Page 61 of Now Streaming

With that in mind, Min decided at the last minute to forgo her heels and keep her large boots on. She needed the strength from them, and the comfort if she was honest. Throwing one last layer of lip gloss on, Min stepped out of her dressing room and headed for the green room.

The room was quiet when she arrived. A few TVs were set up around the space to watch the tournament. The screens were currently showing the commentators bantering back and forth about probabilities and skill levels of each of the players who were set to compete in this final bracket. Min’s eyes cast about to find only a few other streamers she didn’t recognize, lounging on couches with their headphones on, getting into their heads before the last round of the tournament. Hayden was nowhere in sight, but Min didn’t expect him to be. She knew he had a private streaming bay somewhere in the building, and she wondered how he was prepping for their last tournament. They would be against each other this time, and with everything that had passed between them, Min felt her heart ache a little at the thought that this would be the last time they’d stream together. As much as DeathsHead had driven her crazy when they played, he was still her favorite opponent.

She was so lost in thought that she jumped when she heard the cold voice behind her.

“I’m honestly surprised you even showed up.”

She turned, eyes already narrowing on Alex’s stupid handsome face, his mouth twisted in a forgery of a smile as he looked at her with every ounce of hate she felt for him.

“Thought the crowd outside would’ve made it clear how unwanted you are.”

She glared at him. Min still found it hard to believe that she had missed all the signs of how toxic he was, but she had. When they had first started dating, he had been thoughtful and kind, always letting her set the pace of their relationship, never pushing her for more than what she was willing to give him. Min had been on dates where the man had been a little too enamored with her FlameThrower persona, but Alex never once gave off those vibes. He was content to date a streamer with a higher audience than him and hadn’t batted an eye when she had gently turned him down for streaming together. She never liked to mix her personal life with her streaming, and he had seemed to understand.

And then he changed.

It had been slow at first. A comment here, a bitter look there. And then she had woken up one morning with the knowledge that he really didn’t like her success, didn’t like how much more popular her channel was than his. She had felt guilty at first, as if she had been doing something wrong by simply making the same gaming content she always did. She had blushed when he started criticizing her outfits, claiming she was “whoring herself out for likes.” Min knew he was wrong, and the fight they had after that comment had made the walls shake. He had apologized, and it had seemed sincere at the time, so she forgave him. All couples fought eventually, right?

When he had first asked her to let him video them together, she thought he was just being adventurous with their sex life, which had never been much to brag about to begin with. And to be honest, she had been a little intrigued. But she had said no, explaining to him that it was too risky for her, that it was too easy for anyone to hack a phone nowadays and she didn’t want to gamble. It was after she had said no that he had changed, becoming short with her, more cutting, colder. By the time she had broken it off, his negativity started to seep into her in a way she hated, and she knew she had to leave before his toxicity affected her permanently.

No, she wasn’t sorry they ended. She was just sorry that she had taken so long to end it.

With that in mind, she worked hard to hide her feelings. “Why did you do it, Alex?”

He cocked his head, playing dumb. “Do what?”

That pissed her off. “We broke up. The relationship had run its course. Hell, by the end of it, I didn’t even think you could stand being in a room with me. It wasn’t the end of the world, for us not to be together. But the video, those screenshots… how could you?”

She truly didn’t know. The entire situation bewildered her, even now when she’d had months to process beyond the initial hurt and betrayal. She knew she had done nothing to deserve his anger, his bitterness. His retaliation. And yet even now she could see how incredibly angry the question made him, even as he covered the anger with an arrogant smirk.

“Of course, our breakup wasn’t the end of the world. If anything, you did me a favor, leaving me before you got caught up in the consequences of your actions. Before revealing to the world your true self.”

She shook her head. She wasn’t going to let him dictate this conversation, or gaslight her into thinking she had done anything wrong. That part of her life was over.

“You recorded us without my consent after I had specifically told you no. And then you took screenshots and leaked them online for everyone to see. You ruined my career. You hurt me. How could you do it?”

“I had nothing to do with any of that,” he lied, straight to her face, somehow smiling. “But you need to know, women don’t just break up with me. I’m a fucking catch, and they’re lucky to find themselves in my orbit. Understand? Women don’t say when we’re done. I say when we’re done.”

He was aggressive, moving closer and closer to her, looming over her, but she stood her ground, no longer willing to let him intimidate her. She glared up at him.

“We’re done, Alex. You’re a loser who wasn’t worth my time, and I should’ve realized that much, much quicker. I don’t know why you dropped the pics, or why you broke into my hotel room, or why you’re following me around and trying to rig the competition. But I’ll tell you right now—you are not going to win. You’re up against the best. You haven’t been able to run me off, and you won’t be able to scare me. You better get ready to have your ass handed to you on a live stream. Because I don’t know anyone who deserves it more than you.”

Their eyes locked, hating each other, and Min vaguely wondered if he would actually become violent with her when a PA ran over to them, interrupting.

“Alex, thirty seconds.”

Alex nodded at him, then glared at Min as he stepped back.

“By the time this tournament is over, FlameThrower will be nothing but ash under my boot. Have fun trying to get any sort of career after this.”

He strolled out to the exit, stepping out as he was announced and Min could hear the audience screaming for him, cheering. He wasn’t the best player, but he had a loyal fan base, and they had shown up for him here at the convention. She watched him enter on one of the nearby TVs, his smile much what it used to be before she knew the truth about him, a sweet grin hiding how fucked up he was. Min wasn’t a violent person in real life, but right then she wouldn’t have minded if a piano appeared out of nowhere and fell on his head.

“FlameThrower, thirty seconds.”

She nodded, moving toward the door herself. Knowing this was going to be bad. But also knowing she was going to get through it. Somehow.

“Please welcome our next challenger—FlameThrower!”

The announcer had used the same voice as she had with every other player, but the reception was vastly different. Min stepped out into the arena to almost dead silence. She glanced up at the audience, noting that the place was packed with people staring. Some were actively glaring at her, but others seemed just curious, like she was the latest gossip and they wanted to be there to see how it went. Her boots echoed through the quiet arena as she made her way to her streaming bay, making sure to keep her shoulders up and back.

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