Chapter 1

After hearing about my peanut allergy, my boyfriend's newly crowned campus queen added peanut extract to my signature cocktail.

Just one sip in, and my skin immediately erupted in hives. My throat started to close up rapidly.

I stumbled toward my canvas tote, pulled out my life-saving EpiPen, and yanked off the cap.

But the next second, my blood ran cold.

The emergency EpiPen had been swapped out for a tube of lipstick by my boyfriend.

Seeing my face turn purple as I collapsed onto the floor, the campus queen suddenly burst into laughter:

"Surprise! I specifically told Julian to swap it out!"

"You are such a fake. Anaphylactic shock from a single sip?"

I desperately gripped my boyfriend's cuff, letting out strained, wheezing gasps like a broken bellows:

"Julian... if you don't give me the real one... I'm really going to die!"

He peeled my fingers off him one by one and swatted my hand away in disgust, frowning slightly:

"Do you really think you're some delicate princess? It's just a drink. Are you seriously doing this?"

"Madison is right. You're just a drama queen making a scene!"

I gave up pleading for him to understand. Instead, I pressed the custom fountain pen in my pocket, triggering my old-money family's highest-tier SOS signal.

.......

Julian squinted at the blinking red light. "What the hell is this? A secret button? Who else are you trying to call for help?"

He snapped the pen in half and stomped on it hard.

"There was peanut in it..." My whole body was covered in hives, and every breath felt like my chest was tearing apart.

"She's not dying, she's auditioning," Madison laughed to the crowd. She then turned back to Julian, "Are you going to let her ruin my welcome-back party looking like a corpse?"

At that moment, the string in my mind called "love" completely snapped.

Madison and Julian were childhood sweethearts and each other's first loves. They only broke up amicably and retreated to the so-called "best friends" zone a year ago when Madison went abroad to study.

But last month, when Madison returned, everyone in their circle started hyping them up all night as the "King & Queen."

Fearing I'd overthink it, Julian had solemnly promised me: "That's all in the past, we've moved on long ago. If I wasn't over her, why would I have gotten together with you?"

Madison had also scoffed: "Relax, Cinderella. If I wanted to eat leftovers, do you think you'd even have a chance?"

I was actually stupid enough to believe their bullshit.

But gradually, I noticed something was off.

Whenever I was around, Madison would always "coincidentally" squeeze between us to interrupt the conversation, deliberately bringing up private details from when they were dating or inside jokes only they understood, leaving me completely out in the cold.

When I couldn't get a word in, she would feign innocence and say:

"Chloe, Julian and I are just friends who know each other best. You’re not actually jealous of me, are you? Stop being so insecure."

After sensing her malice, I expressed my unease to Julian privately, only for him to irritably scold me for being petty.

Now, Madison leaned in and whispered in my ear: "Did you really think you could take him away? You're just a charity project he picked up when he was bored. It's truly pathetic."

The surrounding crowd laughed hysterically, as if watching a brilliant comedy show.

"Hahaha, incredible acting!"

"Get a few more close-ups of her!"

Dozens of smartphone cameras were shoved right into my face. The flashing lights blinded me.

I tightly gripped the cuff of Julian's jacket, tears streaming uncontrollably: "Give me the meds... please..."

Madison deliberately stepped forward, linking her arm tightly through Julian's, resting her head on his shoulder as she shot me a highly provocative look.

The guys in the crowd immediately started jeering:

"Stop being a simp!"

"Don't tell me she's actually got you whipped!"

Provoked by the crowd's jeers, the last bit of hesitation vanished from Julian's face.

"Who's whipped by her?"

He forcibly peeled my fingers off him one by one. "Cut the crap. If you keep pretending, I'm really going to get pissed."

Seeing my face turn a suffocating blue, his expression shifted slightly. He was about to bend down to check on me, but Madison grabbed his arm to hold him back.

"Told you this Drama Queen had incredible acting skills. You almost fell for it again," Madison scoffed, her eyes full of mockery. "It's just a mild food allergy. She'll get a few hives and be done with it."

"Are you looking for this?"

She pulled out the real EpiPen, playfully tossing it up and down right in front of my eyes.

My dimming gaze locked onto that life-saving pen: "Give it... please..."

I lunged forward with all my might, reaching for it with a trembling hand.

But right at the exact second my fingertips were about to brush it, Madison raised her hand and tossed the EpiPen straight into a nearby ice bucket filled with cigarette butts and liquor dregs.

"Oops, my hand slipped."