Chapter 1

The second I hit send, one of Vivian's socialite friends gently but firmly took my encrypted phone away.

"Aria, screen light will only make your dizziness worse. You need to rest your eyes," she said with a sweet smile. But as she turned, the phone slipped from her hands. "Oops!"

Another guest stepped back in 'surprise' and heavily crushed the device under his dress shoe.

The screen shattered.

Silas stepped over the broken glass, his face dark. He stood over me.

I stayed on my knees, clutching my chest in agony. My lungs felt like they were full of crushed glass.

"Silas... ambulance..." I forced out a broken whisper.

He looked at my deathly pale face. He finally moved, bending down slightly.

He heard the harsh, unnatural wheezing in my throat. His cold brows furrowed. A tremor he didn't even notice crept into his voice.

"Aria, what's wrong with you?" He reached out to touch my sweaty face.

Before his fingers could touch me, Vivian rushed over.

She grabbed Silas's arm and yanked him back up.

"Silas, you shouldn't indulge this behavior!" Vivian raised her voice, acting wronged and hurt. "Everyone came here to celebrate my appointment as CMO, but she's jealous and trying to ruin the party.

"I knew Aria never liked me. I invited her because I wanted to fix things between us, but she didn't appreciate it at all. Silas, if I had known she would act like this, I would have only invited you."

Silas's hand froze in mid-air. Then it slowly clenched into a fist.

I looked at him in despair. My heart broke.

His parents died in a sudden, severe illness when he was young. He lived in constant fear of losing his loved ones. To protect him, I hid my deadly asthma—a trauma from a childhood kidnapping.

I thought my silence would give him peace. I never expected it would become Vivian's perfect excuse to kill me today.

In the past, Vivian always crashed our rare dates, flaunting her status as Silas's childhood friend.

"I'm Silas's sister. I'm just tagging along to help see if you're right for him. You don't mind me joining, right, Aria?"

I was always the forced, useless shadow. Silas would brush me off impatiently. "Vivian is just a sister who needs looking after. Stop being unreasonable."

Now, this "sister" was murdering me in public.

"Look at her gasping on the floor to get attention. This is unbelievable!"

The guests burst into harsh laughter. Countless phones aimed at me. Flashes went off like crazy, recording my pathetic gasps.

The mockery stung Silas's pride. His brief worry for me was instantly swallowed by rage and disgust.

He glared down at me.

"Aria, I know you don't like Vivian, but her celebration party only lasts one day. Can't you just bear with it for a few hours? Get up. Stop embarrassing me."

Lack of oxygen made my brain roar. Breathing was a luxury. I couldn't make a sound to defend myself.

I bit down hard on my tongue. The strong taste of blood forced my sanity awake.

Since he wouldn't save me, I had to save myself. I turned. My nails dug into the carpet.

I dragged my heavy body, inching toward the closed double doors.

I hoped someone outside could help.

Vivian sighed from behind me, her voice dripping with fake pity.

"Aria, what's wrong? Your trick got exposed, and now that Silas won't defend you anymore, you're embarrassed and trying to run away?"

The guests roared with laughter. Silas's face grew even darker.

Just as I almost reached the door, Vivian rushed forward. "Aria, wait! Don't wander off when you're feeling sick!"

She grabbed my arm as if to support me. But my weak body couldn't handle the sudden pull. As she seemingly tried to 'steady' me, the momentum sent me completely off balance. I crashed into a massive champagne ice sculpture.

Countless sharp ice shards buried me instantly.

Vivian covered her mouth, shrieking in horror. "Oh my god! Silas, I'm so sorry, I tried to catch her, but she just threw herself backward!"

The guests shook their heads in disgust.

"Silas, your fiancée is really going too far today. Throwing herself into the ice sculpture just to make a scene?"

Silas barked in a rage, "Aria, is that enough? Stop the act and get up!"

The next second, he froze completely.

My face had turned blue. Ice water and cold sweat soaked my couture gown. Sharp ice cut my pale hands. Blood seeped out. But I didn't even have the strength to cry out in pain.

"Aria hates pain..." he muttered. "Is she really..."

Silas didn't know I lacked the energy to scream. His rage instantly turned to terror. He lunged forward desperately.

Seeing this, Vivian quickly grabbed a glass of iced citrus cocktail. "She must be severely dehydrated from the heat!"

She knelt beside me, gently but urgently pressing the glass to my lips. "Aria, drink this. The vitamin C and electrolytes will help you regain your strength!"

Suddenly, I felt like I was truly going to die.

I couldn't resist her 'help.' The citrus aggravated my allergic reaction, making my airways lock up faster. My body started convulsing uncontrollably.

I gasped for air, but nothing entered my lungs. A loud, dying wheeze rattled in my throat.

The guests saw this horrifying scene and backed away in fear.

"Is... is she actually dying?"

Silas's pupils shrank violently. His tall body shuddered. He stood frozen in place.