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.

My eyes lit up, feeling hopeful as I struggled to lift my hand toward her.

"G-Give it to me."

Just as my fingertips were about to touch the pen, Olivia flicked her wrist and nimbly pulled it away from my reach. She curled her lips into a cruel smirk and shot a knowing look at the bleach-blonde guy standing nearby, Ethan Biles.

Ethan immediately caught on and took the pen from her hand, eyeing me with a sleazy, predatory gaze.

"I don't buy that she's some innocent little girl," he said.

Then, like he was teasing a dog, he dangled the pen in front of me and waved it around.

"You want it? Crawl over here and beg me for it."

My mind was already starting to fog over, and my legs were too weak to stand. Out of pure instinct, I crawled forward.

"Oh my gosh! She's actually crawling!"

"Quick, quick, get this on video! This is wild!"

As the sounds of their excited jeering and phone cameras clicking filled my ears, humiliation washed over me completely. I could even sense Dallas' expression darkening further.

He probably thought I was making him look like a complete fool right now. Yet, I could not care less. My body was at its absolute limit, and if I did not get insulin soon, I would go into shock or even die.

I crawled to Ethan's feet and looked up at him, begging pathetically. "Please! Give it to me. I'm begging you!"

Ethan's smile grew even more disgusting as he continued waving the pen around, refusing to hand it over. Instead, Olivia gasped dramatically and covered her mouth in mock shock.

"Oh my, Sabrina! You look like you've done this before."

She turned to Dallas, whose face went completely dark, and asked with feigned innocence, "Dallas, you don't think she's the type to sneak around behind your back playing kinky dominance games with other guys, do you?"

That single comment ignited all the rage Dallas was bottling up. "You are shameless!"

With a furious roar, he kicked me viciously in the side. The brutal force sent my entire body flying through the air before I slammed hard into a nearby tree trunk. The excruciating pain made my vision go black, and I nearly passed out completely.

Dallas's face twisted with rage as he approached me step by step. He stopped right in front of my face, and he growled, "Tell me! Who the hell is he?!"

I was barely conscious from the pain, and even breathing became difficult. All I could do was weakly shake my head.

However, he interpreted this as defiance.

"Still won't talk?!" he roared, then kicked me square in the chest.

I heard the distinct sound of my own rib snapping, and a metallic taste surged up from my throat as blood mixed with saliva spilled from the corner of my mouth. The combination of searing pain and lack of oxygen sent my body into violent spasms, and I felt myself slipping away.

Just as I was about to lose consciousness completely, a furious shout rang out from behind the crowd.

"Stop! Lay one more hand on my daughter, and you'll never walk out of these woods again!"