"The games of kings: Rise of the underdog"

I should have known better.

The signs were always there. The late replies, the dismissive attitude, the way Selena treated me like a convenience rather than a boyfriend. But love makes you blind. It makes you do stupid things even when the signs are glaring.

And I was the biggest fool of them all.

I was not that of a fool but I wanted to believe she was busy and couldn't be there for me. But my heart was big enough for the both of us. At least that was what I thought until it dawned on me.

It was Friday night, and the campus was alive with energy. The annual frat party at Delta House was the highlight of the semester, and somehow, against all odds, I had managed to get an invite. Not because

I was popular or part of the inner circle—far from it. I was there because of Selena. My girlfriend. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

I spent the whole afternoon helping her get ready. I ran errands, picked up the dress she wanted, even delivered her shoes from her dorm when she forgot them. Anything to make her happy. Because that’s what you do when you love someone, right? You make sacrifices.

But love isn’t supposed to feel like servitude.

I walked into the party with a nervous kind of excitement, scanning the room for her. The music thumped against my chest, neon lights flickered over a sea of dancing bodies, and the smell of alcohol and sweat clung to the air. I spotted her almost immediately.

And that was the moment my world cracked apart.

Selena was draped over Derek Carter, the campus heartthrob, the guy who had everything—money, power, and a body sculpted like a Greek god.

She wasn’t just standing close to him. She was in his arms, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on his chest, laughing at something he whispered in her ear.

I told myself there had to be a mistake. Maybe she had too much to drink. Maybe she was just talking. But then she kissed him.

Right there. In front of everyone.

The room spun. My hands went numb. Every sound became distant, like I was submerged underwater, drowning in betrayal. My feet moved on their own, pushing through the crowd until I stood a few feet away from them.

“Selena?” My voice barely came out.

She turned to me slowly, like I was an annoyance rather than her boyfriend. Her expression shifted from mild surprise to outright amusement. Derek smirked, his arm still snug around her waist.

“Oh. Hey, Jason.” She took a sip of her drink, acting like I hadn’t just caught her cheating.

But was she really cheating on me?

I didn't have time to even think about that because she was right in front of me flaunting her mini skirt which was revealing almost her panties and she was acting all cheaply right in front of me.

My stomach twisted. “What… what the hell is this?”

Selena sighed, exasperated, like I was a child throwing a tantrum. “God, Jason. Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Dramatic?” My voice rose. “You’re making out with another guy! In front of everyone! And you’re acting like it’s nothing?”

Derek chuckled, and a few people around us started whispering. I could feel their eyes, their pity. Their amusement.

Selena rolled her eyes. “Look, I was going to tell you eventually, but since you just had to make a scene, let’s get it over with.” She straightened, her voice growing louder, more confident. “Jason, we’re done. I’m not going to pretend anymore. This… whatever we had? It’s over.”

A cold pit formed in my stomach. “Selena, I—”

“You’re embarrassing,” she interrupted, her words slicing through me like knives. “Do you even realize how pathetic you are? Running around, doing all my errands, carrying my books, acting like my personal butler. It was fun at first, you know? Having a guy worship the ground I walk on. But then it just got… desperate.”

The people around us snickered.

I felt sick.

“I loved you,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I did everything for you.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, and that’s the problem. You think love is about being my servant? Newsflash, Jason: love isn’t begging for scraps. I need a real man, someone who can actually offer me something.” She turned to Derek, her hands sliding over his chest. “Not some broke loser who thinks being ‘nice’ is enough.”

Derek grinned. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but she was never really yours. She just liked the attention.”

The final blow landed. My entire body felt like it had been gutted. Every sacrifice, every moment I spent thinking I mattered to her—it was all a joke to them.

People started murmuring, some laughing, others just watching the wreckage unfold. I clenched my fists, every fiber of my being screaming at me to fight back, to say something, to do something.

But what could I say? That I had been used? That I had given my heart to someone who never even wanted it? The truth was a bitter pill, and it choked me as I stood there, humiliated.

“Now, be a good little boy and run along,” Selena added, her tone dripping with mock sympathy. “I have better things to do than babysit you.”

Derek laughed, throwing an arm around her. “That’s right, pal. Scram. You’re ruining the vibe.”

I wanted to scream. To punch him. To make them feel even a fraction of the pain crushing me from the inside. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. Because deep down, I knew that nothing I did would change the fact that Selena had never loved me.

So I turned around. I walked away, my legs shaky, my vision blurred. I didn’t stop until I was out of the hallroom, out of the noise, out of the spotlight of my own humiliation.