Warmth No Longer Exclusive

1 For seven years, my captain and boyfriend Hector adhered to a strict rule: no private coaching sessions, no staying out overnight. He broke that rule the very night online trolls photoshopped my obituary photo and demanded my retirement from professional e-sports. Hector was known across the league for his icy self-discipline and stoic personality. He never gave outsiders the time of day, reserving all his warmth for me. Yet, the person he broke his sacred rule for was my own apprentice, Judy. While I sat alone in our dark, empty training room undergoing a mental breakdown, Hector spent the entire night at an e-sports hotel with Judy. They ran private dual-carry scrims together until the scandal on social media finally blew over. I did not throw a fit, nor did I shed a tear. I simply asked for a breakup. For the first time in seven years, Hector turned a cold face toward me. "The summer league starts next week. I am trying to stabilize our roster. Must you pick right now to throw a temper tantrum?" Judy stood beside him, lowering her head in quiet agreement. "Coach Sierra, please do not be so emotional. Making a scene right now destroys the professional future of our entire team." I fell instantly silent, watching Hector with stinging eyes. That night, after returning home, I dialed the personal number of the captain of our rival team. "Three years ago, you asked if I would ever join your squad," I said, my voice dead calm. "Does that offer still stand?" … Logan answered without a second of hesitation. "Name the day. My door is open whenever you are ready." "The transfer must remain strictly confidential," I continued. "No one can know until it is finalized." "Understood." Three years ago, after I led Team LV to our very first national championship, Logan pursued me through five consecutive tournament cycles to sign me. Back then, my eyes were blinded by my loyalty to Team LV and my love for Hector. The moment I hung up, my phone vibrated. A single text from Hector popped up on my screen. Two cold words: Open up. I looked through the window and spotted the sports car parked below. It was the celebratory car we had picked out together after winning our first trophy. For seven years, he and I were the most envied power couple in the e-sports world, celebrated by fans as the unmatchable Dual Carries. Reserved as he was, he had once ripped into toxic stream chatters on my behalf, unable to tolerate a single word of slander directed at me. All his tenderness and devotion belonged exclusively to me. Yet even the deepest devotion could be tossed aside for someone else. After a long struggle, I stood up and unlocked the door, a faint sliver of hope still clinging to my heart. When he walked in, my blood ran cold. Hector maintained his usual detached posture. He sat on the couch, staring intently at his phone as he reviewed the telemetry data from his overnight scrims with Judy. He reached out toward the coffee table for his wristband out of habit. I instinctively picked it up to hand it to him, only to notice a bright pink wristband already wrapped around his forearm. It was not something I had bought him. The moment our fingertips brushed, he seemed to snap out of his trance and pulled his hand back instantly. I stared at the pink wristband, my mind going numb. A moment later, as if trying to break the heavy silence, he pulled a limited-edition gaming plush charm from his coat pocket. "Stop being upset." A man who never bowed his head to anyone was making a rare effort to appease me. I took the charm without saying a word. It was a character design I had never liked. Then, his offhand remark smashed the last remaining piece of my hope to dust. "I need you to look over Judy's telemetry data. As long as we keep her performance consistent, we are guaranteed a spot in the finals next week. You are the master shotcaller for Team LV, analyzing this data should be child's play for you." The plush charm slipped from my fingers, hitting the hardwood floor with a sharp click that sounded painfully loud in the silent apartment. I stared at him, finding the situation absurd. "She plays my position. What am I supposed to play?" Hector's expression shifted into something unreadable, though his tone remained strictly business. "Your recent form has been shaky. Private scrims with Judy were a necessity. I have already reported to management that you will temporarily step down to the bench." A necessity? My mind dragged me back through the years. Seven years ago, when I first entered the professional scene and faced harassment from male players, Hector had taken a stand before the team. From this day on, my training room only has room for Sierra. I will protect her. Now, he was shattering his own oath for Judy. "You trained her yourself," Hector added, frowning in frustration at my silence. "Her playstyle and macro instincts align well with mine. Sierra, this is not the time to act out. You need to look at the bigger picture." I could not bring myself to smile. "Looking at the bigger picture means kicking me out of it?" He froze, his voice stiffening. "That is not what I meant." Before he could finish, his phone screen lit up with a barrage of notifications from Judy. obedient, eager, humble text messages. Hector sat right in front of me, replying to every single text with painstaking patience. In seven years, he had never replied to my messages line by line like that. "Sierra, you are being overly narrow-minded," he murmured, laying his phone down after reading her latest text. A flicker of disappointment touched his eyes. A tight knot squeezed my throat. On the night I was tormented by the entire internet, flooded with photoshopped obituaries and vicious demands for my retirement, he was running private scrims with Judy. While I collapsed alone in a dark facility into the late hours of the night, receiving zero replies to my messages, he was breaking down vods for Judy. He knew everything I was going through. Yet he called it looking at the bigger picture. His bigger picture had always been built on top of my silent breakdown. Seeing my deathly pale face and utter silence, Hector's heart softened slightly. He walked into the kitchen, warmed a glass of milk, and placed it on the table in front of me. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. "Be a good girl. Bear with it for now. Once the summer league is over, your starting position will be waiting for you." The warm touch sent a shudder through my frame. I almost gave in, just like the countless times in the past when a simple gesture from him would make me forgive everything. But then my mind flashed back to the endless stream of hate messages urging me to kill myself, the black-and-white graphics, and the cruel AI photos. I forced the urge to forgive back into the dark. Interpreting my silence as stubbornness, the warmth in Hector's eyes vanished, replaced by an icy distance. "Do not let your petty grudge ruin Team LV." I read the unspoken accusation behind his words. A few days ago, after a devastating match loss where I solo-defended our base until the final second while my team was wiped out, the internet had turned on me. Sierra needs to retire already! Stop dragging Captain Hector and Team LV down! How can someone call herself a god-tier shotcaller with plays like that? Go home and play house! Judy and Hector are the real Dual Carries! Sierra does not belong there! No one cared that the loss was caused by Judy recklessly engaging without my call, or that my teammates had ignored my retreat pings. The entire weight of the blame was dropped onto the shoulders of the mid-lane shotcaller. I let out a hollow laugh. Seven years of blood, sweat, and tears could not buy a shred of understanding from them. Why should I keep degrading myself for their sake? My heart sank into a quiet, undisturbed calm. The lingering memories of the past seven years cut through my chest with a dull, throbbing pain, but the fever had finally broken. At the team meeting the following morning, the head coach formally announced the starting lineup for the upcoming season. My starting mid-lane position was assigned to Judy. Judy stood up, looking overwhelmed with gratitude and modesty. "Thank you all for your trust. I will not let the team down, especially my mentor, Coach Sierra." She bowed her head, playing the part of a humble, grateful pupil to perfection. Hector sat across from me, leading the applause. His eyes swept over my composed face. Seeing no outrage or resistance, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He thought I had finally come to my senses. I thought I had accepted it, too. But when my gaze landed on the bag sitting beside Judy, my heart twisted into a sharp knot. Hanging from her zipper was a plush charm from the exact same limited-edition brand Hector had given me the night before; only hers was a customized, highly detailed main-character edition. I remembered what he had told me two years ago. Anything I give you will be one of a kind in this world. His devotion had been divided into two shares long ago. I began counting down in my head. Three more days, and I will never have to step foot in this place again. During morning practice, I completely disengaged. I spoke no words, offered no shotcalls, and led no plays. I sat in the furthest corner of the room, completely still. Behind me, my teammates offered no effort to hide their disdainful whispers. "Sierra is clearly just bitter that Judy has more natural talent than her." "A high-maintenance princess who expects the whole team to pamper her could never compete with someone as sensible as Judy." "Judy is way more mature." My face remained expressionless, though a dull ache resonated in my chest. I was the one who had dragged this organization from the brink of collapse to the top of the league. Every draft strategy, every telemetry breakdown, every macro system had been built through my sleepless nights. In the end, I had become nothing more than an eyesore to them. Hector sat at the head of the table, offering not a single word in my defense. He knew better than anyone how much of my life I had poured into this team. After everyone left the room, Judy walked over to my desk, feigning concern. "Coach Sierra, it is all my fault. Please do not be mad at the guys. Once your form recovers, I will happily give the starting spot back to you." Hector frowned, speaking up immediately. "You do not need to apologize to her, Judy. She is choosing to slack off and throw a fit. The team does not need to waste time accommodating her ego." I said nothing. The quieter I remained, the colder his face became. Since I refused to bow my head, he was determined to push me until I broke. "Judy, pack your gear," Hector said in an unyielding tone. "We are going to my private facility at home for specialized training." My head snapped up, my eyes locking onto his. That private facility was where he and I had spent countless nights grinding through our lowest points. It was our sanctuary, an unwritten promise that only he and I were allowed inside. Every piece of equipment, every bit of data, and every memory of our seven-year career was stored in that room. Now, that space no longer belonged to just the two of us. A bitter wave of nausea rose in my chest. Judy could barely conceal the triumph in her eyes, though she maintained her hesitant act. "Captain Hector, is that really okay? Everyone knows your private room is strictly reserved for Coach Sierra..." Hector ignored her, offering me a cold, bitter smile. His eyes flared with suppressed anger. "Since Sierra clearly does not care about me anymore, I am sure she will not mind you using it." I knew what he was doing. He was trying to force me to yield, just like every argument we had over the past seven years where I was always the one to apologize first. Suddenly, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over me. I looked straight into his eyes, forcing down the pain in my chest, and spoke in a flat voice. "Whatever." Hector froze, entirely unprepared for my indifference. A flicker of panic flashed across his eyes, but it was instantly swallowed by a wave of cold resentment. "Fine," he said, his tone dripping with retaliation. "In that case, the center spot on the promotional poster, the media interview slots, and the main feature spot for the summer league will all be handed over to Judy." Judy's eyes practically sparkled with joy. "Oh, is that really okay?" That center spot was something I had fought for during the playoffs, playing through a high fever to deliver a tournament-topping MVP performance. My dream had always been to stand at the very center of the team, representing our squad on the grandest stage. He remembered every single one of my dreams. And he was handing them to someone else just to hurt me. He knew exactly where to twist the knife to make me cry and beg for his mercy. My hands clenched into tight fists, my nails digging so deep into my palms that they left dark red crescents. I forced the lump in my throat down into silence. "Okay." His face went completely pale with anger, and he turned and walked out without another word. The moment the door closed, Judy dropped her gentle mask. She leaned down to my ear, her voice dripping with malice. "Mentor, the movement patterns, macro strategy, and laning concepts you taught me are working wonderfully. I used them to steal your man's heart and your team's loyalty. Are you proud of me? After all, you were the one who brought me here." A strange sense of detachment washed over me. No anger. No hatred. I felt completely drained of energy, left with nothing but an icy numbness. I had thought I was mentoring a promising talent, lifting her up to succeed me. It turned out I had spent years nurturing a snake in my own house. Judy's smile broadened. She was not afraid of me making a scene, because she knew Hector and the team would always shield the agreeable, sensible girl over me. "Why?" I asked softly. "Do you really think I was just a random rookie you happened to discover?" She leaned in closer, a bitter glint in her eyes. "I have been waiting for this day for seven years. Back when Captain Hector flamed his stream chat to defend you, I was the main hater he publicly humiliated." She straightened up, adjusted her modest expression, and skipped lightly out of the room. I sat alone on the edge of the desk in the empty facility, swallowed by the silence just like the night I was abandoned. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number. "Let us move up the schedule." Logan looked exceptionally sharp, his hair styled neatly. "The contract is finalized," he said, checking his watch before offering a warm smile. "We have plenty of time. Let me buy you dinner before we sign." I did not decline. I was simply too exhausted. We walked side by side down the brightly lit commercial street, cooled by a gentle evening breeze. For seven years, every day spent beside Hector had been a tightrope walk of high stress, maintaining the team and chasing our dream. I had forgotten how light it felt to simply exist. Turning a corner, two familiar figures stepped into view. Hector walked ahead with a cold expression, lost in thought. Judy followed closely behind him, keeping a respectful yet intimate distance. When our eyes met, my blood felt like it froze in my veins. The suppressed agony flooded back in an instant. Hector's gaze darted between Logan and me, his eyes frosting over with cold contempt. Judy's eyes immediately welled with tears as she whimpered quietly beside him. "Captain Hector, is Coach Sierra mad at me for taking her spot? Is that why she brought the captain of Team VT here to make us jealous?" She left the rest unsaid, but the implication was crystal clear. A mocking smirk touched Hector's lips as he closed the distance between us, his eyes filled with a storm of dark emotions. "You really are something, Sierra. You get upset, so you hire another man to back you up just to get a reaction out of me?" My body went rigid. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I was too tired to explain anything to him anymore. In Hector's eyes, my silence and resignation were taken as a full confession. "I gave you step after step to back down. I tolerated your drama again and again, only for you to run to another man?" His voice cut through the air. "Well done, Sierra. Truly well done." Every word was a twisted narrative of self-victimization. Every phrase accused me of failing the team. I bit my lower lip hard, burying the humiliation and heart-wrenching disappointment deep inside, forcing myself to maintain an unbroken composure. Just half a day left. Tomorrow morning, I will be free of all of this. Hector let out a cold laugh, reaching out to pull Judy gently into his arms. "Fine. Have it your way. I will fulfill your wish." He turned and walked away with Judy, his back rigid and unyielding. Watching him walk away, my feet instinctively took half a step forward before I forced myself to freeze in place. Logan gently stepped beside me, handing me a napkin from his coat. His voice carried a rare edge of suppressed fury. "Are you alright, Sierra? Is this really how they treat you every day?" It was only then that I realized tears had already breached my eyes. I took a deep breath, accepted the napkin, and wiped my eyes carefully. "I am fine. Let us go." The last lingering warmth of our seven-year relationship burned out completely, leaving behind nothing but cold ash. On the night Hector broke his sacred rule for Judy, allowing her to become the only person besides me to share his private space, the man who once cared for me had been killed by his own hands. This seven-year chapter was officially closed. Inside Team VT's executive office, I held the pen above the signature line, pausing for a brief second. Logan poured me a hot cup of tea, careful not to rush me. Through the reflection in the glass, I could see his hands tightly clenched, looking far more anxious than I was. I lowered the pen and signed my name. The moment I handed the contract back to Logan, my phone screen lit up with a notification from Hector: Sierra, I miss you. My grip on the paper tightened slightly. Noticing the tension, Logan looked up. "Is something wrong?" His eyes followed my gaze to the notification glowing on the glass table. His shoulders went tense, his voice laced with an unintentional trace of heartbreak. "Are you... having second thoughts?" I shook my head, releasing my grip and letting him take the document. I had never felt more certain about a decision in my life. Logan reviewed the signature once more before letting out a long, relieved sigh. It was truly over. In the secondary bedroom of the Hector estate, Judy sat on the plush sofa with a dark, calculating glint in her eyes. Her fingers moved rapidly across the screen of Hector's phone, deleting the message she had just sent to my line. She locked the device, placed it back on the nightstand, and quietly glided back to her gaming chair. The bedroom door opened a second later. Her timing was flawless. Hector walked in carrying a plate of fresh fruit, setting it down beside her desk. "Here is the lychee you asked for. I will review this final vod with you, and then you need to head home." Judy dropped her chin, pouting playfully. "Captain Hector! Didn't we agree that we were going to spend the night reviewing plays in your private room? I still have so many questions for you!" Looking at her cute, energetic expression, Hector experienced a sudden wave of disorientation, briefly seeing the image of a younger me from seven years ago. Back then, I used to look at him with bright, shining eyes, promising to take him to the national championship. An intense wave of anxiety surged through his chest, but he quickly dismissed it. "No," Hector said firmly. "Let us finish the vod."