Chapter 1

I braced my hand against the car door, preventing Rosalie Gardner from exiting the vehicle.

Seeing that, Jake Ferrell immediately attacked me.

There was no denying that the bodyguards Grandpa had sent for training overseas were indeed excellent, as Jake's every move was swift and aimed to take down his opponent quickly.

Nonetheless, I hadn't been idle all these years abroad either. Although I couldn't win in a fight against him, at least my training allowed me to avoid all his moves.

I threw my hands out and declared a temporary truce, at which point he snarled at me, "I'll definitely not forgive you if you harm Ms. Gardner!"

His furious and flustered demeanor was rather amusing to me. Planting my hands on my hips, I mocked, "I already told you that I'm the heiress to the Gardner family, yet you refuse to believe me and insist on accepting a fake as your mistress. Could it be that I'm uglier than her?"

Jake finally calmed down and eyed me. "Mr. Gardner Senior summoned me back from overseas to protect Ms. Gardner. At the time, his exact words to me were, quote, 'My granddaughter refuses to study or work hard and is a handful. I leave her safety in the future to you,' end quote.

"Although I only stand guard outside the villa, I seriously doubt you're Ms. Gardner. After all, you look so nerdy and have zero personality. There's no way you're the real Ms. Gardner."

At his words, I glanced down at the new and improved me, then at Rosalie, who looked exactly like the sort of person who doesn't work hard. It was then that I recalled I had once been a boisterous tomboy.

When I was eight, Grandpa took in three boys for my sake. He said that if I liked them, he would keep them all by my side. If I didn't, he would groom them in whatever area their potential lay so they could be useful to me in the future.

Among the three, the one I liked most was the oldest, a young man ten years older than me. He was incredibly refreshing to be around, and I eventually developed feelings for him.

On my 18th birthday, I crawled into his bed, attempting to use my barely matured body to win his heart.

However, when he woke up and realized what was going on, he shoved me out of his room.

"Winona Gardner, take a good look at yourself right now! Do you look anything like the heiress to the Gardner family?"

The furious, disdainful look in his eyes sent sheer humiliation crashing over me. Thoroughly ashamed and nursing a broken heart, I got the idea to run away, to escape from it all.

By the time Grandpa realized that I was gone, I was already abroad. Despite the distance, he arranged everything for me and told me to work hard while I was overseas.

Without him around to look after me, I had had no choice but to mature into a calm, steady woman. Hence, I was nothing like my past self, and when coupled with the fact that Jake had never seen me before, it was only normal that he couldn't recognize me.

Nonetheless, I couldn't be bothered to waste more time explaining to him. With my hand still braced against the door frame, I spoke to the woman in the car, my tone demanding.

"Rosalie Gardner, are you not going to clarify things?"

Rosalie's pale, slender legs slipped from the car as she exited. Then, she shut the door and turned around, not even sparing me a glance.

Jake hurried forward with an umbrella and apologized, "Ms. Gardner, that must have been rather frightening for you. I'll be sure to accept whatever punishment you deem fit later."

I found his airheadedness rather funny and couldn't help but wonder where Grandpa had found such a clueless, dense young man to serve as a bodyguard.

Rosalie started walking without a backward glance, so I held a hand out to block her.

Jake frowned slightly, annoyed that I was in Rosalie's way. He lashed out with a sweeping kick, throwing my legs out from under me and causing me to crash to the ground. I yelped at the pain.

Following that, Jake clapped his hands and called out loudly, "Men, since she insists on doing things the hard way, go ahead and beat her up!"

"How ridiculous! Who would dare harm me right at the gates to the Gardner residence?" I shouted angrily.

Since I was young, I had been the apple of Grandpa's eyes and treated like the most precious treasure in the world. No one in the entire Gardner family, including the staff, had ever dared to treat me so arrogantly.

I glared fiercely at Rosalie. Right now, she was acting like a cold, aloof heiress, as though she were so much more superior to me.

Subsequently, my gaze landed on the emerald bracelet on her wrist, and a wave of irony washed over me.