My girlfriend's so-called guy best friend found out I had epilepsy. He deliberately spiked my drink with stimulants.

The moment I drank it, my nervous system was overstimulated. My heart rate surged. My chest tightened. Then the familiar warning signs hit–blurred vision, fragmented awareness, the onset of a seizure.

The next second, I lost control of my body and collapsed onto the floor. My muscles convulsed violently. My jaw locked tight. My breathing turned uneven.

I struggled to pull out the emergency medication I always carried with me, trying to stop the seizure from worsening.

However, just as I was about to take it, I realized the hot water in my bottle had been replaced with highly concentrated coffee.

The extra caffeine intensified the neurological stimulation. My convulsions worsened. My thoughts became more chaotic. My fingers stiffened to the point where I could barely move.

Aaron Stone looked down at me on the floor and laughed.

"Not bad. You're pretty convincing.

"I've seen plenty of seizure patients before. Never seen anyone act this well."

Gasping for air, I forced myself onto my knees in front of Mia, my jaw tightening from the spasms.

"Mia... call an ambulance... I'm having a seizure..."

Mia frowned at my obvious condition, but there was only impatience on her face.

"Enough already.

"If you keep acting like this, it's honestly too much. Since when can people having seizures still talk?

"Aaron's a doctor. With him here, what could possibly happen to you?"

I stopped trying to explain.

Because I was already entering the next stage of neurological collapse. Even speaking had become difficult.

Using the last of my strength, I pulled out my phone and sent an emergency distress message.

"What are you doing?"

Mia ripped the phone out of my hand.

She tried to unlock it. The Face ID failed. The next second, she slammed it onto the floor. The screen shattered.

I could no longer keep my body steady. The seizure kept hitting in waves. My consciousness was fading in and out.

I was on my knees on the floor, crying for help almost on instinct.

"I'm not... faking... I really have epilepsy... call... an ambulance..."

Only then did Mia finally realize something was wrong. Her brows tightened slightly.

However, before she could say anything…

Aaron was already on his feet, pulling her behind him.

He swirled the drink in his hand and lightly tapped the glass against the table, the sound crisp and sharp.

"Logan, that's enough.

"Tonight is my promotion party. You're acting like this on purpose. What, trying to get attention? Or trying to make Mia feel sorry for you?"

He looked down at me, his tone full of contempt.

"You've been a celebrity for too long. You really think you're the main character everywhere you go?

"You even picked the occasion for your seizure?"

My breathing had become unstable. My chest rose and fell unevenly, and the suffocating feeling kept getting worse.

Mia and Aaron had grown up together.

Whenever Mia and I went out, Aaron would always show up uninvited.

I told her more than once that it made me uncomfortable, but she always brushed it off.

"He's just a friend. He's like family."

Aaron would smile and add,

"I'm just helping her keep an eye out so she doesn't get tricked."

However, the reality was…

They walked ahead hand in hand while I was left behind.

Mia was such a clean freak that even eating with me required separate serving utensils.

Yet she could share the same straw with Aaron. Eat from the same bowl of noodles.

Every time I brought it up, I got shut down with the same line:

"You're being insecure."

Mia had stopped hearing me out.

Aaron crouched over me and tapped my cheek.

"I get it, man.

"You're used to being the center of attention. Tonight, nobody's playing along, so you're doing this for the spotlight."

People around us were laughing.

Phones were up.

"Embarrassing."

Mia's jaw set. She took a step back to put distance between us.

She looked at me. The last of the doubt left her face.

"Stop it."

My heart was pounding. My chest felt clamped tight.

I could not form a full sentence. I started inching toward the door.

Vision was breaking up at the edges. Light was flickering.

The aura was getting worse. Awareness was tearing apart.

Behind me, Aaron's laugh rang out.

"What? Got exposed, so now you're running?

"You were acting pretty well a minute ago."

The room burst into laughter.

Mia's face went cold, but she didn't stop them.

I almost reached the doorframe.

Aaron suddenly grabbed my ankle and yanked hard.

I was dragged backward across the floor. My forehead slammed into the corner of the table.

Pain exploded through my head.

However, the worst part was not the pain.

The stimulant residue combined with the caffeine was throwing my nervous system further out of control.

The seizure worsened. My limbs tightened and released uncontrollably.

"Mia."

Aaron sneered at her.

"Men need to be controlled. Especially the ones who love putting on an act. Better deal with it early.

"All the guys are here today. Good chance for you to practice, so you don't suffer after marriage."

He tossed me back onto the floor like I was worthless.

Mia stood nearby, staring down at me coldly.

"Get up.

"Stop embarrassing yourself."

She nudged me lightly with her foot.

Then she froze.

My face was no longer pale. It had turned gray.

My lips were purple.

Cold sweat kept running down my temples.

My breathing was uneven and disordered.

Aaron still did not care.

He had a waiter bring over an ice-cold drink, popped it open, and forced it into my mouth.

"Enough already. Stop acting.

"If you're overheated, drink something cold and wake up."

The caffeine and stimulant mixture entered my body again.

Almost instantly, my body jerked violently.

The convulsions became visibly worse.

My chest heaved sharply.

My breathing started breaking apart.

A strained, involuntary sound came from my throat.

This was not acting.

This was a seizure entering a dangerous stage.

The people around us finally started realizing something was wrong.

"He... doesn't look right."

"This doesn't look fake..."

The room slowly fell silent.

Mia stood frozen in place, her face turning pale.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

"Logan?"

Her voice shook as she called my name and stepped toward me unsteadily.

Aaron blocked her and suddenly laughed, pulling out his phone.

"What a coincidence.

"He actually played a seizure patient before."

"That's why he's so good."

Mia's face changed. She slammed the table.

"Logan, are you done? This is Aaron's promotion party. Stop."

I was on the floor.

The post-ictal exhaustion plus the alcohol on top was wrecking me. I could not respond.

"You."

Her voice went colder.

She lifted a glass of liquor and held it at my mouth.

"Get up. Apologize to him. Drink this, and we move on."

Aaron was already drinking. He squatted down next to me.

"All right, stop pretending.

"Everyone is tired of watching.

"Be a man. Don't be petty."

He took the bottle and refilled my glass.

Three of his friends pinned me down.

They forced my mouth open.

The full glass went in.

The minute the liquor hit my throat, my chest seized.

My heart rate spiked again.

The post-seizure neural activity was amplified by the alcohol.

My awareness fragmented further.

Black crept into the edges of my vision.

My breathing turned irregular.

It was not pain. It was neural overload and oxygen deprivation.

I forced my eyes up at Mia.

"Help... me..."

Her voice turned sharper.

"It is one drink.

"You're being dramatic.

"Aaron is a doctor. He knows what he's doing."

She turned and lifted her glass.

"Aaron, this one's for you."

People around us cheered.

"Mia, girls shouldn't be drinking like this. Let your boyfriend drink for you."

Their eyes landed on me again. Disappointed. Cold.

Like I was some kind of joke.

Aaron laughed.

"Forget it.

"He's already taken it this far.

"Any further, and it'll really look like he's dying."

He walked over to Mia and took her hand. He lifted the glass to her lips.

"Come on. Don't ruin the mood."

She did not refuse.

She lowered her head and took a sip.

The next second, Aaron leaned down, held the back of her head, and fed the liquor back into his own mouth.

They were extremely close.

She did not struggle.

She even closed her eyes.

My vision was fading completely.

Then I saw the emergency medication packet on the floor.

I crawled toward it.

My fingertips were just about to touch it…

A foot came down and crushed it.

Aaron looked down at me.

"Weren't you putting on quite the performance earlier?

"What happened? Can't move anymore?"

He deliberately raised his voice so everyone could hear.

"Logan, I am really disappointed in you."

Mia frowned and glanced at me with disgust before looking away.

Aaron grabbed a fistful of my hair and sneered quietly.

"That seizure performance was pretty impressive. You about to lose it for real?

"Don't worry. The fun part's still coming."

His eyes darkened. Suddenly, he grabbed a wine glass from the table.

Smash–

Glass shattered.

He pointed the jagged end at me.

I instinctively twisted away, but the lingering muscle instability after the seizure made me noticeably slow.

The shard scraped across my skin.

A burning pain exploded instantly.