Chapter 6

Hazel gently ran her hand over Keith's solid arm, her eyes brimming with tears, but before she could say anything, she heard Keith's cheerful voice. "We've paid off all the debts, and we still have 200 thousand dollars left. What do you want to do with it?"

He said with a grin, "How about we open a bakery? I heard your parents used to run one."

Hazel's mom's fillings were delicious, and her dad's dough was always soft and fluffy. Everyone in the neighborhood loved their buns.

They made a small profit on each bun, about 15 cents apiece.

But then, they crossed paths with Aaron's father. He spotted Hazel's mom in the crowd and was stunned by how much she resembled his first love.

After that, people kept coming by to stir up trouble every few days.

Some claimed they found cockroaches or strands of hair in the buns.

Shady reporters even faked a video, accusing Hazel's dad of mixing shredded paper into the dough. With the media backlash, the bakery was forced to close, and they got slapped with fine after fine.

All their savings disappeared in an instant, and Hazel's dad's hair turned gray overnight.

He tried to set the record straight, tried to make a comeback, even considered switching careers and starting fresh. But none of it worked.

With someone as filthy rich as Aaron's father, even the crumbs that slipped through his fingers were enough to crush the Payne family. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't escape his relentless onslaught.

Hazel's parents were childhood sweethearts. After her maternal grandparents died young, Hazel's mom was brought up by her own grandparents.

Not wanting to ruin her husband's future, Hazel's mom signed the divorce papers with tears in her eyes, took Hazel, and moved out. She was instantly branded as the homewrecker everyone loved to hate.

Just then, Hazel couldn't help but crave the taste of the buns her parents used to make.

She rushed into the kitchen, and following memories from childhood, mixed the dough and chopped the filling in one fluid motion.

Before nightfall, a batch of steaming, chubby buns came out of the steamer.

Keith didn't care that the buns were still steaming. He popped one into his mouth without a second thought.

"Wow, this smells incredible! After tomorrow, let's go back home and see about reopening the shop. I'll be your sidekick!" he said, grinning.

Hazel smiled sweetly, her eyes curving into little crescent moons.

For a moment, she could see that simple, hardworking happiness calling her back.

But the moment they stepped into the underground boxing ring, her heaven collapsed into hell.

"Keith!" Hazel called out anxiously, watching the ring.

She stood there, anxiously watching the match.

Keith's opponent had been switched out at the last minute.

Now, standing across from him was a hulking brute, easily over 6'10" and 250 pounds, looking like he could crush anyone in his path.

His arms were thicker than most girls' waists, and he had a wild beard. The crazy look in his eyes screamed steroids. He had definitely taken stimulants.

Hazel's gut twisted. This was bad news.

Sure, the underground fight club was brutal and bloody, but there were still rules.

They shouldn't have let a fight happen with such a ridiculous size gap. And using drugs was a total shame in the ring.

'This isn't right!' Hazel thought.

But her cries were swallowed up by the roar of the crowd. Feeling helpless, Hazel fought her way forward, pulled out her phone, and shot off a quick text to the cops.

After the thunderous applause, the giant was the first to strike, his massive body coming at Keith like a freight train.

Keith slipped to the side and threw a solid punch at the giant's back.

But the giant didn't even react, like he was numb to pain.

Instead, Keith grimaced, pain shooting through his fist as blood started to seep from his boxing glove.

Hazel's fear shot through her. She yelled at Keith with everything she had, "Stop! Please, just stop, okay? You can surrender, it's okay!"

She'd rather end up behind bars than lose him.

With the crowd packed in tight, Keith couldn't hear Hazel at all. He could only barely read her lips through the sea of people.

Keith's heart clenched. 'No... There's no way I can give up now. Her freedom, her dignity... They're so close. I can't give up now, not when we're this close.'

He steeled himself for one last shot, tightened his fist, and launched an uppercut at the giant's jaw.

That punch finally landed. The giant wobbled in place, nearly toppled over!

Keith's heart soared, ready to move in for the win, but the brute suddenly swung a vicious kick right into Keith's stomach. Before Keith could even catch his breath, the giant body-slammed him, crushing Keith under his massive bulk.

Everyone could tell this was messed up. The crowd started booing like crazy.

But the ref just watched like it was nothing, as the giant kept smashing his fists into Keith's head and back, over and over.

Within seconds, blood was pouring out.

Some of Keith's fans were getting desperate, pushing forward until they finally cleared a path. Hazel jumped into the ring, covering Keith with her own body, and yelled at the ref, "Stop the fight! I already called the cops!"

Hearing that, the ref finally got flustered and started shouting to stop the match.

But it didn't matter. The brute didn't even pause, driving his fist hard into Hazel's back like he hadn't heard a word.