Page 74 of Botched

“You’re young. You’re a damn good wrestler. You’ll win it again.”

“I know.”

But knowing that doesn’t make the bitterness sting any less.

As I lay on the mat, staring up at the lights, blood dripping from the hidden cut on my forehead blurs my vision.

“AndnewGRW World Champion… Weston Hext!” The ring announcer’s voice booms through the arena and cheers ring out through the crowd.

It feels like a shotgun blast to my ego, to my heart.

When I roll out of the ring, giving Hext the spotlight to celebrate, Aurora is right there. She wraps an arm around my waist as I drape one around her shoulders, using her for support. She helps me hobble backstage. With one last glance over my shoulder, I see Hext holdingmytitle above his head as the crowd goes wild.

The villain has been defeated.

Their chosen one wins.

When we’re through the curtain, Nathan slaps his palm against my sweaty shoulder. “You looked good out there, Theo. I’m proud of you.”

Words I thought that I’d never hear don’t sink in like they would’ve in a different situation. All I feel now is my loss. It washes over me. Walking a few more feet with Aurora, I stop against the far wall, sliding down it.

I think I’m crying. Tears mix with my sweat and the blood that’s dripping from the gash on my forehead.

As the adrenaline settles, I’m crashing down. Aurora quickly kneels in front of me, forehead wrinkled in concern. “Theo, hey. Are you okay?” she asks. “Baby, look at me.”

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” I assure her, wiping at my eyes. I don’t want her to worry. I don’t want her to blame herself.

She presses her forehead to mine, my blood coating her prettyskin and getting in her hair. “It’s going to be okay,” Aurora whispers.

“I know.” It is okay. I know it is. This is not the end of my career or the end of the world. But the sting hurts. “Feels weird coming back here without my title.” I held it for almost a year. Every day, I protected it with my life. Airport security, hotel rooms, hiding it in the trunk of my car whenever I went to a club after a show. The title was the most important thing in my life.

Until her.

Aurora Bennet means more to me than that gold ever did.

Chapter Forty-Nine

THEODORE

Six Weeks Later

“Are you sure about this?” Not one to usually doubt myself, but in this situation, doubting myself seems natural. My arm is looped around Aurora’s waist, keeping her tucked into my side as we walk the green and white tiled hallways together.

She leans her head against my shoulder. “Wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t sure,” is her response. She does not allow me to continue with that thought process, but she speaks again. “I like this place a lot better, by the way. There’s more color. It feels like it’s meant for the living.”

“I’m taking that as a thank you.”

Aurora huffs in response as she stops at Room 57. Her knuckles tap against the cracked door before she pushes it open. A smile etches over her lips. “Dad?”

Tobias Bennet is a tall man, even sitting down. His blond hair is freshly washed and combed out of his clean-shaven face. He’s wearing a blue t-shirt with a white stripe across the chest. When hesees Aurora walk through the door, there’s a light in those familiar green eyes and a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. A small hint of one.

Aurora’s hand slips into mine, pulling me into the room with her. “Hi, Dad. This is Theodore. He’s the one who paid for you to get transferred here. He’s also…” She hesitates over the word for a moment, teeth worrying her bottom lip.

I want to jump in and fill that gap for her, but this is something she has to do on her own.

“My boyfriend,” she finishes.

Stepping forward, I offer a smile that I hope screams ‘charming’ and not ‘deceptive psychopath who you don’t want anywhere near your daughter’. Tobias tries to lift his hand and after a glance at Aurora, double checking that it’s okay, I reach out and take his hand in mine.

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