Lahat ng Kabanata ng FAKE DATING THE HOTTEST BOXER: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

RenataI made my way back to the road after leaving the warehouse behind me, the darkness of the surrounding bushes finally giving way to the dim glow of streetlights as I found my footing on the cracked pavement leading back toward civilization. Every step felt heavier than the last, my legs still shaking from adrenaline, from fear, from the sheer weight of what I'd just witnessed.My heart was still pounding from the sight of my mother struggling to breathe beneath Marcus's cruelty, his voice cold and final as he warned me not to show up for the presentation if I ever wanted to see her alive again. I could still hear the rasp in her voice when she said my name, still feel the tremble in her fingers when she gripped my hand. That image refused to leave me, playing over and over behind my eyes no matter how hard I tried to steady myself.I paced along the street, my mind racing faster than my footsteps, and somewhere in the middle of that frantic walk, an idea began forming, sharp an

RenataI stood frozen, staring at the ruins in front of me, and Mr. Cole asked again, his voice sharper this time. "Renata. This isn't funny. You told us your mother was being held hostage by Marcus, and I called in an entire SWAT team to come rescue her.""So where is she," he demanded, fury written plainly across his face. Behind him, several of the officers exchanged confused glances, their patience visibly thinning."No," I said, my voice cracking, stammering over my own words. "You have to believe me. She was just here. My mother. I saw her, I swear I did. Marcus had her tied up, and he let me go afterward."I was fumbling, my thoughts scattering faster than I could catch them."Then where is she?" Mr. Cole snapped."She was here. You have to believe me," I said again, emotion welling up so fast I could barely breathe around it. "Is this some kind of joke to you?""No," he said. "Why would I be joking about something like this?"That was when a car pulled up, headlights sweeping

RenataNo one seemed to notice when Marcus pulled the trigger. He had shot Finn in a corner of the ballroom, tucked away from the main crowd, and by the time the sound registered over the music and chatter, he had already slipped back into the party like nothing had happened at all, leaving Finn bleeding on the marble floor.I screamed for help and called for an ambulance, pressing my hands uselessly against the wound in his chest, watching blood soak through my fingers faster than I could stop it. By the time paramedics arrived, he wasn't moving, and I was convinced, in that moment, that I had already lost him.I couldn't stop crying. It felt like everyone I cared about ended up bleeding somewhere because of me, caught in crossfire that was never theirs to begin with. I sat in the hospital hallway afterward, my nose running, my eyelids heavy with exhaustion I couldn't fight off anymore.Please, I prayed silently. Please protect him. He was only trying to help me. He doesn't deserve t

Drent"Um. Is this a bad time?" Renata asked, already shifting her weight like she meant to turn and walk away.I paused, forcing myself into the composure I always wore like armor, and slowly pushed Katya's hand off my chest."Peach. It's never a bad time.""You look busy," she said, her eyes flicking between me and Katya.Katya spoke up quickly. "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I've caused any trouble. I was just finishing Mr. Drent's measurements.""Oh," Renata said, and the single syllable carried more weight than an entire sentence.I studied her for a moment. She looked a little scared, a little thrown off balance, and honestly, it was kind of adorable. My chest had loosened the second I saw her standing there. Minutes ago I'd been consumed with worry that she'd left me, disappeared without a word. But here she was, at my door, her curves still soft beneath her clothes, that quiet feminine presence of hers filling the room the way it always did. It amused me more than I probably should have

RenataI didn't just say it. I didn't just ruin everything with my own lips.I found myself in a bar afterward, talking out of context, my words slurring because I was already drunk. After telling Mr. Cole everything, after watching his face collapse in real time, I needed something to dull the pain that had settled into my chest like a stone."Madam, are you sure you can take more alcohol?" the bartender asked, eyeing me with a mixture of concern and hesitation."You just do your job and keep it coming," I said, waving my hand at him like the request was nothing.What had I done? I asked myself the question over and over, the words looping in my head until they lost all meaning. I couldn't believe that after everything Drent and I had been through, after all the careful lies we had built together, I had ruined it all in one conversation.It wasn't my fault though. I wanted to save my mother. That was all I kept telling myself, over and over, like if I repeated it enough it would stop