His Childhood Sweetheart Called My Dying An Act

"What are you doing? It's just a joke. Do you have to expose it to the paparazzi?"

Ian Broker snatched my phone away. After failing to unlock it, he smashed it without hesitation.

At that moment, I felt a crushing tightness in my chest, struggling to breathe as my vision dimmed.

Clutching my chest, I collapsed to my knees and begged him in desperation.

"No, Ian. I really suffer from arrhythmia. Call the ambulance for me!"

At long last, Ian noticed something was off with me. His brows puckered up.

The next second, Zoey Berg yanked him aside and slammed her glass against the table, the sharp clang cutting through the air.

"Daisy Graham, this is really low of you. Ian came here today to celebrate my promotion. Do you have to ruin it out of jealousy? And you call yourself a celebrity? Instead of using your acting where it matters, you pull these underhanded tricks."

Breathing became increasingly difficult. My chest felt like it was weighed down, and I couldn't get enough air.

Ian and Zoey were childhood friends. Whenever Ian and I went on dates, Zoey would often show up unannounced.

I raised this issue with Ian many times, but he always acted as if it were completely normal.

"Zoey and I are like family. Don't overthink it."

Worried I might misunderstand, Zoey chimed in, "Ian's my best friend. I'm just trying to look out for him."

Even though they said that, whenever we went shopping, they would always end up walking hand in hand, leaving me trailing behind on my own.

Ian was particular about hygiene. Whenever we ate together, he insisted on using separate utensils and would never take food directly from me.

But with Zoey, he'd gladly split a food truck burger and even share the same drink with her without a second thought.

The moment I showed even a hint of displeasure, Zoey would start making sarcastic remarks, implying I was petty and narrow-minded.

That merely served to make Ian grow increasingly impatient with me.

Zoey crouched down and patted my face, her expression showing delight in my misfortune.

"I know. You're used to being treated like a celebrity. You think you should be the center of attention no matter where you go. We're celebrating my promotion today, so nobody is fawning over you. That's why you got all upset and started stirring things up to get their attention, right?"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Some even pulled out their phones to record my humiliating state.

"Embarrassing!" Ian spat out the word through clenched teeth and stepped away from me.

Pain gripped my chest so badly that even speaking felt impossible.

I forced myself to calm down and crawled toward the door to get help from outside.

Zoey's unrestrained laughter rang out behind me. "What? Trying to escape now that your scheme has been revealed? Haha!"

Hearing that, everyone in the private room burst out laughing yet again.

Ian's face darkened.

Just as I was about to reach the door, Zoey grabbed my ankle and dragged me back. My face scraped and hit the edge of the table along the way, leaving me bruised and swollen.

"Ian, women are lowly by nature. You should rein her in before getting married, or you'll be miserable after. We're all here today, so time to set some rules and make your authority as a husband clear."

She then tossed me on the ground like I was trash.

Ian turned coldly and gave me a kick.

"Get up now. Stop being embarrassing."

Right after saying that, he froze.

He belatedly noticed my face had gone deathly pale, my whole body drenched in cold sweat.

Zoey immediately had the server bring over a highly concentrated drink and forced it down my throat.