cover my ears, and have Scott come and get me when it’s over.
Everything happens so fast. The calling of their names, the tapping of the gloves, and then the bell is ringing.
I’m not ready for this…
The two men charge at each other and the fists start flying. They continue right where they left off outside, but this time, Thiago is ready for him.
He blocks Nathan’s first three punches and then hits him hard in the stomach and quickly follows it up with a kick to the leg.
My stomach is churning as my eyes are glued on the fight.
“Yes!” I shout when Nathan throws two punches and lands one. He hits Thiago hard, but the champ is tough and they keep going.
They move in blurs, each landing hard shots and staggering each other. The crowd is loving the fight and they cheer and scream with every punch and kick landed.
Thiago starts to get the best of Nathan and pins him against the cage as he lands punch after devastating punch.
“No,” I whisper as I watch him. I’m urging him on. Begging the universe to let my man win.
But he doesn’t need the universe to win. He only needs me.
He catches sight of me through the chain-linked fence and then starts to stand back up. Thiago lands four hard punches to his chin, but Nathan looks unstoppable as he pushes him off.
He looks possessed. He’s a man on fire.
Thiago rolls his big shoulders and comes rushing in, but Nathan is ready. He fires a hard right hook that lands with a crunch that I can hear from my seat in the tenth row.
It’s over.
Thiago’s body stiffens and his eyes roll in the back of his head as his swinging arms fall to his sides.
The whole place is deathly quiet as Thiago falls backward and lands hard on the mat. His arms fly up over his head and his legs go straight.
I don’t know much about fighting but even I can tell that he’s out cold.
The referee immediately leaps down between him and Nathan who’s lunging on him to deliver more.
“It’s over!” the referee shouts as he waves his hand in the air.
All of the tension in my body releases and I start screaming in happiness and gratitude as Nathan leaps into the air with his fists raised.
The crowd cheers for him now and it’s deafening. I can’t even hear my own screams as they pay homage to their new champion.
He paces around the octagon like the badass alpha he is and only stops when he sees me. He points at me and all I can do is drink in the moment, hoping I remember this amazing feeling forever.
Suddenly, he climbs up the cage and leaps over it just like he did a few days ago at the gym. He jumps down from the ledge out of my view. Everyone is standing up and I can’t see a thing.
“Hope!” I hear him shout as he pushes his way through the crowd. He’s climbing over chairs and pushing past people as they slap him on the back and take quick selfies with him.
He’s not focused on anything but finding me.
His jacked body pushes through the couple in front of me and he breathes in relief when he spots me.
“Hope,” he says as he looks at me with pure love in his eyes. “I did this for you. This belt is for you. For our future together.”
I’m about to answer, but he just grabs me and throws me over his shoulder.
“Nathan!” I scream as I put a hand on his muscular back. “What are you doing?!?”
He’s like a caveman as he carries me back to the octagon and brings me inside it. The lights are so bright and I start to panic as he puts me back on my feet. This time there’s over twenty-five thousand people watching me and cheering.
“I love you, Hope,” he says as he cups my cheeks and looks into my eyes. “Do you love me?”
It’s so hard to speak with so many people looking at me, but I manage to for him. “I do. I love you so much, Nathan.”
He drops to his knee and my mouth falls open. Everyone screams even louder as he takes my hand.
“Marry me,” he begs. “Please. I thought this belt was all I wanted, but I was wrong. You’re all I want. You’re everything to me. Please be my wife.”
I have tears streaming down my cheeks as I look down at him. My life