Everyone looked at me with contempt.
“If she could understand what we’re saying, she wouldn’t be putting on this act. It’s like talking to a brick wall!”
“Aiden, are you seriously still falling for this bad acting?”
Aiden, who had been nervous and seemed about to help me, immediately hardened his face.
“Amelia, I almost fell for your trick again!”
“Ivy’s been putting up with all this and still explaining herself to you. And what about you? All you do is throw tantrums, fake being sick, and act jealous!”
I struggled to grab onto his pants leg, my throat tightening as I forced out the words.
“Inhaler… my inhaler…”
He shook me off with a kick, looming over me.
“Amelia, stop pretending.”
“Every time I leave important clients to take you to the hospital, the doctors always say it’s your own problem.”
“Can you just be reasonable for once? My company is on the rise right now. I can’t keep dealing with your drama!”
Ivy leaned against him with a sigh, then casually tossed the inhaler back toward me.
“Fine. You want it that badly? Here.”
I lunged for the rolling bottle, my hands shaking as I pressed it to my lips.
But instead of the usual spray, the canister only made a dry, empty sound.
The medicine was gone.
Ivy had already emptied it, leaving me with an empty bottle to "graciously" return.
“You did this on purpose!”
I was boiling with anger, standing up to slap her, but Aiden kicked me back to the ground.
“Aiden, see? She really was faking it. She has enough strength to hit me. I’m scared… cough, cough…”
“Don’t be. She wouldn’t dare.”
Aiden looked at me coldly. “Stop acting. If you really had asthma, would you have the strength to hit someone?”
Laughter rippled through the room.
“Wow, your acting is terrible! Can’t fake being sick, now you want to fake fainting so Aiden will rush to your side, huh?”
Laughter and mockery rang in my ears as I collapsed to the floor.
Like a fish on the brink of death, I futilely opened and closed my mouth.
“Ai… den… I really have asthma…”
My voice grew fainter, each breath feeling like I was swallowing needles.
“Now that’s what a real challenge looks like! Forget those ‘cleavage shots’ or ‘collarbone shots’—no more of that! Lick it!”
The noise was deafening.
The deafening whistles and laughter filled the air as Aiden looked back at me one last time.
Then, as if letting go of all his guilt, his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he leaned in to kiss Ivy’s chest, laughing.
Laughter filled the room. Their shameless bodies pressed together in front of me.
My chest ached with despair and heartbreak. I wanted to crawl away from this suffocating place, but as soon as I turned over, my strength gave out.
Lying there helplessly, I suddenly felt something cold against my neck.
It was the necklace my mother had given me before she passed away. The pendant held a special pill inside.
She had fastened it around my neck herself, telling me she hoped this medicine would save my life in a critical moment.
With trembling hands, I summoned the last of my strength and clawed at the pendant. My nails cracked and bled, but I barely felt it.
Click!
The pendant finally popped open.
I poured the white pill into my hand, my heartbeat thundering in my chest.
But just as I was about to take it, Ivy’s heels clicked against the floor. She appeared in front of me.

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