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!"