MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat-Chapter 701: The Return and the Reckoning

They soon entered Santa Monica, the city stretching wide under the soft morning light. The air was still, the roads mostly quiet. Their first stop was Ash’s place.

Victor parked outside his apartment and reached back to shake Ash awake. He groaned, eyes barely open.

"Come on," Damon said, nudging him. "You’re home."

Ash mumbled something that sounded like "never again" before stumbling out of the car and dragging himself up the walkway.

Next was Joey. He was a bit more alert, rubbing his face as he stepped out.

"Don’t text me today," he muttered, waving them off. "I need sleep and repentance."

That left Damon.

Victor didn’t park when they reached his house. He slowed down at the curb and looked over.

"Good luck with the scolding," he said with a smirk.

Damon sighed. "Appreciate the support."

Victor gave him a short nod, then drove off.

Damon turned to the door, took a breath, and stepped inside. The silence was thick. No sound of Ava’s laughter, no music, no footsteps. Just the soft creak of the door closing behind him.

And then he saw her.

Svetlana was standing in the middle of the living room. Arms crossed. Hair tied back, serious look that made her expression even sharper, she actually looked more beautiful right now.

She didn’t say a word.

Damon stopped at the edge of the room, backpack still on his shoulder. He met her eyes and stayed quiet too.

The silence between them wasn’t hostile.

Damon stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, baby."

Svetlana didn’t push him away at first. She returned the hug, but only for a second. Then she pulled back and looked up at him.

"Don’t ’baby’ me."

Her voice was calm, but he could tell she was trying to stay serious. The way her brows pulled together, the way her arms folded again, it wasn’t rage. It was restraint.

Damon sighed. "I’m sorry," he said, gently. "Seriously, I should’ve called. I didn’t mean to scare you. My phone died, I should’ve borrowed someone’s earlier. That one’s on me."

She didn’t respond at first, just stared at him.

He kept going. "I know I messed up. But nothing happened, I promise. No strip clubs, no drama, just Joey, Ash, Victor, and way too much stupidity."

He kept talking, throwing in compliments between apologies, praising her for her patience, her strength, her terrifying glare, until she finally cracked.

Svetlana tried to keep the frown, but a laugh slipped out.

Damon grinned. "There it is. Knew I’d find it."

She shook her head. "You’re lucky I love you."

He chuckled. "Let me take a quick shower, then we’ll go through the chaos together. You deserve the full director’s cut."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Svetlana sighed again, but this time it was lighter. She nodded, and Damon headed for the stairs, already bracing for the story.

Damon finished his shower, changed into something clean, and joined Svetlana on the couch.

She already had a blanket over her legs, arms folded, face unreadable, but her body language said she wasn’t about to explode. That was a good sign.

He sat down next to her and handed over his phone.

"I got all the videos in order," he said. "This is everything from the start of the night until... well, until things got out of hand."

She gave him a long look before taking the phone. Damon leaned back, trying not to look tense, though the memory of strip poker, broken chairs, and permanent marker art made him twitch a bit.

The first video played.

It began with the surprise. Lights flashing on, a crowd yelling "SURPRISE!" and Damon standing there stunned, whispering to Joey "Who the fuck are these people?"

Svetlana snorted.

He glanced at her. "Told you. I had no clue who invited half of them."

The next few clips were loud and messy. Drinks being poured, Victor shaking his head in the background, Ash making a grand entrance with a party horn in his mouth.

More videos followed. Someone cannonballing into a kiddie pool set up indoors for no good reason.

Joey laughing with two cups in his hands. Damon being dragged into a chugging contest while yelling something in a terrible Irish accent.

They watched as the energy climbed. Somewhere halfway through, it started crossing the line between wild fun and pure chaos.

Damon fast-forwarded through some of it, mostly loud music, yelling, people playing drunk charades, and Victor confiscating a bottle from someone trying to pour liquor into cereal.

"Too much chaos," he muttered. "Thank God Ava was asleep."

Svetlana nodded silently, eyes still fixed on the screen.

Then came the infamous drawing. A girl carefully sketching on Damon’s cheek with a marker while a group laughed in the background.

"Oh my God," Svetlana said, covering her mouth.

Damon dropped his head into his hands.

"That marker was waterproof," he muttered. "I nearly peeled off my skin."

Svetlana didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she handed him back the phone and sighed.

"I should be mad," she said. "But that looked like the dumbest, most exhausting, most ridiculous night ever." freeweɓnøvel~com

Damon raised a brow. "You’re not mad?"

She paused. "Still thinking about it. I’m leaning toward ’mildly disappointed but entertained.’"

Damon laughed softly, relieved. "I’ll take that."

When the final video ended and the screen went dark, Svetlana handed the phone back to him and leaned into the couch. She let out a long, thoughtful sigh, then turned to look at Damon.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Damon gave a slow shrug. "Worried my beautiful fiancée is still thinking about yelling at me."

She chuckled and gave him a soft, playful smack on the arm. "I don’t mean that," she said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, like—physically. That amount of alcohol... it’s enough to knock someone out for a whole day. And you’re just sitting here like nothing happened."

Damon paused, glancing at the phone in his hand, then back at her.

"Yeah," he said slowly, "I’ve been thinking about that too."

She raised a brow.

He leaned back. "I don’t know. Maybe I’ve got a better system than most."

"System?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

He smiled. "I mean... maybe I just metabolize fast. Irish genes. Or maybe I was too drunk to stay drunk."

Svetlana gave him a suspicious look, then shook her head, laughing softly. "You’re weird."

Damon grinned. "You love it."

She leaned against him. "Unfortunately for me... yeah, I do."

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