I shoved her away.

Instinctively, I reached up to scratch my face, but the second my fingers touched my skin, a sharp, piercing pain shot through me.

"I… I can't… my face… what did you put on me?"

Coughing, I could barely get the words out.

Nolan rushed over and grabbed my hand, his voice tight with anger. "You said it was just makeup remover. How is she having such a severe allergic reaction?"

Silvia froze for a second, her face flushed red. "I… how was I supposed to know? I just grabbed something randomly."

She bit her lip, then snapped back defensively. "Besides, I've never liked that fake innocent look she always puts on. Standing next to me, it just looks worse. You said it yourself that it didn't look good, which is why you agreed to let me mess with her, right?"

My whole body started trembling. My limbs felt numb, and even breathing became difficult.

"So that's why you were so willing to let her 'apologize' to me," I forced out, my voice shaking. "Nolan… you don't deserve a clean breakup."

Gritting my teeth through the pain, I staggered toward the sink, trying to wash my face.

However, I had barely taken a step when everything went blurry.

"Whitney, don't scare me!"

When I woke up again, it was already evening. The pain I felt in my face was still intense.

Through the haze of being rushed to the hospital, I vaguely remembered someone saying my chin and the right side of my face had been cut and needed stitches.

As I shifted slightly, Nolan, who had been sitting by my bed, woke up.

"Whitney, you're finally awake. You scared me to death," he said quickly. "The doctor said you came into contact with an allergenic disinfectant and went into anaphylactic shock."

He leaned closer, speaking fast. "She really wanted to apologize to you. You know how she is, stubborn and all. Some things she did might have gone too far, but she didn't mean it. Don't be mad, okay?"

He never once asked how I felt about my injuries, or whether the damage to my face might upset me. All he did was make excuses for her.

I looked at him, at the face I had loved for so many years, and suddenly it felt completely unfamiliar.

Tears slipped down without warning.

"I'm not mad," I said quietly. "I just regret it. I shouldn't have been with you in the first place."

He froze, clearly caught off guard, and was just about to speak when his phone suddenly lit up.

When he saw the name on the screen, he quickly hid his expression. "I need to step out for a second. Get some rest. I'll be right back."

He left in a hurry.

I did not know why, but I found myself following him.

Through the slight crack of the stairwell door, I saw him sitting next to Silvia.

"Hey, don't blame yourself," he was saying softly. "She won't be mad. Isn't this how it always goes?"

Silvia punched him lightly. "If she can't even handle this, what's she going to do if she finds out that you only pursued her because you lost a bet with us? And that the day you confessed was picked on purpose for April Fools' Day? She'd lose it."

Those words exploded in my ears.

A loud ringing noise drowned out everything else.

Nolan immediately covered her mouth and glanced around nervously. "Shh! That was ages ago. Forget it and keep it to yourself."

My legs gave out, It felt like all the bones had been pulled out of my body. I could not even stand.

All the confusion that had haunted me for so long finally had an answer.

Why, whenever it came down to choosing, I was never the one he chose.

Why, even though he said he loved me, he always allowed her to hurt me.

I had been stupid enough to think he just valued his friendship.

I had never imagined that everything he gave me was a lie.

Even the moment I thought had saved me, the beginning I held onto so tightly, had been built on deception.

So that was the truth. From their point of view, I had never been Nolan's girlfriend. I was just a joke, a clown they could play with whenever they wanted.

At that moment, whatever dignity I had left was shattered completely.

I pressed my trembling lips shut with all my strength.

I had to leave. Leave this, this suffocating, fake world behind.

I took a taxi back to the hotel, grabbed my luggage, and headed straight to the train station, where I switched to the earliest train to the city where the headquarters was located.

Right before boarding, my phone lit up with a message from Nolan.

[The doctor said you still need observation. Don't go running around. Where are you? I'll come find you.]

I stared at the message and let out a laugh that turned into tears.

I did not reply. Instead, I blocked and deleted his contact, along with every one of his friends.

'Nolan. Your April Fools' game ends here. I'm done playing.' I told myself that silently.