The moment Ethan stepped out of the blue gate, everything narrowed.
From the roar of the crowd in the towering stadium, to the flashing lights, and the thousands of eyes watching him, all of it was gone.
There was only one thing left.
One person.
Mace.
Their eyes locked across the arena, tension snapping tight between them like a wire pulled to its limit. There was no grin on Ethan's face now, no casual smirk, no trace of the relaxed idiot who had been drinking and joking just minutes ago.
This was different and personal.
For a brief moment, even his opponent felt it.
'He's changed…' Mace thought, his smile faltering for just a second.
Ethan's focus was suffocating, his fists clenched and his adrenaline pumping.
But then his expression twitched.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
The tension cracked instantly as a cold, horrifying realisation hit him all at once.
'Fuck me… right now of all times?'
His stomach churned violently.
