Ella's POV
I was fourteen when it all began. Until then, life had been perfect. Jacob, Walter, Steve, Rachel, Tina, and I had all been friends since childhood. My parents had a beautiful, romantic marriage I admired, and I wanted a love like theirs—especially with Jacob.
Jacob and Tina were twins, our neighbors in an affluent neighborhood. All our families were wealthy, legacy families—my dad ran a diamond empire, and Jacob and Tina's father owned hotels and malls. Weekends, vacations, everything was spent together.
I think I fell in love with Jacob when I was five. I asked him to marry me, and he ran to the ice cream truck, brought me a strawberry cone, knelt, and said, "Will you marry me?" Even then, our parents had quietly planned our futures, tying our eventual union to the prosperity of our businesses. The media even ran stories about the two five-year-old "lovebirds" destined to be together.
Walter was my cousin, my dad's brother's son. His family had struggled financially, and he'd never really liked my dad—but my father secretly paid for Walter's education so he could attend the same private school as Jacob, Tina, and me. Walter, just a year older, became both a protector and a brother figure. He and Jacob were inseparable; they often pranked Tina and me together.
Rachel was my father's assistant's daughter, enrolled at our school through an employee benefit. She was beautiful, talented, and accomplished at everything she tried—dance, piano, academics—but I could never shake the feeling that she disliked me. Whenever I got a new toy, she'd break it. Whenever Jacob sat near me, she'd wedge herself between us. And when Walter shared his food with me, she would throw it away in anger. Yet, I couldn't help but admire her—her resilience, her brilliance.
Steve joined our circle when we were ten. A shy, sensitive boy, he was immediately embraced by Jacob and Walter. He quickly became my best friend. Losing his parents young, he had inherited wealth but lived a lonely life. I often wondered what it must feel like—to be rich beyond imagination, yet so alone.
Life was good, happy, and fulfilling—until I turned fourteen. Everything changed overnight. People I loved, friends I trusted, even family, seemed to turn against me. And that's when my world fell apart.