her character lying dead on the virtual dungeon floor. The message, "You have been killed by player 'ArchitectGod,'" b

pped up on her scree

that. My fi

rent lie. A moment later,

a transfer of 500,000 gold

could erase the humiliation, could fix the delibe

used every single high-cost defensive spell he had, sacrificing his own character to save hers. He had messaged her right after, "Are you okay? Don't worr

er hands shaking with a mixture of anger

eviving Chloe and finishing the boss fight. He was ignoring her. He was choosing

m of fury. "What the hell is going on, Ava? My phone is blowing up. The sh

nce. The show finally ended, a blur of fake smiles and polite applause. They had a commercial shoot sche

mbers avoided her eyes, whispering to each other when they thought she couldn't hear. Liam arri

m to put his arm around her waist, Liam' s touch was stiff and impersonal. His hand rested on her for a fraction of a second

The title was "Ava Chen's Desperate Attempt to Trap Liam Hayes." It was a long, detailed

anning a surprise proposal on the finale. Liam found out and was horrified

r past to guilt-t

e, taken backstage. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed. The captio

e" was likely Chloe or someone on her team. The

is lips, no matter how painful. She logged back into the game, hop

me was

friends list. A cold dread filled her. She checked their guild page.

d system message appeared

ut of the guild 'Design Vanguard

erasing her, cutting every last tie that connect