My Girlfriend Framed Me for Her Childhood Sweetheart—Now She’s Begging for My Forgiveness?

The awards ceremony for the College Game Competition had begun, and countless cameras below the stage were aimed straight at us. But whether they were the contestants onstage or the reporters below, everyone was talking about the same thing. I looked at the sea of people in front of me and walked resolutely into the venue. The noisy but unified voices suddenly became clear. Their gazes gathered on me as well, carrying overwhelming contempt and ridicule. “Is that the kept man who only got into the competition because of his girlfriend?” “Disgusting. He looks so respectable, but who would’ve thought he’d steal a game proposal? That’s seriously disgusting. Ugh.” “I heard he did it because he was jealous of his girlfriend’s childhood friend. If he hated him so much, he should’ve competed against him openly. Sneaking around and stealing things is revolting.” The mockery and insults kept assaulting my ears, and I had no way to ignore them. When my girlfriend, Sophie, spread the story that I had stolen Ryan’s game proposal, everyone believed it without question. No one would doubt that Ryan could have written a proposal, because Sophie had always praised him in every possible way, and before the competition had even started, people were already calling him the Best Young Designer. Once our proposals turned out to be identical, no one even needed to think about it. Everyone assumed that I had stolen Ryan’s work. And I, who had always been unknown, became a thief in everyone’s eyes. People even said that I had forced my way into the competition by relying on my wealthy family and my girlfriend’s help. I had supposedly done it all because Ryan was my girlfriend Sophie’s childhood friend, and I was jealous. As I listened to those filthy, unbearable insults, I gripped the notebook in my hand—the one thing that could prove my innocence. Under the attack of everyone’s eyes, I slowly walked inside. Just as I was about to step onto the stage, Ryan’s voice came from behind me. “It’s okay. Ethan was just confused for a moment. We’re all working hard to create better games. He simply lost his way for a while. Everyone, please stop talking about it.” Ryan’s magnanimous words earned him a huge wave of goodwill while once again firmly confirming that I had stolen his proposal. Sophie was standing beside him, naturally clinging to his arm as she scolded him affectionately. “Ryan, you’re always thinking about other people. You’re just too kind. You almost got disqualified from this competition, and you’re still saying things like that.” Then she turned to look at me, her eyes cold and sharp. “A thief like him isn’t worthy of your defense.” Sophie’s icy words and gaze turned into a blade of frost that plunged viciously into my heart. It was the middle of a blazing summer, yet my entire body felt cold. My heart trembled uncontrollably, and even my gaze began to shake. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn’t believe Sophie could actually say something like that. I looked at Sophie sadly, but when she saw my eyes, she didn’t show the slightest trace of concern. Instead, she frowned as if she had just seen something disgusting. “I really misjudged you.” “You stole something and still refuse to admit it. Are you even a man?” Standing on the moral high ground, she criticized me without mercy, never caring whether I had been falsely accused. She didn’t care how her childhood friend Ryan, who had never even touched a game proposal before, had managed to write such a perfect one on his first try. She cared even less that everything happening today was a dream I had cherished for years. All she cared about was letting her childhood friend Ryan shine in this moment. Her criticism never stopped, and her eyes never became warm toward me again. Our three-year relationship was like a clown’s red nose at that moment. Apart from reminding me that I was a clown and giving everyone else something to laugh at, it served no purpose at all. The more sorrowful my gaze became, the more impatient Sophie grew. “You stole something, and now you’re pretending to be pitiful? Even Ryan hasn’t said anything!” “How about this? All the media are here today, so you can publicly apologize to Ryan, and we’ll let the matter end there.” “I’m warning you, don’t wait until you hit a brick wall before you turn back.” I should apologize? She wanted me—the one whose proposal had been stolen and who had been falsely branded a thief—to apologize. The sorrow in my eyes slowly transformed into anger, and the reporters around us crowded closer like sharks that had smelled blood. Fine. She wanted me to apologize, right? I pulled a notebook from inside my jacket and held it high for all the reporters to see. “Everyone from the media, and all my fellow contestants, I’m sorry for taking up public attention, but I have to make the truth clear.” “I’m reporting Ryan for stealing my game proposal and framing me!” Then I would give her a proper apology.When Sophie heard my words, she ignored the fact that we were surrounded by cameras and walked straight over, blocking my mouth in front of everyone. Her eyes were filled with rage and shock as she shouted at me. “Ethan, have you lost your mind? Is this your apology to Ryan?” “I thought you were at least a man who could take responsibility for his actions. I never expected you to be this kind of person.” “Ethan, I really misjudged you. You’re such a bastard!” Her voice grew higher and sharper with every word. She had misjudged me? As I listened to her, the sorrow in my eyes deepened. We had been together for three years, and no one knew what kind of person I was better than she did. Yet today, for the sake of her childhood friend’s reputation, she had trampled on my dream and my innocence again and again. By then, the reporters had taken the notebook from my hands. It was the original notebook in which I had written my proposal. I had one bad habit: I didn’t like writing game proposals on a computer. I preferred recording my ideas with pen and paper first, then transferring them to a computer after everything had been fully developed. The notebook was filled with every detail of my proposal, revised over and over again. Anyone with a brain could see the entire process of how I had created the proposal from nothing. This was irrefutable proof that I had written it. Ryan could steal my files and steal my finished proposal, but he couldn’t steal the thoughts and process behind it. Everyone who read my notes at the scene was amazed, and several veteran designers invited to serve as judges had already pulled out their phones to record my ideas. Only Ryan, standing off to the side, had gone pale, his forehead covered in sweat. He hadn’t known the notebook existed, and he had no idea how much effort it took to perfect a game proposal. I gently removed Sophie’s hand and tried to hold it, but she immediately yanked it away. In my mind, Sophie had always hated evil as fiercely as she loved justice. She would even curse the villains in short TikTok dramas. Faced with such ironclad evidence, there was no way she could still believe Ryan. The handwriting could be compared and examined too. It was obviously mine. The game competition organizers hated plagiarism and copying more than anything. Once this was confirmed, her childhood friend would have no way to continue competing. Ever since the story that I had stolen Ryan’s proposal spread, Sophie hadn’t given me a single kind look. She had even cursed me harshly countless times. But I didn’t care. I only wanted her to come back to me and return the love I had lost. It had to be because of some mistake I had made that she no longer liked me. It had to be that way. With hope and delight, I looked toward Sophie’s face. But all I received in response was her tightly furrowed brow and even more furious eyes. The reporters’ cameras gradually shifted from me to Ryan, who was trembling. He was shaking even harder now. Sophie turned her head away and stopped looking at me. I said to her, “Sophie, I’m not a thief. I wrote all of this.” Maybe if I said it aloud, she would finally cut ties with Ryan. But she didn’t. She watched as the reporters moved closer and closer to Ryan, watching his body tremble more and more violently. She didn’t answer me. Instead, she walked straight in front of Ryan and blocked every camera pointed at him. Standing before all the cameras, she shouted at me, “Ethan! Don’t you know that this is Ryan’s lifelong dream?” “Is this how you casually trample on his dream?” I looked at Sophie’s furious face, confusion filling my eyes. I remembered that she hadn’t used to be like this. Ryan had clearly stolen from me! Sophie knew that, and she also knew that my lifelong dream was to create the perfect game in my heart. This college game competition was my only chance. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something to Sophie. But nothing came out, as if something were stuck in my throat. A bitter ache churned endlessly inside my chest. Sophie looked at the reporters and me, then resolutely said, “I watched Ryan create all of this from start to finish. I’m the strongest witness here.” “And this notebook was also created by Ryan. Ethan is the real thief!” I stared at her with unfocused eyes. Was this really the girlfriend I had loved all along? Her eyes were firm, with a trace of disdain and anger as she continued. “For an accusation as serious as theft, I’ll make sure you end up in court!” The moment she said those words, every expectation I had placed in her vanished without a trace.I looked at Sophie’s determined, furious eyes and left the venue. Under Sophie’s testimony, the game had become Ryan’s property. It was no longer mine. At least for now, everyone believed that Ryan had created the game proposal. The organizing committee would never give the award to me. I could only clear my name after the court heard the case. But at that moment, the venue no longer belonged to me. I was already in my senior year, and this was my final chance to participate in the college game competition. I had made a bet with my family. If I managed to make a name for myself this time, they would support me in continuing to make games. But if I disappeared into the crowd, I would have to go home and inherit the family’s billion-dollar fortune. There would be no negotiation. Ryan was only a junior. He still had another year and another chance to compete. If Sophie had just talked to me properly, I might really have written Ryan a similar proposal so he could find teammates for the next competition. But they said nothing. Instead, they dumped all the blame on me. They stepped over my innocence and my dream as they walked into the awards ceremony. Before long, Ryan and Sophie walked out hand in hand, wearing smug smiles. While I was crouching outside the venue, I heard the host announce the award inside. My proposal had won first place. At the College Game Competition, when all the games were roughly equal in scale, music, and visuals, the proposal was the most important factor in determining whether a game could win. Sophie’s voice was no longer cold. Instead, it was sweet and almost sugary as she spoke to Ryan. “Ryan, you really are a genius. You wrote such an amazing proposal on your first try!” Ryan scratched his head and said to Sophie, “Sophie, that’s because you taught me so well.” The sweetness of victory seemed to linger around them as their faces drew closer and closer together. Just as they were about to kiss, I couldn’t take it anymore and stood up. When Sophie saw me, the joy and flirtation on her face vanished instantly, leaving behind only the sweet blush that had just colored her cheeks. The way she looked at me was not the way someone looked at the boyfriend she had dated for three years. It was the way someone looked at an enemy with a blood feud. I stared at the two of them, my eyes filled with rage. “Sophie, what exactly are you trying to do?” “I’m your boyfriend. He’s the one who stole from me, not the other way around!” “Why are you still defending him?” “He’s nothing but a shut-in who spends all day playing games. He’s never read a single book about game design. Ask him what numerical balance is, or what flow design means!” I shouted at them, but my eyes still held a trace of longing. I only hoped Sophie would question him—ask him about the details of the proposal and the game’s flow design. As long as she asked a few professional questions, Ryan would definitely be exposed. But Sophie seemed determined never to let me have that hope. It was as if she hadn’t heard me at all. She only stared at me, fury burning brighter and brighter in her eyes. She spoke one word at a time. “I told you. Ryan is a genius. He’s the best!” I looked at the furious Sophie in front of me, and sadness surged like a tide, pounding against my heart again and again. The pain followed the waves, unending. I had always known that she had a childhood friend named Ryan. When I first met her, his name was constantly on her lips. I knew Ryan was impossible for her to forget, but I still held on to fantasies. I always believed that if I did well enough, I could make her forget him. She and Ryan had grown up together and had promised to attend college together. But Ryan had been obsessed with games throughout high school, failed his entrance exams, and missed out on a good college, so he had to repeat his final year. After Sophie got together with me, she told me that she treated Ryan like a younger brother and hoped I could help him. At the time, all my friends urged me to stay away from her, but I had been blinded by love and didn’t care about any of that. The next day, I made up an excuse to get $200,000 in spending money from my family and used it to get Ryan, who had barely passed his entrance exams, into our university. I thought that after that, Sophie and I would finally be able to be together properly. But I never expected that after Ryan arrived, the two of them would spend every day wrapped up in each other. No matter what I did, I couldn’t pull them apart. When I got sick, she was with Ryan. When I got into trouble, she was with Ryan. On my birthday, she was with Ryan. Even when I wanted to surprise her, she was still with Ryan. I kept telling myself that things would get better after some time, that everything would get better after some time. But time passed, and today they were still clinging to each other. I had always treated her like a goddess. I thought it was an honor that she had chosen me. Whatever I did, I put her happiness first. I had never argued with her, and I had never questioned her. But today, I had to question her. I stared into Sophie’s beautiful eyes and demanded, “If you hate me, why did you get together with me?” “You have to choose between Ryan and me!”