Making Your Rival My Queen

At the family dinner, my stepbrother, Parker, couldnt stop vibrating with excitement. He leaned in, whispering loudly enough for the whole table to hear that hed managed to land the it girl of the streaming world for his upcoming campaign.

Then she walked in, and my heart didn't just dropit froze.

It was Jade. The very same Jade Id spent the last three years building into a superstar. Id poured nearly seven million dollars into her career, buying her the top-tier sponsorships, the front-page placements, and the viral momentum she now breathed like oxygen.

In private, she was a glacier. She refused to add me on any personal social media, only ever sending cold, transactional DMs like: New drop is live. Go buy. Even when we happened to be in the same room at industry events, she looked right through me, pretending I was just another face in the crowd.

But here, in my fathers dining room, she was all sunshine. She laughed at every joke, her eyes sparkling as she charmed the room. She was peeling shrimp for Parker, regaling the table with witty behind-the-scenes stories about her product launches. Shed even brought my father an expensive artisanal tea blend andto my utter shockwas actively exchanging numbers with the household staff.

I raised my glass, trying to catch her eye, to find some bridge back to the person I thought I knew. Her smile vanished the second our gaze met. She leaned slightly toward me, her voice a sharp, venomous whisper intended only for my ears: "Face it, Beckett. Youre getting old. No amount of money can buy you a seat at the table with people who actually matter."

Parker, oblivious and smug, began flashing his phone around, showing off their private chat logs. He bragged about how Jade had worn a specific outfit on stream just because he asked, and how shed spent three hours in the kitchen making a home-cooked meal to hand-deliver to him across the city.

Then he chuckled, looking directly at me. "Hey, man, get this. Jade told me her 'Number One Patron' is this total creepsome lonely old loser who tries to harass her under the guise of placing orders. He thinks dropping a few bucks makes him the boss. Can you imagine being that pathetic?"

I offered a thin, effortless smile. In that moment, the last thread of whatever I felt for her snapped.

"I can't even imagine," I said quietly.

With a few taps beneath the table, I pulled up the internal dashboard of my agency. I took the creator who had been stuck in the number two spot for three yearsthe girl Jade had stepped over to get to the topand pushed her to the primary featured slot on every major platform we controlled.

One message to our group chat of three hundred brand partners was all it took. Were pivoting. Move the budget.

If she thought I was an embarrassment, then she didn't need me haunting her career anymore.

Parker kept talking, but I didn't hear a word. I was too busy watching the digital dominoes fall.

Cancel the ten-million-dollar order for Jade. Reallocate to Lydia.

The group chat stayed silent for exactly three seconds before the questions flooded in. Who are we backing instead?

I scrolled through the talent roster until I hit a familiar face. Lydia.

Shed been in the game for a decade. For the first seven years, she and Jade had been neck-and-neck, until Jade met me three years ago. Id spent those years suffocating Lydias growth to ensure Jades dominance. Lydia had been gasping for air ever since.

I remembered seeing Lydia once at a gala. Someone had accidentally spilled red wine down my front. Id instinctively looked to Jade for help, but shed turned her back immediately, striking up a hollow conversation with a tech CEO to avoid being associated with the mess.

It was Lydia who had quietly asked if I was okay. Shed led me to a private suite to change and stood guard outside the door for twenty minutes to ensure my privacy. That night, Id rewarded her by throwing her a small contract out of guilt.

When Jade found out, shed blocked me for two weeks.

I typed the words: Its Lydia. Effective immediately.

The chat exploded. I locked my phone and set it face down.

The dinner continued. Jade remained a statue of ice whenever she looked my way, yet she had my father roaring with laughter. Parker playfully tugged at her sleeve, and she caught his hand, giving him a shy, lingering look.

Parker shot me a triumphant glance. "I heard you and Jade actually go way back, Beckett. Why so quiet tonight?"

Jades expression went dead. She didn't even turn her head. "I don't know him," she said flatly.

Seven million dollars. Three years of my life. I dont know him.

I didn't argue. I just excused myself to the restroom. When I stepped back out into the hallway, I ran straight into Jade. Her brow was furrowed, her face twisted in suppressed irritation.

"If you keep stalking me like this, Im calling the police," she hissed.

I found the statement genuinely hilarious. "This is my house, Jade."

"This is Parker's house," she snapped, cutting me off. "He told me everything. Your mother stole another woman's husband and sat in the 'Mrs. Thorne' seat for twenty years like a parasite. If she hadn't died early, Parker would never have been able to take his rightful place in this family."

She gave me a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. "Ill let it slide this time. But do it again..."

She let the threat hang in the air, then turned on her designer heels and marched away, her pace frantic, as if she were afraid I might try to touch her.

I watched her go. I didn't bother correcting her.

That night, Jade posted a status update: Just spent the day with the one I love. Feeling inspired. Going live at 7 PM.

I checked the clock. 6:30.

Usually, Id be in her stream thirty minutes early, waiting. Id start the night by dropping a hundred "Super-Novas"the most expensive gift on the platformjust to set the tone and drive her to the top of the trending list. Jade would act like she didn't see the screen-filling effects. If I commented, shed intentionally reply to the person right above or below me, never acknowledging my existence.

My phone buzzed. It was my assistant, informing me that the deal with Lydia was finalized.

She wants your personal contact info to thank you properly, he wrote.

Fine, I replied, and then I went to sleep.

A few hours later, my door was nearly kicked off its hinges. Parker was standing there, his face flushed with a mix of rage and panic.

"Beckett, what the hell are you doing? Jade is live, and you haven't shown up. Shes going to be pissed! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get on her good side?"

I sat up slowly. "Jade is streaming. Why should I be there? I don't know her, remember?"

He sputtered, his face turning a darker shade of red. "Fine. Be a dick. Im just warning youyoure going to regret this. Jade has a temper. If you freeze her out now, shes not just going to block you for two weeks. Shell delete you forever."

My stomach turned. He knew everything about my history with Jade. Every argument, every silent treatment. When exactly had they started trading my secrets?

Parker wasn't blood. Five years ago, after my mother passed, my father remarried Meredith. She brought Parker into the house, changed his last name to Thorne, and they both started singing a choreographed duet about "sharing the burden" of the family business.

Theyd tried to claw their way into the company dozens of times, but my father never let them in. They thought he was being stingy. They didn't realize that the company was my mothers legacy. Every single share sat in my name. My father wasn't saying no because he wanted tohe was saying no because he didn't have the authority to say yes.

Parker must have been talking a big game to Jade, and Jade, being Jade, probably assumed Parker was the one holding the keys to the kingdom.

I shut the door in his face and checked my phone. I tried to enter Jades stream, only to find a familiar notification: You have been blocked by the creator.

This time, I didn't send a groveling email. I didn't call her manager. I simply blocked her back.

On the community boards, Jades fans were tagging me. Wheres the Big Whale tonight? Is everything okay?

A familiar avatar popped up in the thread. It was Parker.

Who needs him? Parker wrote. Jade doesn't need one person holding her up. Weve got this!

A few loyalists chimed in, but the energy was limp.

By the time Jade ended her stream, the hashtag #GhostTownLive was trending. Without my massive opening gifts, the algorithm hadn't pushed her to the front page. Without my influence, the major brands stayed quiet. She was so used to being the "Queen" that shed forgotten how to actually engage her audience. Her peak viewership was lower than a mid-tier hobbyist.

Her fans were begging me to come back. I ignored them and focused on the list of brands Lydia was sending me.

Tonight, Lydia was going live. And her discounts? They were fifty percent lower than anything Jade had ever offered.

The internet caught fire. Everyone was speculating about who Lydias new "Benefactor" was, while Jades camp remained eerily silent. Her team hadn't even announced her next product line yet.

At 8:00 PM sharp, I entered Lydias stream. I spent ten minutes straight dropping the highest-value gifts available.

Meanwhile, Jades team posted a frantic update: Tonights stream is canceled due to technical difficulties.

I didn't care. I watched Lydias concurrent viewers climb to five hundred thousand. Then six hundred.

Lydia was the opposite of Jade. Jade would sit there like a porcelain doll, letting her assistants do the talking. If she got bored, shed just walk off-camera, and her fans would call it "authentic" and "ethereal."

Lydia was in the trenches. Before the stream, shed sent me a twenty-seven-page business plan, broken down minute-by-minute.

As the sales ticker began to spinthirty million, fifty million, eighty millionthe chat went nuclear. When it hit the hundred-million-dollar mark, Lydias eyes welled up. Her voice shook as she looked into the lens.

"Thank you, Jax... thank you so much for believing in me."

Three hours later, she broke the platform record. I exited the app and found my inbox had become a war zone.

Jades fans were swarming me.

You total prick! How could you do this to Jade?

Youre a fan, not a king. Go back to Jade and apologize right now or well dox you.

Disgusting. Did you sleep with Lydia? Is that why youre bankrolling her?

Someone asked Jade for a comment. She posted a single, icy sentence: Some fans think spending a little money means they own the creator. To be honest, its a little scary.

That was the spark. Her fanbase went feral.

So this 'Jax' guy was trying to force Jade into a relationship just because he gave her gifts?!

Creep. Absolute predator. Youre ruining the community for real fans.

Within the hour, my private photos were being circulated. They were edited to look hideous, slapped onto "Missing Person" posters with captions like Predator and Old Loser.

My phone started ringing incessantly.

"I heard your mother died," a distorted voice screamed when I picked up. "Good. She probably died of shame knowing she raised a stalker!"

My hand tightened around the phone. The harassment had reached a fever pitch, and Jade remained silent. She watched it happen like she was watching a movie.

Fine. If thats how she wanted to play it, the "happily ever after" was off the table.

Suddenly, Lydia posted a tweet.

Jax is my most important supporter and a man of immense integrity. If you attack him, you attack me. My success today is thanks to his vision. I won't allow anyone to insult him. You want to talk? Talk to me.

The internet split in two. The legal team had the Cease and Desist orders ready within the hour. I retweeted the firms official statement and turned off my phone.

The moment I walked into the living room, Parkers voice grated against my nerves.

"Are you insane, Beckett? Youre trying to make Jade jealous, but youve gone too far!"

He tried to shove his phone in my face. "Who gave you permission to serve her legal papers? Do you have any idea what this does to her reputation? Withdraw it. Now. Make a public apology and tell everyone you were just having a mental breakdown. Maybe shell let you pay for her next campaign as an apology."

I slapped his hand away without a second thought.

"Since when do you tell me how to run my business, Parker?"

Rage flickered across his face, but he backed off.

I went upstairs to check the numbers. The night had been a triumph. Lydia gained four hundred thousand followers. One of the top luxury fashion houses in the world contacted methey wanted to debut their new collection exclusively on Lydias stream.

I invited both parties to the office the next morning to sign.

When I walked into my suite at 9 AM, I found two uninvited guests.

Parker gave me a slimy grin. "I brought Jade. Go ahead, apologize. I told her you were just acting out, and since Im family, shes willing to forgive and move on."

Jade didn't look at me. She sat there, sipping from a glass of water, her chin tilted up, waiting for me to bow.

I was beyond words. As I reached for the contract on my desk, Parker snatched it. His eyes lit up.

"I knew it! You were just playing hard to ball! You used Lydia to create a buzz, and now youre bringing the luxury deal back to Jade. Clever, Beckett. Very clever."

Jades face softened slightly. She took the contract and signed her name with a flourish before I could even speak. Then she tossed the folder at my chest.

"Im taking this because I earned it," she said coldly. "Don't think this means were friends. And don't try this pathetic 'jealousy' stunt again. Its beneath you."

I frowned. "That contract isn't for you."

Jade scoffed. "Beckett, give it a rest. You won. You got my attention. Now be a good boy and get the production team ready."

Parker chimed in, "Yeah, stop acting, man. Everyone knows you can't live without her. If she actually gets mad at you, youll be back on your knees in a week anyway. Why make it harder than it needs to be?"

In the past, I did have a weakness for her. I supported her because I admired her drive, and yes, because I thought there was something real between us. But "can't live without her"? That was a fantasy Parker had cooked up to feel superior.

Jade stood up to leave. "I don't need apologies from people who don't matter," she said over her shoulder.

Parker smirked. "Ill talk to her for you, bro. She listens to me."

After they left, I told the legal department to void the signature and draft a fresh copy.

As the launch drew closer, Lydia called me, her voice trembling. "Jax... am I... am I sharing the stream with Jade tonight?"

I was confused until I checked Jades social media. She had posted a promotional poster: Luxury Collection Launch. Tonight at 8 PM.

I hesitated, then sent Jade a private message: That contract was not yours. This is a trademark violation. I suggest you take that post down immediately.

She didn't reply privately. She took a screenshot of my message and posted it to her millions of followers, tagging me directly.

Just because I chose your brother over you, youre trying to destroy my career? Youre the son of a mistress, Beckett. You owe Parker everything. Have some dignity.

The comment section went nuclear.

Wait, hes a mistresss son? That explains why hes so obsessed with stealing what belongs to others.

Spending his father's money to harass a woman. Classic.

Then Parker joined in. He posted a photo of himself, my father, and Meredith. A perfect family portrait. I wasn't in it.

The past is the past, he captioned it. My mother and I just want peace. Please don't dig into the family trauma. Thank you for the support.

The public ate it up. He was the "gracious, long-suffering son," and I was the "villainous interloper."

Parker called me, his voice dripping with satisfaction. "You should probably lay low for a few days, Beckett. People are pretty riled up. Jade is going to address the 'stalking' during her stream tonight. You might want to skip it. Its gonna hurt."

I didn't say a word. I just hung up.

Lydia posted her own announcement shortly after. The confusion was total.

Wait, who has the deal? Lydia or Jade?

Are they streaming together? No way, they hate each other.

The brands official account ended the debate. They tagged Lydia: Thrilled to announce our exclusive partnership with the incomparable @Lydia. See you at 8 PM.

Then, they posted a second tweet, tagging Jade.

Regarding the unauthorized use of our intellectual property and brand name for promotional purposes: this constitutes a legal violation. Remove all related materials immediately or we will proceed with a lawsuit.