Betrayed at the Showcase, I Became the King of Gaming

My girlfriend's childhood friend claimed I stole his Game Design Document.

At the National Collegiate Game Awards, in front of all the cameras and journalists, my girlfriend demanded I apologize to him. "What's wrong, Austin?

You had the guts to steal Tristan's GDD, but you don't have the guts to admit it?" I looked at her indignant face and let out a cold laugh.

If that was how she felt, then there was no point in continuing this relationship. I left the city that broke my heart and started my own gaming company.

I thought we would never see each other again. Until five years later, at the Global Gaming Expo, I walked onto the stage handinhand with my partner to accept the grand prize.

Under the spotlight of millions, the woman who had once humiliated me ignored the security guards, ran onto the stage in tears, and grabbed the hem of my jacket. "I was wrong, Austin.

Can we please get back together?" The opening ceremony of the Collegiate Game Awards began. Beneath the stage, countless cameras were aimed directly at the podium.

But whether it was the contestants on stage or the media below, everyone was whispering about the exact same thing.

I looked at the dense crowd in front of me and walked resolutely into the convention center. The noisy but unified voices instantly became clear.

Even their eyes gathered on me, filled with overwhelming contempt and ridicule. "Is that the guy who got in on his girlfriend's coattails?" "So disgusting.

He looks decent, but who knew he’d do something as low as stealing a GDD? Trash." "I heard he did it out of pure jealousy because of his girlfriend's childhood friend.

If you hate him, fight fair. Stealing someone's creative work is just sickening." Those mocking words and insults kept pounding against my ears.

I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to. When the rumor that I stole Tristan's GDD was spread by my girlfriend, Serena, everyone believed it without a second thought.

No one questioned whether Tristan could actually write a GDD. Serena had been hyping him up in every way possible.

Even before the competition, he had already been labeled the "Best Young Designer" by the media. Once it came out that our GDDs were identical, people didn’t even need to guess.

They automatically assumed I was the thief. And I, who had been working in silence, became the villain in everyone's eyes.

They believed I used my family's money and my girlfriend's connections to force my way into the finals. They thought I did all of this because I was insanely jealous of Tristan.

I listened to those filthy words while tightly clutching the physical notebook in my hands—the only thing that could prove my innocence.

Under the hostile glares of the crowd, I slowly walked inside. Just as I was about to walk backstage, Tristan's voice came from behind me. "It's fine, everyone.

Austin just made a mistake in the heat of the moment. We’re all striving to make better games. He just lost his way.

Please, let's stop talking about it." Tristan’s "noble" words won him a huge wave of sympathy and instantly sealed my fate as a thief. Standing right next to him was Serena.

She naturally linked her arm through Tristan's, looking at him with affectionate annoyance. "Tristan, you're just too kind.

You almost got disqualified because of him, and you’re still defending him!" Then, she turned to face me, her eyes freezing cold. "A thief like him doesn't deserve your kindness." Serena's cold words and icy stare felt like a sharp blade piercing straight through my chest.

In the middle of this hot summer, I felt cold to my bones. My heart trembled violently, and my vision blurred. Tears welled up in my eyes.

I couldn't believe Serena could say something so cruel to me. I looked at her with deep sorrow, but she didn't show an ounce of pity.

Instead, she frowned as if she was looking at a piece of garbage. "I really misjudged you, Austin." "It's bad enough that you stole, but you don't even have the balls to admit it.

Are you even a man?" She stood on her moral high ground, tearing me down with everything she had, completely ignoring the possibility that I was framed.

She didn't care how her childhood friend, who had never touched game design in his life, could suddenly write such a perfect GDD on his first try.

She didn't care that today was the culmination of my lifelong dream. She only cared about Tristan shining under the spotlight.

Her harsh words didn't stop, and her eyes never softened for a single second. Our threeyear relationship felt like a clown's red nose in this moment.

It served no purpose other than to remind me of what a joke I was to everyone else.

Seeing the deep sadness in my eyes, Serena grew even more impatient. "You're the thief here, so stop playing the victim!

Even Tristan hasn't complained!" "Since all the media outlets are here today, why don't you publicly apologize to Tristan?

We can put this behind us." "I'm warning you, don't make things harder for yourself." Me? Apologize? You want the victim of intellectual theft, the one who was framed, to apologize?

The sorrow in my eyes gradually turned into burning rage. The surrounding reporters gathered around us like sharks smelling blood. Fine. You want an apology?

I reached into my jacket and pulled out a thick notebook, holding it high in front of the cameras. "To all the media representatives and fellow developers present, I apologize for taking up public resources, but I must make this clear." "I am officially reporting Tristan for stealing my Game Design Document and framing me!" If you want an apology, I’ll give you a show instead!

Hearing my words, Serena ignored the flashing cameras. She marched over and covered my mouth in front of everyone.

Her eyes were filled with fury and shock as she screamed at me: "Austin, are you out of your mind?

Is this your idea of an apology?" "I thought you were at least man enough to take responsibility, but you're just pathetic." "I really misjudged you.

You are a disgusting liar!" Her voice grew higher and more screeching. You misjudged me? Listening to her, the sorrow in my eyes deepened. We had been dating for three years.

She knew exactly what kind of person I was. But today, for the sake of her childhood friend's reputation, she trampled on my dreams and my honor, over and over again.

By now, a reporter had taken the notebook from my hand. That was my original physical manuscript. I had a habit. I hated typing my initial ideas on a laptop.

I preferred using pen and paper to jot down my raw thoughts, and only when the concept was fully formed would I transfer it to a digital document.

This notebook was filled with drafts, deleted ideas, and stepbystep revisions of the game mechanics.

Anyone with half a brain could see the entire process of how this game was built from scratch. This was irrefutable proof that I was the creator.

Tristan could steal my digital files, but he couldn't steal the creative process in my head. The judges and developers who looked through the notebook gasped in amazement.

Some of the senior designers invited as judges even pulled out their phones to take photos of my concepts. Only Tristan stood there, his face pale and dripping with sweat.

He had no idea this notebook existed. He didn't know how much blood, sweat, and tears went into a complete GDD. I gently brushed Serena's hand off my face.

I tried to hold her hand, but she slapped me away. In my memory, Serena was someone who hated injustice. She would get angry even at fictional villains on TikTok.

In the face of such clear evidence, she couldn't possibly keep believing Tristan. The handwriting could easily be verified. I wrote every single page.

The committee hated plagiarism more than anything. Once this was proven, Tristan would be disqualified. Ever since the rumors started, Serena hadn't given me a single warm look.

She had screamed at me countless times. But I hadn't cared. I only wanted her to come back to me, to give me back the love I had lost.

I kept telling myself she was only angry because she thought I made a mistake. That had to be it. With a glimmer of hope, I looked at Serena's face.

But the only response I got was her furrowed brow and an even angrier glare. The media cameras slowly shifted from me to the trembling Tristan. He was shaking like a leaf.

Serena turned her head, refusing to look at me. I whispered to her, "Serena, I'm not a thief.

I wrote everything in that book." Maybe if I told her, she would finally draw a line between herself and Tristan. But she didn't.

She watched the reporters crowd around Tristan, watching him sweat and tremble. Without answering me, she stepped right in front of Tristan, shielding him from the lenses.

She stared straight into the cameras and shouted at me: "Austin! Do you have any idea how much this tournament means to Tristan?

This is his lifelong dream!" "How can you stomp on his dream like this?" I looked at the furious Serena, my mind going blank. She wasn't like this before.

Tristan was the one who stole from me! Serena knew it. And my dream was also to create the perfect game. This collegiate tournament was my only shot.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the words got stuck in my throat. A wave of bitterness washed over me.

Serena looked at the media, then at me, and made a statement that shocked the room. She said, "I watched Tristan write every single word of this GDD.

I am his witness." "This notebook was also written by Tristan. Austin is the one who stole it!" My vision blurred. Was this really the girl I had loved so deeply?

Her eyes were cold, filled with disdain and anger as she glared at me. "For this slander, I will personally make sure you get sued!" The moment she said those words, every ounce of hope I had for her vanished into thin air.

Looking at Serena's cold, angry eyes, I walked out of the venue. With Serena's testimony, the game now belonged to Tristan. It was no longer mine.

At least for now, in the eyes of the public, Tristan was the genius creator. The committee wouldn't give the prize to me. Only a court of law could clear my name.

But right now, this venue didn't belong to me anymore. I was a senior. This was my last chance to participate in the Collegiate Game Awards. I had made a bet with my family.

If I could make a name for myself this time, they would support my gaming career. If I failed, I would have to go back and run my family's multibillion dollar tech empire.

No arguments. But Tristan was only a junior. He still had another year. He still had another chance.

If Serena had just come to me and asked nicely, I might have actually written a decent GDD for Tristan so he could find a good team next year. But they said nothing.

Instead, they threw all their garbage at me. They stepped on my innocence and my dream to walk into that hall.

Soon, Tristan and Serena walked out of the building arminarm, wearing smug smiles. As I sat on the curb outside, I heard the announcer inside. My GDD had won first place.

In this tournament, when the graphics and music of college games were all mediocre, the GDD was the absolute key to winning. Serena's voice was no longer cold.

It was sweet and clingy as she spoke to Tristan: "Tristan, you really are a genius!

Your first GDD, and it’s a masterpiece!" Tristan scratched his head and smirked. "I had a great mentor, Serena." The sweetness of victory seemed to surround them as their faces drew closer and closer.

Just as they were about to kiss, I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up. When Serena saw me, her romantic smile instantly vanished, replaced by an expression of pure disgust.

She didn't look at me like a boyfriend of three years. She looked at me like a mortal enemy.

I stared at them, my heart burning with anger. "Serena, what is the meaning of this?" "I am your boyfriend!

He stole from me, not the other way around!" "Why are you still defending him?" "He's a gamer who sits in his room all day. He hasn't read a single book on game design.

Ask him if he even knows what flow design or numerical balance means!" I roared at them, but a part of me was still desperate. I just wanted Serena to ask him a single question.

Just ask him about the mechanics, the pacing, the balancing. Any basic professional question would expose Tristan instantly. But Serena would never give me what I wanted.

She acted as if she didn't hear a word. She just stared at me, her anger rising. She said, word by word: "I said, Tristan is a genius.

He is the best!" Looking at the furious Serena, pain washed over me like a tidal wave, slamming into my chest. The pain was relentless.

I had always known she had a childhood friend named Tristan. Since the day I met her, his name was constantly on her lips. I knew he was a sensitive topic, but I had still hoped.

I thought if I was good enough, she would eventually forget about him. They were childhood sweethearts who promised to go to the same college.

But Tristan was addicted to games in high school, failed his exams, and had to repeat a year.

After Serena and I started dating, she told me she saw Tristan as a little brother and asked me to help him. At the time, my friends warned me to stay away from her.

But I was blinded by love.

The very next day, I made up an excuse to get $30,000 from my parents and used the money to pull strings to get Tristan, who had terrible grades, into our university's associate program.

I thought that would make Serena love me more. But I was wrong. Ever since Tristan arrived, they were inseparable. No matter what I did, I couldn't pull them apart.

When I was sick, she was with Tristan. When I got into trouble, she was with Tristan. On my birthday, she was with Tristan.

Even when I tried to plan a romantic surprise for her, she was with Tristan. I kept telling myself it was just a phase, that things would get better.

But time passed, and here we were, still stuck in the same nightmare. I had treated her like a goddess. I felt honored that she chose to be with me.

I did everything to make her happy, never arguing, never questioning. But today, I had to ask.

I stared into her beautiful eyes and demanded: "If you hate me so much, why are you even with me?" "It’s either me or Tristan. Choose!"

"What are you throwing a tantrum for?" "Austin, it's bad enough you're a thief, but now you're being completely unreasonable!" "Since we started dating, have you done anything other than try to control me with your money?" Me?

Controlling her with money? So everything I had done for her since the beginning of our relationship was just me "controlling" her with money?

I had poured my heart out for three years, and all I got in return was this accusation? I looked at Serena's angry face, unable to believe my ears.

For three years, I had never said no to her, no matter how ridiculous her requests were. She wanted Tristan to go to our school, and I paid for it.

She wanted cake in the middle of the night, and I drove across town to get it. She wanted expensive bags, clothes, and phones. I bought them all without looking at the price tags.

And now, she claimed I was controlling her with money? If it was control, why didn't you hesitate to accept all those expensive gifts?

Looking at her holding Tristan's arm, a sharp pain shot through my chest.

I asked her: "So you think my love for you was just control?" "Did you think I only gave you money and no real feelings?" "Does that give you the right to sleep with this pathetic thief?" Hearing this, Serena's temper flared even more.

She pointed a finger at my face and yelled: "Austin, let me tell you something. Don't think your family's money can run my life!

I do whatever the hell I want!" "I was going to let you off easy, but you're still acting like a prick." "I guess the only way to make you learn is to see you in court!" She couldn't answer my questions, so she tried to use the lawsuit to shut me up.

She still thought I would submit to her like I always did. But things were different now. I looked at her and said, word by word: "Fine. Let's go to court.

Let's see who the real thief is!" At this point, Tristan stepped in to play the peacemaker, saying to Serena: "Serena, don't be so mad. You guys are still a couple.

Don't take this to court because of me. It won't look good." "Austin probably didn't mean it.

Let's just drop it." Tristan was terrified of court because he knew that if a real investigation took place, he would be exposed.

Seeing his panicked eyes and trembling hands, I laughed. He was losing his mind. But Serena thought he was just being kind. Her voice softened instantly. "Tristan, don't worry.

I will get you the justice you deserve!" I laughed at Tristan's shaking legs. Justice would prevail.

On the day of the hearing, Serena walked in with her arm tightly linked with Tristan's, a confident smile on her face. Seeing them look like a real couple made my heart ache.

Serena presented her demands to the court. She wanted me blacklisted from the entire gaming industry and demanded I pay Tristan $100,000 in damages. Hearing her demands, I laughed.

This was the girl I had loved for three years. She knew making games was my absolute dream. I had wanted to be a game designer since I was a kid.

Yet, her demand was to destroy my career forever. She wanted to stomp on my dream and crush it completely.

Ever since Tristan reappeared in her life, she had grown colder and colder to me. And I, like an idiot, had thought I did something wrong.

I had begged for her forgiveness, changed myself, and for what? Just to have her destroy my life over and over again. She didn't care about me. She didn't respect my dreams.

The woman I had given everything to for three years didn't have a single drop of mercy for me. And I had actually thought my love could change her.

How could I wake up a heart that was never mine to begin with? As I laughed, tears streamed down my face, dropping onto the floor along with three years of wasted love.

I cried for my foolishness, which was rewarded with absolute betrayal. But Serena thought my tears were a sign of regret.

She turned to the reporters and the judge, mockingly saying: "Now you regret it?

Too late!" "If you had admitted your mistake earlier, we wouldn't be here." "I don't care if you're my boyfriend.

I will never let a plagiarist off the hook!" After saying that, she snuggled back into Tristan's chest. Tristan looked smug.

He probably thought that with Serena on his side, there was no way he could lose. He shot me a triumphant look and patted Serena's shoulder.

A warm, beautiful smile appeared on Serena's face. In our three years together, she had never smiled at me like that.

Since she never cared about me, I didn't need to hold back anymore.

I raised my hand and said to the judge, "Your Honor, I have a crucial piece of evidence." "It's a security video showing Tristan stealing my files."