Chapter 263: The End

Chapter 263: The End

"Mia, you always say I can't beat you at anything. But every single time you've won, you did it by taking things from me. You took my award, my friends, the person I liked, my future. You and your mom broke up someone's family — you even took someone else's dad."

Lily's voice suddenly shot up, cracking and raw, like it was about to tear apart. "And after taking everything, you had the nerve to tell me none of it ever belonged to me in the first place?"

Mia's screaming could be heard through several closed doors — sharp and grating, like nails dragging across a chalkboard.

"Lily, you piece of trash! You deserve to die! I'm telling you, as long as I'm still breathing, you won't have a single day of peace! Who do you think you are, trying to go up against me?"

The security guard was clearly uncomfortable, pressing down on Mia's shoulders but not daring to use too much force, afraid she'd actually charge through the door.

Mia looked nothing like her usual self. Her hair was half undone, and she was thrashing around like a trapped animal, her mouth never stopping for a second.

"I climbed back up once, I can do it again! What are you, anyway? Just a pretty face who slept her way to the top. You've been acting for years and you're still completely wooden. The audience isn't blind! You think you've won? Just wait — when I get out of here, I have plenty of ways to destroy you!"

Lily didn't respond. She slowly walked out from the doorway, phone in hand.

Her fingers slid quietly across the screen. Her expression was hard to read. The fluorescent lights in the hallway made her look pale.

A security guard came over and lowered his voice. "Lily, do you want to call the police? She broke into the ward without permission — that's enough to get her detained."

"No need." Lily's voice was quiet.

She looked up and across the chaotic hallway at Mia.

Mia was still screaming, getting nastier by the second — going after Lily's acting, her background, her looks, her personal life, as if she was pouring out every drop of bitterness and resentment she'd built up over the years.

"...You think you've won now? Dream on! Your dad still abandoned you, didn't he? And those directors must have been blind to cast you! Oh right — you had David to lean on! You deserve to rot!"

"Mia."

Lily spoke suddenly. Her voice wasn't loud, but somehow the hallway went quiet for a moment.

Mia was being held back by the guard, breathing hard, glaring over with red-rimmed eyes, her makeup smeared halfway down her face. She looked nothing like the polished, commanding woman people saw on screen.

Lily held her phone and walked slowly toward her. She was dressed simply — just a hospital gown, hair loosely pulled back in a low ponytail, barely any makeup on. But that plain, bare face, under the harsh white lights of the hallway, carried something that was hard to name. A kind of cool steadiness.

"You've lost. You've completely lost."

Mia laughed coldly. "Lost? Even if I get locked up, my dad will bail me out. As long as I still have a chance, you will never get above me."

Lily glanced down at her phone screen, then flipped it around and held it up toward Mia.

"Too bad... that road is closed to you. Forever."

Mia instinctively squinted. The hallway was too bright, and she couldn't make it out at first.

But when her eyes finally focused on that small phone screen, her pupils shrank.

The comments were flooding in like a waterfall, scrolling so fast you couldn't read a single one. The live viewer count in the top corner was jumping in real time — one million, one point two million, one point five million...

And right in the center of the screen was her.

Herself — being held back by the security guard, hair everywhere, makeup ruined, screaming obscenities.

Herself saying, "When I get out of here, I have plenty of ways to destroy you."

Herself saying, "Your dad left you and your mom for me and mine."

Mia's blood ran cold.

"You..." Her voice suddenly went dry, like something had closed around her throat. "When did you start the livestream?"

"When you said you were going to destroy me." Lily's voice was completely calm — not like someone talking to a person she'd hated for ten years. "About five minutes ago."

Mia's mind went blank, like someone had hit pause on her brain.

She stared mechanically at the phone screen. The comments had shifted from a flood to a wall of fury.

"Wait, is that actually Mia? She's lost it."

"Destroy her? She actually said that out loud?"

"What does she mean, her dad chose who?"

"Lily don't be scared, we're all here"

"A million people watching her melt down live"

"Did she just say she's coming back to the industry? In her dreams"

"Mia, get out of the entertainment industry!"

The color drained from Mia's face.

She suddenly started fighting again — really fighting this time. Her nails raked across the security guard's arm. Her shoes screeched against the floor.

"Turn it off! Lily, turn it off!"

Lily didn't move.

She just stood there, holding up the phone like a mirror, reflecting every bit of the truth back.

"Mia, you just asked me whether any of this ever belonged to me." Lily's voice was soft, but everyone in the hallway could hear it clearly. "I'll answer you now."

She paused, holding Mia's gaze.

"Of course it didn't belong to me. But not because you 'gave' it to me, and not because I 'took' it from you. None of it ever belonged to anyone. You're the one who decided everything in the world should be yours."

Mia went stiff, like she'd been slapped.

"The award — I stayed up three months painting for that, and you ripped it up and put your name on it. My friends — I'd known them my whole life, and you spread rumors that I stole things until they cut me off. As for the person I liked..." Lily's voice finally wavered, just slightly, but she steadied herself. "Never mind. That's all in the past."

She took a slow breath and raised the phone a little higher.

"But Mia, when it comes to the future — you don't get to decide that. Neither do I. The audience does."

For one brief moment, the comments went quiet. Then they exploded.

The live viewer count broke five million and kept climbing.

On the trending charts, "Mia livestream meltdown" had just hit number one.

Mia stopped struggling.

It was like every last bit of energy had been pulled out of her. She sagged, and the security guard had to hold her up just to keep her standing.

She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but all that came out was a broken sound.

Lily looked at her. There was exhaustion in her eyes, and relief — but no satisfaction.

"Mia, you always said I couldn't beat you at anything. But honestly, I never wanted to compete with you. You were always the one competing with me — taking things, lying, tearing me down. You've won so many times. But were you ever actually happy?"

Mia said nothing.

Her tears finally fell, cutting through her ruined makeup in two dark streaks down her face.

Lily gave a small, quiet smile. It was faint — like the first light on a winter morning. Not quite warm, but at least it was there.