The freshman welcome party was loud—music blasting, people screaming over it.

Then the external pacemaker on my chest started shrieking.

10 percent battery.

Cold sweat hit fast. I always carried a backup. Always.

I yanked open my backpack.

No heavy medical battery pack.

Just a flimsy power bank.

One blinking bar.

My brain short-circuited. I grabbed for my phone to call 911, but my boyfriend, Hampton Finch, caught my hand.

"Lily's track player died. I gave her your battery. Just use that power bank." He nodded at the useless brick in my bag.

I jerked free, shaking. "That thing's basically dead. If the pacemaker stops, my heart stops."

His face went cold. "Lily's the freshman rep. If her opening dance tanks, she's done on campus. You're an upperclassman. Cut her some slack."

"My life or her dance?" My vision blurred as I stumbled toward backstage.

He locked onto my wrist. "I checked. Pacemakers have backups. You're not gonna die. Stop being dramatic."

A sharp pain stabbed through my chest.

I slammed the emergency alarm Dad had hung around my neck.

The alarm hadn't even screamed for half a second before Hampton ripped it off me.

"It's just me lending out your battery. You're seriously calling the cops over that?"

He didn't look at me. He faced a trash can, fake jump-shot, and tossed my lifeline in.

"Woo. Three points." His dorm bros cracked up.

The pacemaker kept beeping. Loud. Steady. Like a countdown in my skull. The room tilted.

I grabbed a chair to steady myself and reach for the alarm. He shoved me back down.

"Stop being dramatic." His voice edged with annoyance. "You're always fine. Why do you even need that thing? Can't you hold out a few minutes?"

I looked at him. "If I hadn't taken that falling surveying instrument for you this summer, would my heart have been pierced?

"Three days in the ICU. Thirteen hours in surgery. A month stuck wearing this. Did you forget?"

His eyes flickered.

The alarm shrieked again.

He frowned. "Can you turn it off? You're ruining Lily's performance with that noise."

My hands and feet went ice-cold. It felt like a boulder was parked on my chest.

My heartbeat ticked down. Apparently worth less than a freshman showcase.

He lifted his phone, busy snapping pics of Lily Rowe bowing onstage. Two years together, and I was just now seeing his true colors.

Lily hopped down in a strapless mini, all flutter and spotlight, and launched into his arms.

"Hampton, thanks to your battery, I crushed it tonight!"

I didn't look at him. I held out my hand to her.

"Give it back. Now."

She blinked up at me, all wide-eyed. "But... I lent it to my dorm mate, Mia. She's up next."

"Who told you to do that?" My pulse spiked. My chest squeezed tight.

Her eyes went glossy as she ducked behind Hampton. "Hampton, did I make things hard for you? I just saw Mia panicking without her music. I didn't want her to forget the choreography.

"I'll go get it right now. Even if she embarrasses herself in front of everyone, even if the tutors get mad, I'll bring the battery back to Juliet."

She spun like she was about to run.

Hampton pulled Lily into his arms, voice soft—so soft I barely recognized it.

"No need to go. You're kind. You did nothing wrong. She's the one making a scene over a stupid battery and killing the vibe."

Lily peeked at me and shivered. "Will Juliet feel unwell?"

Then, louder—just enough for the crowd—"When my grandma's heart acted up, she fainted right away. Maybe Juliet's young. She can still stand there and watch the show."

Hampton's dorm bros cracked up.

"Yeah. She's got plenty of energy to yell."

"Doesn't look like a heart patient."

"Bullying a pretty freshman 'cause she's jealous? Faking sick for attention? Please. That trick's outdated."

Hampton frowned at me clutching my chest, like I was something gross on his shoe.

"Done pretending? If you were that sick, you'd be on the floor. You're just petty. Can't handle a younger, prettier girl getting attention."

I wanted to slap him. My body didn't cooperate.

My heart pounded harder. Cold sweat soaked my back.

"The pacemaker... it's dying. I need to charge it. My heart will stop..." I grabbed his sleeve with the last of my strength.

Lily gave a tiny laugh. "Juliet, you almost look real right now."

Hampton sneered. "Wow. Heavy breathing right on cue. With acting like that, you should be in soap operas. You'd blow up online."

He shook me off. I hit the cold floor.

Pain shot up my spine, but the weight crushing my chest drowned it out. I reached into my backpack for my meds. One pill. Just one to get me through the performance.

Finally—found the blister pack.

Under the shifting stage lights, I squinted at the foil.

[Multivitamin.]

My dad packed my life-saving meds himself. So how—

I snapped my head up at Hampton.

On the way here, he'd complained I walked too slow. Took my backpack "to help."

I forced my voice steady. "Where's my medication?"

Lily covered her mouth, soft gasp—perfect volume for the audience.

"Juliet, don't be like that. I saw you only had two pills left. It looked... kind of sad. So I swapped them for the vitamins I take. Full sheet. Nine tablets. Imported."

Like she'd upgraded me.

Rage shook through me. The stabbing in my chest spread down my arms. The blister pack slipped from my hand.

"Who told you to touch something that keeps me alive?"

Lily scooped the vitamins up fast. Her eyes went red on command.

"Even if you don't like them, don't throw them away. This sheet costs over two hundred. I just wanted to help your health."

"Lily meant well. What's your problem?" Hampton grabbed the vitamins, then my chin, forcing my mouth open. "Take them. Don't waste her kindness."

His fingers dug into bone. Tears blurred everything. I tried to turn away. He held me still.

"I can't take vitamin A. It clashes with my meds. It'll trigger arrhythmia. My heart can't handle it."

His grip loosened—just a little.

Right on cue, Lily burst into tears.

"Juliet, if you don't want it, fine. Why say something so scary? It's my fault. I shouldn't have tried to help. I'll never be nice again!"

Instant waterworks. Instant audience.

Hampton's d roommates immediately gathered around her.

"She's jealous. Trying to humiliate you."

"Lily, you're too sweet. Don't let Juliet bully you."

Hampton's face iced over. He shoved the pill into my mouth.

"Lily cares about you and you're still nitpicking? I didn't know you were this unreasonable. This ungrateful."

The tablet melted fast. Sickly sweet. Bitter underneath.

Pressure climbed up my chest. Every breath dragged against something sharp lodged in my heart.

My vision blurred. I couldn't tell what hurt more—the poison or his voice.

Two years.

When he had competitions, I ran across the city to twenty-three supply stores for parts. Stayed up building models until my fingers blistered.

When he studied for grad exams, I camped at the library at five a.m. to save him a seat. Typed up a hundred thousand words of review notes while my own thesis stalled.

Last summer, I took a falling surveying instrument for him.

And this is what I got. A pill forced down my throat. A casual "unreasonable."

"Hampton... we're done."

The words scraped out of me. I pulled out my phone and dialed my doctor on instinct.

"I'm at Aramont University auditorium. My heart—"

A hand ripped the phone away.

He powered it off. "You done? Who are you threatening with a breakup? Jealous, causing a scene, trying to waste public resources? Ambulances are for people who actually need them."

Metal filled my mouth. I clenched my teeth.

"I can't hold on. Give me the battery. Call an ambulance."

The pacemaker shrieked.

6 percent.

The number burned into my eyes. My heart stuttered, drowning between beats.

A student nearby leaned in. "She looks really bad. Is she okay?"

"Help me..." My lips moved. No sound.

Hampton cut in. "She's throwing a tantrum. Sleeps at midnight, up at five. Running around for months. She's not fragile. She's acting. Ignore it."

The student hesitated—then stepped back.

The ceiling lights spun, splitting into warped colors.

My heartbeat raced. Then stalled. Each throb stabbed like needles.

"I'm not acting... check my pulse." I forced my arm up, biting my lip until I tasted blood.

The hand that grabbed my wrist wasn't his.

It was Lily's.

She crouched beside me. From everyone else's angle, she looked worried.

Up close? Cold. Smug.

"Juliet, don't panic. I'll check your pulse for Hampton." Her voice dripped sugar.

"Let go..."

Her red nails pressed into my skin. She leaned in, whispering so only I could hear.

"Juliet Bowen, you're such an eyesore. Hogging Hampton like you earned him. Tell me—if I scream right now, who do you think he'll believe? You... or me?"