Damon couldn't help but blurt out, "But how, you're–"
Victor glanced at him, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Standing here? Surgery, kid. They put a steel rod in my leg."
He chuckled, as if trying to lighten the mood, but the heaviness of the situation lingered.
Victor paused, taking a slow drag of his cigarette before continuing. "After that event, I was dead set on getting back into the ring. I thought, 'It's just a break, I can heal.' But the truth is, I couldn't. It wasn't safe, not with my leg like that. And that... that ate away at me."
Damon listened, feeling the pain of Victor's words.
He had never seen this side of the man before, the vulnerability beneath the confidence.
"I had one dream in life," Victor went on, his eyes clouded with memories. "To become the UFA champion. That was it. I was inches away from it, and I couldn't finish. Couldn't get it done."
