### Chapter 376: The Final Grand Prize

At the Nokia Theater, Taylor walked into the hall, dressed in a loose red gown with her golden, wavy hair flowing freely. Her long legs still moved quickly, and if it weren't for her slightly rounder cheeks and the small bump at her waist, you wouldn't even know she was pregnant.

Following her was Selena, with her round face glowing. Her debut album had sold well, and a few of her music videos were impressive enough to earn her two MTV nominations.

Link was supposed to walk the red carpet with her, but she ditched him halfway through.

Selena, staying close to Taylor, held her hand and kept urging her to slow down and be careful with her belly.

Seeing Taylor approach, Link stood up, ready to greet her, but the people around him were quicker. In the blink of an eye, they had surrounded Taylor, bombarding her with questions, showing concern, and mostly just watching the drama unfold.

Since early September, Taylor's pregnancy had been a hot topic.

The reason was simple: Taylor was a country music superstar, last year’s top album seller in the U.S., and one of the most popular singers around. Her pregnancy was big news in itself.

Adding to the intrigue, the father was rumored to be another music icon, Link.

A superstar couple—one king, one queen—who had first dated, then broken up, only to reveal a pregnancy nearly six months later. Their story was more captivating than most Hollywood movies, and there was no way gossip-hungry fans would let this one go.

The celebrities around them were just as eager for gossip. As Taylor arrived, they gathered around her, leaving Link, the male lead in this drama, without even a chance to get close to her.

"Please step aside, don't crowd around. Taylor needs some fresh air," Selena called out in her clear voice.

The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving only Link and Taylor in the aisle, staring at each other across the ten-meter gap.

Whoosh!

The front row of the audience suddenly quieted down. Lady Gaga and others sat in their seats, watching the two with interest, as if they were watching a play.

"Hey, Taylor, how have you been?" Link asked as he walked over.

"Why is Link asking that? Don’t they talk on the phone?" Kesha whispered.

"Selena said Taylor blocked Link's number, so she's been acting as the go-between," Miley Cyrus said, covering her mouth.

"I thought they’d stay friends after the breakup," Lady Gaga added.

"Being friends with Link is tough. He's so charming; if you stay friends, you'll end up back in bed with him. It's better not to break up at all," Katy Perry said.

"Hi," Taylor blinked her blue eyes at him and then turned to Selena beside her, asking, "Where are our seats?"

"Link, where are our seats?" Selena, holding onto Taylor, winked at him, signaling him to behave.

"Right here," Link pointed to the seats nearby.

Taylor thanked him, adjusted her dress, and sat down, with Link sitting next to her.

These seats had been arranged by MTV. Last year, when Taylor and Link were dating, MTV had seated them apart. Now, after their breakup, they were seated together.

This arrangement was sure to boost the show's ratings.

Taylor and Selena were among the last guests to arrive, and shortly after they sat down, the MTV Video Music Awards ceremony began.

Justin Bieber kicked off the show, and other artists who had done well earlier in the year, like Lana Del Rey, Mars, Selena, and Drake, also performed their hit songs.

"How have you been lately?" Link asked quietly as they watched the performance on stage.

"I've gained 16 pounds, and my waist is five inches bigger. What do you think?" Taylor huffed.

"It's my fault. I know it's too late to apologize, but I still hope I can make it up to you."

"Make it up? I'm 21 years old, in the prime of my career, and I never planned on getting pregnant and having a baby at this point. But because of you, everything changed. You almost ruined me, and now you say you want to make it up to me? How? With money? I don't care about that."

Taylor clenched her pale fists, glancing at him angrily.

With the camera pointed at them, Link couldn't just hug her. He shrugged and said, "I'm really sorry. It's just that I love you so much. I didn't want to break up, and that's why I did it."

"Love me? Do you think I'll believe that? If you loved me, you wouldn't have fooled around. If you loved me, you wouldn't have hurt me in such a despicable way. If you truly loved me, you would have let go.

You don't love me.

You only did this for one reason.

You don't want to lose!"

---

"You've always been a competitive person, whether it’s in boxing or music. You've never lost and you don't want to lose, not even in love. You want to be the winner every time.

So, when I refused to forgive you and insisted on leaving, you felt defeated and angry. That’s why you used such underhanded tactics against me, trying to turn the tables, isn’t that right, Mr. Tactician?” Taylor said coldly, pressing her lips together.

"I admit I’m competitive and I don’t like to lose, but when it came to being with you, I never thought about winning or losing. Just like when we’d mess around, play games, or bet on who would do the chores, or even when we played tennis or volleyball—you always won.

And when it came to songwriting, you were always better than me, but I never minded. I'm not always obsessed with winning. At least, not when it came to you."

"Hmph, I’ll admit you often let me win when we played sports, but when it came to games, you lost because you’re just clumsy with your fingers and couldn’t beat me."

"Want to give it another shot?" Link asked, holding out his hand.

Taylor looked at him and clenched her pale fist. "Don’t try to change the subject. You might not care about losing these little games, but there’s no way you don’t care about winning in boxing, music, or love. You’d even resort to underhanded tactics to win a competition. Am I right?”

Link shook his head. "Sweetheart, don’t think of me like that, please. I didn’t try to get you pregnant out of a desire to win. I did it because I love you. And when you found out you were pregnant and decided to keep the baby, it was because you still love me too. So, this baby is the result of our love, not some scheme, right? No matter what, the baby is innocent, and I don’t want you to pass your resentment toward me onto the baby."

Taylor took a deep breath. "That’s your plan, isn’t it? You think once I have the baby, you can use it to keep me tied to you?"

"No, if you want to raise the baby, you can keep it. If not, give it to me. I’ll do my best to be a good father."

"No way! This is my child; why should I hand it over to you? I’ve said before, and I mean it—I won’t let you see the baby."

Taylor snorted, then started clapping along with the rest of the audience as Bruno Mars and his team left the stage to a wave of applause. As she clapped, she murmured, "No one wins forever, and that includes you."

But the applause was too loud for Link to catch what she said.

---

After a few opening acts, the MTV award ceremony officially began.

The first award presented was for Best New Artist, with five nominees: Kesha, Lana Del Rey, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, and Justin Bieber.

In the end, Justin Bieber took home the Best New Artist award, thanks to his hit song "Baby," which he performed on stage.

The second award was for Best Female Video. Despite strong competition from Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Kesha, and Beyoncé, the award ultimately went to Lady Gaga for "Bad Romance."

This was Lady Gaga's first award of the night.

The third award presented was Best Rap Video. Link and Wiz Khalifa were nominated for their song "See You Again," released last August.

However, the award went to Eminem for "Not Afraid," a hardcore rap track from his new album "Recovery," which also topped the singles chart.

The next six awards were for technical achievements, including Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Special Effects, and Best Breakthrough Video. Link didn’t win any of them, while Lady Gaga won three out of six, bringing her total to four moonman trophies.

"Hey, Link, looks like you might go home empty-handed tonight. Want me to give you one of mine?" Lady Gaga joked, dressed in her shocking "meat" dress and holding several moonman trophies.

Link didn’t refuse, taking one and saying he’d use it for a fan giveaway. Last year, he had given away too many prizes, including championship belts and medals, and now he didn’t have much left to give.

Lady Gaga didn’t mind and even offered him another trophy.

Link said he’d return them if he won later in the night.

Lady Gaga and Katy Perry both doubted he’d win any awards.

Their reasoning was that during the final voting stages of the MTV awards, Link had been caught in an online storm, with the media flooded with negative comments about him, calling him a jerk and an irresponsible man.

The MTV award judges were mostly adults with families and children, likely influenced by the negative press, so they probably voted for other nominees.

The results of the next two awards seemed to confirm this theory.

The tenth award was for Best Male Video. Before the ceremony, the media had predicted this award was Link’s to lose, thanks to his song "Legends Never Die," which was the only single in the U.S. this year to sell over 10 million copies.

The song's theme was very positive and inspiring, celebrating the beloved sport of American football. Link's performance, the song's quality, and its music video views were all top-ranked among this year’s releases.

The only songs stronger were "See You Again" and Lady Gaga’s "Bad Romance," but those were released last year and weren’t comparable.

However, the award for Best Male Video went to Eminem for "Not Afraid."

Eminem looked surprised when his name was announced. He bumped fists with Link before heading to the stage.

"You don’t like losing. So how does it feel to lose this time?" Taylor asked, clapping with a slight smile.

"Are you happy to see me lose?"

"A little!"

"If it makes you happy, then my loss was worth it."

"Hmph, that’s only because you couldn’t win."

Taylor said, "I never thought you needed to win everything. Do you really think I see you as someone who only cares about winning and losing?"

"Don’t you?"

Taylor turned to look at his profile.

"Back when I was boxing, I fought for myself. After joining the gym, every time I won a match, everyone there was happy.

When I became a professional boxer, my fans were thrilled whenever I won. When I entered the music industry, everyone at Link Music and all my supporters, including you, were happy when I won.

So, I worked even harder to win, to keep making the people who support me happy. But I never thought that one day, my desire to win would be the reason you hate me."

Link sighed.

"Don’t make yourself sound so pitiful. No matter who you were trying to win for before, that time when you took advantage of me while I was unconscious, and made me pregnant—that was definitely just for your own satisfaction."

Taylor whispered angrily.

"The baby must be happy too. Once they're born, they’ll probably giggle all the time."

"Shut up! Don’t talk about the baby."

Taylor said, rubbing her belly.

As they spoke, a camera was focused on them from the audience, never moving.

Link shook his head.

On stage, Eminem and Rihanna, with her newly dyed red hair, performed their hit song "Love the Way You Lie." Taylor said she liked the song, saying every jerk should listen to it.

Link didn’t respond.

After Best Male Video, the ceremony continued with awards for Best Rock Video, Best Group, Best Dance Video, and Best Pop Video.

Link went 0 for 4, while Lady Gaga won two out of four.

Link’s nominations for "Legends Never Die" (Best Rock Video) and "Girls Like You" (Best Pop Video) had been heavily favored online before the ceremony, but the MTV judges still didn’t award him.

By this point, even those close to Link looked at him with sympathy, while those who disliked him had a mocking glint in their eyes.

"Does it make you happy to see me not winning?"

"Yes, so what?"

"How about giving me a smile?"

"…"

Taylor didn’t smile. Instead, she rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, no more jokes. I’m planning to stop attending any music award shows after the second half of next year. Would that make you happier?"

"Are you serious?"

Taylor frowned.

"Yes. When the time comes, you can attend the award shows while I stay home with the baby, watching you on TV."

"Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you take care of the baby."

Taylor snorted, rubbing her belly and leaning closer to Selena.

As the ceremony neared its end, last year’s big MTV winner, Beyoncé, took the stage to present the final award of the night, "Video of the Year."

The nominees were five music videos: Lady Gaga’s "Bad Romance," Florence + The Machine’s "Dog Days Are Over," Thirty Seconds to Mars’ "Kings and Queens," B.o.B’s "Airplanes," and Link’s "Legends Never Die."

"And the winner for Video of the Year is…" Beyoncé glanced at the nomination card and smiled seductively. "The jerk—oh, sorry, Mr. Link Baker for ‘Legends Never Die.’"

The audience was stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

Kanye West and others slapped their thighs, whistling and laughing, thinking Beyoncé calling Link a jerk on stage was the coolest move ever—giving him no face at all.

Link shook his head, hugged Taylor, Selena, and Lana Del Rey, then made his way through the crowd to the stage.

Once on stage, Beyoncé gave him a public hug before handing him the award.

Holding the shiny astronaut trophy, Link walked to the microphone. Before he could speak, the audience erupted in applause and cheers, with many familiar faces standing up to clap.

Link smiled slightly, raised the trophy, and bowed to thank everyone.

"Thank you!"

When the applause died down, Link spoke into the microphone, "Seeing so many friends clapping, I feel like I'm still far from being completely abandoned."

Everyone laughed, knowing he was making fun of the recent comments in The Hollywood Reporter that said he had been abandoned by everyone.

"In the past year, I've been through a lot. I had a relationship that everyone envied, but because I didn't cherish it, I accidentally lost her. I used to have many honors and was a very upright idol, but due to my negligence, I gradually became the 'bad guy' in Beyoncé's eyes. I originally predicted that I could win 11 awards at this MTV event, but I only got one. Lady Gaga, is it because you're too amazing?"

Link looked at Lady Gaga in the audience and asked.

Lady Gaga covered her mouth and laughed, shaking her head repeatedly.

The crowd also couldn't help but laugh. Initially, they thought he was confessing and it seemed quite emotional, but then he switched topics to the trophies, joking that he had expected to win 11 awards, which was clearly a joke.

"Thank you! Thanks to the MTV judges for giving me this important award. Earlier, backstage, Taylor and Selena said that it was right for the judges not to give me any awards because they are good people with high moral standards and wouldn't give an award to someone surrounded by negative news.

Now that you've given me this award, it's not just recognition for Legends Never Die, but also for my personal character, right? Thank you, I think so too."

Hahaha! The audience burst into laughter, and some even teased him for his thick skin.

"I also want to thank Graham, David Kahn, Ali, Mars, and everyone at Link Music Studio. When we received the Super Bowl invitation, it was just before Christmas, with only a little over a month until the event. To finish this song in time, we all spent New Year's in the studio. This trophy belongs to you as well.

I also want to thank all the fans who support me, as well as my family and friends. It's your unwavering support that has made me better. I'll keep working hard to write more great songs. Legends Never Die!"

Link raised the trophy as he said this.

Clap clap clap! The audience erupted into applause, with many standing up to cheer.

"Strange! Isn't Link supposed to be a 'bad guy'? Why do so many people like him?"

Actor Jesse Eisenberg looked at the audience in surprise.

"Of course, it's because he's handsome, talented, worth over a billion dollars. What woman wouldn't like a guy like that?"

Actor Andrew Garfield said enviously.

"You're right. If you're an Olympic champion, ten women will like you. If you're a world boxing champion, a hundred women will want to marry you. If you're a global superstar, at least a thousand women will want to have your child. And if you're worth over a billion dollars at 21, at least ten thousand women will fall for you."

Actor Chris Pine said admiringly.

"He is indeed an impressive guy."

Not long after stepping down, Link returned to the stage with his performance team for a passionate rendition of Legends Never Die, bringing the atmosphere to a climax.

*Legends never die*

*When the world is calling you*

*Can you hear them screaming out your name*

*Legends never die!!*

(End of the chapter)