Two days passed in a blur of whispers and sidelong glances. I'd barely seen Maddox since he'd carried Nadia away from our celebration. The team headquarters felt different now—hostile territory where I was the outsider.
I sat in the team's conference room, my hands folded neatly in my lap as I waited for the meeting to begin. The other players filtered in, their eyes carefully avoiding mine. Axe, who had once called me their "little support goddess," now wouldn't even look in my direction.
"Let's get started," Maddox's voice cut through the silence as he strode into the room, a folder tucked under his arm. He didn't sit beside me as usual, but chose a chair across the table.
I straightened my spine, forcing myself to meet his gaze. "Maddox, before we begin, I wanted to discuss the lineup for the upcoming—"
"We're not discussing that today." His tone was clipped, final. "I've made some decisions regarding team composition."
The room went deadly quiet. Even our coach, who usually dominated strategy meetings, sat back with an uncomfortable expression.
"Nadia will be joining the active roster," Maddox announced, his eyes sweeping across the room before landing briefly on me. "She'll be taking over as starting Support."
The words hit me like a physical blow. "But the World Championship qualifiers start next week," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. "We've been training together for months. My stats—"
"Your stats?" Maddox's eyebrow arched. "You think this is about numbers?"
I pulled up my performance metrics on my tablet, sliding it across the table. "I'm consistently at 300 APM in tournament play. My healing efficiency is 28% higher than league average. I've memorized every champion's skill cooldown—"
"And Nadia is dying." His voice cracked slightly. "This is her dying wish—to play with us again before she..."
The room fell silent. I looked around at my teammates, searching for allies, but found only averted gazes.
"Her wish doesn't have to be my demotion," I said quietly. "We could rotate positions, or—"
"How can you be so heartless?" Maddox's voice rose sharply. "She doesn't have much time left, Myla. Can't you understand that?"
I stared at him, stunned by the accusation. "Heartless? I've given everything to this team—to you."
"Then prove it," he snapped. "Be supportive. Be a team player."
I felt something crack inside me—not my heart, but something deeper, more fundamental. With shaking hands, I pulled out my phone and opened my private journal app.
Strike 1, I typed.
---
Three hours later, Maddox's assistant called me into his office. I stood in the doorway, hesitating at the threshold. The room felt different—colder somehow, despite the warm afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows.
"Close the door," Maddox said without looking up from his desk.
I did as instructed, then remained standing silently until he finally raised his eyes to mine.
"We need to talk about the engagement party," he said, his tone businesslike.
My stomach twisted. "What about it?"
"It's canceled." He said it so casually, as if he were declining a lunch invitation rather than dismantling our future. "The venue and arrangements will be used for something else."
"Something else?" My voice sounded distant to my own ears.
"A commitment ceremony." He leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "For Nadia and me."
The room seemed to tilt sideways. "I don't understand."
"Nadia doesn't have much time left," he explained, as if speaking to a child. "I want to give her this happiness before she—" His voice broke. "Before she leaves us again."
"So you're canceling our engagement to... what? Marry her?"
"Not a legal marriage," he clarified quickly. "A commitment ceremony. Something beautiful and meaningful."
I felt bile rising in my throat. "And what do you expect from me?"
His eyes met mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of the man I'd thought I knew. "I need you to be there. To support this."
"Support this?" I repeated numbly.
"As Maid of Honor," he added, the words falling between us like stones.
I took a step backward, my hand finding the wall for support. "You want me to stand beside you while you promise yourself to another woman?"
"It would mean a lot to Nadia," he said, his voice softening into the persuasive tone he used for sponsor negotiations. "And it would show team unity."
"Team unity," I echoed hollowly.
"Myla." His voice hardened slightly. "Don't forget what you owe me."
The unspoken threat hung in the air between us. My grandmother's medical bills. The debt that could never truly be repaid.
"Fine," I whispered, pulling out my phone again.
Strike 10, I typed with trembling fingers.
As I turned to leave, Maddox called after me: "Oh, and Myla? Wear something blue. It's Nadia's favorite color."
I didn't respond. I couldn't. Because if I opened my mouth, I knew I would scream until there was nothing left of me at all.
