The Boxing Champion Called Me His Caregiver Chapter 09

The Boxing Champion Called Me His Caregiver Chapter 09

That weekend, Cameron took the children and me to the Northmere Boxing Museum.

As we walked beneath trees shedding golden and brown leaves, he turned to me.

“Tessa, the institute plans to launch an official program in adaptive boxing and neurological

rehabilitation.”

“You’ll receive sole authorship credit.”

“No one else’s name or title will be attached to your work.”

He met my eyes, his expression gentle but unwavering.

“Will you lead it?”

“Yes.”

No hesitation.

“I will.”

Logan returned home and left the deed to my childhood home behind.

News from back home still showed up on my phone from time to time.

He had finally accepted Alyssa’s harsh divorce settlement demands.

He gave her half of what little he had left, then shouldered the public abuse and contract

termination penalties alone.

According to the reports, Alyssa had stopped outside the courthouse before leaving and laughed coldly in his face.

“I’ll never forgive Tessa.”

“But I’ll never forgive you either, Logan.”

Northstar Institute for Adaptive Sports soon held its first Youth Adaptive Boxing Championship.

During the final days of preparation, I got so busy that I kept forgetting to eat.

Cameron always appeared whenever I needed him and set a bowl of reheated soup on my desk.

He never rushed me.

Never interfered with my work.

He only said, “Eat first. The tournament isn’t going anywhere.”

“Your body belongs to you.”

Steam rose from the bowl.

My nose suddenly burned.

Logan had always told me to wait.

Until the match ended.

Until the public backlash died down.

Until he arranged everything.

Cameron never made me wait.

When I needed someone, he simply stepped beside me.

The competition hall fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop.

In the final, Lily sat in her wheelchair across from her opponent for a seated reaction and

combination event.

Halfway through the round, she made mistake after mistake.

Her gloves dropped.

Panic flashed across her face.

“Coach Monroe, what if I miss the next punch too?”

I bent down and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Then adjust your breathing.”

“Watch for the next opening.”

“You don’t need anyone else to win for you.”

“And you don’t need to be afraid of losing.”

I smiled at her.

My voice carried clearly through the hall.

“The ring is yours.”

“So is your life.”

Lily drew a deep breath.

The fear in her eyes hardened into focus.

She tightened her fists inside the gloves.

Then she struck.

Clean.

Fast.

Certain.

Her final combination landed perfectly and won her the match.

The moment the referee announced the result, Lily wheeled herself toward me and threw her arms

around my waist.

“Coach Monroe, I won!”

“I really did it!”

She clung to me, tears soaking into my shirt.

“One day, I’m gonna become a coach like you.”

“I’ll help more kids who can’t stand find a ring of their own.”

I wrapped my arms around her.

My own tears finally fell.

“Okay.”

“I’ll teach you.”

Logan saw the championship video.

Despair filled his eyes.

“Tess, I’m sorry.”

His eyes turned red.

Tears rolled down his face.

He remembered the year he became paralyzed.

How he had clung to my hand and promised we would never be apart.

He remembered the championship gala.

His hand pressing down on my shoulder as he told me I wasn’t respectable enough for his public image.

A paid live-in caregiver.

Nothing more.

He remembered the hospital.

How coldly he had told Alyssa not to stoop to my level.

Then he remembered what I had said before he returned home.

“I didn’t stop loving you.”

“I finally understood that loving someone shouldn’t mean turning myself into a shadow beneath your feet.”

“You didn’t lose someone who would take care of you unconditionally.”

“You lost someone who once made you her entire world.”

“Tess, I was wrong.”

He covered his face.

A broken sob escaped him.

“I was so wrong…”

The room around him stood empty.

No Tessa preparing his medication.

No Tessa packing his boxing gloves.

No light left on for him.

And no one willing to stay beside him anymore.