When Seth Gibson told me his legs were crippled and that only snowmelt from a mountain's peak could cure him, I did not hesitate. I scaled the mountainside, climbing over 15,000 feet just to get some snow for him.

When I staggered back, bruised and scratched, cradling the snow outside the hospital room, I overheard cruel voices down the corridor.

"Seth, today's the deadline. Nevaeh still isn't back. Could she have died up there?"

"I heard that the mountain's pretty high. She might have gotten altitude sickness. What a shame! She's already risked herself for Seth ninety-nine times. This was supposed to be the last time before the game ended."

"Serves her right! She used to bully Janice, Seth's childhood friend, didn't she?"

I saw Seth through the crack in the door. He was standing at the window, his legs perfectly intact, and his expression ice-cold.

"Enough," he said flatly. "If she dies, the game ends."

I froze in disbelief until it finally sank in. Seth had been pretending all along.

A laugh nearly escaped me. What a relief! I could finally get rid of this weight on my shoulders.

I pulled out my phone and called his uncle.

"I'll marry you," I said.

After hanging up the phone, I dumped out the tap water I had collected while visiting the Sarikash Highlands.

I scooped up a bottle of murky river water and brought it to the hospital room instead.

Seth Gibson and his buddies all stared at me, their eyes wide with shock.

Seth looked pale. "Nevaeh, what took you so long to get back?"

I showed off the fake scratches I had drawn on my arms and said with teary eyes, "Seth, my body just wasn't strong enough. I had to take an oxygen tank with me to climb, and it took me a whole two weeks to reach the top.

"This is the snowmelt from the mountain peak. Drinking this should heal your leg."

Right after I spoke, I heard giggles and gasps. "You really climbed a 15,000-foot snow mountain all by yourself?"

"Look at those bruises and scratches. It must've been a painful journey!"

"Nevaeh, you must really love Seth, huh?"

I blushed and nodded shyly. "I'd do anything to see Seth's leg get better."

Seth looked at me with mixed feelings, took the bottle of 'snow water', put it aside, and hugged me gently. His voice was soft and caring. "Nevaeh, you're too good to me.

"Don't worry. Let’s schedule our engagement for next week, and I'll make sure it's a day to remember."

I felt my cheeks warm up. "Seth, when can we go look at engagement rings and wedding dresses?"

Annoyance briefly flashed across Seth's kind eyes, and he sounded a bit dismissive.

"Don't worry, Nevaeh. I'll take care of everything for the engagement.

"Sweetheart, you must be tired after all that traveling. Go get some rest."

I nodded obediently, then sneakily pinched his thigh. I looked up at him with big, innocent eyes.

"Seth, after all this time, can you feel your legs yet?"

Seth's face went ghostly white. I could not tell whether it was from pain or something else.

"No, but the doctor says they're improving."

I nearly burst into tears of happiness. "Really? Then, you should make sure you rest enough. Don't overdo it with your legs. I'll go make you some healing chicken soup."

I rushed out of the hospital room. As soon as the door shut, laughter broke out from inside.

"Nevaeh is so easy to fool. I've never seen anyone so naive before."

"Seth, you're not seriously going to propose to the girl who bullied Janice, are you?"

Annoyed, Seth massaged his leg and casually lit up a cigarette, tossing the bottle of snow water into the trash.

"Do you think she's worthy of becoming my wife?

"Next week, I'm getting engaged to Janice.

"I want her to come in a wedding dress to watch me and Janice get engaged. Make sure to get a good shot of her face.

"I want to make her the laughingstock of the entire internet!"

I could no longer stand it and kicked the door open.

Everyone inside the hospital room stared at me with wide, nervous eyes when I came back in.

Seth, who usually kept his cool, looked a bit flustered.

He quickly put out his cigarette.

"Nevaeh, you didn't leave?"

Pretending to be breathless, I said urgently, "Seth, I came back for the snow water.

"It's really important. I need to prepare it for you right away so your legs will get better faster!

"Huh, wasn't it just on the table?"

Seth looked relieved and quickly played along. "Who last saw the miracle drink? Hurry up and find it!"

While I was not looking, someone snatched the drink from the trash can. "Seth, here it is."

I took it with a big smile, looking over at Seth sitting on the bed. "Seth, I'll make you some boiled snow water tonight."

I ignored the way he looked at the dark water, like he wanted to say something but was holding back.

I rolled my eyes when he was not looking and walked out of the room.

Once I was outside the hospital room, my smile faded.

'Seth, you're just too much!' I thought.

My mind drifted back to last year when Seth hurt his legs saving me. I felt so grateful and guilty that I did not think twice about staying with him.

On our first day together, he complained about leg pain and sent me to find a traditional remedy. He told me that a scorpion tail soaked in alcohol would heal his legs and asked me to catch one for him.

I did not want to, but I agreed after seeing his face twisted up in pain, even though I was scared.

Before I left, he made me promise him something. "Nevaeh, you have to catch it yourself."

I looked into his eyes, full of love for him, and said, "Seth, I'd do anything to help your legs get better."

However, I was too scared to catch a scorpion myself. In the end, I went to a breeding facility.

It cost me fifteen dollars to buy one that was jumping all over the place.

I'll never forget how surprised and touched Seth looked. "Nevaeh, you're so kind to me."

I felt so guilty. I just wanted to repay him for saving me.

Then, Seth heard about another remedy consisting of a centipede boiled in water. He wanted me to catch a huge one, over one foot long.

Later on, he told me to boil wasp tails in water.

Over the course of a year, he had me looking for all sorts of dangerous bugs to help his legs.

I thought Seth was acting strangely because of his injury, leading him to ask for so many traditional remedies.

I could not believe he was deliberately making me take all these risks just to get back at me for his old crush.

Thank goodness I had paid someone else to handle all that stuff. If I had tried to do it myself, I would have become a casualty of his crazy adventure game a long time ago.

'So, Seth wants to embarrass me, huh? All right, I'll keep playing his game. I've already been doing it for a year, anyway,' I thought.

Feeling annoyed, I called up Draven Gibson, the heir to the Gibson family. Even though he was technically Seth's uncle, he was pretty young.

"Mr. Gibson, can we talk about setting a wedding date?"

His voice was deep and pleasant. "When do you want to hold it?"

I grinned and said, "The sooner, the better. How about next week?"

His charming voice came back, "Are you free tonight to discuss this?"

I was thrilled. I tossed the bottle I was holding right into the trash can with a whoosh.

"I'm free all night!"

I was feeling great after setting up a fancy dinner with Draven. I took my time packing up some chicken soup before heading to the hospital.

When I opened the hospital room door, I saw Janice Wheeler sitting next to Seth, feeding him grapes one by one. It was such a sweet scene, but it made me shiver.

Janice screamed like she had seen a monster when she saw me.

"Help! Seth, I'm scared!"

Seth wrapped his arms around her right away. "What's wrong? Janice, do you feel okay?"

Janice dabbed at her eyes. "I'm okay. It's just that seeing Nevaeh brought back some memories."

Seth looked like he suddenly remembered something too. He gave me an icy look and said, "Nevaeh, come in. Do you know you're supposed to knock?"

I felt a sneer inside me as I loosened my tight fists.

Back in school, she was the one who always picked on me, hit me, and spread lies about me. However, she somehow made it look like I was the bad guy.

I tried hard to keep down the fear and anger bubbling up inside me. "I'm sorry, Seth. I missed you so much that I forgot to knock."

Seth was still a bit mad. "What took you so long?"

My eyes started to tear up. "I heard that chicken soup tastes better if you let it cook a bit longer. That's why I'm late, Seth. Don't be mad, okay?"

Janice snuggled up to Seth, blinking her big, doe-like eyes. "Seth, did you know Nevaeh climbed a snowy mountain just to get snowmelt for you?

"Where's the snow water? I'd love to see it.

"Nevaeh, didn't you say you used snow water? Where is it?"

I did not say a word and just brought over the chicken soup. "It's in the soup. Ms. Wheeler. Do you want to try some?"

Janice looked at the soup in my hands with a frown. "Are you sure the snow water's safe? How do you know it's not poisonous or anything?"

I quickly said, "It's safe. Seth told me it's good for healing legs when you boil it. It's really helpful!"

Janice's eyes flickered with cruelty. She suddenly shook her hand, spilling the chicken soup all over the floor.

"Oops! Sorry, it was too hot. You're not mad at me, are you, Nevaeh?"

I did not answer and just looked at Seth. He looked annoyed at me and pushed me aside to grab Janice's hand and check on her.

"Janice, did you get burned?"

I felt so unfairly treated that my eyes filled with tears. "Seth, what's going on between you two?"

Seth did not even glance my way. "We've been friends since we were kids. What do you think our relationship is?"

He had just finished shouting when he noticed me on the ground. His voice softened. "Nevaeh, I just think of Janice as a sister. Don't get it wrong."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Seth's friends were outside, laughing and calling out, "Hey, Seth! Are you and Janice finished? Can we come in now?"

I pretended to be shocked. "Finished with what? Seth, what are they talking about?"

Seth's face turned red with embarrassment. He quickly said. "Nevaeh, don't mind them. They're just spouting nonsense!"

He shouted back at them, "Nevaeh's here too, so cut it out with the jokes."

Everything went quiet outside. Then, the door creaked open, and Seth's buddies piled in.

"Nevaeh, you know we were kidding, right?"

"Totally! We were just messing around."

Seth saw me still on the floor and asked gently, "Nevaeh, come here. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

I held back an eye roll and walked over quietly.

Seth took my hand, about to say something, but then he saw the huge ring on my finger.

His voice turned icy. "Nevaeh, who gave you that ring?"