Chapter 2
I barely interacted with Jacob.
Even though we'd been classmates for three years, we only ever exchanged a few words when I was collecting assignments.
He had a rich family and was always at the top of the class, so there were always people crowding around, trying to suck up to him.
I snatched the notebook off his desk, shot him a quick look, then quickly dropped my gaze.
Even moving that fast, I still couldn't escape the snide remarks.
"Ava, why don't you act a little more decent? Always trying to get guys' attention," someone sneered.
"Your family's so broke. You're probably out there selling yourself just to get by. Don't go tainting Mr. Thomas's name with your mess," another person chimed in.
Everyone knew everyone's business in this small town. Someone had seen me helping Jacob into the cloakroom that night.
Rumors spread that I was working the bars, selling my body for money.
But no one ever bothered to find out who the guy with me was.
I met Jacob's gaze from across the room, but neither of us said a word. I'd heard this kind of dirty gossip so many times. It barely fazed me anymore.
I never thought I'd actually end up in the same room as Jacob, even if we were worlds apart.
He slept with military precision, lying on his back, hands clasped together, like some kind of robot.
I couldn't sleep, so I turned my head to look at him.
"Ava, stop moving around. Go to sleep," Jacob said.
"I didn't," I replied.
"Yes, you do. Your breathing is keeping me awake," he shot back.
"Sorry," I mumbled.
Jacob didn't say anything else and slowly drifted off to sleep.
I'd been dealing with sleepless nights for so long, but out of nowhere, I just drifted off.
That night, those horrible nightmares came back to torment me.
Mom screamed, Dad yelled, and then that blood-red knife flashed before my eyes.
When I woke up the next morning, Jacob was already up.
He left without me, and I couldn't find the bathroom and had to use his instead. So I ended up brushing my teeth and washing my face in his bathroom.
When I went downstairs, the ballerina was already sitting at the dining table, gracefully sipping her milk.
When she saw me, she flashed a sweet smile. "Oh, you must be Jacob's wife. You're so pretty."
She really was like an angel, so kind, even when she was giving compliments.
Honestly, after years of working in the fields under the sun, I never thought pretty was a word that fit me.
Jacob was sitting close to her, and that was when I found out her name was Amelia Moore, the principal dancer of a world-famous ballet company.
They'd grown up together, and to everyone else, she was like Jacob's confidante.
But I knew better. Jacob had always been in love with her. His little bedroom had piles of her photos stashed under the bed.
To be loved by someone that much must be pure happiness.
Bitterness welled up inside me, but I pushed it down.
After breakfast, Harper told me she was following Jacob's mother, Grace Thomas's, orders and wanted to talk about the deal for me to have Jacob's baby.
Grace said Jacob's too young for marriage, and he definitely won't be marrying me.
Once the baby was born, Grace would raise the baby as Jacob's younger brother.
As the child's mother, I'd get a hefty compensation.
That included, but wasn't limited to, a villa in Jinliroad and a cash payout worth tens of millions.
If I wanted, the Thomas family would even send me abroad to study.
The condition was that I could never see the child again.
While Harper was talking, Jacob sat beside me, fiddling with his lighter and giving me that faint, almost mocking smirk.
I let out a quiet sigh and nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
Jacob's hand stopped mid-motion with the lighter.