Clearly, I was the one being framed, yet Winda was the one crying louder than me.
Gian stopped playing, his face dark with anger as he stood up. "Katty, apologize to her."
"I didn't do anything wrong. What should I apologize for?" I replied.
If we're talking about apologies, they should be the ones saying sorry. They had ganged up to kill me fourteen times in the game, wasn't that far worse?
Winda quickly stepped between us. "It's all my fault, don't fight. The stream is still live."
A sharp pain suddenly shot through my arm—Winda had taken advantage of the commotion to twist it hard. Instinctively, I pushed her away, but she exaggerated her reaction, stumbling backward and collapsing onto the keyboard. She clutched her forehead and looked at me with wide, teary eyes. "Katty, if you're mad at me, you don't have to be so rough… and not in front of the live broadcast."
Smack. A crisp slap landed across my face. The force behind it was immense, filled with rage. My mouth stung and I could taste blood.
Gian immediately rushed to Winda, cradling her face with concern. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"
Then he turned on me with a venomous glare. "If anything happens to Winda, you should just go die."
The chat exploded in chaos.
[So Katty is really a homewrecker? What a joke.]
[She deserved that slap. Get lost, little snake.]
[Hope she vanishes from the scene for good.]
Gian ended the broadcast abruptly and whisked Winda away to the hospital.
I remained where I was, my cheek throbbing, my arm aching. I rummaged through my bag for a bottle of iodine and treated my bruises alone, feeling numb as I counted down the minutes until I could finally walk away from this mess.
Later, Mr. Joffin informed me that the transfer paperwork for the team roster had been finalized. I was officially out of Gian’s battle team. I packed my belongings and headed back to the dormitory. On my way, I heard whispers from passing students.
"Isn't that Katty? She used to be so cool in matches. I even thought she was pretty… But it turns out she's just a manipulative snake. Did you see her get slapped on the live stream?"
As I entered my dorm, I found Gian carrying Winda in his arms, her face flushed as if she'd just emerged from a blissful dream.
The moment Gian saw me packing, his expression changed. He set Winda down and stormed into my room. "The competition is in two days. Why are you packing?"
Clearly, Mr. Joffin hadn’t told him yet. And I had no intention of explaining it to him.
"What does it matter to you?" I said flatly.
"How is it not related?" His face darkened. "You're my substitute. If you leave now, what if I need you on game day?"
I almost laughed. Did he actually think I would still show up for him?
"You and Winda are doing just fine. Whether I’m here or not makes no difference."
Gian frowned, studying me with a conflicted expression. Winda stood behind him, her gaze filled with barely concealed resentment, yet she didn’t dare to speak up.
"Katty," Gian finally said, "don't be childish. Just apologize to Winda and I'll let you compete."
Compete? So I could work my ass off, score points and then have all the credit handed to Winda?
"Let's talk tomorrow." I aaid firmly
Tomorrow was the entertainment match—where all teams would make an appearance in a live-streamed event.
"Fine." Gian considered it. "Then tomorrow, during the live stream, you’ll apologize to Winda in front of everyone and I’ll let you back on the team."
I forced a smile. Tomorrow, they wouldn’t be able to find me. That night, I cleared out my dorm, removed every trace of myself and officially withdrew from the team.
To focus entirely on my new battle team—especially Andrew, our captain—I even set my phone to Do Not Disturb mode, cutting myself off from any distractions.
