The Choice

Selene hesitated when she saw how flushed my face had become. She crouched down and tried to lift me up. "Is it really that bad?"

I was about to answer when Adrian suddenly burst into loud, theatrical sobs.

He looked at me as if I had committed some unforgivable crime. "Julian, how could you do this? I bought those imported premium energy bars for you because you're Selene's boyfriend. They're packed with nutrients and marketed as super healthy."

His voice cracked as he went on. "How could they possibly make you react like this?"

His eyes grew red, his tone wobbling with every word. "Are you trying to frame me? Make it look like I hurt you on purpose? I know you don't like me, but you can't go after me like this."

Then, he turned to Selene with shimmering eyes. "Selene, we've known each other for years. You of all people should know what kind of person I am. You said it yourself that you treat me like family and that, besides your parents, no one comes before me.

"So, today you have to choose. Are you choosing your family or your boyfriend?"

Selene panicked immediately and rushed to comfort him, letting go of me in the process. "Of course I believe you! This one's on me. I spoiled him too much. I'll make him apologize to you."

Her sudden release sent me crashing to the ground. Gravel scattered under me, and a few sharp pieces nearly scraped into my eyes.

Everyone around us swarmed toward Adrian to console him.

"Adrian, don't cry. We all know you'd never do something like that."

"Seriously. This guy is way too dramatic. Selene, what do you even see in him?"

"He's clearly picking a fight just to push you away from Adrian."

Selene cupped Adrian's face with both hands, comforting him with a softness I remembered all too well. It was the same tenderness she'd shown me when she confessed her feelings.

Yet now, I, the actual boyfriend, was left abandoned outside their small circle of sympathy.

My vision blurred further. Through the dizziness, I spotted their backpacks a short distance away. My medication might have been hidden in one of them.

I dragged myself forward inch by inch, every breath burning my lungs. My fingers stretched toward the closest strap.

I was one inch away when a heavy hiking boot came down out of nowhere, grinding into the back of my hand. It was Adrian's boot.

A shock of pain shot up my arm and forced a groan out of me.

He flinched theatrically, letting out an exaggerated gasp. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to. But Julian, why was your hand under my shoe? Is this another trick to frame me?"

He sounded pitiful and wounded, but the smug glint on his face told the truth. He was doing it on purpose. But no one else saw his expression. His back shielded him. Whatever explanation I gave, not a soul would believe me.

My chest tightened with rage and helplessness.

He pressed down harder. My illness had already drained me of strength, so I couldn't pull my hand free. All I could do was feel each bone in my fingers grind against the rocks. I didn't even have the strength left to cry out.

When I stayed silent, he pouted, annoyed. "Julian, why aren't you saying anything? I already apologized. Isn't that enough for you? What, do you want me to get on my knees and beg before you'll let it go?"

The noise drew Selene over. She walked toward us with a deepening frown.

Adrian casually pulled his foot back.

Selene didn't spare a single glance at my swollen hand. Instead, she yanked Adrian behind her and snapped at me with cold fury. "Julian, have you caused enough trouble? I haven't even dealt with what you did earlier, and now you're starting again? Do you need everyone here to be miserable before you'll stop?"

She looked down at me from above, as if I were some criminal awaiting judgment. "Apologize to Adrian right now."

A Truth I Couldn't Ignore Anymore

The way Selene shielded Adrian made the two of them look like some picture-perfect pair.

And just like that, I was dragged back three days earlier.

It had been another gathering. Selene and Adrian had slipped out of the room and didn't return for a long time.

A knot formed in my stomach. I went looking for them and finally spotted them by the restroom.

The hallway lights were dim. Adrian's hands were braced at Selene's waist, their bodies nearly pressed together, close enough to make me sick.

The moment I charged forward, Adrian happened to finish buttoning the very last button on Selene's shirt. He glanced at me with that mocking, playful look he always wore. "Julian, don't get the wrong idea. Selene popped a button. I just helped her fix it."

Selene, meanwhile, looked completely unfazed. If anything, she was annoyed that I'd interrupted.

"Babe, don't overthink this. I've always treated Adrian like a brother. You know I'm an only child. I grew up envying families with siblings. Adrian is the closest I'll ever get to that. He's just a clueless kid who hasn't grown up yet.

"He doesn't understand mind games. I tease him sometimes. There's nothing to it."

I remember standing there, stunned. How could she say something that absurd with such confidence?

We fought badly. I told her I wanted to break up.

But Selene, who had always been so hard-edged, suddenly folded.

She clung to me, swearing she hadn't meant anything by it, even letting a few tears fall.

She apologized so sincerely that, after three years together, I caved.

Looking back now, it wasn't the relationship I couldn't let go of. It was the three years I'd already thrown into it.

I was clutching a relationship that had already rotted through, hoping I could bring it back to life.

Ridiculous.

"We're done," I rasped from the ground.

Selene froze for a beat, then let out a sharp laugh. "Using the breakup card again, Julian? Just because I comforted you once doesn't mean I'll keep doing it."

She crouched, grabbed my chin, and forced my head up. "Play hard-to-get too many times, and people get tired of it."

I stared at her face, so close to mine, suddenly seeing a stranger. Whatever warmth I'd held for her burned out completely.

I forced out my last bit of strength and spoke each word with clarity. "I am the Mercer family's son. You dragged me into these woods and did this to me. Did you think there wouldn't be consequences? How many of you are brave enough to touch someone from the Mercers?"

The moment the words left my mouth, the whole group erupted.

"Haha! Mercer family? Which Mercer family does he think he's talking about?"

"Which one? The Mercer family with all that power. The one that owns this entire scenic area we're standing on."

"Oh my God, did his blood sugar fry his brain? Look at him. He looks like some barefoot mountain kid, yet he claims he's a Mercer?"

Adrian laughed the loudest. He wiped tears from the corners of his eyes before strolling over and patting Selene's shoulder dramatically.

"Alright, alright, you're all gorgeous. Stop teasing the poor, innocent boy. Can't you see he's about to cry? Keep it up and he'll start claiming he's some king here to chop off your heads. Seriously, this is hilarious."

More laughter that was sharp and grating broke out again.

Only when they finally tired themselves out did Adrian reach into his pocket and pull out a blue-and-white injector.

It was my insulin.

The Moment I Broke

Hope flared in my chest again. I forced my hand up, reaching for him. "Give it to me… Please…"

But just as my fingertips were about to brush the injector, Adrian flicked his wrist and pulled it out of reach with effortless cruelty.

A crooked grin tugged at his mouth. He shot a look at the pink-haired girl beside him.

She caught on instantly. She plucked the injector from his hand and gave me a lazy, mocking once-over.

"I don't buy the whole innocent-boy act," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. Then, she dangled the injector in front of me like she was teasing a dog. "You want it? Come get it. Crawl over here and beg."

My head was already spinning, and my legs were too weak to hold me up. All I could do was drag myself forward on instinct.

"Holy crap, he's actually crawling!"

"Hurry, record it! This pose is insane!"

The excited jeers of the crowd and the sharp clicks of their phone cameras buzzed in my ears.

Humiliation swallowed me whole.

I could feel Selene's expression darkening by the second. She probably thought I was humiliating her just by existing like this. But I couldn't care about that anymore.

My body was at its limit. Without insulin, I would slip into shock. Maybe I would even die.

I dragged myself to the pink-haired girl's feet and lifted my head, begging. "Please… Give it to me…"

Her grin twisted, even sleazier. She dangled the injector again, refusing to hand it over.

Adrian, meanwhile, slapped a hand over his mouth like he was shocked. "Oh my God, Julian, that crawling form is perfect."

He turned to Selene, whose face had gone stone‑cold, and asked in a mock-innocent tone, "Selene, he's not one of those rotten guys sneaking around playing 'master-and-pet' games with random women behind your back, is he?"

That single line ignited every ounce of anger she'd been holding in.

"Scumbag!" Her roar tore through the air as she drove her foot hard into my side.

The blow launched me into the air. I hit a tree trunk hard enough to knock the breath out of me. Pain exploded across my body. My vision dimmed, the world rocking.

Selene stalked toward me, her face carved from stone. She stopped right in front of me, the tip of her shoe inches from my eye. "Talk. Who's that tramp?"

The pain was so blinding I could barely breathe. All I managed was a weak shake of my head.

She took it as defiance.

"You still won't talk?" she screamed, and kicked my chest.

I clearly heard my rib snapping.

A metallic taste surged up my throat. Blood and spit leaked from the corner of my mouth.

Pain and lack of oxygen sent my body into violent spasms. I couldn't control anything anymore. I shook helplessly on the ground.

Just as the world started to go dark, a voice thundered from beyond the crowd. "Stop! You lay another hand on my son, and none of you are walking out of these woods alive!"