I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.
I stood in the ring, coated with oil, while the men in the stands cheered for us to begin the match. Liam was a large opponent, having more muscle density than I possessed, and coupled with the fact that he was undefeated, my odds weren’t the best.
I could hold my own in a fight, but I’d never participated in a match like this. I always had other tools at my disposal—guns, knives, and different objects in any room I could turn on my opponent.
All I had now were my bare hands.
I saw the way Liam was worked up on the other side of stands. He threw his fists around to get his blood flowing, and the crazed look in his eyes showed how pumped he was. It hurt to watch Annabella touch him, kiss him, but I knew she might’ve just saved my life.
She said something significant to him, to think about his love for her rather than my death, I assumed. She’d successfully toned down his rage, and when he stepped into the ring, he wasn’t behaving like an animal anymore.
I hadn’t had much time to prepare for this, and I knew that was by design. I would have to focus on him, watch him, be quicker than him.
And then kill him.
Liam shook out his arms as he stared at me, waiting for the buzzer to go off so he could attack me. There would be no mercy from him. The second he got me on the floor, he would crush my skull with his fists or his feet.
Whenever I was in extreme circumstances like this, my heartbeat was suspiciously slow. Right now, it was calm. Maybe that was an asset, or maybe it was a flaw. It allowed me to be more pragmatic, not to give in to the spikes of adrenaline, anxiety, and all the other shit that dumped into my blood.
The buzzer blared, and the match began.
Just as I’d anticipated, Liam tried to run me down as quickly as possible, to get his hands on me so he could finish this match in record-breaking time, just so he could humiliate me further.
Since I knew it was coming, I dodged out of the way.
His momentum carried him forward, and he hit the side of the ring with the loud thud.
I came up behind him and slammed his face directly into the corner. I didn’t linger because I knew I didn’t have the time to stay, so I quickly jumped back before he spun around with his hand outstretched to grab me.
When he turned, his face was red and bruised, but he wasn’t bleeding. He was still slightly confused since it had been a hard hit, but he was still too dangerous to overpower. He started to pace toward me, both of his hands tightened into fists.
I kept my fists close to my face and tuned out the noise around us. I got in sync with my opponent, studying him, watching him, trying to be him.
When he was close enough, he swung.
I ducked and slammed my fist into his stomach three times before I danced away.
He grunted when the air left his lungs, and he released a deep growl of pain. “Chickenshit, fight me.”
Slow and steady wins the race.
I kept moving on my feet, knowing if I stayed put, it would just be a battle of strength, which I couldn’t possibly win. I had to tire him out, make every hit count because I couldn’t linger.
The fight went that way for a long time, bringing us together for short bursts that ended up with a few blows, before I bounced away again. It wasn’t a traditional fight, much longer than the kind the men usually witnessed. I got a black eye, and Liam had a cut along his cheek.
“You know what I’m gonna do tonight after I kill you?” With his fists near his face like a boxer, he circled as he drew closer to me, looking for the right time to charge me. “I’m gonna take Anna to the courthouse, marry her, and then take her home and fuck her.”
I resisted the urge to respond, told myself to stay focused and unemotional because losing my pragmatism could lead to dire mistakes, but it was a good trick because it pissed me off.
“I’ve enjoyed fucking her as my woman. But I want to fuck her as my wife.”
The image made me sick to my stomach, to imagine Annabella sleeping with him, whether by choice or force. But I didn’t allow him to make me drop my guard. I pretended I was about to sprint at him like he wanted, and he threw out his fist automatically to land several blows. But once his fists had been launched, I came at him and landed a series of hits, striking him in the temple, the face, pounding him in the stomach, and then I twisted him around so I could kick him in the back.
He tried to stop the fall, but he was too heavy. He landed hard against the concrete.
I didn’t let the opportunity slip from my grasp, so I got on top of him and locked his neck in my arms. I squeezed his throat so he couldn’t breathe as I started to turn his head to snap his neck.
The crowd was so loud, cheering because they were about to win their bets at unbelievable odds, while others booed because they were about to lose their money, having bet on the guy who wasn’t supposed to lose.
Liam tried to get out of it, and the longer he didn’t have air, the quicker his pulse thudded against my skin. He was strong, fighting with power, fighting for his life—which was about to be extinguished.
I’d thought I would feel good about what I was about to do, killing this guy. He didn’t deserve to live. He didn’t deserve to be spared after everything he’d done. But I didn’t get pleasure out of my victory, out of taking his life.
And I knew why.
Annabella understood I had to do this. She wouldn’t hold it against me; it had to be done.
But I knew she’d loved him for a long time, had been married to him, wanted a family with him. He needed to die, but it would still hurt her, still haunt her. So, I did something really stupid.
I pulled his neck tighter, so close to snapping his neck. “I’ll make a deal with you.”
He couldn’t say anything because he couldn’t breathe. All he could do was fight my twist, fight the pain in his neck before it turned into complete paralysis.
“I let you live, you disappear.” Hades would be pissed that I’d offered this guy any mercy. Even my sister would think I was weak. I had no love for him, but I loved Annabella so fucking much that I would do this for her. “Do you accept those terms?” He might say yes but turn around and stab me in the back. He might say yes and change his mind later. I was willing to take that chance.
“Yes or no?”
He breathed hard to stay conscious.
“If you say yes, I don’t wanna see you ever again. You can’t contact Annabella again. You leave us in peace.”
He tried to fight me again as if he might be able to get out of it.
But then I twisted him a little harder, making it clear he would lose. “You have to decide—do you want to live and lead a life without her? Or would you rather die?”
He stopped fighting. His body relaxed completely. Then he nodded.
I let him go and stood up.
The crowd was silent because they couldn’t believe what had just happened. Death was the only way these matches ended, but a life had been spared rather than taken away. I walked away with my hands on my hips, regaining control of my breathing. I turned to look at Hades.
All he did was shake his head.
Liam slowly got to his feet, looking weak now that he’d been defeated. He turned to look at me, his face red because he hadn’t had adequate oxygen for minutes. Living with everyone’s disappointment was probably the worst part. He had been defeated by a man with no professional experience, a man who wasn’t even in his weight class. He swallowed his shame and could barely look at me.
When I knew he wasn’t going to pull a stunt, I turned to the MC. “This match is over.”