Before the final match of the national championship, I received some devastating news. As the team captain, I was accused of having stimulants in my water.

I was immediately disqualified from the competition and faced severe penalties, including the possibility of a lifetime ban.

Amid the overwhelming boos and jeers from the audience, all I wanted was to prove my innocence to my girlfriend.

When I called her, she said in mockery, “It’s just 300,000 dollars. You aren’t that broke, are you?”

“You’ve already earned more than enough honors. If you’d let Ethan play earlier, I wouldn’t have had to pull this move.

“He’s been diagnosed with cancer. He doesn’t have much time left. I had to make his last wish come true.”

She had no idea that this match was not just any competition for me. It was my last before retirement.

I wanted to win the championship. I wanted to propose to her. I also planned to reveal my identity as the heir of Everglory Group.

The E-sport team I led made it to the national finals. We had worked hard to earn this opportunity, but everything fell apart before the final match.

Someone anonymously accused me of using stimulants. To make matters worse, the organizers found traces of stimulants in the bottled water I had just drunk.

The tournament officials took the matter seriously and sent an investigation team to look into it immediately.

“This is a setup!” I tried to explain. “I swear I’ve never touched stimulants, let alone used them to cheat! Someone must’ve tampered with my water!”

I begged them to let me compete. “The match is about to start. Just let me play! The surveillance footage will prove I’m innocent!”

As the team captain, E-sport meant everything to me. I had worked too hard to throw it all away like this. There was no way I would disgrace my team with something so shameless.

But the investigators ignored my pleas and coldly said, “You only need to cooperate with our investigation. A substitute will take your place. You have been disqualified from this match.”

The countdown for the match began. I stared at the monitor in disbelief. Ethan Pryce was sitting in my seat.

I could see the fury on the faces of the crowd below the stage. They knew exactly why a substitute had been brought in. Boos and demands for refunds echoed throughout the venue.

Even my teammates, with whom I had fought side by side for three years, looked devastated. I could see the sadness and anger on their faces.

At that moment, everything changed. I went from being a legendary prodigy in E-sport to someone everyone despised.

...

I took a deep breath and rubbed my face hard to stay alert.

Everyone could doubt me, but I had to give Clara Summers, my girlfriend, an explanation.

After begging them multiple times, the investigators finally agreed to let me make one last call.

As the long wait dragged on, the monotonous electronic beeping filled the silence. I kept running through ways to prove my innocence in my mind.

“Clara, they found stimulants in my water—”

But Clara cut me off and said, “Dominic, this is all your fault! If you had just agreed to give Ethan your spot back then, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

Her sarcastic tone on the phone made me feel like I did not know her at all. It made my blood run cold.

I had been a professional in this industry for seven years and had seen all kinds of dirty tricks. Before a match, I was always careful about what I ate and drank. I never gave anyone a chance to frame me.

But this time, I had let my guard down. I drank the water Clara handed me without thinking twice.

Her soft, insistence words from before the match replayed incessantly in my mind.

“Dom, you’ve been competing for seven years. What haven’t you won? Just let Ethan try this time. Let him experience what a national competition feels like.”

Her words had made me frown. I lost interest and coldly pushed her away.

When I did not respond, she started to sulk. “Nothing is going on between me and him! If there was, I wouldn’t be bringing him up so openly in front of you.

“You know, he’s been diagnosed with brain cancer. He doesn’t have much time left. Can’t you just let him have his final wish?”

Clara pulled out her usual trick. She tugged at my sleeve and acted all sweet.

I had always believed there was nothing more between them than childhood friendship.

If it had been anything else, I would not have agreed to let Ethan join the team as a substitute when she used the same excuse to ask me.

He did not have much time left, but that did not mean everything had to be about him.

His skills were so lacking that just getting onto our team had been hard enough.

The national finals were on a whole different level. The best players in the country would be participating in this competition.

Sending him onto the field without a valid reason would be a betrayal to the fans and everything I believed in.

So, I firmly refused her request.

“No.”

I looked her in the eye and held her shoulders as I said, “This is not up for discussion.”

I could not betray the beliefs I had held for seven years. I could not let anyone disrespect this sacred space.

When I saw the disappointment in Clara’s eyes, I gently ruffled her hair and said softly, “Life is full of regrets. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You don’t have to carry other people’s expectations.

“Be good. I’ve got a surprise for you after we win this match.”

At that moment, I was ready to give her my whole heart. But she was scheming against me behind my back.

Even if I took a blood test, it would only confirm that I had used stimulants to cheat.

She really left me with no way out!

I crouched helplessly on the ground and trembled uncontrollably. My eyes were bloodshot as I stared at my arm, which was wrapped in bandages.

Was all my seven years of effort really just for this? To end up with a result that left me nailed to shame?

After six years together, did it really have to end in betrayal?

Before I could even ask why, Clara impatiently hung up.

Then, I saw her on the monitor in the waiting room. Her eyes filled with tears as she cheered for Ethan.

Just before the match started, she playfully leaned down and quickly kissed Ethan on the cheek.

The crowd went wild, but my heart sank.

That moment hit me like a punch to the gut.

Ethan walked onto the stage amid cheers, while I was escorted away by the investigators. My pride was gone.

I could not just sit there. While waiting for the results, I rushed back to the scene and was determined to get an explanation from Clara.

“Dominic, how dare you show your face here? Do you want your loyal fans to tear you apart?”

I turned and saw Ethan leaning against the door frame in his team uniform.

Behind him stood a few of my teammates.

They were fuming. One was clenching his fist and was ready to punch me.

I instinctively raised my hand to block. Suddenly, I heard a glass shatter behind me.

A sharp pain hit me. Blood dripped down my forehead.

I slowly turned around and saw Clara glaring at me furiously.

She was holding a broken vase and quickly ran in front of Ethan to shield him protectively.

“Don’t you dare hurt him!”

The teammates who had been angry just moments ago looked stunned by what they saw.

After all these years together, I knew they were just venting. They did not actually hate me that much.

But when they saw Clara smash the vase over my head without hesitation, their anger flared.

Before they could say anything, I tilted my head slightly. I signaled for them to leave.

As the door closed, Clara yelled at me harshly, “Dominic, it’s just a championship. Is it really worth all this drama?”

Then, she quickly softened and turned to Ethan.

“Did you get hurt? Are you okay? If anything’s wrong, just tell me.”

Ethan’s face was pale as he forced out a smile.

“I’m not that fragile,” he said.

After they finished their small talk, they finally remembered my existence.

“Dominic, I know you always give it your all just for the prize money.

“But this time, it’s different. This might be my last chance to participate in this competition. So, to express my apology, I’ll give you double the prize money.

“I’ll offer you 600,000 dollars. Think of it as your living expenses for the year you’re banned. You can use the money to prepare for your wedding with Clara. For someone like you, a poor guy with no background or status, it should be enough.”

Ethan smiled hypocritically as he held up his bank card between his fingers.

It felt like he was tossing a coin to a beggar.

I stared at the PIN on the card. It was a combination of his and Clara’s birthdays.

How ironic!

“Go on, take it! Stop being childish and acting all righteous. It won’t pay your bills.

“Ethan’s already done enough. The fact that your form has dropped is obvious. If it were you out there today, you might not even win the championship!”

Clara took the card and slapped it against my chest. It was thin, but it felt like it could pierce my heart.

Ethan smiled modestly. “I understand that the Parker team has its own way of doing things. After all, two dominant figures can’t coexist in the same space. Anyone would find it hard to accept an equally strong competitor on their team.”

Hearing that, the anger I had felt earlier dissipated.

Instead, confusion began to take over.

With his skills, I could easily pick any trainee from the academy and crush him. How could he possibly claim to be my equal?

Moreover, the other reason I returned was to give the team an explanation.

This was the national finals. It was my decision to make Ethan a substitute.

I owed everyone an explanation for losing the finals.

But what Clara said next left me stunned.

She looked at Ethan in admiration. “I had no idea you were this amazing! If your family hadn’t stopped you back then, and you had insisted on entering the E-sports industry, you’d be the talented young prodigy everyone would be chasing!”

She shot me a contemptuous look, then warmly linked her arm with Ethan’s.

“Let’s go for the interview. Everyone’s waiting to hear your victory speech.”

I grabbed Clara’s arm. “Impossible! He could never win the championship!”

Clara glared at me. “Clearly, you’re just not good enough.”

A thought flashed through my mind. I could not help but ask, “Did you two bribe someone to throw the match?”

Both of their faces stiffened for a moment.

Clara slapped me. She looked furious and embarrassed as she retorted, “Dominic, are you still not done? Are you seriously trying to make such a huge accusation?”

“If you’re so confident, go ahead and tell everyone I put the stimulants in the water or that I bribed people to throw the match. Who’s going to believe you?

“Or are you just doing this to get my attention? I’ve told you, we’re just good friends. He has brain cancer. Can’t you stop being so jealous and unreasonable?”

Looking at her sharp, sarcastic face, I could not help but remember when we first met.

She was only sixteen back then and had just started high school.

I had not yet entered the E-sports industry. I was just a student who loved watching E-sports.

After one match, I happened to see her crying uncontrollably. She was upset because someone from the team she supported had been caught match-fixing.

I was only a few years older than her. I silently watched her cry for three hours.

I sat next to her as she angrily criticized everything that went against the spirit of E-sports. I stayed with her as she let go of the past.

That afternoon, she looked at me and said, “I’ll stay with you until the day you become a world champion.”

I only nodded at the time. But every time I pushed myself to the extreme, those words would pop into my mind.

She had forgotten all of it.

But it did not matter anymore.

As I watched the two of them walk side by side toward the podium, I took out my phone and sent a message.

I asked the team manager to announce my retirement on the official Twitter account.