob's ears, and he was furious. He then told his group of sycophantic lackeys that he would make me get on my knees and apologize to him in front of the school gates one way or another.

As I rode past him on my bicycle, I grabbed a handful of mud and hurled it at his tailor-made shirt. In less than a second, he had gone from prince to pauper. As his lackeys struggled to hold in their laughter, I zipped into the distance on my trusty bicycle.

I thought Jacob and I would stay enemies forever, but the next day, he saved me from being run down by a speeding van. I had come so close to being run over and killed outright, but thanks to Jacob, I was panting in his arms instead.

I didn't even notice my back was pressed against his torso, not even as I felt his heat through the thin material of his blouse. When I turned to thank him, my mind still a blur, he simply smiled.

That was the first time I saw him smile like that. He looked open and gentle. "If you truly wish to thank me, be my girlfriend."

My heart was racing wildly, though I reckoned it was because of my brush with death. Even so, I knew I could not agree with Jacob's proposition.

To say nothing of whether he was only asking me to be his girlfriend for the fun of it, our families were too different. That alone was enough to take a toll on us if we ever got together.

I tightened my grip on my backpack and deliberately put some distance between us. "I'd rather apologize to you on my knees outside the school gates," I said.

I never got around to doing that. As it turned out, it wasn't an accident that the van had nearly run me down; it was all part of a plan to kidnap me and ask my parents for a ransom.

I calmly explained to the kidnappers, "My dad remarried, and I bet he and my stepmom would love for you to kill me. They would never pay the ransom." Unfortunately, the kidnappers did not believe me. Instead, they fished out their daggers and drew closer to me.

At that moment, a figure came darting out of nowhere. It was Jacob. He stood before me, shielding me as he ground out over his shoulder, "Run and get the cops!"

I was in no position or mood to throw out simpering lines like "I'm not leaving you behind!", so I ran faster than I ever did in this lifetime to the nearest telephone booth.

I called the cops, but by the time they got to the scene, the hilt of a dagger was protruding from Jacob's lower abdomen, and he had already blacked out for some time.

After that, I became Jacob's girlfriend.

Seven years passed before we finally got engaged. During the seven years, Jacob hadn't so much as glanced at another woman. He even turned over a new leaf for my sake, no longer the haughty prince who put having fun above all else.

He grew into a mature, sensible, and responsible scion of the Gardner family. He learned the ropes and prepared himself for the duties of the head of the family. Even his parents stopped picking on me after a while after seeing how much Jacob had changed for the better.

I, on the other hand, had mellowed down considerably since dating Jacob.

I gave up on my college major for the Gardner family. I looked after Jacob and learned the ways and unwritten rules of Kingsbury's high society. I also worked hard to get along with the Gardners, and now, I was on their good side.

My dad had also gained the respect of the other businessmen in the industry thanks to my relationship with Jacob and, by extension, his family.

Jacob had even pulled out all the stops to throw me a lavish party that became the talk of Kingsbury's high society.

At the time, I was all that mattered to Jacob. He once promised to bring me traveling all over the world after our wedding. "I want our wedding to be something you can look back on and flaunt to all your friends," he had declared.

He also told me he had fallen for me at first sight, but he'd been too prideful to admit it all those years ago. He claimed he was glad that his wish had come true at last.

So, I had believed Jacob was as excited for the wedding as I was, and that he wanted to start a family with me. I never expected such a pathetic end to await us after seven years together.

Jacob held the ring I had thrown at his face and sneered, "If you think I'll give in to your whims just because you're threatening to call off the engagement, you're wrong. I'll let this incident slide for now, but you ought to think about what you did today, Ariel!"

I scoffed. Did he still think I was the same Ariel who loved him so deeply that I would burn the world and myself for him? I stared at him with nothing but frost and steel in my eyes. "I wasn't joking. As of now, you and I are over, Jacob."

With that, I turned and left.

However, Jacob gripped my arm, finally realizing that I meant every word I said. Panic lined his features as he began, "Ariel, you—"

Ivana, who had been left out of the conversation for some time, suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.

Jacob immediately snapped out of his daze and released my arm. He swiveled to hold Ivana upright and patted her back to ease the coughs. Thank the heavens I hadn't been holding out hope for him to change his mind, or I would have been crushed.

I had only just opened the car door when Jacob forcefully pulled me out of the way. "Ivana's condition is acting up. She needs to see a doctor right away. Driver, head to the nearest hospital!" he demanded.

My blood boiled when I heard this. "Are you out of your mind, Jacob? This is my car!"

Jacob had his arms around Ivana and was already easing her into the backseat. He shot me a withering look. "Didn't you hear what I said? Ivana's condition is acting up! Do you not have any respect for human lives?"

I stubbornly held onto the door, refusing to let go.

Just then, the brilliant actress herself panted as she tugged on Jacob's sleeve and said, "Jacob, let me talk to Ariel."

…

Moments later, my hand dropped from the car door. I watched as Jacob hijacked my car and sped off with Ivana. Her words were still ringing in my ears like a melody I could not tune out.

"Ariel, the hooligans who tried to kidnap you seven years ago were hired by Jacob."