MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat - Chapter 516

Chapter 516: Chapter 516: Father Figure
The day finally arrived.

Their place was quiet, but there was a subtle energy in the air, like the kind before a big fight, only warmer. More personal.

Damon stood by the mirror fixing his watch strap, while Svetlana moved around the bedroom, adjusting the simple but elegant dress she’d chosen.

It wasn’t as extravagant as the one she wore during their dinner in Italy, but it didn’t need to be. It fit her perfectly, graceful, soft in color, and effortlessly stunning. Damon couldn’t take his eyes off her.

When they stepped out of the apartment, he reached for her hand and gave it a little spin, watching her turn with a half-laugh.

“You look gorgeous,” he said, plain and clear.

Svetlana chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “With all these compliments, I might think I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Damon didn’t skip a beat. He stepped closer, slipped his arm around her waist, and leaned in with a low, teasing grin.

“Who says you’re not?”

She gave him a small eye roll, but the smile on her face gave her away.

The car was already waiting for them downstairs.

They got in, fingers still linked.

And as they headed toward the Steele house, surrounded by the familiar city streets, Damon leaned his head back and smiled.

Fiancée.

It still felt new.

But it felt right.

Damon smiled as he drove, one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually between them. Normally, Svetlana would’ve taken the driver’s seat, she liked the control, but lately, they’d been switching it up more. Damon didn’t mind. Today felt like a day he wanted to be behind the wheel anyway.

The drive didn’t take long. They passed familiar streets, a few quiet neighborhoods, and pockets of early afternoon traffic.

But most of the time was spent just talking, light conversation, a few jokes, and a little music playing in the background.

As they neared the Steele house, the tall gate slid open automatically, sensing the car approaching. Damon eased into the long driveway, pulling up near the massive garage, and put the car in park.

He stepped out and looked up at the house. It was still something to take in, no matter how many times he’d been here.

Grand, elegant, but not in a flashy way. It was solid. Well-kept. Like a place that held a lot of history, and even more discipline. Victor’s touch was all over it.

As Svetlana stepped out and joined him by the side of the car, Damon nudged her gently with his elbow.

“Ever miss it here?” he asked, glancing sideways.

She looked up at the house and paused. Her eyes scanned the balcony, the windows, the yard.

There was a stillness in her expression for a second.

“Sometimes,” she said.

The answer made sense. It was reasonable. Who wouldn’t miss the place they grew up in?

It was a home. A real one. With walls that didn’t echo with shouting or cold silence. With memories that didn’t come with scars.

Damon glanced at the house again. Yeah, he got it.

Though if he was honest, he couldn’t say the same for himself.

He didn’t miss Ireland. Not the parts he knew. Not the rain-soaked neighborhoods where his mother tried to make scraps stretch.

And he definitely didn’t miss Stockton’s streets, where nights were cold, food was rare, and survival was more habit than hope.

No, he didn’t look back fondly.

But that was okay.

He didn’t need to.

Because what mattered now wasn’t where he came from–

They stepped up to the door, and before either of them could knock, it swung open like someone had been standing behind it the entire time.

Because someone had.

Two, actually.

Macey and Aoife stood there, wide-eyed and grinning, like they’d been pacing just waiting for the car to pull in.

“Come in, come in!”

But before Damon could even say hello, he was left standing as the two women immediately latched onto Svetlana.

They didn’t even look at him.

“Oh my god, let me see the ring!”

“It better be as gorgeous as you!”

“When did it happen? Tell me everything!”

Svetlana barely had time to take off her shoes before they were dragging her down the hallway, smiling, laughing, talking over each other like old friends.

Damon blinked once. Then again.

“Seriously?” he muttered under his breath, watching them vanish toward the sitting room.

He was still standing at the door when Victor came walking down the hallway, holding a cup of something warm, wearing a tucked-in blue shirt and khakis, casual but sharp, like always.

He chuckled.

“Don’t take offense,” Victor said, nodding toward the sounds of excitement coming from the other room. “They’ve been like that since your mother arrived. They’ve been planning this gathering like it’s a wedding preview.”

Damon cracked a small smile.

Victor stepped closer and extended his hand. Damon took it.

“You did good,” Victor said. “Really good. I’m proud of both of you.”

He paused for a moment, looking him in the eye.

“And I’m glad I’ll have you as a son.”

Damon didn’t say anything at first. Just nodded, giving his hand a firmer shake.

That meant more than he let on.

A lot more.

As Damon stood there, chatting casually with Victor, part of his mind drifted.

He thought back to the moment he found out Svetlana was pregnant.

The way everything had slowed, like his brain couldn’t catch up with what the doctor was saying.

The first thought that hit him–

How the hell was he supposed to be a good father if he didn’t even know what one looked like?

He hadn’t grown up with that kind of example.

No steady hand.

No patient voice.

Just fists and silence.

But standing here now… talking with Victor, laughing like nothing in the world was broken…

He realized something.

He was wrong.

Because there was an example.

Right in front of him.

Victor had been there for Svetlana since they adopted her.

He and Macey raised her right, taught her strength, kindness, self-respect.

She wasn’t just someone who survived.

She was someone who thrived.

And that didn’t happen by accident.

Victor didn’t talk much about parenting.

He didn’t lecture.

He just showed up. He supported. He gave people the room to grow but was always there when it mattered.

And when Damon looked at his own life, the things Victor had done for him, the times he’d shown up, the trust he’d given him.

He knew it then.

He had an example after all.

One that wasn’t bound by blood, but by something stronger.

Respect.

Loyalty.

Care.

Victor wasn’t just Svetlana’s father.

He had become something close to one for Damon too.

And for the first time in a long time, Damon felt like maybe…

He was going to be okay at this.