My boyfriend, Dallas Clarke, had a pick-me girl constantly hanging around him named Olivia Phillips.

She knew perfectly well that I had diabetes and could not eat high-sugar foods. Yet, during our hiking trip, she still managed to trick me into eating a high-sugar energy bar, which caused my blood sugar to spike.

When I pulled out my insulin pen to inject myself, I discovered with horror that my medication had been replaced with saline solution.

Seeing me collapsed on the ground, dry heaving uncontrollably, Olivia smirked in disdain.

"You are always so dramatic. It's just sugar, you don't need to act like you're dying. That's why I told Dallas to switch your meds, because you needed to toughen up and build some stamina."

I looked toward Dallas, my breathing already becoming labored. "Dallas, give me my medication. If I don't inject insulin soon, I'm going to die..."

Dallas frowned slightly. "Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic? I've never heard of anyone dying from a bit of sugar. Olivia's right... You're such an attention seeker. We barely get together as a group, and here you are causing a scene."

My heart sank, and I called Dad immediately. "Dad, I'm getting bullied, and I might die! Are you going to do something about it or not?"

Dallas Clarke snatched my phone away and hit the end-call button. His face was full of contempt and impatience.

"Sabrina Tanner, are you seriously this childish? You're a grown woman, and you're still tattling to your parents?"

He shoved my phone into his pocket and let out a cold laugh. "Do you seriously think one phone call is going to make your dad, who works out in the woods somewhere, swoop in to save you? Stop embarrassing yourself!"

He had no idea that the man he looked down on was actually the owner of this entire nature reserve. In other words, this whole mountain belonged to my family.

My vision kept fading in and out as the nausea and dizziness from the sugar spike tore through me.

Olivia Phillips, Dallas's so-called girl best friend, chimed in without missing a beat. "Dallas, I told you from the start that she is so manipulative. Look at her. She ate one little energy bar, and now she's pretending to be weak so you'll feel bad and carry her down the trail."

She continued, "Just saying, though, you two lovebirds can be lovey-dovey on your own time without wasting everyone else's. If you pick her over us tonight, I'm not going easy on you during the drinking games!"

Dallas laughed at her teasing. "With your tolerance? You'd belong at the kids' table."

"Screw you! I'm going to make you eat those words."

As they bantered back and forth, the two of them ended up in a playful embrace. This was not the first time they got physical with such a complete lack of boundaries.

When Dallas first introduced me to his group, Olivia was there. The moment she saw me, she broke into a huge smile and pulled me into a tight hug.

"So you're the girlfriend! Dallas talks about you all the time. Finally, we get to meet you in person! You're even prettier than your photos!"

She sounded friendly, but her eyes scanned me from top to bottom in a split second.

After we sat down, she casually commented, "You wore a dress to hang out? Super feminine of you! But just so you know, we're a pretty rowdy bunch. When we start playing games and stuff, you might want to be careful not to get it dirty. I gave up on that a long time ago. I've been with these guys too long, so I'm more comfortable in cargo pants. They don't stain, and they're easy."

Everyone laughed, as if wearing a dress to a casual get-together was the strangest thing in the world. I felt her subtle hostility, and I also knew I would never fit in with Dallas's friend group.

Yet every time I told Dallas how I felt, he made it sound like I was the problem.

"Olivia's a tomboy with a dude's personality. She doesn't mean anything by it. Be more understanding. I'm introducing you to my friends so you can get along with them, not so you can get jealous.

"You're making me look bad when you act like this."

To prove that I was supposedly overthinking, he even forced me to join this hike. And now this supposedly "harmless" tomboy was watching me suffer on the ground with smug satisfaction.

Dallas kicked at my leg irritably. "Alright, quit the act and get up! You're holding up everyone's hike."

The symptoms of hyperglycemia left my entire body weak, and every breath felt like it was burning my chest.

I grabbed desperately at his pant leg, using every ounce of strength to beg him, "The medication! Give me my insulin! I really can't breathe!"

Seeing my flushed face, Dallas hesitated for a moment. He crouched down and helped me up slightly. "Is it really that serious?"

Just as I was about to speak, Olivia suddenly burst into dramatic sobs. She looked at me with this wounded expression, as if I were some kind of unforgivable criminal.

"Sabrina, h-how could you do this to me?! I bought that imported premium energy bar for over 200 bucks just because you're Dallas's girlfriend! It's super healthy and packed with nutrients! How could they possibly cause such an extreme reaction?"

Her eyes turned red as she sniffled. "Are you, are you trying to frame me? I know you don't like me, but you can't target me like this!"

She looked at Dallas with tears in her eyes. "Dallas, we've been friends for years. Don't you know my character by now? You're the one who said bros before hoes, so today I'm making you choose! Are you picking your ride-or-die friend, or your girlfriend?!"

Dallas immediately panicked and let go of me to rush over and comfort her. "Of course, I believe you! This is my fault. I've spoiled her too much. I'll make her apologize to you."

His sudden movement sent me crashing to the ground again, and tiny rocks flew dangerously close to my eyes. Meanwhile, Everyone rushed to surround Olivia, showering her with comfort.

"Olivia, don't cry! We all know you're not that kind of person!"

"Seriously? She's so dramatic. Dallas, what did you even see in her?"

"I bet she's just stirring up trouble on purpose, trying to make you distance yourself from Olivia!"

Dallas tenderly pulled the sobbing Olivia into his arms and softly consoled her. He looked exactly as gentle as he had when he confessed his feelings to me. But right now, I, his actual girlfriend, was cast aside and shut out.

My vision was already starting to blur, but I struggled to lift my head and saw Dallas's and Olivia's hiking backpacks not far away. It suddenly hit me that my insulin pen might be hidden inside one of them.

Gasping heavily, I began inching across the ground, my fingertips reaching forward desperately. Just as I was about to touch the backpack strap, a hiking boot came down without warning and ground viciously into the back of my hand.

It was Olivia.

The searing pain made me let out a muffled groan. Yet, she acted as if she was startled and let out an exaggerated gasp.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! But Sabrina, why did you put your hand under my shoe?! Is this another trick to frame me?"

She sounded all pitiful and wronged, but the blatant smugness on her face showed she did it on purpose. However, since her back was to everyone else, no one saw the malice on her face, so no matter how I tried to explain, nobody would believe me.

Frustration rose like a weight on my chest. Her foot pressed harder, and I was too weak to pull my hand away. I could only feel with excruciating clarity as my fingers were ground beneath her boot, too weak even to cry out in pain.

Seeing that I was not responding, she pouted and grumbled with dissatisfaction, "Why aren't you saying anything, Sabrina? I already apologized. Are you still not satisfied? Do I have to get on my knees and beg before you'll forgive me?"

Dallas heard the commotion and came over with a frown. Olivia quickly lifted her foot.

He did not even glance at my red and swollen hand, instead pulling her behind him protectively and shouting at me harshly.

"Sabrina! Have you not made enough trouble? I haven't even confronted you about earlier, and now you're starting again?! Do you need everyone here to be miserable before you're satisfied?"

He glared at me from above, like he was passing judgment on a criminal as he barked, "Apologize to Olivia immediately!"

The way Dallas was protecting Olivia made them look like the actual couple.

I suddenly remembered what happened three days ago. We were at another group hangout when Dallas and Olivia left the private room for a long time. Feeling uneasy, I went looking for them and finally found them outside the restroom.

The hallway lighting was dim, and Olivia had both hands positioned between Dallas's waist and abdomen, their bodies pressed intimately close in a way that made my stomach turn.

When I furiously rushed over, she was just finishing zipping up his pants. She looked at me with those eyes that always carried a mocking gleam.

She said, "Sabrina, don't get the wrong idea. Dallas's zipper got stuck, so I was just helping him out."

Meanwhile, Dallas was completely unbothered. He was even slightly annoyed that I interrupted them.

"Baby, don't read too much into it. Olivia and I are just friends! Besides, she's basically one of the guys. Olivia's basically one of us. She always says she's jealous we have something she doesn't, so what's the harm in letting her take a look?"

I was stunned speechless. I could not believe that he could say something so ridiculous with a straight face.

That night, we had a huge fight, and I told him I wanted to end our relationship. However, he completely changed his tune, holding me while swearing up and down, even shedding a few tears.

His apology seemed so sincere. Thinking of our three years together, I eventually softened.

Looking back now, I realized I was not holding onto the relationship itself. Instead, I was just reluctant to let go of those three years I invested.

I clung to a relationship that already rotted, foolishly hoping it could come back to life.

It was pathetic.

"We're done," I rasped from the ground.

Dallas froze for a moment. Then, he suddenly let out a scornful laugh. "Playing the breakup card again? Sabrina, just because I humored you once doesn't mean I'll do it every time."

He crouched down and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Playing hard to get only works so many times before it gets annoying."

As I stared at his face up close, he suddenly felt like a stranger. Any lingering feelings I had for him vanished completely.

Mustering my final bit of strength, I spoke slowly and deliberately. "I am Sabrina Tanner of the Tanner family. You're treating me like this on my family's property. Have you thought about the consequences? How dare any of you mess with someone from the Tanner family?"

The moment those words left my mouth, the group erupted.

"The Tanner family? Which Tanner family is she talking about?"

"What other one could there be? The ultra-powerful Tanner family, obviously! This whole nature reserve we're standing on is Tanner property, isn't it?"

"Oh my goodness, did the sugar fry her brain? Look at this backwoods nobody trying to claim she's a Tanner heiress!"

Olivia laughed the hardest. She wiped the tears from her eyes and patted Dallas's shoulder with fake concern.

"Alright, alright, you guys. Don't tease the poor girl anymore. Can't you see she's about to cry? Keep going, and she'll start claiming she's the Queen of some country, coming to chop off your heads."

Another round of harsh, mocking laughter filled the air. Only after they laughed themselves out did Olivia pull something from her pocket: a blue and white injection pen.

It was my insulin.