Chapter 1

During a celebrity gameshow, I lost. As punishment, the host told me to send a "help me" message to my ex, Rafe Webster.

However, everyone knew Rafe was the hottest jungler in the esports scene, and also distant, serious, and totally untouchable.

Moreover, our breakup wasn't pretty at all.

The chat went wild. Everyone was eager for drama.

Then, to everyone's shock, he replied instantly: [Help with what? Boosting your rank? Humph. We already broke up. Don't think too highly of yourself.]

My connection lagged for one second and before I could reply, he continued messaging, clearly on a roll.

Rafe: [Hey, you there? What, not playing the game anymore? Don't tell me you're trying to get back together.]

Rafe: [Take a look in the mirror. Who'd want you anyway?]

The chat exploded with haters laughing at me, spamming insults.

Then, out of nowhere, more messages popped up from him.

Rafe: [C'mon, say something.]

Rafe: [Fine, I was wrong, okay? Just talk to me.]

The comments section lost it, remarking: [What? The ice-cold King Rafe talks like this in private?]

*****

When my agency told me to join Celebrity Showdown, I was like, "No way."

I sucked at games.

I was just a total scrub, stuck in rookie forever. Any time my name popped up on the leaderboards, it was all thanks to my ex playing on my account.

However, I couldn't refuse.

My agent went off on me, saying, "Nobody even cares about you anymore. You should be thankful anyone still wants you on a show.

"If you go, you might still live it up a bit and get a paycheck. If you refuse, you'll probably starve. Your choice."

I knew when to give in.

But honestly, I didn't get it. If I went, I'd just be cannon fodder for the other celebs. How was I going to live it up?

It wasn't until I lost the match and the host made me message my ex that it finally clicked. My agency just wanted to ride my ex's coattails and cash in on his popularity.

My ex was Rafe Webster, the hottest jungler in the League of Legends right now.

He was worth so much, even the top celebs couldn't hope to reach him.

And my opponent in the solo match was Vivian Woods.

She was one of the hottest young stars in the industry, and our agency was doing everything they could to push her to the top.

She'd just shot a game promo with Rafe last month.

And in an interview, she didn't hold back, saying she liked guys like Rafe: good-looking, reserved, and self-controlled.

But Rafe was nothing like that.

In private, he was a total clingy, lovesick mess.

But whatever, no one had a clue.

Rafe's fans were losing their minds over him and Vivian, totally obsessed with their ship.

And now, making me message Rafe right in front of Vivian? This was peak drama.

I was so embarrassed, I could feel my toes curling in my shoes.

Meanwhile, Vivian, the winner sitting right next to me, looked composed and poised.

She reached over and grabbed the mic from my hand, saying to the host, "Aren't you just making things way too awkward? When Laura and Rafe broke up, it was a total disaster.

"Rafe even snapped at her and told her to 'get lost.' What if she messages him and finds out she's blocked? That would be next-level embarrassing."

I wondered if Vivian was really trying to help me out, because I felt even more awkward now.

I glanced at the chat screen next to me. It was absolutely blowing up.

[Vivian is actually sticking up for her fellow agency artist. She's gorgeous and so sweet.]

[Vivian's got such a good temper. If it were me, I'd totally roast the host and Laura for trying to stir up drama with King Rafe.]

[Laura had it coming. I wanna see King Rafe block her. It's gonna be iconic.]

[What's wrong with you people? It's just a breakup. Laura might be irrelevant now, but she doesn't deserve this. Seriously, show some mercy.]

[Everyone, grab your seats. The drama's about to start!]

[Can't wait.]

[Looking forward to it.]

Seriously, what did this have to do with me? I was not the one trying to milk the drama for clout.

Honestly, I wished I could clear something up. When we broke up, Rafe didn't say, "Get lost."

He was actually the one who said, "Fine, I'll go!"

But no matter how many times I tried, Vivian had a death grip on the mic and there was no way I could explain myself.

With everyone watching, clearly hoping for some juicy drama, I quietly pulled out my phone.

I started typing a message to the contact I'd saved as "Jerkface."

The chat exploded.

[Wait, what did Laura save Rafe as?]

But what really caught me off guard was that I wasn't blocked at all. Rafe replied in a flash.

Rafe: [What do you need? Want me to boost your rank?]

With just a few words, the chat was already spamming question marks.

But this wasn't the end. It was just the beginning.

Rafe: [Seriously? We broke up and you still think you're all that?]

Even though this line didn't really fit Rafe's usual vibe, the chat was all over it.

[Rafe is totally fired up. It's understandable. At least he didn't go off on his ex live on stream.]

Vivian leaned over to comfort me. "Don't let it get to you, Laura. That's just Rafe for you. He always said he only boosts the rank of people he actually likes."