Lahat ng Kabanata ng FAKE DATING THE HOTTEST BOXER: Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

RenataHis hair was still as long as mine, pulled back into a loose bun. A few dark strands had escaped near his ear, curling messily against his jaw, and I hated how much I noticed it.His cologne reached me before he did, and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it until it filled my lungs and made my chest ache.His eyes hadn't changed. Still dark, still intense, still sweeping over me the way they had the very first day we met, like he was memorizing something he was afraid to lose.The tattoos across his chest were visible where his hospital gown hung open, sprawling and inked deep into his skin, and God help me, even now, even here, they looked good on him.What was I doing. Standing here lusting after a man who had barely survived, a man I had waited on for hours just so I could see him and then walk away, back out, protect myself the way I always did.A man who might be the only person alive who could stand between me and Marcus. The only one who could maybe save my mother."

MarcusI froze the moment I saw him standing in the doorway.I had been so certain that the accident would finish what it started, that Drent would either die quietly in that hospital bed or spend the rest of his life confined to it, out of the way, out of the picture entirely. But there he was. Alive. Standing. His curly hair damp and pushed back, bandages visible beneath the collar of his shirt, clearly nowhere near fully healed, and yet standing all the same.Why wouldn't he just die."Brother," I said, and though the shock rattled through me, I refused to let it show on my face. I straightened my spine, forced my expression into something composed. All my effort, every calculated move to make Renata back down and hand over what was rightfully mine, and now she had gone and brought him back. Drent.He stepped further into the room, his eyes cold and unblinking. "Save it, brother.""You're supposed to be resting," I said, a slow smirk curling at the edge of my mouth despite the unea

DrentMy hand stayed over her lips longer than it should have. I could see the fear beneath her eyes, her blue eyes locked onto mine, wide and uncertain, searching my face for some explanation I wasn't ready to give her yet.I slowly trailed my finger down from her moist lips, tracing a slow line to her collarbone, and felt my own resolve falter for just a second before I caught myself and didn't let it show. I had spent years mastering the art of never letting anyone see what I actually felt, and I wasn't about to lose that discipline now, not even to her.I looked up at her slowly. "Your heart is beating faster than usual."She snapped back to herself, indignation flooding her expression. "Didn't you just hear what I said? My mom is"Before she could finish, I drew her closer, and she gasped as I turned her sideways, my hand still resting gently over her mouth, feeling the warmth of her breath against my palm."What are you doing," she muttered against my hand, breathing hard, her e

MarcusI was in a dark room thick with the scent of vape smoke and alcohol, ice clinking faintly in a half-empty glass on the table beside me when my phone finally buzzed.I snatched it up on the first ring. "Hello. Did you get the job done?"The voice on the other end was hesitant, edged with something close to nervousness. "Yes sir. We probably did."My jaw tightened. "What do you mean, probably? Did you or did you not?""Did you break into the party like I told you to," I pressed. "Did you shoot Drent?""We tried, sir. But chaos broke out, police showed up faster than we expected. Before we ran, we sighted him and fired. Last thing we saw, he went down, blood everywhere. We couldn't stay to confirm exactly where the bullet landed."Rage climbed up my throat, hot and immediate. "I will be watching the news to find out whether that bullet finished the job. He had better be dead."I slammed the phone down against the table hard enough to crack the glass beneath it, then rose, sweeping

RenataMy phone rang, and I fumbled to silence it in my pocket, terrified the sound would carry through the thin walls of the van where I sat crouched among boxes Marcus had loaded before we set off. I'd slipped inside just before the doors closed, praying this reckless decision would actually lead me to my mother instead of straight into a grave.I answered in a whisper, twisting my neck to make sure none of the guards riding up front could hear me.It was Edwina."Hey," I breathed. "Can't talk right now.""Wait," she said, her voice already sharp with worry. "Where are you?""I'm in a van," I whispered. "This might be how I find my mom."I told her quickly about Staci, about the tip that could lead me straight to where Marcus was keeping her, my words tumbling out in hurried fragments as I kept glancing toward the front of the van."Are you crazy?" Edwina hissed. "What if this is a setup?""I know you're my best friend and you want the best for me," I whispered back, "but I have to