Chapter 3

3.

"Isn't that the loser who used performance enhancers? Ugh, talk about bad luck, being in the same ward as him."

"Shh, keep it down. Seraphina still keeps him around. She'll have your head if she hears you talking smack."

"Keeps him around? Please. He's dying in a hospital bed while she's having a candlelit dinner with Xavier. They're the real soulmates. This guy is just a rebound."

I woke up to the sound of nurses gossiping outside my door.

Seraphina used to tell me she hated fancy dinners. she said that if you really loved someone, you didn't need the bells and whistles.

Apparently, that rule didn't apply to Xavier.

My fist clenched, then slowly went limp.

"Silas, handle your business. Stop wasting your life on people who don't deserve your shadow."

My father's words echoed in my mind. I looked at the calendar. Our wedding anniversary was approaching. I called my lawyer and told him to draft the divorce papers.

"Zeke, get down to the training center. Xavier needs a sparring partner. He's going international soon, and you're the only one with a similar build. I'm worried the other guys will hit him too hard."

Seraphina's voice on the phone was casual, as if she were asking me to pick up dry cleaning instead of being her lover's punching bag.

"Seraphina, I'm in the hospital with an allergic reaction. Let him find someone else. You're the one who taught me to box anyway. Why don't you go?"

She used to say she loved boxing but couldn't fight because of her health. I had trained day and night, bleeding for her, just to win trophies she could show off.

I realized now she only wanted me to maintain the spot until Xavier came back.

"Stop being so needy. Take some Benadryl and get over here. If you don't show up, don't even think about the baby."

She hung up before I could process that last sentence.

A baby?

I stared at the ceiling, my mind spinning. Finally, I ripped the IV out of my arm and hailed a cab to the gym.

"Zeke! Man, I feel so bad about this. Seraphina insisted you'd be the best partner. Since you're banned from competing, I figured you'd be bored anyway."

Xavier stood there, lacing up his gloves. His eyes were full of malice and triumph.

The crowd in the gym erupted in laughter. They looked at me like I was a circus animal.

I ignored them. My eyes were locked on Seraphina's stomach.

"Is it mine?"