Framed At The Olympic Finals

Right before the Olympic gymnastics finals, I tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

I was kicked out of the stadium immediately and faced a potential lifetime ban from the sport.

While the entire internet was tearing me apart, I turned to my boyfriend for comfort.

But Gavin Brooks just looked at me with pure disdain.

"If you had just agreed to let Jasmine take your spot, I wouldn't have had to resort to this," he sneered.

"You knew she was fighting a terminal illness and didn't have much time left, yet you still tried to compete with her! I had to fulfill her final wish."

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. This was supposed to be the final competition of my career, too.

I had planned to propose to him after winning the gold and finally reveal my identity as the heiress to the Sterling empire.

But once I chose to walk away and agreed to an arranged marriage with another billionaire family, Gavin regretted everything.

He came crawling back, sobbing and begging me not to leave him.

As the captain of the national gymnastics team, I carried the hopes of the entire country.

But right before the team finals, I was suddenly accused of doping by an anonymous whistleblower.

The test results came back positive!

The officials disqualified me on the spot and issued a public statement while medical staff took fresh samples for a retest.

Representatives from the Athletic Integrity Unit arrived immediately to start an investigation.

"I swear on my life, I have never taken anything! I am extremely careful with my diet. The results must have been tampered with!" I shouted.

"I've pushed through injuries and pain for years just for this moment. This race is my life. Please, let me compete, and I'll prove my innocence afterward!"

I had worked harder than anyone to get here.

I loved this sport more than life itself.

Why would I ever destroy my dreams and my integrity with such a cheap trick?

The investigator just sat there, his face like stone.

"You've been disqualified. You will wait here for further questioning. An alternate will take your place on the floor."

On the television screen in the room, the athletes were finishing their warm-ups.

In the spot that belonged to me, I saw Jasmine Vance.

Looking at the fury on the faces of the spectators in the stands, I knew they had seen the news.

Insults and boos echoed through the arena that should have been filled with cheers for me.

In an instant, I had fallen from being the Queen of Gymnastics to a disgraced cheat.

In my suffocating despair, I thought of Gavin.

He was the one in charge of my nutrition and daily meals. Everything I consumed went through him.

He knew better than anyone that I would never dope!

Only he could prove my innocence.

After I begged the investigation team, the lead officer finally allowed me one phone call.

"Gavin, someone framed me... they're saying I used performance enhancers..." I sobbed into the phone.

Gavin's voice was cold and impatient. "Seraphina, you brought this on yourself."

"You've had enough glory in your life. Why did you have to keep competing with Jasmine?"

"If you had just stepped down when I asked, I wouldn't have had to take such drastic measures."

I froze, the phone slipping in my hand.

I couldn't believe the man who held me when I was exhausted was the one who pushed me into the abyss.

Was every moment of support and every encouraging hug just a lie?

Those sweet memories now felt like jagged glass cutting into my heart.

I collapsed to the floor as the memory of him pleading with me before the games flashed in my mind.

"Sera, you've dominated the gymnastics world for fourteen years. You've stood on that podium so many times. You don't need this one. Just let Jasmine have her shot."

When I didn't agree, he had pouted with tears in his eyes.

"You're totally misunderstanding me. There's nothing going on between Jasmine and me. If I had a secret, would I be asking you so openly?"

"I just think she's so tragic. She's so young and has such a scary terminal illness. Just help her fulfill her dying wish, okay?"

I had believed him back then, which is why I used my connections to get Jasmine a spot as an alternate on the team.

She might have been sick, but that didn't give her the right to use morality as a weapon.

The truth was, her skills weren't even close to the national standard.

Her scores weren't even good enough for a state-level backup, let alone the Olympics.

That was why I had firmly told Gavin no.

For fourteen years, every jump on the balance beam and every release on the uneven bars was a testament to my love for the sport.

I would never break the rules or betray my beliefs for anyone.

I wasn't just carrying my own dreams; I was carrying the honor of my country.

But seeing the disappointment in Gavin's eyes back then, I felt a twinge of guilt.

I had reached out to touch his arm to comfort him.

"Life isn't always fair, Gavin. We can't control everything. Don't carry that weight on your shoulders."

"Once I win the gold, I have a massive surprise for you."

I had already bought the ring, ready to start our future together.

I never imagined he would use my trust to poison me.

On the other end of the line, Gavin's mocking voice continued.

"Jasmine is a high-society heiress. If she wasn't sick, a poor nobody like you wouldn't even be fit to breathe the same air, let alone compete with her."

"Don't even dream about returning to the floor. This is your destiny. Accept it."

I felt a wave of profound sadness.

I had defied my family to be with him, giving up my life as a billionaire heiress just for a future with him.

And he had drugged me for a girl he barely knew.

Before I could even scream at him, he hung up.

Suddenly, the screen showed Gavin walking onto the center of the arena with a massive bouquet of red roses.

He dropped to one knee, looking at Jasmine with eyes full of love, and held up a diamond ring.

"Jasmine, I love you. Will you marry me?"

The crowd went wild, their cheers shaking the entire Olympic complex.

My heart was bleeding.

My own boyfriend was proposing to another woman on international television.

It was a poison-tipped arrow straight through my chest.

I wiped my eyes, my gaze turning cold.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to a number I hadn't messaged in years.

"Grandpa, I miss you."

The reply came almost instantly.

"If you're tired of playing, come home. I'm getting old, and it's time you took over the Sterling family empire."

Jasmine had stolen my spot, but she lacked the talent to back it up.

She made mistake after mistake, causing the team's score to plummet to the bottom.

We became the laughingstock of the entire games.

"Miss Vance, you fumbled every major move. Do you even know what 'stepping up' means?" a reporter asked.

"Your performance was amateur at best. How do you face your fans? What makes you think you deserve to be here?"

The questions were like rapid-fire bullets.

During the post-game interview, Jasmine's eyes turned red, and tears began to fall.

"I've been battling a very serious illness. I've been fighting for my life every single day."

"I was forced to step in because Seraphina Sterling was caught doping. I wasn't physically ready, and I didn't want to let everyone down, but my body just gave out. I'm so heartbroken..."

Gavin stepped in front of the cameras to defend her.

"This isn't Jasmine's fault. She's the daughter of the Vance family. She didn't have to suffer like this, but she pushed through her pain for the team."

"It's Seraphina's doping scandal that ruined the team's morale and caused these mistakes."

He looked at Jasmine with such tenderness, pulling her into his arms as she sobbed.

"Don't be afraid, Jasmine. No matter what happens, I'll stay by your side and protect you for the rest of my life."

He looked directly into the camera lens.

"Jasmine Vance is the woman I'm going to marry. We will face every storm together."

Jasmine looked moved to tears by his devotion.

The reporters, who were just attacking her, were suddenly touched by Gavin's "heroic" love story.

The topic shifted instantly to their upcoming wedding.

I was standing in the shadows, watching the whole circus.

For fourteen years, I gave everything to gymnastics.

I was ready to retire in glory and marry him.

I never realized my soulmate was busy plotting my downfall.

The ring in my pocket, custom-made six months ago, felt like a hot coal against my skin.

I pulled it out and tossed it into a nearby trash can.

People around me whispered and glared with disgust.

"How shameless. She's still showing her face here?"

"She's a dirty cheater. No wonder her boyfriend dumped her for someone like Jasmine!"

Gavin saw me from a distance.

He flashed a smug, mocking smile, enjoying my public humiliation.

But then, a fleet of black SUVs pulled up, and a dozen high-end security guards in suits marched toward us.

They moved with precision, forming a human wall around me.

The lead guard bowed deeply.

"Miss Sterling, we are here to take you home."