Chapter 2

Faye, what's wrong? Why are you sitting on the floor?"

I looked up at the man in front of me, staring intently at those eyes and brows I had known for twenty years, only to find them strangely unfamiliar.

"Zoran, is there something you're hiding from me?"

Zoran froze for a moment, and I didn't miss the flash of panic in his eyes.

"We're together every day. How could I possibly hide anything from you?"

Seeing that I remained silent, Zoran grew a bit impatient.

"Come on, get up already. I heard you won today, so I rushed back to celebrate with you. And here you are, giving me the cold shoulder."

I inwardly mocked myself. What was there left to misunderstand at this point?

After twenty years together, how could I not understand Zoran? His current impatience was a clear sign of a guilty conscience.

I lowered my gaze, no longer looking at his face.

"It's nothing. I'm just a bit tired from the match. I lost my balance for a second."

Hearing this, Zoran visibly relaxed and stepped forward to help me up.

"Alright, let's get some rest then. You've got the semi-finals tomorrow."

The next day, standing in the boxing ring, I searched for Zoran's figure at the edge of the arena as usual.

The moment our eyes met, he clenched his fist to cheer me on, his eyes full of encouragement.This is the unspoken understanding we've had for twenty years. Whenever one of us is on stage, whether for training or competition, the other will always be at the sidelines, from start to finish.

Looking at the encouragement and expectation in his eyes, I feel a bit dazed, as if nothing has changed.

But only I know that everything has changed.

Today's semi-final is against a foreign player from another gym. More than halfway through the match, I find myself at a disadvantage.

During the halftime break, my assistant Britta rushes to the sidelines to relax my muscles and replenish my fluids. As usual, I glance towards the edge of the ring, but I can't see Zoran anywhere.

Britta notices my gaze and speaks while massaging my tense arm muscles.

"Something seems to have happened to Zoran. He just got a call from the hospital and left in a hurry."

My heart sinks. Zoran and I are both orphans adopted by our coach, with no other family. If Zoran left in such a rush, could something have happened to our coach?

But with the halftime break being so short, I have no choice but to continue with the next round.

I throw punch after punch at my opponent with all my might, refusing to back down even as her blows split my eyebrow and blood streams down my face.After winning the grueling match, Britta called over the team doctor to give me emergency treatment for the bleeding.

"The finals are tomorrow, and you pushed yourself so hard. What are you going to do? Look at your eye, it's swollen to just a slit."

I ignored Britta's anxious words. Once the bleeding from my brow was stopped, I rushed to the hospital.

But as soon as I arrived, I saw a familiar figure just outside the ER.

Zoran was kneeling in front of Aria, his face full of concern as he gently cradled her foot in his arms.

"How could you be so careless? You're the manager, why did you need to move that equipment yourself? Now you've twisted your ankle and it hurts, doesn't it?"

Aria pouted coyly, seemingly pleased by Zoran's worry.

"I just felt you were working too hard, handling all the big and small tasks. I wanted to help take some of the burden off you."