Chapter 32 WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
JASMINE:
If someone had told me a month ago that I would spend my afternoon walking through New York with a mafia Don who had half the city terrified of him, I would have laughed.
Yet here I was. His arms were full of shopping bags while I walked beside him.
“This is unnecessary,” I muttered, glancing down at the ridiculous number of bags hanging from his wrists.
Nikolai didn’t even look guilty.
“You said you needed clothes.”
“I said I needed a dress.”
“You now have options.”
I shot him a look.
“Twenty dresses are not options. That’s a wardrobe.”
He shrugged lazily. “You look good in all of them.”
That seemed to have ended the argument apparently.
Later that afternoon had been surprisingly… normal. We had lunch at a quiet restaurant. Then a walk through a boutique district.
Nikolai occasionally brushed his hand against mine like it was the most natural thing in the world. But it felt strange, comfortable, and dangerous, all at once.
By evening, Nikolai stopped the car outside a building I recognised immediately. My stomach tightened.
“No,” I said slowly.
Nikolai stepped out of the car and glanced back at me.
“Yes.”
“The underground pit?”
“You seemed to enjoy it last time.”
I stepped out reluctantly, pulling my jacket tighter around me.
“You mean the part where I kissed you to make a particular someone jealous?”
His mouth curved slightly.
“That was memorable.”
I sighed and followed him inside. The bass of music vibrated through the walls as we descended the stairs. The deeper we went, the louder the crowd became.
I kept my head down. The last thing I needed was someone recognising me. Especially David.
He was the one who had dragged me here the first time. If he saw me now, well… that would be a conversation I definitely wasn’t ready for.
The moment Nikolai stepped into the room, the energy shifted. People noticed, whispers spread. Then the chanting started.
“Nik! Nik! Nik!”
My eyes widened.
“Oh my God.”
Nikolai sighed softly.
“They’re enthusiastic.”
“That’s one word for it.”
Someone leaned over the edge of the ring shouting his name while the commentator grabbed the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, looks like we have a familiar face tonight!”
The crowd erupted louder.
I leaned toward Nikolai. “You’re not seriously considering this.”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned to me.
“Are you okay with it?”
The question caught me off guard.
“You’re asking me?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the ring.
Then at him.
“I mean… if you want to.”
He nodded slowly.
“Stay close,” he said. “I didn’t bring guards inside.”
“You’re trusting me to behave?”
“No,” he replied calmly. “I want to keep an eye on you.”
Before I could respond, the crowd began chanting his name again. A fighter was already waiting in the ring.
Nikolai stepped toward the ropes, pulling off his jacket.
“Try not to disappear,” he said lightly.
Then he climbed into the ring, and the cheering became deafening.
I stayed near the edge of the crowd, watching. Nikolai moved differently here. He was less controlled, and more instinctive. Like the violence came naturally.
The bell rang and the fight began.
His opponent swung first. Nikolai dodged easily, landing a quick punch to the man’s ribs that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
I folded my arms, pretending I wasn’t impressed. Then suddenly, someone grabbed my arm. Hard.
I spun around instinctively, ready to shove them away—
“Jasmine.”
My stomach dropped.
David.
His eyes were narrowed with disbelief. “I don’t remember New York being in Japan,” he said sarcastically.
“Let go of me,” I said quietly.
He didn’t. Instead he looked me up and down.
“So this is where you disappeared to?”
“I didn’t disappear.”
“You’re a model, Jasmine,” he snapped. “You had work. A career. Friends.”
The crowd suddenly roared behind us. We both glanced toward the ring, as the commentator’s voice echoed through the speakers.
“Whoa! Ladies and gentlemen, that’s the first serious hit Nik has taken in years!”
I whipped my head around. Nikolai staggered slightly as his opponent landed a solid punch across his jaw.
The crowd gasped.
“It looks like his mind isn’t in the fight tonight,” the commentator continued excitedly. “Like he’s searching for someone!”
My chest tightened.
“Nik,” I whispered under my breath.
I tried to pull away but David tightened his grip.
“Wait a second,” he said slowly.
His eyes flicked between the ring and me. Then realisation hit him.
“Oh my God.”
My heart sank.
“You kissed him,” David said.
I closed my eyes briefly.
“You kissed him that night to make me jealous.”
He pointed toward the ring.
“That’s the guy.”
His voice grew louder with disbelief.
“He’s the one who interfered when you called back.”
The crowd screamed again as Nikolai threw a brutal punch. While David stared at me like he was seeing a stranger.
“Tasha and everyone has been worried sick about you,” he said. “And you’re here in New York with some guy who looks like a mob boss.”
I swallowed.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “For the lies. For everything.”
He stared at me.
“Just let me go.”
“Jasmine—”
“I’m not who you think I am,” I said softly.
That didn’t surprise him. He was simply disappointed.
“That’s right. I don’t know who you are anymore,” he said. Then he released my arm.
I didn’t wait. I pushed through the crowd until I reached the edge of the ring.
Nikolai was still fighting. But I could see it now. His eyes were scanning the crowd, searching. For me.
I waved both arms until he spotted me. Our eyes met, and I mouthed the words slowly.
“I’m okay.”
Something shifted in his expression and his returned. His opponent swung again. Nikolai dodged, then delivered a brutal combination of punches that dropped the man to the floor.
The bell rang, and the crowd exploded.
“NIK! NIK! NIK!”
He stood there breathing heavily, blood running from the corner of his mouth. But he had won.
Without thinking, I rushed forward. He barely had time to react before I jumped.
My arms wrapped around his neck, my legs locking around his waist as I crushed my lips against his.
For a split second he pulled back.
“There’s blood,” he said roughly.
“I don’t care.”
And I kissed him anyway.
The crowd went wild. Cheers echoed through the pit as people pounded the rails and shouted his name.
Nikolai’s arms tightened around me as the kiss deepened, victory and adrenaline pulsing through the air around us.
For a moment, nothing else in the world existed.