Chasing Stars with Another Woman

"What the hell do you mean by that, Ariel Winslow?" Jacob Gardner glowered at me hatefully, the anger sparking in his eyes. Behind him, Ivana Jennings buried her face in her hands, her shoulders moving with each dramatic sob.She looked so pitiful that Jacob abandoned our fight for a second to pull her into his arms. He was sympathetic as he comforted her. "There, there, Ivana. This isn't your fault. She was wrong for shouting at you like that. You must have been so scared!"I could have sputtered in disbelief. I tossed a piece of paper at him. It was a copy of Ivana's health report, which indicated she was perfectly healthy.I wanted Jacob to know the truth—that he had been duped into doing something so off base and ridiculous. Unfortunately, he barely glanced at the report before casting it aside like trash.He sneered, "I never pegged you for a psychopath, Ariel. You know what emotional stress does to Ivana, yet you decided to fabricate a health report to frame her!"How could

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.Ja

"Well, if it isn't Ariel! Are you here to celebrate Jake's birthday, too? No wonder he told the staff to switch the mango cake to something else. Guess he didn't want your allergies to flare up."Eric continued mockingly, "I think you should stop holding a grudge against Ivana and go back to Jake like a good little wife. He and Ivana are like brother and sister, you hear me? They're tight. Why waste your time—"Before he could finish speaking, I grabbed a bottle of wine and smashed it over his head. Red wine and blood dribbled down his forehead, and he let out an earth-shattering scream as he reached up to wipe them off."How dare you do this to me after the sage advice I gave you, Ariel? If you must know, Ivana is slated to become Mrs. Gardner soon, and you'll still be a nobody!" Eric shrieked.I'd had too much to drink earlier. Coupled with my sudden outburst, I could feel my stomach churning painfully. Before long, beads of cold sweat broke out over my forehead, but that did not

The last dredges of hope I'd had vanished when I saw how everyone in the room was siding against me. A humorless smile curled my lips as I said, "In that case, perhaps you should have someone cut out for the role to be your daughter-in-law."Jacob's mom frowned at my words but did not object.Jacob gave me a long, hard look as he snapped, "Don't be ridiculous!" He heaved a sigh and poured two cups of tea. He slid the cups toward me and said tersely, "You will have tea with my parents, and we'll leave this incident behind us. We'll be a family from now on."I knew what he meant when he asked me to have tea with his parents. When we first started dating, he told me his parents were strict and old-fashioned. They made it mandatory for their son and future daughter-in-law to have tea with them before giving us their blessings.But Jacob had also promised me years ago that he wouldn't make me go through any humiliation and that he would persuade his parents to give up on the tradition o

When I returned to the company, I took the medication I had gotten from the hospital and hoped it would ease the pain in my stomach. After that, I buried myself in work once more.Thankfully, my dad didn't have much hope for the company when he signed over all the rights to me. Otherwise, the company wouldn't thrive as it did, and my dad wouldn't have been able to resist trying to get on my good side.But I was too naive. I should have known my dad, thick-skinned as he was, wouldn't stay away from me for too long.Days later, my secretary informed me that my dad was waiting in the downstairs lobby. I frowned but left to meet him anyway.Upon seeing me, Dad dropped the haughty and condescending demeanor he usually reserved for me and took my hand. He asked with false kindness, sounding as awkward as he looked, "Goodness, Ariel, you've lost so much weight. Has work been hard on you these days?"I did not intend on exchanging pleasantries with him, so I cut to the chase. "What are yo